Putnam Valley Board of Education Meeting - February 26, 2026

001Good evening and welcome to the business meeting of February 26, 2026. Please stand for the 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. I apologize for being a little late. We had an executive session uh for 17 matters of the employment history of 17 particular persons and it just took us a little longer than we thought. Um so I'm going to open it up to public comment on the listed agenda items. As a reminder, this is a meeting of the board of education that is open to the public. If you wish to comment at this meeting, we ask that you please be aware of all the protocols for public

002comment. The protocols are listed on the back of the public agendas that are available in the meeting room. They're also posted on signage in the meeting room and are on the district website. Okay. Um the treasures report for December of 2025 is available in the business office. We are going to move to the consent agenda. Mr. Alvario, >> resolve to approve the consent agenda items 2 through 7 as presented to the board at this meeting. >> Second. >> Questions or comments? Mrs. Fina, >> consent agenda includes approval of the last meeting's minutes, CSC, CPSC placements, substitute listing for the rest of the school year, additional or unpaid work hours for various staff members. The board is extending an unpaid leave of absence for a staff member and the board is approving an unpaid leave of

003absence for another staff member. >> Thank you. Any other questions or comments? All in favor? >> Opposed? Extensions. The resolutions pass. Um our presentations tonight are going to be on uh budget planning for this for special ed and facilities and operations. And who gets to go first, Dr. So, we're going to invite up Miss Melissa Estraa and Miss Christina Field to do our special education budget program overview. Welcome. >> I'm usually too short. So, now this evening I I won't be. >> So, tonight um I'm presenting alongside Christina Fel, our new supervisor of special education. Um and I just have to take a quick moment. I know some of you have already met Miss Field, but um for those of you that haven't, she started in July, right at the start of our extended school

004year program and jumped right in. She was supporting with our new programs from curriculum design to supporting our new teachers. Um didn't skip a beat. So, we're so happy and thankful to have Miss Feel with us. And tonight, she'll she'll talk about some of our programming. Okay. So, for this evening, what we're going to do is we're going to take a look at overall enrollment. Um, not just special education, but overall enrollment for the district. We're going to talk about how that leads our new programming, our staff training. Our staff training is really driven by the needs of our students and how that changes every year. Um, and then we're also going to talk about our pathways to high school, right? So, we're going to take a look from kindergarten all the way to high

005school. Okay. total enrollment. So if you take a look at the top, what we've done is we're taking a look at the last four years. Um so these are this these numbers are any students that enroll from say September, April, it doesn't matter when also kindergarten students. So if we take a look at 2223, we had a total enrollment of 215 new students. Of that though, 113 were new incoming kindergarten students. Of that number, um we had about nine kindergarten students that came um through that were from our special education that received special education services. Now, if we fast forward to 2526, just two right before all of the snow, we had a total of 28 students already enrolled in the district and were only, you know, in February, midFebruary. Of that though, 110, so

006about half were our new kindergarten students. Um, of the 28 students, 38 students came to us um in need of special education services. And additionally, we had 25 students from our um from our special education preschool program that came through. Next year, we're looking at about 20 um students potentially for kindergarten that will be in need of special education services to some degree. >> And Melissa, I just want to make a point. I just don't want anyone to think that these are total total overall enrollment because >> overall >> just overall new students >> correct >> overall new students to the district. >> Okay. Thank you. So, one of the one of the things that we kind of want to highlight is on many occasions, um, parents come to us, especially our new students, our

007new kindergarten students. Um, their parents often say to us that they move to the district really looking for the supports of special education services. Um, and that really speaks volumes to our teachers and our staff here that have really supported our students um, within special education. So, if we take a look at kindergarten, correct? We're looking at about 20 students potentially needing special education services. And what that means is we really want to provide the earliest of interventions possible. Of the 20 students potentially coming in, about one-third may require highly specialized programs, and that's our smaller programs that really target um sensory friendly environments, social emotional learning. Um, with that, what we're doing is we're taking a look, we're anticipating that we're going to have specialized staffing needs. Meaning that we're taking a look that

008we may have the need of one more special education teacher along with teaching assistance and aids to support our new programming at these very early ages. What we're doing with that is we have to make sure that our resources are allocated appropriately. Meaning, do we need new technologies? Do we need AAC devices? And what resources do we need within the classroom to support this new programming? Another area that we have to look at is our overall enrollment within special education, not just through Putham Valley View, but our region and also the state. So, if we take a look here, I'm sorry that this is slightly small, so I'll read to you. Um, we take a look at our New York State report card, which gives us the regional data from 2425. Putnham Valley had 14%

009of its total enrollment um, of students receiving special education services. It's slightly higher than than where we would like, around 13% that the state um, encourages, but if you take a look, we're well below New York State, which is at 20% in some of our neighboring districts. But what this is telling us is that we have a long-term plan to support our students that are requiring special education services. And what we'll do now is Miss Feel will talk to us a little bit more about our programs. >> Sorry, I don't I don't need the box. Um, so I'm going to talk to you a little bit about what's been going on up at the high school. So, our RISE program, which is reaching independence through support and education, is in its freshman year at the

010high school. It's a highly specialized program designed to support students who need very intense academic support, social, emotional, behavior, um, and activities of daily living. So, we're very excited about that and all the work that's been happening there. Um, we've also as a part of that, uh, we have our staff that work in our RISE program that have really helped foster connections within the greater high school community. And that's really been achieved through Best Buddies. Um, they've had a lot of authentic opportunities to engage with their peers. They've created events for the program, but also help facilitate uh, our RIY students feeling comfortable in things like color wars, which this year was my first year, and I saw firsthand how big that was. So, it was nice to see all of our students be able

011to participate. And then additionally, as a program, we've been reaching out to expand our community partnerships. So, we recently worked with the inclusion center um right down the road to create interd district opportunities. So, we did a visit with another high school with a similar program again just to offer our students some more social opportunities. Um and then lastly is that schoolwide support. Uh we've been really lucky at the high school where it the program's been fully embraced um both by all the faculty that work in the program. Um I don't want to miss anybody so I'm not going to list names but they have gone above and beyond in participating in meetings to help create systems and structures that are meaningful for our students but also so that way it mirrors that of their

012peers. Um and then also the high school admin team so Dr. and Matt Melo uh they have committed to having weekly meetings again to creating systems and structures to not only get through this year but continue uh to create a program that's going to thrive. >> Can I ask a question? >> Yeah. >> Um is RISE a different program than the New Horizons that we see in the elementary and middle or is it sort of >> it's the it's the high school >> high school version. Okay. >> Yeah. >> Uh so here we're talking so up on top and again it's a little small. Um we went and looked back at the last two years and we wanted to look at our students with disabilities and what h what what path they took after high

013school. Um generally speaking 70% all went on to some post-secary education be it two or four years um with some of our students going off to the workforce and then in 2024 going into the armed forces. So for our internal foundation, so this is where we are right now. Uh we have school-based internships um really throughout the high school and this is really focusing on developing their skills and independence. Um and this is for our students that are staying beyond a traditional four-year. Uh some of our students with IEPs will stay with us beyond just that 18th year or the year they turn 18, their senior year, while they're still working on be it their program or their requirements for graduation. Where we're going is we want to look at more community expansion. So expanding

014uh our internships to no longer just be in the high school, but to really be throughout the community through partnerships, creating job shadowing, and really help facilitating that transition to employment. Okay. So, our professional development this year, um, we've been quite busy. Um, we're continuing many of the efforts that we started over the last couple of years. One of the areas being in our mental health and social emotional learning. Uh, we have pilots going on right now to do DBT counseling sessions. We're rolling out Character Strong, which is an evidence-based program for social emotional learning within our middle school, and we're going to be rolling that out to our elementary next year. That'll also include tier 2 supports. Um, so we're really strengthening and being able to support our students um in various areas that

015they need for very short periods of time. We also are taking a look at our tech um areas. So what we've been doing is the last couple of years we've been inviting um outside resources into the school to provide training for our assistants as well as our teachers and related service providers that work with AAC devices to support our students with increasing um their communication and we're going to continue that. We're also taking a look at our inclusive models meaning our ICT our integrated co-eing um frameworks. So what that means is we're taking a look at new strategies and ways to strengthen our ICT classes to provide new and innovative supports for our students. >> I have a question. >> Yes, please. >> Sorry. >> Um who is for the mental health and um for

016the character strong that you're implementing? >> Um last year I remember >> um the counselors were teaching the >> um which was now this year that has changed. I believe it's like the um gym teacher. Um >> so the character strong is being led by our school psychologists and counselors in small groups that are at a tiered level of supports. >> So does every student receive it? >> Yes, in the middle school we are starting to roll it out in that area. Yes, it's a new program. >> So not just special ed like Jen. Okay. >> And how is it going to be rolled out in the elementary school? >> Uh next year. and with also by the psychologists and the counselors or by >> both >> potentially. Right now we're looking at our counselor

017starting in the um elementary level. >> Great. Thank you >> Melissa. I'm sorry. >> Um the AAC integration I know it states under here what it is but can you talk to it more so because it's hard a little hard to see. >> So there's various programs but um what we can do is we can take a look at an iPad that would have core words. These are words that um we use throughout our day to get us our different needs and our wants and also to communicate with others. So using an AAC device, if a student um has difficulty with with being able to verbally, we would use an AAC device and a blend. Thank you. next year looking at budgeting um part of it. So we've already spoken to the fact that we

018may be looking at hiring a special education teacher as well as support staff based upon cse commu um the committee on special education recommendations. But what we're also doing is we've started to look at Medicaid revenue. So, what that means is we're taking a look at um getting reimbursed for some of our related services that are within the Medicaid umbrella. Right now, we're anticipating that potentially our gross would be around 100,000 net around 50 because the state takes um but this could be a nice um general fund revenue. Okay. And then as Christina already spoke to our internship opportunities. So, what we've already done is we've begun asking some of our community members um which is what we're doing now as well. Um small businesses that may um want to offer internships to our students

019next year. And we're going to start really targeting our staff here um for those connections that they may have in the community. And since we're here with the community, we can also ask for any support there as well. Okay. And then we have some of our really wonderful pictures of our programs here. Um Christina spoke to Miss Field spoke to the the bottom corner. What we did is um another school district met us and we had um different stations available for the students to all mingle um and get to know one another and and try new new games or crafts. It was a very nice day. >> Okay, any questions or thoughts? I just want to compliment uh the department on the good works that you do for these children. It it's just outstanding and

020uh the care and the devotion that goes into uh guiding them for a better future and uh to be as inclusive as possible. We can't praise it enough. Uh that extra position uh the numbers certainly warrant that. They are very high. Will this cover everything you're anticipating for next year? That one position because I was looking at maybe a 1.5 myself for that increase in numbers. >> We're anticipating one um staff member would be supportive especially just we're really looking at our at our younger grades, K1 grades. Yeah. Um that that would be that would be the support that we would need. >> Okay. Thank you. >> And for longterm as well. So, we want to make sure that we're if we we're bringing somebody on board that that this is for a long term.

021>> Yeah. >> Okay. >> Thank you. >> Oh, real quick. I'm sorry. Just >> you don't get away that easy. >> That's not on the regional data slide you mentioned. So, we're at 14% and you mentioned 13% is the state encourages that. What do you mean by that? >> 13. >> Yeah. But like when you say the state encourages I don't understand >> what that >> So, we're always looking to support. So for instance, we're really targeting our early intervention supports. The state encourages the least restrictive environment, meaning as close to general education as possible. So in order to do that, you're providing intense supports now so that as students grow and take in the skills and strategies that they've been taught that they will then be able to be in a in a general

022education atmosphere as or as close as possible, >> right? And so the state encourages around 13% would be your your target, but with our growth um we're also supporting our students. >> Great. Thank you. Thank you both for your money. Yes. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> So I just want to state first I couldn't be more proud of Melissa and Christina. And while Melissa is not new to the district, both are new to their positions this year. And I think just looking at the slide that talks about the growth within our program speaks volumes to the services we're able to offer students. Um I want to point out for every one of these students we educate in district. Many neighboring districts outsource at a much higher cost to taxpayers in the community. If you're

023unable to provide the services inhouse the tuition for some of these students is upwards of hundreds of thousands of dollars per child to send them out of district. And with the highly specialized and skilled teachers and support staff we have here, we're able to meet the needs of many of these students, which is part of the reason why you see the numbers that we see here. I think the fact that 28 students that have already moved into our district this year is a huge um nod to the work that happens here each and every day. The fact that 200 students, of which 98 of them are not kindergarten enrolles, so 98 have moved in from grades 1 through grades 12 speaks volumes to the services that were able to provide these students regardless of whether

024they're classified in special education or not. Um to the staffing point, uh we used to have classes that span three grade levels um for some of these specialized programs to meet the needs of our students. What we've seen recently is those classes have gone from three levels to two levels to even one level. So now we're talking about a small group instructional space for a class of only kindergarteners. And if that trend continues, we will likely see and require an increase in the number of special education staff because rather than one teacher covering those students across three grade levels, we now have that same one teacher covering a single grade level. Um, so I don't want anyone to be surprised if that number continues to grow from 19 3 years ago to 38 last year

025that um that's growth is going to even if it stays at 38 every year moving forward, it's still going to require at least one class for each grade level moving forward. Um the alternative is to pay tuition for these students to go elsewhere, which would cost the district significantly more. So we better we think we can provide a better service for these students. we can keep them with their peers and we can keep our costs as low as possible by continuing to educate them here and that's only made possible because of the work of Melissa and Christina and your staff. So, thank you both. Thank your staff for everything they do and thank you for supporting our students. >> Thank you. >> Okay, our next budget planning presentation is facilities and operations. So, we'd like

026to welcome up Mr. David Spittle. It's going to be a hard act to follow. Do you need the box? Yes or no? >> I brought it in here. >> You're like 6'. I don't think you need >> a little high. >> Yeah, >> it's a little infinity. >> Yeah, I guess I have the technology. I can remove it. Dian. I even got Brian to turn the fan off for a minute. That was text me. Good evening everybody. Uh tonight I'm going to talk. Let me fix this. operations guy should be able to figure this out. There we go. Um, so tonight I'm going to talk about uh energy costs at in the district, specifically sustainable energy initiatives and how they've saved us money um facilities and transportation and building a future of financial strength and

027resilience. So sustainable energy for sustainable schools. Um here I'm going to talk about uh in the um about utilizing existing resources on district properties such as geothermal, solar, and energy conservation measures to reduce CO2 emissions and mitigate the impact of rising energy prices on budgets and uh student programs. So uh the first thing I'm going to talk about is oil use and geothermal savings. then a reduction of CO2 emissions. Uh do a little bit of electricity savings and the budget impact from soaring electricity prices and then a combined uh uh oil and and energy and electricity savings. So this is important. Uh pay attention to this for a minute. I'm going to reference these uh these guideposts in the rest of my presentation is the history of Putinham Valley and the energy uh use we

028use in the buildings here. 1935 the uh elementary school was built with with uh coal fired heat and then switched to oil in the 50s. Uh and then we built the middle school in 1972 and it had uh baseboard electric heat which is the most inefficient and expensive heating system you could use. Uh but I guess it was cheap to install. So then in 1998, uh, a man named Paul Lee was our business official back then, was really a visionary and did a an energy performance contract at the middle school to get rid of that electric baseboard heat and use that savings from getting rid of that uh that uh heating system to pay for geothermal over there. And so he liked the geothermal concept and liked the results of that installation so much that

029when they built this high school in 2000, they decided he decided and the board at that time decided to build this school with geothermal as its as its uh only heating and cooling source. So this campus here uh has never used oil at all. So never has an oil delivery been made here. Um which is pretty cool. uh 19 uh 2018 was the next big move we made uh and as an energy performance contract. We uh put a a lot of uh solar installations. We did LED lighting upgrades throughout the district, a building management system, and uh we reduced electricity demand by about a third. And then we also at the other campus did a a ground source heating uh in other words, a geothermal system at the elementary school. and we were only able

030to afford uh uh 27 wells which gave us about a third o of that school heating and and cooling with geothermal. Um recently the the uh um the the voters in this uh this community approved a bond that is enabling us to do another geothermal project at the elementary school which will uh complete the elementary school and get the entire district off of oil. And we'll also have a uh a solar installation on the wellness center that will also help reduce electricity. So by 2028, I'm hoping 27, but by 2028, Putnham Valley will be uh the first school district in the in the entire country that has 100% geothermal heating and cooling across all bu buildings and achieving zero oil use districtwide. >> I'm I'm sorry. Great. >> I think that's great. I you know,

031I can't It's It's a huge accomplishment. So >> it's good stuff. We're starting to get recognized nationally on that. It's one of the reasons why we got that green ribbon award. So, uh, first I'm going to talk about the oil savings. Uh, and you can see the history of of of those events and how how it affected our oil use here. Um, so I have data back from uh 2010 and from 2010 to 2018 when we did that energy performance contract. This blue line is what the actual use was. But the red line I want which shows uh the the average and it was about 43,000 gallons of oil a year was used at that elementary school uh for heating and that was on average and it goes back back further. Um and then the

032the 2018 EPC we were able to reduce it and you can see the average there. Uh we got it down to about 30,000 gallons a year. the blue line. It would have been better, but u we had the windows open during COVID and that that blew our electric bill, our heating bill up a little bit over there. And um and then you see that big drop in 2728 to zero, which means we're going to use zero oil. Um here's an analysis of the savings. This combines the actual uh oil use with the price. So you see huge uh peaks and valleys here because you have a cold winter and high pricing on oil. Uh one point that real 20 I mean 2015 16 I guess the price per gallon was about a $1.50 something and

033um it was not that cold a winter. Um and then you can see uh prior to that in 2013 it must have been a cold winter and uh and the prices were a little higher anyway. So uh you'll see the savings that red line starts to happen in 2019 when we had the geothermal implementation over there and uh so that that represents the savings and then the red line goes to the top and we'll end up saving um you know uh about $140,000 a year. That that depends on the cost of uh oil. I have it uh at $3.30 as my estimate ongoing uh a gallon. I don't know whether that's conservative or not. They do it does fluctuate, but you can you can uh if it goes down, it'll be less of a savings.

034So, all of my slides here will show a 20-year stretch that goes back to the EPC 2018 and goes forward to uh my predictions um for 20 38 and 39. And so that 20-year stretch, our oil savings from just the elementary school is uh $2 million. Um, so, um, this had me thinking about, uh, what the, uh, savings from the middle school and high school geothermal installations would have been. So, what I did was I took the, uh, the gallons used per square foot per year at the elementary school because we we actually had another building that was just on oil in the same climate across town here. And I figured, well, if we if we see how many gallons per square foot per year the elementary school used, which at 43,000 gallons a year,

035and applied that to the other schools, we can figure out how much oil uh we would have used here. Does that make sense? >> Um, so here here we go. This is fun stuff. Um, the the uh on the bottom here, the 67,000T elementary school average 43,000 gallons a year. And if we apply that same math to the middle school, we would have used uh uh 41,000 gallons because that's a slightly smaller building. And to the high school would use 164,000 gallons a year. The district would have used $189,000 $189,000 gallons of oil a year um on average. And uh that savings over that same uh period of time uh 2018 through uh 2039 um would would be about $12 million. Uh $623,000 a year we save uh by not burning oil in this district.

036So I made this slide for you Sam. Um, so, uh, so I wanted to see, you know, from a pollution standpoint, what this would do, uh, and what that oil savings would would, uh, deliver for us. So I looked it up on AI, which is a little ironic, uh, right now. Um, but and we, um, that 189,000 gallons of oil uh, would have produced approximately 4.2 2 million pounds or uh 1920 metric tons of CO2, which is equivalent to taking 800 gasoline buses off the road. So, wow. >> Um 16 times more effective in reducing CO2 emissions than if we took all of our buses and converted them uh took them and converted them to electric. So, that's pretty cool. >> I I I like I like the savings this way. I do. keep those

037electric buses >> Yeah. >> in Albany. >> I knew I knew you would, Sam. Um and uh and we'd still need air conditioning because the uh the oil just heats it, right? It doesn't doesn't cool us. So, um so again, an ironic AI uh use here. No, this wasn't the AI. Yeah, it was. Um, so th this was the um the the law that went in effect in September of 25 that schools have to uh take uh action if the temperature in a classroom is above 82 and can't teach in a class if it's above 88. And in Putham Valley, we never have to deal with this because our geothermal besides providing the heat also provides cooling. And a lot of schools around uh the state are scrambling with chillers and and air conditioning units

038and and windows and huge uh capital investments to to meet this mandate and be able to teach their kids when it gets to be that hot. And uh so this is that and I I also think I know there's studies out there. I haven't done enough research that um I I I believe it's true that that students uh and and teachers will perform better in a comfortable environment if it's not not 85 degrees in in the classroom. Uh now I'm going to talk about uh oh here some people will ask so if you switch away from oil to geothermal does that increase the amount of electricity you use? So I did the math backwards on this. I said okay well we have a case study. We have two schools that used uh geothermal uh for

039many years while another school uh used electricity and um was able to figure out that yeah the high school and middle school did use more electricity per square foot than the elementary school because it was on on oil. Um but it's a very small amount. It was about 10 or 15% more uh per year in electric use for these schools than than the elementary school. So, I I did that math and and really uh converting the elementary school completely from scratch. We did a third and now we're the other two/3s. Um is going to increase our electric use by about 50,000 kilowatts. Sounds like a lot. It's about $10,000 a year, which is nothing compared to the the savings we're realizing on oil, right? >> Um so now the electric use. So here's our electric

040use and I did the electric use as a districtwide deal um because the bills I get about 30 bills in and they're very confusing. So I just took the the total uh kilowatts in that so I didn't break it down by building. Um so we before the energy performance contract going back to 20145 um we were using about 3.3 million 3.2 million kilowatts a year districtwide. Uh that red line is what what I believe we would have used without any of our energy saving uh um efforts. And so after the EPC, it really was a dramatic effect on our electric draw here. Uh we reduced it to about 2.2 million. You can see there's a little spike there in 2122. Um, I'd like to blame COVID, but it also we did have a um uh

041which had a little effect on it, I think, but um really we also added a 14,000 square foot wellness center and added 4,000 square ft to the uh middle school in that project. Uh and that and that heating, lighting, and cool heating, cooling, and lighting that space uh cost some money. So, and increase the electric use there. Um and then but but we did get it back down to a level. So, we're about a million kilowatts uh uh reduction from where we would have been if we didn't do any of those savings measures. You can see in I have this wellness center solar. It's going to produce about 240,000 kilowatts a year. Uh the 14,000 7,000 foot uh solar installation we're doing on the wellness center. And then you can see that little tiny bump

042up is where the geothermal from the elementary school that increase uh kicks in there and then it should average what I what I show here which is about 2.3 until we get some other stuff done and then we can reduce this further and drag that blue line down further. Um so I wanted to look up uh so that's all the good news. So I'm going to give you some bad news here, right? Um, so I looked up uh what the uh NICEG rates were going to be for 2026 because I did notice and I I know I've I've talked to Jeremy and the board a little bit about uh dramatic increases in electric pricing and what that does to our operational budgets at the school and uh next year they're predicting NIC uh rates to

043go up by 23.7%. Um, this comes from mainly the delivery. There's a supply and delivery. The delivery uh expense per kilowatt is just been skyrocketing lately for a lot of reasons that we're not going to debate tonight. Um, so here is the the uh price per kilowatt. Uh, now going back 20 this is what we actually paid uh to date here. Now going back 20145 when I got here in 2017 we were able to negotiate a deal with uh Constellation uh to aggregate and buy electricity uh with with other folks and and got that locked in at about 11 cents a kilowatt hour. Um and then um I still have that contract but it's just for uh supply. The delivery is the one that's exploding and I can't control it. So this is what's happened.

044Uh we went from 11 cents a kilowatt hour to 16 then 18 then 20 and this uh and this next year I I have it at 24 that that takes into uh that that 23% increase that I showed on the last slide that takes that into effect. Then after that I don't know I'm not an energy markets expert but I I feel like we're going to have uh continued increases with the AI data centers and such. So I I I'm projecting a 5% annual increase in in price per kilowatt after that. Uh so uh this stretch that we're in right now is 120% increase. And I know folks at home are feeling this on your electric bills. Um but when when a school district uh with this many square feet uh um heating and cooling

045and everything else, it's it's a big number and you're going to see it. Um so here you are. Uh this is the actual uh these are the actual bills on the blue line that we paid per year in electric costs. I don't know if you guys can see it that well. Um but and I can't with my without my glasses. Um but we were we were at about uh 397 400,000 uh until we did the EPC and reduced that. Uh that combined with the 11 cents uh uh kilowatt um got us down to about $226,000 a year in electric costs, it was a little over $100,000 a year savings that was produced by that EPC, the the solar and all that stuff. Um then as you can see as the as the pricing per kilowatt

046increases, I mean the good news for sustainable energy is that the savings increases, but um but the bill also increases, right? So, we're we're at a point now where we do have a savings of about 150,000. We're going to be up to about $250,000 a year from our energy savings. Um, but we'll see the the actual bills increase from where u from where they were around $200,000 uh to about $600,000 a year. Um, so it's about a $400,000 a year increase. Um, and that's it's a big deal. So that I see that like four teachers, right? So um so I wanted to share this with you and that's that's what I'm projecting uh this this increase over time and thank god we did all that stuff otherwise we'd we'd be looking at you know $900,000

047bills here, million dollar bills. Um, this is the the funnest slide of all for me. Uh, because this this adds up all of the uh all of the savings from the geothermal at the three schools and all of our electricity savings. You can see the the green is the electricity savings that just um, you know, increased starting in 2018 with the EPC. Um, and then the uh, you can see the the oil savings at the the high school and the middle school um, as well. And the same 20-year period that I talked about in the prior slides, um, from, uh, 201819 to 2038, um, this is an $18 million, uh, savings over 20 years. We're going to be saving a million dollars a year because of our sustainable sustainable energy efforts in Putham Valley um,

048ongoing. So, I think that's pretty cool. So, that's that's my favorite. So, it it more than pays for all that. uh um in investments in the energy infrastructure here. So my conclusions this is these are these are opinions here. Um that was all facts. Uh Putnham Valley Central School District has made great strides in reducing its environmental impact and energy costs establishing Putin Valley is a national leader in implementing sustainable energy strategies. Uh Putnham Valley has locked in tremendous energy cost savings and a huge reduction in CO2 emissions. future benefits of which will redown to the community with millions of dollars in district's operational cost savings, cleaner air quality, and reduced demand on the electric grid. Despite these achievements, skyrocketing electricity prices are creating an unsustainable increases in our operating budget, risking higher local tax

049burdens, and threatening student educational programs. Um, these are my ideas. I'm sure there's other ones out there, but I thought that I'd share um that, you know, there's been talk of capping increases in in electricity uh costs per kilowatt at a state level um because of all these dramatic increases. I think that school districts because we have to bear the burden of these increases in our operational um budgets and um it really will either affect the taxpayers or the students or both. um then they should cap the the price that they charge uh schools on on electricity. I'm saying 10 cents a kilowatt. And they should also um incentivize school districts uh that reduce energy demand u on their properties and um to promote both clean energy and reduce uh demand on the grid, which

050is what's one of the things that's increasing everybody's uh uh uh uh prices at their in their homes. Um, and of course, uh, that won't get done because I don't have a lot to say. Um, and, um, but, uh, we can continue to act locally and as part of our ongoing efforts here, we want to invest in more local energy production on school property. Um, I obviously have some ideas for some rooftop solar at the at the elementary school. Um, solar canopies, we'll see. And, uh, some battery storage, some other ideas in the future. And I talk with our HVAC guy, uh, Carrie, um, all the time about energy savings measures here without making it uncomfortable for folks. Um, we we on a snow day, we we shut it down. We take when it's cold

051at night, we we shut all the outside air off. Uh, we're do we're doing occupancy sensors for not just lighting, but we're trying to do that in sections of the building for heat as well. So, we're really um also uh trying to drive down uh with everything possible drive down our our costs of energy here. >> And David, before you you move on, >> that's that's it for the energy stuff. So, yeah. >> Yeah. Pertaining to this the solar canopies, we we've talked about that before with the parking lot being redone this year through the capital uh projects >> uh that the community passed. Are you investigating those solar? >> We did. What happened was the I I had a lot of folks out here looking at that and I actually had a what I

052thought it was even a better idea to put a huge solar canopy like the one at Croin's train station. Do you see that one down there? Like that over the um >> over the uh the parking lot at the transportation building because it's kind of out of the way and if it's unsightly a little bit over that parking lot. Uh what happened though and we also looked at it out here in front of this school. Um but um the cost of the steel to support those solar panels became uh cost prohibitive right now >> and and it just we couldn't add it into we we talked about it with our committee on the capital projects and and it really >> there's more there were more important things to do with the money. So but believe

053me I still have some it's on the drawing board still. >> Yeah. >> I'm working we'll get it. I think that's a good way to incorporate, you know, um the solar energy into the community and also your buildings. The canopy, they they use that a lot in Massachusetts. I've been up there in New Hampshire. They're all over the place. Yeah. You know, and >> you know, our our parking lots are here though, they're also a little close to the schools, so visually, you know, I don't like, >> you know, visual stuff. I drive me crazy. The place needs to look beautiful, too. Sam, >> thank you. >> So, yeah. No, thank you. Any other questions on the energy uh stuff? >> Nice job. >> All right. Thank you. Um, so just quickly, uh, our transportation

054team uh, the district, as you know, we have a hybrid system and the district has uh, 206 FTEEs. Um, that includes office, personnel, drivers, and monitors. And then we have a a contract bus company that has about 40 drivers and eight monitors. Uh we we with our drivers and monitors, most of what we do are the out of district uh placements uh with special needs uh students and that and uh the monitors obviously are on those buses to support uh those students and um and that. So um they've been doing a really really good job. um this Beacon mobility app. We wanted to just remind folks that this is uh an option if it's uh minus 10° outside. Uh you want to see when the bus is actually going to get there so you can

055get notified when it's a/4 mile from your house so you can run out there then. Um and you would need uh to have a um to apply for this app, you need to have a cell phone number that's in our system in P school uh related to a student here. So, you can't just spy on our buses if you're not one of our parents. >> And hear a lot of positive uh feedback on this uh Beacon Mo mobile mobility. >> I don't hear any negative, which is great. >> No, in my area of uh Birch Hills Lane, uh you know, the parents use that all the time. >> Oh, wonderful. Good. >> They love it. Really, you know, they're able to park their car, especially in a bad day, really cold day, so be there

056when the bus arrives, right? And they use that app to time it. >> That's great. So, I'm glad it's being used and I'm uh I'm glad people like it. So, you can uh you know go to the this will be on the website and you want to want to grab these uh this app or you can just go on your app uh search for BC family in your in your app store there and get that. Um this was Monday. >> So that's behind >> this behind the elementary school. those tours, too. That's in in the side of the elementary school. Ray took those. These guys, uh you can see them in the back. They're working in the dark. That was Monday night after the as soon as the snow quit, these guys come in. I

057just wanted to show you what uh you know, I know for me, cuz I wasn't I wasn't here. But I just just getting out of my uh my driveway and my shoveling my walk was was backbreaking. So, you can imagine that they just I just want to uh tip my hat to these uh this this crew uh our operations team here that just uh just worked their tails off to get this place in shape um and get it safe for for everybody. But I think the these pictures uh I'm going to save these because I don't know if we're ever going to have this much snow again. >> Hopefully. >> Um so, uh this is our operations team here. Um again this is the same as it's been as far as the number of FTEs

058for a long time. Uh you know for like last uh seven or eight years. So I'm not we're not having anymore no changes here and they do a great job. We have a great culture. We're um promoting uh you know from within and really having some new hires um that are really um doing great and as as folks retire um we're able to um advance uh people in their careers here and it's it's really fantastic. So um speaking of that >> yeah it's Carl's last day tomorrow so we're going to miss him just >> tomorrow. >> Yeah. >> Oh wow. >> Yeah. Just wanted to recognize Carl. He's a pillar of the community besides working here for 32 years and uh just a friendly face and a sweet sweetheart of a man. Um I always

059walk away from every interaction with him usually shaking my head a little bit but with a smile on my face for sure cuz he's he's so great. And he also besides working here before he worked here for 32 years he worked at the town hall and he did serve um on the volunteer fire department. He still does forever, right? You know, since uh since he's 10, I think. So, uh so yeah, I just wanted to recognize Carl. He's done a done a really great job for us. >> And that's it. Any questions? >> Well, and I will say all of your staff does an amazing job. Like really like they take this they they take such good care of this building, all the buildings. Um they really do a beautiful job. So, >> agreed. Thank

060you guys. Like for example, this room is 25 years old, correct? >> Yeah. >> Most people think it's like 5 years old. >> I mean, they do they do a great job with the stamped operations and the grounds and everything. So, thank you. And thank you for the detail. I know it's a lot to put together, but it just shows your passion and uh >> um just our overall savings and for the community. So, thank you. And David, your uh your cost savings for the electricity, especially the oil, because that Yeah. not not a good thing. Uh very impressive. And I I know that you spearhead that. >> Look, it's I I Okay. Yeah. I've been obviously passionate about it and spearheading it, but you know, it was boards of education back in the 90s

061who had the the vision to to invest in Paul Lee. >> Paul Lee pushed that. you know, I my hats off to him, you know, because uh you know, he gave us a great foundation of sustainable energy uh to work from and uh and and we just uh th this board and prior boards just just picked that ball up and and and kept running with it. So >> yeah, >> and oil right now uh you know, you were talking about 330 a gallon. >> I I just paid 3.94. >> Oh, did you? I should have I should have made the savings more. I should have predicted five other than Yeah. Yeah. So, >> so go ahead. >> I ju I just want to call out to Carl also because he's was here when my kids

062went to school and I don't know what it's going to be like to walk in the elementary school and I have him there. >> I know. >> Congratulations to Carl. >> Carl's also. >> So, >> yeah. >> Um, he promised he'll come back as a sub. Don't worry, we'll see him. >> I still see him. >> Good. >> So, I did want to thank Dave for his tremendous leadership over his department. Um, I know he he probably quickly brushed over it, but our energy savings and the work that we've done here has now grown to not only state but national attention. Uh, because of Dave's work accompanied with others, uh, Button Valley was recognized as a green ribbon school um, which is extremely hard to attain. We were one of two schools in the state

063to receive that recognition. Is that last year? Uh, we were invited up to the state education department. We were to a board of regents meeting. we got to meet with the commissioner and it was really a huge accomplishment and I know through that award we began to receive outreach from across the nation looking for information on how we were able to achieve what we were able to achieve. Um so as usual leading from the front and I know that Dave was recently featured in a publication dedicated to sustainable energy and savings in schools and I don't know if you wanted to talk a little bit more about it. I don't know if it's even public yet. I well there was an article published nationally uh that uh they interviewed me while I was doing this

064work on this presentation. So um I was really into it and gave them the data and they were excited. So they they featured Putin Valley as one of um you know about seven or eight schools around the country that uh that that did some work on this and then uh that that report was published in February and then um uh and then since then some people read that report. I got interviewed. I came in during the snow on Tuesday when you guys were all home. Um but I was here um working and and we had um uh I got interviewed for about an hour from a national uh um editor of of another publication and and that is they decided after the interview um that not only would they were just going to highlight Putin

065Valley as as one of the the um uh one of the schools that did some good work on sustainable energy, but after the conversation uh she decided that she was just going to write a a an article just about Putinham and what we do here. So, looking forward to that coming out and I think we'll get some traction and and and not notoriety on a national level. I I think it's happening. So, I'm very excited about that. >> Great. >> Good. >> So, one other highlight just for Dave's staff, I know a couple years ago, um which happens often, we have other school districts come to visit our schools, whether it be for our programs, our schedule, our facilities. Um, but the school district was here for our facilities. And on their way out, the

066director of facilities for this other school district had somehow found out that I was the superintendent. So, he went out of his way to grab me in the hallway. And this is someone who does this for a living. And he stopped me, introduced himself. I had no idea who he was. And he just said, "I want to let you know that this is the cleanest, most wellput together building I have ever seen in my professional career. and I would never believe it's 25 years old. So, that to me is just a resounding statement to the commitment and dedication of our buildings and ground staff and for what they're able to do to this building to maintain um its condition. So, I do want to recognize them as well as Dave. Thank you very much. >>

067Thank you, Dave. >> Okay. Um, before we do student reports, is there anything you'd like to comment on on either of the presentations, either the special ed or the facilities? Because we we didn't stop to ask you if you had anything to say. >> They said they're happy they air conditioning work. >> I mean, I love the Rice Kids. That's all. I >> I'm always with them. They're great. I love that program. >> Yeah. >> Nice. >> Good. >> Okay. So, you want to do your report? Sure. Um, we don't have a whole lot to report on since we just had February break, but I noticed everyone was really well rested today and tan, so I'm jealous. >> Welcome back to school. >> Yeah, but girls wrestling is at states today and I'm sure they're

068doing amazing. And cheerleading has sectionals this Saturday, which is really exciting. >> Nice. >> Would you know when the Aspire presentation's going to be or Dr. Luff, would you know? I know they they weren't able to do it because of the snow day. >> Yeah. or marine. >> Okay. >> No update yet. >> It hasn't been rescheduled yet. >> Okay. Okay. >> We We'll be informed when that will happen. Correct. >> I'll make sure of it. >> Okay. Thank you. Thank you. >> He'll call you personally. >> Yeah. >> Okay. >> Who did the uh snow closing? >> Either. >> You did the snow. >> I did the first one. Sophia did the second one. >> Yeah. Yeah, they they would >> you'll never guess who's doing the next one. >> No, no offense to

069you, Dr. But the next one. There's not going to be next one. >> They could jump on the call at 4:30 in the morning if they want. >> Yeah. >> Okay. >> They're only volunteering if you say it the night before. >> Okay. >> Uh Okay. So, um the superintendent's report. >> All right. Good evening everyone. Uh similar to the ladies, there's not a tremendous to report since uh I hope everyone safely found their way back to school today after not being here for almost two weeks. Um but I did want to recognize the four girls that are up wrestling at states right now as well as both our boys and girls basketball teams had sectional games this evening and so we wish them the best of luck along with our cheerleaders which are upcoming.

070Um, we Barbara and myself have attended or will attend numerous advocacy events with Assembly Person Levenberg, State Senator Harkham, as well as an upcoming one with Senator Rolles. It's an our opportunity to really advocate for uh changes to the legislation for budget uh priorities to be made for school districts. Obviously, the more money we can get from the state and the more relief we can get from the state, the less we have to ask our taxpayers for. So, a lot of the work focuses on that. We want increases in state aid. We want equitable funding. And we want to preserve public education. So, those are great opportunities. We're thankful for the legislators and senators to make it uh make themselves available to us. And that work will continue tomorrow. For the last one, I know

071there's been a lot of talk in the community about the senior tax exemptions. I wanted to talk a little bit about that. Um, well, first I'm proud to announce that Putnham Valley currently has a 50% senior tax reduction, a maximum amount, and that is something that will continue moving forward. Uh, in a meeting this morning, I spoke with fellow superintendents from around the region, and I'm happy to report that Putin Valley is on pace to be the first district or one of the first to approve the newly proposed senior tax exemption. Um, no other district in the region had reported even approving and many have not even started having conversations about this. A quick little background. On December 6th, uh, Governor Hokll announced this new tax exemption, much to our surprise. Uh, there was no

072warning it was coming. It simply arrived as a press release. Our very dedicated, uh, public board meeting attendee, Mr. Joe Ferrara, brought it to our attention on December 11th, 5 days after the governor announced it. And our outreach and communication began on December 12th is when we started emailing the town of Putnham Valley to seek the information that would we needed to do uh our analysis to determine what the actual impact would be for those who maybe are not involved. Uh just a quick summary, the senior tax exemption based upon income levels determines a percentage of an individual's assessed value of their home that they will not be taxed on, but it is not a savings to the community. What it is is a tax redistribution. So while the seniors, rightfully so, receive a discount

073on their taxes, that discount is paid for by the other community members who do not qualify for that exemption. So it's not a break. It's not like the state's cutting us a check and making up the difference. We're all for that. If we can get that to happen. So, I don't know, Sam, if you don't want the state. If they want to pay for the senior citizen tax exemption, we would appreciate that rather than us do it. No. No. Um, but it's a great thing and it's something that we're happy to do. We do it for our veterans. We do it for our first responders. We do it for our senior citizens. All the individuals that deserve a break. And that redistribution is paid for by the other community members. So while a public board

074has to approve this resolution for the senior senior tax exemption, it is imperative that we know what the impact will be on the rest of the taxpaying community. And that's the work that we are currently undergoing to be able to provide an informed opinion as to what the impact of this redistribution will be not just on the senior citizens that'll be savings a saving, but on the rest of the community that'll be paying for that savings. Um so while I fully expect it to happen um it is we're not ready for it right now. We're actually still uh wait awaiting the data so we could do our analysis but we have requested in writing as well as on a phone call for the town of Putham Valley to grant us an extension. That extension would

075allow us to meet our filing deadline for this upcoming tax year and there would be no delay in implementing it, but would provide us the time to do an actual analysis as to what the impact would be on all taxpayers within the community. So, while we're hopeful that the town will be able to grant us that extension, we'll be able to have the time necessary to receive the data we need to do our analysis so the board can make an informed decision. And when that is all done, Putnham Valley will once again be at the forefront and leader in the neighborhood in the region by being the first school district to pass this new exemption. Moving on, I did want to quickly uh recognize that we have used six snow days, three of them this

076week. Um so that has essentially exhausted all of our calendared snow days, although there is some debate as to how Monday will be treated. Um, but I did more so rather than focus on the snow days, I do want to recognize the efforts of the district and town staff during these days. I live close enough where I have the ability and I kind of like driving in the snow um to go over and visit our campuses during snow days. Um, they were there for about 10 hours before I arrived on Monday and there was still feet of snow across the parking lot. Um, many had been there from before it was light and they had worked non-stop for the duration of the day because they take great pride in our ability to open our schools.

077And I know that our town highway department does as well. I know for a fact as I was at the high school middle school campus, there was a town plow truck stuck on its essentially on a 45°ree angle on foothill nearly tipped over. Um, and it just was a reminder of the hazards that these individuals face as they're plowing this narrow, steep, and dark roads of Putnham Valley to try to get us to reopen. So, while it was unfortunate we had to use three snow days this week, we made every effort possible to get into school cuz we don't want to use those snow days if we don't need to. But, I don't want to think that it was not for the efforts of our staff as well as the town staff. doing everything possible

078to get our roads clear, our parking lots clear, our sidewalks clear so that we could resume to uh construction as we normally do. >> Dr. Lope, what what's the impact on vacation days or anything like that? So far, zero because we had six snow days budgeted, but >> but now we're reaching the point where we either need to transition to remote instruction days, which I'm in conversations with the teachers union regarding what that would look like, or we would start to lose vacation days moving forward. Thank you. Some of the upcoming events, uh, we have our young artist night that was originally scheduled for Tomkins Cultural Center, uh, because of the massive amounts of snow and lack of parking has been moved here to the performing arts center. So that's on February 28th, young artist

079night sponsored by the Putnham Valley Education Foundation. Our science research students have their practice night schedules from March 4th. If you want to be blown away by high school students, I encourage anyone in the community to attend. You would be amazed that high school students are essentially doing doctorate level uh research as juniors and seniors. March 13th, our elementary school musical, Schoolhouse Rock, and March 20th, 21st, and 22nd, our middle school musical, Once Upon a Mattress. And that's it. Thank you. Um, >> did we also had a swimmer go to States? >> Yes. Okay. Uh, Reswicki went to States, but I don't know if he raced or not yet. I'll have to find that out. We don't know how the girls did the wrestling. Yes. >> I mean, I do, but Okay. But >> you're

080not going to tell us. >> Delina Grits finished fourth in New York State for her weight class. >> Nice. >> So, the others uh battled strong, but did not finish on top, but Delina, I know, did finish fourth. I was getting updates throughout the day from our athletic director. And if we're really want to be a Buzzkill, uh both the boys and girls basketball teams lost their sectional games this evening. Sorry. >> Okay. >> Thank you. >> Okay. Um under new business, the first um action item, please. >> Yes. Resolved on the recommendation of the superintendent of schools to accept the resignation of Christina Turner from a position as teacher aid effective February 13, 2026. to accept the position as teaching assistant previously appointed at the board's meeting of uh February 12th, 2026. Excuse me.

081As per document 14426 attached to the agenda and official minutes of this meeting. >> Second. >> Questions or comments? All in favor? >> I opposed extensions. The resolution passes number two, please. >> All right. Whereas the board of education board has received notice that several attorneys who have served as council to the district through SHA, Perilson, May, and Lambert LLP will be departing that firm during the period December 31st, 2025 through March 31st, 2026. And whereas the board recognizes that under the New York rules of professional conduct, the district has the exclusive right to select its legal counsel and to determine whether to continue representation with Shaw, Perilson, May, and Lambert LLP or transition representation to other council. And whereas the board has reviewed its option and determined that it is in the best interest

082of the district to appoint Keen and Bean PC to serve as legal counsel for the district. And now therefore be it resolved that effective April 1st 2026 the rights and obligations of Shaw Parlson May and Lambert pursuant to the retainer agreement presently in effect be terminated and be it further resolved that the board of education of the Putham Valley Central School District hereby appoints Keen and Bean PC as legal counsel for the district effective April 1st 2026 subject to the execution of an engagement letter or retainer agreement in a form acceptable to the superintendent and board president. And be it further resolved that the board authorizes and directs the superintendent and district administration to immediately take all necessary steps to ensure an orderly transition of all relevant legal matters including the transfer of files, records,

083and work product from Shaw Perilson May and Lambert LLP to Keen and Bean PC consistent with applicable laws, regulations, and professional obligations. >> Second. >> Questions or comments? All in favor? I opposed abstensions. The resolution passes. >> Okay. I'd like to open it now for public comment on any topic. >> Hi, good evening. My name is Patty Villanova. Um, I live in Lookout Manor. I'd like to comment on the uh senior citizen exemption and to address some of the inaccuracies that uh Dr. Lu just said. Uh first of all, maybe with all the money that you're saving with the electricity, you could put that towards uh the the tremendous cost it's going to be for the senior exemption. Um you know, Mr. Lu, I can't wait until you're a senior and you what you're the

084way you put that was so demeaning and insulting. Why are you pitting one part of this community against another? But let me get to the truth of the matter. You even admitted that you started you found out about this in December. You bragged about it. Your absolute deadline for this for the for uh this to be done is March 1st. This is the last possible meeting. The town cannot give you an exemption. That date, those state dates are statemandated. Okay. There is no the town cannot give you an exemption. The other thing was that Miss uh Mrs. Parmaly, you said something about that there was a law that requires 5 days and you can't vote tonight. First of all, this should have been done months ago instead of waiting till the very last minute because

085it's clear you just don't want to do it. And just to be um accurate, the senior citizen exemption is one of hundreds of exemptions. There are people in the town of Putnham Valley who get exemptions or discounts on their taxes. They include uh volunteer firefighters. They include veterans. They include people with disabilities. the state of New York. I mean, the list, if you look up exemptions, it's amazing that anyone pays any taxes. However, unlike the senior citizen exemption, those other exemptions are not means tested. Okay? The senior exemption is the only exemption that is strictly means-ested, narrowly focused, and limited to a very small number of homeowners who are least able to absorb these skyrocketing taxes. Before you claim that this will be a burden on the other taxpayers, let's be honest, you don't even

086know yet what the fiscal impact is. But we do know it is not in the mill millions. And in a district with a budget of over 60 million, the cost of helping a handful of low-income seniors to stay in their homes is negligible, especially when compared to the long-term benefits. Seniors are a bargain for the district. We require few services and we do not have children in the district. I know that if I move out of my house, a family will no doubt move in with children. There's no doubt about it. I have a fair a goodsized house. Those children will be a cost to the taxpayers of way more than whatever little amount that you're that you are going that I'm going to get deducted from my taxes. This isn't just sound fiscal policy.

087It's it's stability for the community. Um it shows there will be steadier uh budget. There's stronger neighborhoods. There's a lot of things um that that this does. But to set up to set this up as somehow the seniors if you give us this little you already it's not even going to cost that much more. I mean you already have 50% as the top tier. going to go 15% more to 65%. Um, with all I mean this district you spend money like last year you were going to spend $700,000 on one room and you really are not even embarrassed that you're going to quibble about this. You deliberately waited until the last minute to have this meeting tonight. It wasn't on any of the agendas. Okay. And Mr. Alavario, you said you were going to you

088were going to get on this. >> I have. >> We have Okay. We have been what's is the problem? I mean why do you why do you want to treat seniors like this? Someday you guys are going to you think you don't get get old. I mean really I guess so you know you really are doing a disservice. You waited until the last minute. There is no there is no uh um extension of time. It's statemandated. So in effect what you did was you took a political way out. I guess you figure those people will vote for you or your budget or whatever and you instead you demean the seniors. It's really disgraceful, Mr. Loft. It really is. And uh but I guess you know that's kind of what I can anyway. Uh so you

089know that's it. We you're not going to do it basically. It's too late. So So just for a matter of public record, I will correct the inaccuracies that were just stated. Uh each local municipality determines the date. The town of Putnham Valley, the date is March 1st. The town of Kartland Courtland is May 1st. So actually, if the board did approve it, it would it would benefit the Courtland town senior citizens that qualify. Um towns do have the ability to extend the deadline. Uh that's a matter of legal opinion of the district and it is not a statemandated deadline referenced by the fact that different towns have different deadlines for when it's due. for specifically the town of Courtland is May 1st as is many of the other communities within the town. Um, regarding the

090not the thought that the district uh is too cheap to pay for this. Um, it's a matter of fact this cost the district zero dollars. The district does not pay a penny more if the senior citizens are granted this exemption. It is also a matter of fact that any dollar savings that the seniors receive is paid for by other taxpayers. So that's not pitting one side of the community versus the others. It's simply stating effect, right? The tax savings for one group becomes the tax burden on the other group and in no way referenced it not being appropriate. In fact, Putnham Valley is what can I you had you had your chance. Putnham Valley was one of the first in the region to reach the maximum of 50% deduction. U so if the district had

091no interest in benefiting our seniors, why would we have that? There's other districts that are still struggling to even get to the 50% that's already existing here in Putin Valley. And as I said before, it is my belief that Putin Valley will be the first district in the entire region to reach the 65% threshold. While maybe not on your timeline, we'll still be the first in the region. So again, speaks to the fact that this board is dedicated and this district is dedicated to finding any opportunity we can to benefit the seniors who we are greatly thankful. We look at the statistics every year when we vote and the reality is our voters age 55 and older overwhelmingly represent the most votes cast and over which means that they vote in favor of our school

092budget year after year because that voting block if they voted it down they have such a substantial share of votes that no other age group would be able to overwhelm them. So, we are greatly appreciative of the seniors that live in this community and they are the ones who make sure that our budgets are passed and make sure that we're able to sustain our programs. And again, that's a statement of fact because we know that the number of voters we have aged in that group. So, um, while I appreciate you coming to speak, the facts do matter. So, I want to make sure for a matter of public record that those facts are in fact out there. Thank you. Oh, sorry. And I do have the two legal opinions, volume five of the uh of

093the council uh volume number two and eighth volume of the council volume number 8 number 84 were both provided by our legal attorneys that speak to the legal requirement for the district to have a 5-day hearing. And I'll make sure that Miss Parmley sends those along to you so you can reference where that came from. Fun times. Fun times. Um, on the senior exemption, >> your name, please. >> I'm sorry, Joe Ferraro. Um, wearing multiple hats right this second. Uh I wanted to mention uh I I think um and I I don't know that the legalities of what a school district or municipality have to do for uh somebody to apply for though obviously every the deadline in Pton Valley right now is apply for the exemptions is March 1st. um doesn't mean that the

094I I don't know that it means that the district can't alter what it what those deductions actually are after the application because you still have to provide the same exact information to for the 65% as you would for the 50%. Um, I do think we're looking at, uh, if I understand correctly, uh, from when I went to a town board meeting recently, about 200 or so seniors qualify for any of those discounts. Um, >> I believe our number last year was 147. >> So, of that, the the the lowest income string, you're probably talking a few dozen. Uh so the impact is is on and again it's I won't say only but it is the 15% additional discount on on on on that. Uh so I I do hope that this all gets ironed out

095and put to bed. Um with my other hat, this is going to probably not be the best timing. Um, but I'm now wearing the hat of the president of the Putnham Valley Library and I'm here to share the Puth Valley Library Board has adopted its 2627 budget totaling $624,466 supported by a proposed $514,500 tax levy in accordance with section 259, the New York State Education Law. In accordance with this statute, we will petition the community to place a separate library proposition on the May ballot alongside the school district budget and trustee vote. For the average homeowner, the impact is roughly a $7 increase for the 2627 budget year, about 58 cents per month. Over the past year, aligned with our mission to be a hub of creativity, connection, and community, the library has continued to

096serve not only as a place for reading and learning, but also as a true community anchor, supporting students, remote workers, seniors, families, and many quiet users depend on a stable, welcoming public space. As we shared in recent updates, foot traffic remains strong, programming keeps expanding, and communities use of our spaces remain steady. Additionally, our community room is about to open and brand new, and is amazing. Um, this budget funds staffing, maintains our facilities, supports expanded Wednesday morning hours, and ensures ongoing programming materials and community space for residents of all ages. As always, we'll continue to be responsible stewards of this community asset and remain committed to transparency throughout the process. In addition to our monthly board meetings, which are live streamed on Zoom, we will hold dedicated sessions to discuss the budget and voting details

097in the weeks before the May vote. These sessions will give residents many chances to learn about the library or programs or services. And this proposal, this proposal simply allows the voters of Putna Valley to decide how they wish to sustain a shared civic institution that supports students, families, and lifelong learners alike. The library and the school district serve different roles, but we are united in purpose, strengthening this community through access to knowledge, opportunity, and connection. We appreciate the long-standing partnership and look forward to working together to ensure a smooth, transparent ballot process. The community can learn more about more at putnhamaval library.org or for any specific questions, I can be reached by email at trusteesputnhamal library.org. Thank you and good evening. >> Thanks, Joe. I have to apologize because I misspoke and because as I

098stated before, facts do matter. So this is our current year. We have 147 senior citizens that received the 50% discount. So it's really that group that we do not know who would stay at 50, who would go up to 65 and where they would fall cuz we don't have individual income information for those 147. We have eight people at 40%, two at 35, two at 30, four at 20, two at 15, one at 10, and two at 5%. So, it's a total of 168 uh residents received the senior citizen discount with 147. The first number I gave is just those receiving the 50%. So, for anyone who's following along, it's what happens to those 147 because we don't have names and incomes for those 147 people. That's information we've requested. Um, we don't know how

099many of those 147 will go up to 65 and how many will stay at 50 and how many will go to 60. So that's the information that we're trying to ascertain so that we can be transparent with the community before the board votes on that decision. And that's something that we are hopeful to have that information in the very near future. >> Thank you. >> Okay. Oh, >> I just wanted to share some positive feedback if that's okay. My name is Allison Hey. I'm a parent at the middle. I have a kid in the middle school. Um, so I really appreciate both of the presentations tonight. Uh, Mrs. Estraa and the special ed team. We appreciate all the services that you provide to our children as well as Dave and the facilities team. Um, these

100clean energy upgrades are extremely important in improving the indoor and outdoor uh, air quality of not only our students but our community as a whole. And so I really appreciate the forethought and we are the envy of many other districts in New York as well as the nation as a whole. So thank you. >> Thank you. Thank you very much. >> Thank you. >> Uh, one of the things um, you forgot on your list is that we has occurred over the since we met last was we met with the representatives from the town board. Mr. Brooks is here and we met with Miss Jolker and um, it was a really productive meeting. We want to continue to work with the town um, to support one another. um they were very gracious um and it was

101a really nice meeting. So, we really appreciate you and we appreciate that you're here um at our meeting. Um okay, any other public comments? Um board member comments? >> Yeah, as this board will well, you know, knows very well, I'm um very much in favor of the senior exemption. Very much in favor of it. Uh these are individuals who have worked hard all their lives to be in their forever home. And these increasing taxes that they face every single year, every single year they don't go down. They keep going up could drive them from the place that they love after having worked and raised a family here for many many years. I I I get very emotional about this uh because I know many of these people. I grew up with them and uh this

102exemption provides that opportunity for them to stay in that forever home. Without that exemption, many of these individuals on that list of 168 would not be able to stay in Putham Valley. I'm also a realist though and having conferred with three separate school attorneys. one is my own personal attorney. Um, if we had voted on this exemption tonight, even though I wanted to, but if we had, it would have meant nothing. It would have been voided right out of the gate. Also, there would have been legal actions probably taken by the state of New York against this this body if we had attempted to move this forward. and and being a realist and a person who has been tied to the our school district for so many years as a kid going through the system

10335 years teaching here and now as a board member. I I did not want to see the destruction of this board over an issue that we know we could not win. My one hope and I mean this sincerely is that the town can assist us and get that extension because we need to do this. We need to do this. And and I the the faces and names that appear before me when I think of these individuals who uh can only be here because of this exemption moves me greatly. So, I'm I'm hoping CJ, if you could take that message back that we get that extension, it would be a grand thing, a great thing for our seniors who have worked hard to build a family, to be in their forever home and not lose it

104because we weren't able to to do this additional extension. And the extension is necessary because the taxes keep going up. That's why the state implemented it. Um, that's all I have to say. Again, it would have been pointless to take any other action tonight and I understand that and and the board and Superintendent Loft is correct. It would have been just a a ridiculous um >> well, a couple of things. I do think that no matter how we personally feel and each of us brings that to these discussions um we need to have data so that we understand what the effects going to be. >> I agree. >> Like there's not anybody sitting here that doesn't want to help. I want to help senior citizens. I want to help people struggling, but I have young

105families that aren't senior citizens and they're struggling and they're going to get something put on theirs. I I and I understand that, but without the data, I don't think it's fair for the board to make a decision without having all the information. >> I agree. I agree. >> The five-day notice, Miss Felenova may not think that that's in fact the law, but it is. If you adopt or amend your tax structure, you have to notify the public at least 5 days ahead so that if they have comments, they can come and speak their mind. It's important for us to be able to hear them, but we can't hear them until we know we know what we're going to recommend. So, you know, you're right. The the extension would really help. Um, even without the extension,

106we may end up passing it and and I'm sorry that it will be another year before they get the 15%. Hopefully, that won't happen, but we can only work as fast as we can work. We don't have the data, we don't have the data. >> No, no, I I understand that. And the three lawyers I consulted all said the same thing. You cannot do anything with your your your taxable rates unless you have a public hearing. Otherwise, you're breaking the law and your your vote would be it' be just absolutely useless. And and I understand that. And and I I had to find that fact out for myself and I did and it's it's there. >> That's good. Okay. So, I I don't want to lose sight on the fact that the current 50% reduction

107>> Is still in effect. So, I just did some madeup math, but I think it matters. >> So, if an individual was scheduled to pay $10,000 in school taxes based upon the assessed value of their home, I have no idea how much your home would be worth if you paid $10,000 in school taxes, but whatever that is, if you qualify for the highest amount, you would now be paying $5,000. you would have received the 50% reduction with this proposed change. The most they can get additional discount would be another 15% of their assessed value. >> That's right. >> So that equivalent of that $5,000 they would be paying now and forever unless the board changes the current exemption would drop by $750 to $4,250. >> Mhm. So, we're not talking about their taxes aren't going

108from 5,000 back to 10 or they're not going to go from 5,000 down to one, right? They're going to go down for this example I gave $750. Now, I hope then there may very well be people that $750,000 is keeping $750 is keeping them in their home. But I can't imagine there's that many people in our community that are going to have to lose their home over $750 or if they paid $20,000 in school taxes and now they pay 10 and that extra 15% is $1,500 a year. I still it's I don't want to make it sound like we're people are losing out on thousands of dollars or tens of thousands of dollars, right? We're talking about in most cases hundreds of dollars. that would be the maximum savings that this exemption would provide. So,

109I'm not in any way discouraging the board from moving forward with it. I still think it's a good thing for our community, but I don't want the sentiment to get out there that people now we have for sale signs popping up all over town over $750 in savings, which is really all that this would offer someone who was otherwise scheduled to pay $10,000. >> But there are some families, Dr. >> I totally appreciate there's some that matter, but I don't think we're means a lot to them. >> I get it. and but I don't want the sense that they were going to have mass homes for sale and foreclosures and again help me keep saying it like facts matter right so this is an actual math problem that extra 15% which is the maximum someone

110who already receives this could receive is hundreds of dollars in savings which is meaningful still but it's not thousands or tens of thousands of dollars that would be drastically impactful to many in our community so I just wanted to get the numbers out there so there's a general sense as to what we're talking about and and what we are working towards. >> It also can be adopted next year. So it wouldn't if they don't get it if we're not able to extend for this tax year, we could potentially approve it for next tax year. Correct. >> Right. >> Yes. >> Yeah. >> So >> yeah, >> in fact, if we miss the deadline and go to the don't get an extension from the state, even if we pass it next board meeting, it would then

111be in place for the following year. It >> doesn't expire. Our our current 50% one doesn't expire. >> Yeah. And if if the town grants us the exemption, uh we would be able to post that in a newspaper within the five the 10 days. You know, you have to post it in the newspaper, then wait 5 days. We would be able to do that. >> Once we have our data, though, we need our data to make our >> difference. Well, you know, the data that that troubles me most of all because uh that should have been on our table a month ago. No, >> you know, really because we hadn't we had word that this was coming out in December. You know, we knew it was going to happen. This board tasked the district to

112providing us with the data so that we could vote on it in a timely manner and and it's all of us, you know, it falls on all of all of What if the next day they started to try to get the data? We couldn't get it from the town. So, we had to hire a a consulting firm. It was the week of >> banging on the door of that firm and say we need it. We need it. We have a deadline to meet. >> That's what is upsets me. But again, >> okay, >> we're we're where we're where we we are where we're at. But I I I feel badly that um we could not have voted on this tonight. I I do and I I I can't be any clearer than that. >> Okay,

113I skipped the top. Wait, is there anybody else who would like to speak? So this is my first >> Yeah, just introduce yourself. >> Start with your name. >> So my first time at one of your meetings. My name is Michelle Mandola. I've been in Putham Valley since 1972. Product of the elementary and middle school. And I appreciate what Sam had to say because that's why I am here. I am in a household there is no children. We are supporting the school system. And it's important for the seniors out there to get this discount. This is something you guys knew about in December. So, the fact that you're waiting on numbers of headcount now is very concerning to me as a as a taxpayer that you don't have the answers that you should have had.

114You asked for it, you didn't get it. I think that's your job to do that work to have the documents and the data that you need to do your analysis. And that's just my perspective and I'm sure amii that matches the other seniors in this community. So, that's all I need to say. But thank you, Sam. >> Thank you. Uh so I skipped over the topics for the upcoming meetings. Um our meeting we meet on March 12th. Uh that's a is that a Thursday? >> Yes. >> Yeah, it is actually. Um and then March 26th um talk about budgets, right? >> Yep. So March 12th is our next meeting. Thursday, March 12th, it'll be a budget presentation. So, the first full presentation of the budget and then a follow-up meeting uh just based upon feedback

115we receive on that first initial budget presentation scheduled for March 26th. >> Just a reminder, I won't be here March 26th. >> March 26th, sorry. >> Will not be there. >> Okay. Uh anything else? >> I'd like a motion to adjurnn. So move. >> Second. >> All in favor? >> I. >> Good night.