001Okay, we'll call the meeting to order at 6 o'clock. If everyone could rise for the 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. First order of business, we have a consent agenda on minutes and tonight's agenda 2 three. If I can get a motion. So, thanks Justin. >> Second. >> Thanks, Ken. Any discussion? All those in favor? >> I opposed. Motion is carried. So for business operations, we have a consent agenda 35 for items 31 through 34, which include a general fund warrant from March 15th in the amount of $47,44.84, a special aid fund warrant from March 15th in the amount of $10,290, a school lunch fund warrant from March 15th in
002the amount of $8,5825. and the CESC CPSC recommendations as listed. Can I get a motion? >> Thanks, Kate. Lori with the second. Any discussion? Okay. All those in favor? >> Opposed? Motion is carried and we're into reports. We'll turn it over to Superintendent Abby. >> All right. Thank you. So, we're going to take a look at our updated numbers for our 2627 budget. And at this point in time, just to kind of review where we've gone, we've spent a meeting going through each of the three categories, starting with our administrative, our programmatic, and then our capital. And then we looked at them as a whole. And then from there, we said our last meeting, we said that at that point in time, we were going to go back through with a slightly different mindset. Were
003there areas where we could trim some things away? And then we were really going to dive into our revenues and see if we could have additional revenue. We had thoughts that we might see some additional revenue. And luckily after looking through that, we were able to see that we were able to come up with some more revenue. So we got kind of a sidebyside here in our first comparison just to look at the proposed budget we were looking at at the previous meeting from March 10th compared to where we're at now. And you see we've got some fluctuations in different directions in different areas just after some additional thought and some other factors that have really come up in what we're going to be offering next year. So administratively, you see that we were able
004trim down there programmatic actually was a very slight increase. Um there was there was more movement in there than than it shows, but they actually ended up being a slight increase overall. And then capital again down just a little bit. But most importantly what you see there is you see a pretty comparable budget amount from before till now. But we see an increase in our projected revenue for 2627 which cuts that deficit down pretty significantly from where we were at at last meeting once we were able to look at that and see where those things came in. So we'll dive more into the specifics as far as where those differences came from um as we go through. So, first of all, back to the administrative changes. Uh, the topline item in the administrative budget, we
005had loosely talked about it early on. Uh, there's a service, NISSA, New York State School Boards Association, that we have had a membership to over the last couple years. And I would say that we we do not utilize it to its full capacity. I think part of the reason is because we have SBI here locally and we're able to tap into some of the resources there. And so I at this point in time we recommended that we do actually move away from that service. We can always sign back up for it at any time. You still have the ability to take part in trainings through them at an increased cost when you're not a member, >> but the amount that we've been utilizing it as a school doesn't really make sense to keep that subscription.
006Now if we change and we see more interest in it, it's definitely something we can add back in. It's not a huge savings, but every little bit that we don't necessarily need can be beneficial and go directed more towards things that we want kids to be utilizing. So, that was the first recommendation there. The second line item, you see the Boseis public information services that we decided that we were going to remove a grant writer position that we've been working with for the last two years. So, we are currently working with that grant writer trying to get a grant approved. Um, we talked about the fitness center previously. Were there other things out there? We communicated that with them. >> What's out there? Are there any wellness grants we could tie into utilizing our fitness
007center for there? >> I think six to seven grants over the last two years. And we've pretty much come up with nothing throughout that service, which so we've been paying about $20,000 to take part in that service annually. It doesn't we don't get our full aid rate back. it's just a little bit over 50% that we get in return for the aid for being part of that service. So, it really hasn't given us what we've been hoping for. So, it doesn't mean we're not going to keep looking at grants on our own, but utilizing that service is something that we've recommended removing from our costs. So, that those were the two main changes in the administrative category. Programmatic. This is where we had some more shuffling as I alluded to that that overall it actually
008came out to be a slight increase and that was for a variety of different reasons. The the key takeaways here is there was some changing in the K6 salaries, the 712 salaries substitute and our special education and and some of that has to do with the fact that we are relocating sixth grade to the junior senior high based off of the capital project and I'll talk more about about that process and where we're at in that a little bit later. But within that, we've been diving into our numbers and that changes the dynamic between the two buildings. So there there obviously has to be some shared staff to make that happen correctly and make sure that we're still offering the kids all that they deserve. And one of those areas is special education. If we
009bring sixth grade to this building, our current special education staff in this building, they are already full and they would not be able to service that grade level. If we take a special education teacher from the elementary school to handle that, can MPS function beneath one special ed teacher? And that's where we're a little bit gray right now. And it looks like we can't just have that one position. So, we factored in another position tentatively because we can't go over budget in our spending. So, we wanted to make sure that we were a little bit cautious there and added an additional special education teacher into the budget so that when we get a little further along in our master scheduling, we'll have a better handle on what percentage we really need in both building to
010be able to operate and make sure that we're servicing all of our students. Uh so, one of the other areas that was that was impacted because of that as we're shifting things around is some of our salaries go through grant funding. So IDA were allowed to pay for certain special education salaries out of that funding and then we also have some title funding that goes towards intervention services. So one of the main areas that we've talked about shifting for next school year at MPS is increasing our reading interventions for our students. How impactful that is for academic success especially at those younger ages. because once a student reaches third grade and they're beneath grade level in their reading capabilities, it's rare that they actually get to grade level. So, we want to make sure we're
011targeting those kids early and making sure that we're setting them up for the most success. So that's where some of that shifting took place is we looked at how much are we currently taking out of title towards interventionists and what could we utilize with that new position to shift into that which is why some of the salary increases or decreases don't necessarily match up with like one position. So there was a lot of shuffling involved and all that to try to maximize the funding that we can get through those grants yet you still see a little bit of an impact there in our actual salary categories. And then the last particular item on this list, which is one that we wanted to make sure that we brought up and and potentially have a discussion on,
012is this past fall, we had an ambulance on site for varsity boys and girls soccer, as well as all of our varsity football games. And we had gone back and forth with conversations throughout the fall. So depending on what ambulance service you have, whether it's their jurisdiction or not, determines whether they're allowed to transport a student based on an injury. Now, they would transport if something was lifethreatening regardless whether it was their jurisdiction or not. However, major leg injuries, concussions, anything that's not life-threatening, they're not able to transport in that moment. and then they're just providing care while we're waiting for the actual ambulance jurisdiction to get there and do that transportation. So this was a discovery for me at least during the fall season that we contracted to do that and then we kind
013came across this information. We worked with both agencies to see is there a way around this and there wasn't actually. So, we are in Kovac jurisdiction and that's who we had previously when they were only doing football games. When we wanted to increase the service, they weren't able to do that, which is understandable. Everyone's struggling with staffing to take an ambulance, you know, out of service to be at our games. I can understand why that was a complication for them. Uncle was able to do that for us. So, that's what we went with. But then as as the season progressed, we found that it wasn't everything we thought it would provide us. So yes, is it an increased level of safety? Of course it is. But we have many sporting events throughout the year in
014which we don't have an ambulance. Football I do think is really important. I think I think there's just a different level of physicality that goes with that game. More prone to have serious neck spinal injuries. So I would recommend that we keep it at varsity football games. That is pretty much the norm I would say too. Exactly. Which is a great point. Like when you when you're talking about all of the people that are here, those tend to be the largest crowds that we get for any sporting event. >> Can I ask >> please? Yeah. No. Yeah. Interject now. >> Just to confirm, next year tenatively do we have in the budget for the athletic trainer to be >> Yes. So yes, that is still planned on occurring. So just want to you know little
015knowledge pass it off the level of the athletic train and the ambulance being here um can do pretty much the same exact thing uh level of care wise okay anything of obvious life threats cardiac arrest something like that we still have our AED always on site okay so basically the level with that ambulance being here Um they it was I don't want to say um there's a lot more that people Yeah. seeing an ambulance here and the level of care that was on the ambulance was the equivalent to the athletic trainer is what I'm trying to say. Yep. >> So 60% of the equipment on that ambulance might not have been able to be utilized with the level of care that was actually here on site. You know what I mean? So it's in a
016way it was kind of like maybe faucet security. You know what I mean? What we >> people look at the ambulance sitting there and be like okay that's a mobile a hospital emergency room. Okay. But what we found out more as we worked on moving forward was it was and I don't want to it was it was not everything that what people envision. Okay. So, with the athletic trainer being here, as my personal experience and my professional opinion is the athletic trainer being here and the AED being here, 90% of your life threats are covered. Your fire department was still a phone call away. Um, you have the trained personnel here, coaches, and I have 100% full respect for them in their training. I feel as a district, you know, kind of looking at other
017options is is 100% uh useful because I I don't feel that the money was what we paid for what nothing against uh priority ambulance or COC just has to be right. You know what I mean? What we're putting our money to >> what you stated for the for the contact sports. Yeah. I seen soccer for my first time doing standbys. That's pretty crazy. But for as you said, the amount of people here having that advanced life support ALS ambulance on site versus a BLS ambulance we had last time that is appropriate. You know, my feeling is if we have an ambulance here for a standby, we want you know that's my own professional opinion which we all discussed. So I feel that uh if we decide if the money's there and ALS ambulance if that's
018what we decide 100%. There's different other options. There's ALS fly cars that we could have. You know there's ELS you know there's a bunch of different options you know we could also discuss uh when we get to that a little further. But um I really would like to touch this better you know as we go on a financial thing. Um because there is money I feel that we could save with the fire departments if need be for some sort of standby of some sort. Uh but I I feel we can do I think we this is something that we can >> Yeah. Just a quick question to be clear. Are we talking about the home varsity and modified football games or just varsity state? >> Did we have them modified last year? >> I don't
019know. I didn't go to a lot. >> I don't believe so. No, I think we've I don't think we've ever had them in modified >> and I'm fine with that. But I think again to the holistic review of it and point like if we're comfortable playing football at a little bit lower pace, smaller athletes, I think that aligns with basketball, soccer, volleyball, any of these other sports where to your point Ken, everyone's AED trained now. Yep, we have those accessible. And you know, we have trainer and then I I didn't think about crowd size, but honestly, if we were thinking about that in terms of having an ambulance, we should probably think about basketball even more than soccer because the basketball crowds are bigger. But I'm fine with the recommendation we have. I think it
020makes sense and I think we did the right thing to put it in place and then see how it went. We had some experiences and again we're not here like you said Ken we're not here to criticize anything but we learned a lot >> through some of those experiences that I saw firsthand as a you know parent watching games and they were handled well but there's a reality to what was available and what wasn't and I think that the reassessment's appropriate. So I just want to be clear like we're not removing >> necessary services to save money, right? >> We've reevaluated that we can provide the proper services and not add that expense because it doesn't give us the additional services we thought it would and we don't have risk. So I think we'll be
021providing a very >> strong level of care for the athletes. >> Agree. And then we're also very fortunate to have many highly trained individuals in the volunteer fire department that are going all the way >> are all very >> good about giving their notice >> and responding. >> Yeah. Yeah. >> Yeah. And K, I think it was a great point of highlighting the fact that we will still have the athletic trainer >> because that that service has been very beneficial >> and that covers the majority of things that happen in these sporting events which is something we were missing a few years ago. We really were >> that and personally I got to work side by side with this athletic training on I think almost 90% if not all the incidents that emergencies that we've
022had and as a parent whose child both children play sports uh I'm 100% comfortable in having my child out on that field even if an ambulance was not here with all the health risks that are a potential. Okay. But both of the two individuals, that whole group of individuals I worked with, I have full confidence in and the coaching staff. So when it comes down to safety, I would not put my child >> but I feel 100% pumpful with what we had what we had in place and what we will moving forward. >> Yeah, agreed. And everyone speaks equally high of that service and the trainers that they've provided. So everyone's been very pleased with >> they help uh the other teams. They do >> so >> for sure. >> Yeah. >> And should >>
023Yep. Hear from both sides. >> Any thoughts from our students? You can chime into if you want. You don't have to wait. >> Okay. Thanks. >> And then the a minor change, but still worth noting. The only change that we made after going through the capital section was there was a a higher line item for bus parts. And as we dove in a little bit deeper on that, we have underspent what's been budgeted there for quite a few years in a row. And I think that really just comes down to ordering what's necessary and not stockpiling parts. And I think that Ethan runs a really tight ship down there. And I think that's why he knows what he needs, but we don't need to stockpile huge amounts of parts that then once you transition to
024a different bus model are no longer beneficial. So I think he does a nice job of having what he needs without going into excess. So, >> no, that that's a great catch and like kudos like you said to Ethan and and the team at the bus garage. I mean, that's more than a 50% reduction. >> Yes. >> In what we were allocating. So, that's huge and that's in line with what we've discussed even with classroom supplies and how we're properly stocking supplies for teachers to access and now they don't feel like they have to >> go hoard supplies for their individual room because we're actually having what they need available and we're creating that right culture. So that's this is great >> and that's been the conversation across the board and it and it's a
025shift. So I think there's been like some comebacks as far as clarification and just so we're not going to have that but we will have this. I said needs like if you need something for your classroom just talk to us like we'll we'll make it happen if it's a need. There's a difference between needs and wants and sometimes wants can happen but like anything you need we're going to make sure of and that and that's been the the consistent conversation as we've talked about this shift. So, so going back to kind of some overall numbers is where we're looking at here. We were initially looking at so a total proposed budget now we are currently at 23,8 23 million excuse me 862,837. So that is an increase from last year of 735,168. So 3.2% 2%
026increase, which in where we're looking at for costs increase, I think is pretty reasonable. But as the struggle for us and every district across the state, costs are going up at a higher rate than our increase in revenue is going up. And that's that's true for everyone, which is why things we have to be so conscientious and what we're spending right now. But where I feel pretty good about this is we all knew we were going to have a deficit. We all knew that there was going to be some amount of unappropriated fund balance that would be needed in this particular budget. And with what we have right now, we've gotten that down to $388,149. And and I feel pretty good about where that's at. Just as a reminder, last year it was over just
027overund excuse me, $830,000. And through being diligent throughout this year, I don't think we're going to need to utilize all of that either, just by being conscientious as the year goes on and making sure that it's on a needs and not just a wants basis and not just spending the budget just because the budget was laid out as such. So that is allowing us to not have to have used all that was put towards the budget for this particular school year. And we'll have the same mindset going into next year. So, we'll we'll plan on using $388,149. The hope is that we don't and that as we go through the year and we make sure that we're doing everything we need to that we don't exhaust all of those funds as well. and and kind
028of looking at where that fits into a little bit deeper on the revenue and I sent all of you more details as far as where the revenue streams are and and even looking at this you know it's it's a little bit skewed when you look at it because the adopted revenue for 2526 that was before the 830,000 from unappropriated fund balance. So the fact that that right there shows a 5.28% 28% increase. That's true in the baseline numbers, but when you add that 830,000, it's really only a 1.5% increase in our revenue stream. So, which is not a lot obviously as costs are going up higher from a larger dollar amount. You know, without being careful, that gap will continue to widen. So, that's why we just need to be make sure that we're being
029really careful. And then the area that we so we've got our three different categories, our sums for those leading to our proposed revenue. The biggest area that we found an increase from last year once we were able to spend some more time on it really came in from an increase in Bosey's aid and that and that's beneficial to us. That's why it is important for us to utilize those services and it's always a give and take. You know, it it would be great to do everything in house and it be our people and there's times where we have to do that, but then there's other times where it's just not financially responsible. And we always have to balance those acts. As long as we're getting quality service within a Bose program or service, the fact
030that we get that aid back just makes it so much more affordable for our district to be able to do those things. So, I think it's always a give and take and we just always have to evaluate. Are we happy with this service? The fact that we're able to get it and gain aid on it and as long as we are, then that's the way to go. If we find that something is not meeting our expectations and it's possibly not giving our students what we think we deserve, then that's an area where we shift. And I think that's always just has to be that focus on those to decide is this the best thing for us at this point in time. And then just to just to go back to the idea of our reserves
031and what we have in reserves. So these numbers were for July 1st of this year. So obviously these have fluctuated throughout the year. We've used some of the capital reserve. These numbers have been gaining interest. Those that we have not touched this point in time. So these are never finalized until June 30th of this year. But just so you know like where we started this particular school year and where those funds were. And as you look down in the the second section there again that 830,589. So that was appropriated for this budget, which brings our unappropriated to just over 2 million. It's still a higher percentage than school districts are supposed to have, but we have less than that over the last few years. One based out of need and two out of recommendations like
032you're not supposed to have too high of an unappropriated fund balance. You're supposed to be at 4%. And we are higher than that now, but it is down much lower. And I think that it's pretty reasonable where we're at right now. Just knowing that costs are continuing to increase. Like I don't think it would be smart for us to force it down to 4% right now. I think we need to be able to utilize that as times are a little bit difficult and make sure that we're not getting ourselves into a rough situation. >> Yeah, I would agree. I saw just today an example, I don't know if anyone else saw it about the Liverpool school district. And and so I was just pulling it up on my phone. So big number like 1517 million
033short, but for perspective, it is a $200 million budget. So they're about 6 and 12 7% short of revenue to planned expenses and they're going to make massive cuts to staff to balance that budget. Yeah, we we before the fund balance move are less than 2% off between revenue and expenses. And I just I want to thank, you know, Zach and Cynthia and the administrative team for not only the work on pulling the budget together, but the processes that have been tightened and put in place this year to get us closer and closer where we want to be. And you know, I I know going through this process now for almost a decade, it it's it's not a fun process. And it's not fun when we say have to say no to things like adding
034people, >> but the work we've done as a district and as a board specifically the last five, six years with the COVID money and planning and understanding that that was a limited revenue stream. I think is paying off now >> where we're not >> we're still not certain the way we'd like to be of of a future where revenue and expenses increase the same rate but we're positioned where we can maintain the programming we have and the offerings we have including extracurricular for our kids and and not be cutting staff and you know like it's it's hard to keep that in mind when we do make some of the oneoff tough choices on the way but like this is why we do what we do to be in this position. So just appreciate the work
035here and the fact that we're not having those kind of conversations because that that's happening a lot of districts right now big and small where they are just way short and the only solution is to cut people which also means you're cutting programs right so >> can't do one without the other. No. >> Any other questions or thoughts from the board or >> No questions. Just a thank you to both of you and your >> perspective teams. It's this is a lot of great work. >> Yeah. And I would plug in there too. I think, you know, this is again as we continue to finish this process and then we present it to the public more again and we work back through and help everyone understand the tax cap and why we work through that
036the way we do and you know why we keep reserve money and we're not hoarding money. We're keeping money sensibly to manage our district like why we do those things. We want to keep looking forward and I know you know like some of our board members haven't been on the board too many years yet but like Tim and I could talk about the mindset we had in co and we were forward looking and we want to keep that mindset and we want to think about the work the district's starting to do with like artificial intelligence. We want to think about regionalization initiatives, what we learn there, and how we can be forward thinking about being more efficient while offering our students the best possible education and staying in front of the inevitable changes that are
037coming. So, I'm excited about that. Still nervous because I don't like being short, but you know. >> No, me either. Me either. But, >> but we knew that was coming. Yeah. And I think that if we just stay steady on that, keep paying attention. I think that >> I think that we will be in good shape. I can't predict the future. I can't say where costs are going to go, >> but I think everyone's going to face those same challenges. And as long as we're doing things diligently here, I think we're going to be able to navigate those times better than most, hopefully. >> Yeah. And I I don't know if you want to reference it, and again, we'll talk about it more in the future, but we're trying to pull together a better three
038and even fiveyear financial plan than the district's ever had to, you know, try to be in front of everything and understand, you know, not even just where we might need to go with the unappropriate fund balance, but like what we need to do with our other reserves. And then again like how we plan for the unfortunate reality of rising health care costs, salaries and yeah >> all of those things and just really be forward looking. So >> yeah and we actually like you referenced the idea of health insurance costs. We belong in a consortium in which us and the other component districts that are in there, they work within the same health insurance factors. And as that increase comes, it impacts everybody in there. Now, the benefit to being in a consortium is stability. It
039doesn't necessarily get you a lower upfront cost, but like we're a prime example as a small school district. If you have a high dollar claimant, that could be detrimental to us. And by being in that larger group, the law of large numbers, you're able to weather those storms a little bit better. So you don't see the really high years of increases. You also don't get the really great savings in certain years, but you're more consistent and you can plan for the future. So our consortium is actually currently in discussion with joining with another consortium to make our numbers even larger and it would double us in size. Our our particular consortium has voted yes to move forward with the merger and we're just waiting to hear from the other consortium. So hopefully that will go
040through and that would just provide a little bit of additional stability on that going forward. But everyone's seeing the same things. Those costs are just unbelievable how high they are. And we've we've talked about how significant that's been on our budgeting and on our employees as well. You know, because as our costs go up on those, so do our employees costs. So everyone's really feeling that. We referenced some other schools as far as their budget. Some other consortiums in regards to their increase. Anadaga consortium there is proposing a 35% increase in their health insurance costs for the upcoming year. So >> we're, you know, as we look at it and we're stressing about our increase, then you hear what some other people are having to do and it's just >> it's pretty detrimental to schools
041across the board. So we are not alone in that and very grateful to say that we are not proposing a 35% increase. >> Yeah. >> Because that is going to be really rough on those schools within that consortium. >> Yeah. >> Any other questions? We have any other presentations? >> I just wanted to share a little more of of the idea of sixth grade and what we have going. So, we're we're hosting a community forum tomorrow and really with the mindset of, you know, incoming sixth graders to give those parents the ability to come in, ask questions, hear of our tenative plans. Obviously, this has come together very quickly. So, we I wish I could say, "Yep, everything's locked in." It's just not yet. But, we have a good understanding of what it could look
042like. We're meeting with the sixth grade team again Thursday, actually. Meeting with them to kind of try to finalize our scheduling options. I wish we were able to do that before the forum, but that's okay. Like, it's not going to be that impactful as far as what we'll share with parents, but we'll we'll be able to give the rundown and be able to share the rationale because the building project is going to be very invasive and the rotating classrooms, which we've already talked about. We'll be able to share that in greater detail so they have an understanding of of why the move is actually really beneficial to sixth graders and how it's going to help them be removed from that and they'll actually have more stability than a than a lot of their younger classmates
043at NPS in that particular year. And we'll talk through all the different availability and all the different options that we're going to do our best to provide them and and what a day could look like. And then most importantly, what I think parents are really going to want to know is what's their interaction level? Like where are they going to be and how much are they going to be interacting with upper classmen? And I think that's the important thing. So we'll show where we're considering for them to be located and and discuss the ideas of how much interaction there really is during a school day between your youngest grade and your oldest grade within a junior senior high building. And and the reality is it tends to be pretty minimal. you know, the majority of
044your interactions tend to happen within your grade level and one or two either direction depending on what grade level you're in. That's that's the norm that occurs. So, we'll we'll talk through all those things and and what'll be nice is to give parents an opportunity to share their feelings on it, too, because you never know, they may come at it from different perspective and share something that maybe we haven't considered yet, and then we factor that into our planning. So that's that's the advantage of talking with parents now instead of saying this is the finalized plan. This is what we're doing. These are tenative plans. What are your thoughts and here's some additional feedback because each each party we've talked to along the way has had a different perspective and has helped us consider something
045different. And I I think PTA is a perfect example of that. like when they heard of it, they reached out with something that they had a question about and I and it was a great question and just gave us something else to consider and think about and plan for. So each person we've talked to provides that new perspective. >> So also listen again thinking all all elementary and junior senior high all ride the bus together, right? >> That is correct. >> And then they get dropped off elementary gets dropped off there. So this upcoming year the sixth now on incoming seventh they'll be just getting dropped off here. So there is still little interaction now that the kids are getting on school buses. >> Yeah. Right. >> And they ride the same like there are
046there are a few in the afternoon they get dropped off prior to coming up here. But the majority of our students are riding prek if they're four prek through 12 on the same bus runs already. So there is already some sort of action and >> there is >> there's not like a shield around them, right? They're not in a bubble, >> right? So much >> sometimes we wish they were but they're not. >> And similar to how I'm saying in the junior senior high, there's not that vast interaction. It's the same thing on the bus, right? You know, like who >> more control you're at school >> who your negative interactions happen with are your classmates, you know, because those are the people you're around the most are the people you know. So, it's yeah,
047there's not there's not normally negative interactions between a senior, even in a seventh grader, let alone a sixth grader. They just unless they're siblings, there's not a lot of interaction going on there. Yeah, >> siblings, that's a different story. >> There might be more interactions between the juniors and seventh graders this year because some siblings. >> Could be. Could be. Not that I know that. >> You you you're picturing it right now and you're correct. You're 100% correct. >> But so obviously it's it's open to anyone though. >> Um I I don't know how many to expect. I put it out as an RSVP which I'm not sure many people have seen before in parent square but it is a really nice feature to have an idea and understanding. Right now I think there's 18
048that have RSVPd. I expect more than that to come because I know some faculty are planning on coming and just taking part in the conversation as well. So we'll be in the auditorium but I think it'll be a pretty small crowd for the auditorium. Well, so we'll just we'll just go down to the front and have as hopefully two-way conversation, some back and forth just to hear what people are thinking and hopefully be able to put some people at ease as far as how we plan to implement it and what kind of structure we'll be able to put in place. >> At least in my initial interactions, just being at events and around, people do not seem overly opposed to it. So, you know, you hear the ah it's kind of a bummer. They're looking
049forward to it, but they're excited to maybe be in that building as well. So, I I think that people are really so far anyway have seen pretty willing to accept the change and and go through with what needs to be done. So, that's been really positive as well. >> Students, you >> can ask questions too if you want. That's okay. think that like are we where like I know you didn't say like it's finalized but where do we think we're going to like finally separate >> what we know for sure we don't know exactly which classrooms yet we're still working on those what we know for sure it's going to be in the back hallway that that is a must and that actually that part of the building was actually built and added on to
050the original structure to be a middle school wing and that would be so that's why it's designed the way that it is and that's we would kind of utilize it in the way that it was designed. So you would have all of your six, seven, and eight core classes down at that end of the building. >> You going to have like combined gym classes and like chorus band? >> Great question. So sixth grade is not allowed to be combined in PE classes. You you guys are going to be great practice for tomorrow. This is fantastic. They're actually not allowed to be in. So, sixth graders are in middle school, a lot of different school districts, but as a sixth grader, you cannot be in the same PE class as a seventh or eighth grader or
051anyone older because they do still fall under elementary guidelines. So, they are restricted to only being in PE with an elementary grade level. So, you could have five and six together in theory. Usually, they tend to be just isolated by grade though. So six would have to have their own gym class. So if we have multiple gym classes, we would just have to separate the gym and six would have to stay separate. Lunch would be all together. 6, 7, and 8. And currently for our middle school lunch, we actually, you know, where the booths are, we actually don't allow middle school to be back where the booths are because we don't need to utilize the full cafeteria. So we don't need to spread them out that far. It's easier to supervise kids when they're just
052in the front area. We would probably open that up with a with a third grade in there and we would move back to there. Maybe do a little you earn your way into the booths as eighth graders and then have sixth and seventh up towards the front. Band in choir. I didn't answer that is in discussion. We are we have talked briefly on that, but we have not had our extensive conversations with the entire music department yet to plan that out. We've talked about all the different scenarios. You could have sixth grade come and operate in an isolated band in an isolated choir. The advantage is that like you're you're keeping tabs on your sixth graders in that way. The disadvantage is are you getting that full sound out of a band? Are you really
053being able to get the true performance level that you want? Because are all of the instruments going to be played by just one grade level? The difficulty with expanding to a six through eight band or choir is those are pretty large groups at that point because once you reach high school, those numbers tend to dwindle down a little bit. So those are the discussions. What's best for them musically versus does it create supervision problems? So, do we need if we do combine, do we need to split them into alternating groups or could we expand other ways of doing it? But those are conversations that we're currently embarked in with the music department. >> Do sixth graders oper? >> Yeah, that is that is our conversation with the sixth grade team on Thursday. We we've two
054kind of proposals for them. We can run in a modified day of how they're operating currently or we could switch to the nine period schedule. Then there's a there's advantage to each. It would be comfortable for them in a year where they're going to face a lot of transition to stick with a schedule they're more used to. The benefit of switching to a 9 period day now is when you're looking at that transitional year any no matter what it is depends on a school district structure. Whenever you have that transition from one building to another, there's always a little bit of a dip in academic gains. So, right now, that is at our seventh grade level cuz when you change all those structures, there's all these other factors that get in the way uh of
055what you're learning. So, if you do that a year earlier, what you've done is like you've gotten those transition items kind of out of the way and then you no longer have that in seventh grade and then you're not having that dip. So, it's progressing them forward. They're used to the structure. They don't have to worry about that. They know where to go. All those other factors that can be really anxietyprovoking for young kids. So, there's advantages to both. And we're going to we're going to talk that through deeper with the sixth grade team and really show them the different options and and they're the ones that have been, you know, they're the experts on sixth graders as far as I'm concerned and touch base with them and see what their preference would be and
056then talk about how that'll align with the rest of the day. What we know is whether they're following the exact same schedule or not, there's going to be certain times where their specials are taking place, where their lunch is taking place, where their PE is taking place. Those are like the non-negotiables. Those they have to leave that vicinity, and they have to be out and about and in those different areas. The rest we could be flexible. We could keep them more in house with sixth grade, or we could start integrating them more into our daily period schedule right now. Great questions. >> Thank you. >> Yeah. >> Any other discussion any committee meetings or >> We have not since the last one. No. >> Uh moving into board discussion. Anything additional in the board? Anything
057else from our student board members? Excellent engagement so far. Thank you. First public comment. >> I'm curious how many students are in would be this year's fifth grade would be sixth graders next year. >> Around 60 60 to 65 bigger. >> Yeah. The incoming seventh graders is a small group. There's 45 I believe in that grade, but then yeah, our current fifth graders is larger than that. >> Yeah, current seventh grade is decent size, too. So, it's kind of like a >> Yeah, a dip >> to >> otherwise I'll be here tomorrow night. So, >> I'll see you tomorrow. >> All right, we can uh roll right into personnel new business. We have a consent agenda 81. Can I get a motion? >> No. Second. >> All right, Tim. And then Dan, any discussion? >>
058I would just add, we're starting discussion. Uh, it's great to see we're getting more volunteer coaches in athletics and I know the district is looking at is there anything we can do to help those volunteer coaches with the certification process, i.e. the fees, >> right? >> And we don't have a solution yet, but I think that that would be an excellent thing to do if we could make that happen in future years because it's it's we've we're seeing a wonderful increase in engagement and involvement from volunteer coaches. And and then I think too there's good discussion around like I never thought I'd say this, do we actually need to consider like how many volunteer coaches is appropriate for our sport? like it's a great problem to have and like how do we put some guard
059rails around that process which we have good ones now but just shore that up and then maybe take care of the cost because it's a couple hundred bucks >> to get certified >> seems like a grand for that >> yeah they have to meet all the as I've gone through it myself they have to meet the same training as a paid coach and the volunteer coaches have to pay for all that like the paid coaches do but obviously they they're not getting paid So now it covers you it's it's annually. So if you do multiple sports in the same season, you're not redoing those certifications. But >> so certifications annual >> Yeah. So there's they came out with a new process in 2022 working towards professional certifications within coaches. So they aligned the terminology to
060what teaching certifications are. And so there's and and as Steve alluded to, there's multiple courses. each have a cost and then there's a an initial certification that you have to purchase and then you have to purchase it each year. And if you do that and have coached for 3 years, then you can gain a professional in which then you have to pay another fee and then that one will last a couple of years before you have to renew it again. So it's it definitely has become more of a cost for non-teers. Now teachers are actually exempt from that. So that was an advantage there because teachers used to have to do more additional things too. So that part was a little was nice. But those that are not working in education and and quite a
061few of our coaches are not actually. So that it's an increased financial and time commitment for them to do it when they're already as Steve mentioned so many of these are already volunteering their time. >> Yep. That's a great problem to have. >> Exactly. Love that there's the interest in willingness to support our kids. >> Yep. >> Okay. Any other discussion? If not, >> discussion. >> No, this is on the personnel item. All those in favor? >> Opposed? Motion is carried. Now we're into our consent agenda for other new business 91 through 96. Can I get a motion? Second. >> Thanks, Kate. Thanks, Justin. Any discussion? I'm excited about softball combining at the modified level. I think that's again a great thing to see. We're seeing increased partnership with Brookfield and you know, there were
062discussions about possibly the Barsley level. they're able to build the team, >> but you know, we we welcome them here just like they welcomed, you know, our girls varsity basketball players. >> Yeah, for sure. >> And that was and it was a great experience for them, too. >> Yeah. And we're continuing those conversations with a lot of districts. There's a lot a lot of people that are like right on the edge with numbers. So, there's there's those conversations just trying to make sure that programs can continue. when it's >> is it it's difficult because you don't know until you know exactly how many. So like whereas like you'd love to just say like let's just do it together. I think everyone still really has that pride and really wants to have their own. But there's
063that balance of last thing I want to do is go another year without a without a girls basketball program. Like can we bring it all the way back? Maybe not yet. But we have to either be with another school or have at least one of those teams. Now, I saw a post about the girls basketball team. Are they looking >> Mr. Gford did actually meet with with them today in just exactly what we're talking about? Trying to find out, you're not committed to this at this point in time, but who is really interested so that we have an idea of do we need to join with someone else? Where are our numbers at? Can we do modified and JV? Can we do both? If we combined, what could we do then? just trying to really
064get a handle on it so we can >> have more informed conversations for sure. >> Done a really nice job with that. >> Yeah. Yeah. >> Having his kind of finger on the pulse of where the students lie, who the >> Ben setters are and trying to have those conversations with the individuals. >> It's important. Well, and and I think you know, you see on here too, which it's sort of become routine, we're approving the football combining contract with Hamilton, >> but as we talk about other sports too. I mean, to me, that's more of an ideal timeline. So, softball, we're doing it this year. If we look like we're going to do it again next year, the sooner we can get schools to agree, the better. Because like football, coach has already sent out
065the non required but over the summer workout schedule and if you're if you don't agree to combine then those kids coming from another program don't get the opportunity to participate in those things. >> Whereas when they make the decision sooner when we're aligned like all kids that want a shot at playing get the same shot. >> Yes. And I think on the other side too, then you don't run into kids coming in late from another school and then all of a sudden maybe some of them are really good and now they're starting or taking spots and you you don't have any of those dynamics when they're incorporated sooner. So I think the football has served as a good model for us and we're learning that again as we work in these other sports how to
066do it uh the the best for the kids because that's ultimately why we do it >> and they work together as a team. the better, right? Yes. Yeah. Yeah. Like you don't know like same with indoor track, you don't know when you go to a practice which kids are from Hamilton and which kids are from here. And that's how it should be. They should just be athletes on a team. >> Great. >> Yeah. I will throw in there too if you didn't see the football schedules out. >> And if you weren't tracking, the top three teams in the state ain't man were Morrisville, Frankfurt, and Waterville. We get Morrisville and Frankfurt back to back at home here this year. So clear those calendars in September. Some big football games coming. >> First two home games,
067Morrisville and then Frankfurt back to back. Bang bang. >> And very little travel. >> Yeah. First away game. First game is at Thousand Islands. >> Let's kick it off. >> Last away game end of the season at Thomas Edison and Elmyra. >> Yeah. >> No travel. No, it's a great schedule for the players. They're they're going to have a great season. So, >> hopefully that's the plan. >> Any other discussion? All those in favor? >> Opposed? Motion is carried. Second public comment. >> It's Labor Day weekend. You can't spring for the boys to stay overnight up in Alex Bay. >> Oh, yeah. Right. No. >> Right. That's a great point. >> Labor Day weekend. >> I'm sure that'd be a great >> both tour complimentary. Yeah, I mean the the second game's at on that'll
068seem like next door after going at Thousand Island. >> That's going to seem like a >> perspective. >> That's right. All right. Uh any other board questions? >> Um I guess the only question I have is I know we are talking um you just finished a season of basketball or winter sports, right? >> Yes. >> Um yeah. Did is there anything that the district I know we talked about it possibly like exit not really an exit interview like uh for our athletes towards the coaches you know what I mean um pros and cons just a not a non you know I almost like an exit interview >> how we provide feedback from the >> athletes to get you know not having the kids sign it just say hey bros great season like nothing changed or
069you know what, we had this, you know what I mean? Uh just positive or negative feedback. I know we talked about, you know, uh you know, whether or not, you know, it's we could either take it for what it's worth or you know, just have feedback from our our our athletes in um I don't know if anything has been completed, you know, are we doing anything? Are we talking to our past athletes? You know, do you know if Mr. Different is doing such, you know what I mean? >> Nothing formal. >> Okay. >> No. And he he has conversations with right >> kids all day long. >> So, I feel as like he has a pretty good pulse on what the student perception is of the different sports they're taking part in. >> He has
070working with the girls with uh excuse me with the uh North Brookfield, you know, >> with Brookfield. Yeah. power in basketball, >> you know what I mean? Positive or negative, you know, hey, I do like it. This is something that it's going to be, you know, >> in the future. So, I just didn't know if that that was happen, you know, >> just informally, not formally, but he has he has begun the, you know, the growth rubric with coaches after the fall season. And he and he's reported back on that that he that he likes that process and how that's gone with his end of the season with the coaches themselves. and being able to go through that rubric with them and share different areas and then getting feedback from them as well as far
071as areas that they want to continue to grow their programs. So that process he he's been pretty pleased with that implementation. >> I just I know the basketball is already doing >> off season. >> Yeah. I saw coach remain. Yeah. >> So they got two weeks off now we're >> we're doing some work again. >> Practice moving. I just laugh. It's good fun. >> Like the dedication. >> No, it's great. It's great. Keep them out of trouble. Any other questions? >> We don't have a need for executive session that I'm tracking. >> So, at 656 in budget season, can I get a motion to adjourn? >> Ken, a second. >> Second. >> Thanks, Justin. All those in favor? Uh meeting is adjourned. Let's go. >> Do you think we do? I