November 18, 2025 Board of Education Meeting

001Call the regular board meeting to order. All members of the board are present except board members Blechinger and Buscalia and ex official student board members Carconis Maurice and Perva. Dr. Singh, would you please lead us in the pledge of allegiance to the flag? 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. >> Okay. Thank you. >> May I have a motion to recess into executive session to discuss employment matters relating to particular persons? Dr. Spicer, Mr. All in favor? Motion carries unanimously. I call the regular board meeting to order. All board members are present except board members Bleinger and Biscalia. Good evening and welcome to all in attendance. Please be advised that in the event of

002a fire emergency and an evacuation should be necessary, an alarm will sound. Please note all marked emergency exits and evacuate well away from the building. At this time, we request that everyone turn their cell phones and other electronic devices to silent. Thank you. We are now on item three. Dr. Brown Hall, I turn it over to you for the school and district spotlights. >> Thank you very much, board president. This is truly one of the highlights of our board meeting. Throughout the course of his career, Bill Bill's quarterback Josh Allen has inspired those in our community and around the world to be good and to do good. Following his MVP award, that message resonated within the halls of Williamsville North, where student council leaders are working to spread kindness throughout the school with their be

003good, do good campaign. Please welcome North Principal Andrew Bowen, student council co-advisors Aaron Devantier and Patty Hooper along with the student council members to share more. >> Good evening. >> Thank you very much. Right. >> Very nice. Oh, >> thank you so much for this opportunity to spotlight North High School. Our student council adviserss have done an incredible job of planning many activities to build uh community at North High School. So, I'm going to turn it over to Mrs. Hooper and Mrs. Davente to tell you more about it. >> Great. I'm Hi Looper um one of the advisors for student council and um I think you know we all love Josh Allen and uh but his MVP speech really struck a cord and um when Erin and I took over student council this is our

004first year as adviserss um we wanted to have community be building community be part of um everything we throughout the year. So, um our student leaders, we brought the idea of this campaign to to kind of encourage behavior, kindness, um recognizing kindness uh within the community and wanting kids to feel good about belonging at North and being proud to Spartans. >> Yeah. Uh I love the school that we teach at. The kids are amazing and we just wanted to do something that every month um we recognize the goodness that is in our school. So every month we have a different thing. Well, first of all, we have a little fanny pack that teachers wear with little tokens in that um when they're caught doing something good, they get a token that is good to be

005used at the school store or our hot spot that we have. Um and now every month we're trying to partner with different clubs, too. Like so for our next one, we are helping out with the Polar plunge um and doing a gingerbread house contest and the the proceeds from that is going to go towards the Polar Plunge and each month we're looking to do something to help out within our school um and show that these kids are amazing. So we'll let them talk a little bit more. >> Hi, I'm Molina. Um first off, thank you so much for having us today. Um throughout the start of school, the be good do do good campaign has not only brought everyone together but has um cultivated a a better sense of community. >> Awesome. >> That everyone

006has been buying into. Um we have done various activities throughout the start of school and currently we have been collecting cans to make turkey dinners um for people who are less fortunate. >> Hi Siri Dudy. I really really love being part of be good dog good. Um I have helped plan our my one of my favorite actually things that we've done is our pumpkin kind of scavenger hunt. you would call during October where we put our we put around pumpkins with positive messages and it was just kind of a fun way to help our school feel more inclusive and like Alina said kind of cultivate a sense of almost identity and inclusivity in North. >> Awesome. Thank you very much. >> Enjoy this video. We wanted to start a new campaign in the school that

007promoted inclusivity and kindness which is our be good dog good campaign. Our first be good dog good meeting. It was a couple of people from executive board and our student council officers. We were basing it off of Josh Allen and like what he said in his speech and just how like it inspires people to like do more good in their community and we were trying to spread that around North. It kind of makes like a mentorship for the freshman whenever the seniors interact with them. It really helps them prepare for like when they're older cuz teamwork is something that's involved in almost everything. >> Where do you think we should start? >> For October, we put paper pumpkins around that had tasks to do around the school. for example, put a sticky note on a

008locker that had an encouraging message or say hi to someone new. That was a really big success. We had so many people being so kind. I had actually a couple of my friends telling me like, "Hey, I actually met someone really cool today. I didn't know them before, but this campaign really helped me make a new friend." For November, we are going to do a food collection and make Thanksgiving boxes to send to an organization who they send out to families. For every donation that they bring in, the kids actually get to add on to our turkey. So, our turkeys have some more feathers. Hopefully by the end of November, um we have a turkey that's full of feathers. Um you know, and it's just a nice thing to help out our community and to

009show um community how much Hamilton North cares. >> Be a dog good for me is a way to share my kindness and how I want to be with everyone. I love to be kind and I love to get to know many people. I feel so proud just like seeing that our campaign has done such an effect on the school. It makes me feel kind of empowered in a certain type of way because we really want to put this responsibility on the students to like show their leadership skills and know that they have like responsibilities as they get older. It just gives me hope for the future because a lot of people doubt this generation, but honestly seeing how compassionate some of them can be is really inspiring. It makes the future look bright. >> Awesome.

010Thank you very much. That's very inspiring. >> Next, we know the importance of providing students with unique opportunities and experiences to connect with the curriculum. Recently, a Williamsville South High School English teacher, sorry, English language arts class took a trip to the Eternal Flame for inspiration during one of their lessons. Please welcome Principal Keith Bortman, who will share more. Thank you for having us. Unfortunately, um, our teacher couldn't make it. She is actually, uh, well, she started practice about 10 minutes ago. She's our varsity basketball coach this year. So, you know, she we I said, "No, no, no. You should do that. It's only the second day." Um, you know, I think we all know that uh learning isn't contained just in the four walls of the classroom. And uh one of the things that

011uh this project is designed to do is really connect uh these students to things outside of school. Uh in this in this case, it's getting out to Chestnut Ridge and spending some time uh uh hiking to the eternal flame. I think you'll see from the video uh there's some really interesting things that they do to connect that with uh the English curriculum that very concept of transcendentalism through Walden uh all of that is sort of connected and it's a great opportunity for our kids to uh really do something very different uh with what it is that uh what it is that they're doing as they're writing there. Uh and I'll let the video go through and talk about the rest. >> Thank you, Principal Bordon. We're in Chestnut Bridge. We walked to the Eternal Flame

012and along the way there were five different stations where students stopped and did different activities to connect with the nature around them, connect with the people around them. We start this school year with this nature unit. And the whole idea is to take their creativity in different directions and be able to expand on thoughts in ways that they really haven't had the freedom to in like typical classes. >> I felt ideas come to me smoothly. I feel happier when I'm outside. Just being in the quiet and in the peace helps to bring out the more hidden aspects of your surroundings. I've always seen videos and photos. We like learned about it in science class before. And it's just so interesting to look at it with your own eyes. It's just so special. I don't think

013I get out into nature often enough. And this experience really makes me want to do it more often. >> When we walk back, I want you to pay attention to the temperature on your skin, the silence of the woods. In life, we have our our habits, our ways of maneuvering through our lives. If we're always going on track A, we never get to see what's on track B. So much of life and school and our culture is always go go go. And we never get a chance to be human beings. And that is just being just being still, being with ourselves, being quiet, slowing down. That's an experience that they don't get very often that I think echoes and vibrates in their hearts after they leave. >> Enjoyed some nature. got to see just the

014calmness and like peacefulness of the forest. Just being able to appreciate the small things. Take a second to slow down and experience everything around you. Not going a million miles an hour. >> I got this mushroom because it looks kind of like a sea shell and it reminds me that things can fit in to places that they're not really supposed to. The Mandala station is the students going out, finding things in the woods that they connect with, bring it back, and be able to tell a piece of their story and share it with people around them. You really can start finding yourself, and that's the whole purpose of being out here, being able to find things you connect with, being one with the nature around you. I chose the multicolored leaf because I'm very culturally

015diverse. My mom is from two different backgrounds and so is my dad. So, I'm kind of like a mix of everything. Life is busy. We always have things to do, whether it's sports, your clubs, your societies. So, this was just a really good day for us to just be here. There's so much more than ourselves. Like, we're you're this one person in this huge place. There's so much more to life than just us. It's just like taking a breath and pausing and just letting go of everything else and being present. >> How powerful, right? Thank you for sharing that. I want to go on the next eternal plane and field trip. Right. >> Great. Finally, tonight we want to take a moment to congratulate Dr. Tim Redmond, a social studies teacher at Williamsville East High

016School. At the end of October, Dr. Redmond was recognized and honored with the Dr. Reed Taylor Award for human rights by the Academy for Human Rights. Throughout the course of his career, Dr. Redmond has informed, engaged, and not only developed professional learning to equip teachers, but also curriculum for students to be prepared citizens and leaders in a diverse global community. His work exemplifies and embodies our mission and belief statements as a district. Here is a look at Dr. Redmond, his impact, and the Dr. Reed Taylor Award for Human Rights. To receive this award means an awful lot. I think one, it's an acknowledgement of your dedication to education, but it's also specifically an award for human rights education. >> Tim is at the leading edge of a national conversation on what teachers need. Now, it's

017one thing to learn how to teach, you know, 20, 30 years ago, but we know the earth keeps spinning. And Tim's had his fingers on the pulse of national and international conversation uh and brings that to support our teachers and to train them on important topics. And as the conference manager for the Academy for Human Rights over the past 10 years, he's trained hundreds of local educators. And those numbers matter because each teacher teaches roughly 125 students a year. So pretty quickly, Tim has filled up Highark Stadium with lives he's impacted on the most important topics of our day. >> Yes. He makes a point of seeing the kids as to who they are and finding a way to connect to them because if you can't connect to the kids in your classroom, the other

018stuff is never going to happen. So he finds a way to connect to them, get to know who they are. Sometimes the phrase human rights might seem too big to digest. Um, but caring about the person next to you is not too hard to do. Seeing injustice and addressing it is not so hard to do. And he helps to give them the building blocks to do that both in global one in AP government as well as the critical thinking and human rights electives. His classes really changed my perspective as not just a student but I feel like as a citizen, not just in my community, but in the world. I feel like I left especially human rights and genocide. I left that class with a much larger understanding of my responsibility as a global citizen

019of my civic duty in this country and like in this world. >> I hope that I can sort of spark that initiative. I mean that that is the aspiration for every teacher, right? This is why we get into this line of work. We want to inspire students. We want to inspire our kids to become the best that they can possibly be. >> I feel so much more prepared. I feel like I have a much better understanding of human rights issues of even how complicated they are, how complicated it is to tackle them, but how important it is to tackle them. >> The importance of human rights education in our school and in our district. And I'm inspired by the fact that I was um lucky enough to be given this award and it motivates me

020to be even a better advocate for human rights education here in the district and and across the country. >> Awesome. >> It is my pleasure to welcome and congratulate Dr. Tim Redmond accompanied by principal Jason Swankson, director of social studies Miss Karen Greco and social studies teacher Carrie Fay Daly. >> Well, thank you. Hello everybody. Um, thank you for that wonderful video, Nick. I know how much time you put into that. And just a couple quick words u really about my wonderful colleague Carrie Fedaley who nominated me for the award. It's a blessing to work with such brilliant people and passionate people and great teachers. She's an inspiration uh to me every day. And then I' I'd like to thank some other people in the district. Um, I I think it was probably around 2010

021when I got an email from Karen Greco uh that there was this great program that was running in the summer for students about human rights education and they were inviting teachers to attend. And so I decided to go and I went and uh that's where I first met Drew Ber who was in that video. other he's in Springville, other great teachers like Jim Gang at Hamburg, Lori Rael at Hamburg who had the summer program and all these kids were attending 30 40 kids taking a week out of their summer to learn about human rights. And I was so inspired and I came back uh the next year and I I asked I emailed Karen and and said, "Karen, I'd really love to start a human rights elective in the district." And Immediately she said, "Okay,

022that sounds great. Let's do it." And so then we got together with another colleague, Rebecca Dolan, at North and we wrote the curriculum for the course and then immediately started offering it. And it's been a very popular course since then. And then after that, through teaching that class, I actually was able to meet a gentleman named um Carl Wilkins who uh when the genocide broke out in Rwanda in 1994. Every the US embassy told every American to evacuate, he refused. He was the only American that stayed behind. And he he ended up saving hundreds and hundreds of lives of children who were in orphanages who are going to be slaughtered. and he personally saved them and I just met him through this work. He has since come to Williamsville East. I think he's been to

023North as well. Uh maybe and and I think South I think he's actually been in all three of our high schools over the years and that he's been able to come here because of support from the PTSA that gives me money for paying for his travel and things like that. And then uh a after I established a relationship with him, he asked me to go to Rwanda with him. And I went to Rwanda with him, I think in the in the summer of 2016. And I won't get into all the details of the trip, but all I can say is it was life-changing. It made me a far better teacher. It also made me a far better person. And part of that trip was paid for by the ELF grant through the district. Uh and

024so the larger point here I guess is at every step of the way in my career and journey the district has been there for me. They have provided resources whether it's letting me know about this summer program um providing money to bring in speakers providing money for me to go on to the on this trip to Rwanda and uh that has made me a better teacher. It's I think helped the students become better people as well. Hearing Carl speak makes you a better person. And um and so I'm just very grateful for all the support that I've had over the years because it it has made me a better teacher but also a better person. And so um it's not a district can do far more than just develop their teachers with new technology or

025whatever. they can develop their teachers as people. And when the teachers become better people and they're in front of the classroom, our students become better people as well. And so I'm very grateful for the support. I'm very grateful for the award. Thank you. >> Wow. >> Thank you very much. >> Are we doing a picture, Nick? Okay. Dr. Redmond, if you could. >> We're gonna do a photo. Okay. President, board president, I turn it back over to you. >> Thank you, Dr. Brown Hall. Are there any board acknowledgements? Dr. Singh, >> I wanted to congratulate the drama club of East. We went to their play Radium Girls on last Friday. Steward was with me and we were just amazed at the performances of all the cast there and of course the effort that went to

026building the set and everything there. >> Thank you. >> I have one >> miss Vice President Mana. >> Thank you. Uh today is uh we honor school related professionals. Uh it's school related professionals day. those people who make our schools run every single day. From early morning bus routes to after school cleanup, from bandaging scraped knees to serving nutritious meals. From maintaining safe buildings to supporting our classrooms, our SRPs truly rise to the challenge. Thank you for all you do. >> Thank you, SR. >> Other board acknowledgements. Miss Polland. Yes, I would I would like to acknowledge all of the um young students from our middle school and um some of our freshman high school students also and their music instructors for the great showing that they performed at the um area all state concerts

027la two weeks ago. Um it was truly phenomenal and looking through the program and seeing the number of Williamsville students in each one of those six different um groupings was quite impressive. I think we had at least a third of each one of those. So >> excellent. >> Congratulations to all of them. >> Thank you so much. Other board acknowledgements. >> Okay, we will move on to item 4 A which is public expression. I call on parliamentarian Puland to review our format. >> Welcome to all of you who have come to observe this regular board meeting. Per our policy 1510, the board allows for up to 30 minutes for this first public expression period. This is a time when we invite members of our school community to share ideas, opinions, and concerns with us. While

028we are here to listen carefully and we take your concerns seriously, public comment is not designed to be a discussion. Therefore, please do not expect us to respond tonight. Instead, you will receive a response by email after our meeting. Because we want to maintain mutual respect and civility, please ensure that comments are delivered in a respectful manner to the board directly. Also, under state and federal privacy laws, we are unable to entertain any comments related to employee personnel information or any topic which may disclose information about a particular student. On these matters, we ask that you go through the appropriate administrative channels. Please note that individuals are required to sign up prior to our meeting and each speaker is allotted three minutes for comments. You will be signaled at two and a half minutes so

029that you may conclude your remarks. At this time, we will begin our public comments. After I call on you, please step up to the podium and state your name. Whitney Wild. Hello, I'm Whitney Wild and good evening members of the board. Thank you for giving me this time to speak tonight about policy 5710. I'm speaking not only for my own family, but for many families who have struggled with the sudden and rigid enforcement of this year's bus stop policy. What we've experienced is not just a minor inconvenience. It has created daily safety risks for our children that could be easily avoided with a more flexible approach. For many of us, it has felt as though the district's unyielding adherence to the policy has overshadowed safety and efficiency. On my street, for example, the bus now

030stops far away from where all of the children on the street actually live. Children as young as five are required to walk along a road that has no sidewalks and that h has traffic that often does not adhere to posted speed limits. On the street next to ours, elementary students must walk down their street and cross a busy road notorious for speeding cars to reach a street corner. This is not a safe or logical expectation, but it has been happening because the district refuses to allow the bus driver to listen to parents and make common a common sense judgment call to make the stop at a safe spot. While the study concluded that a small number of reviewed stops were unsafe, many families continue to see situations that the report does not fully reflect. Children

031crossing busy roads, waiting at corners with poor visibility, walking much farther distances, often without sidewalks or lighting. and the upcoming winter conditions when snow piles up, streets narrow, and children cannot walk safely on wands on lawns or curbs. Many assigned stops are on private property where snow removal can't be enforced, causing children to stand in the road or on properties where homeowners are unknown to the ch the families with students and who may not welcome the added liability of children in their driveways. These are everyday lived experiences and they matter just as much as did as the data provided in a study. If the district chooses to listen to parents, you will see what a third-party study simply cannot show you. Parents and bus drivers are the eyes in the neighborhoods, the ones with the

032students observing conditions in real time. As you review the study tonight, consider change and consider changes to the policy language. I want to emphasize that parents are not asking for special treatment. We are asking for common sense. We are asking you to trust your drivers and parents to work together to determine sensible locations based on actual conditions. We are here because we want all children in the district to be safe. But to do this, we need a transportation policy that supports safety rather than undermines it. The number of concerns raised this year shows that the current policy is not working. Williamsville School District is a highly soughtafter school district and quite frankly we can do better to provide safe bus stops for all of our students because every student matters. What we ask of the

033board tonight is simple. Please approve changes that restore the flexibility that used to exist that allowed parents and bus drivers to make safe and reasonable adjustments based on real conditions, not just policy wording. And please remember that our children are more important than policy. Thank you. Thank you, Maria Lapololis. Hope I got close on your name. >> Legoplos. Thank you. Good evening. I'm here to discuss the similar issue of bus safety. Um, again, I am not thinking that my situation is unique. By the sounds of it, there are many people in my situation. My son is almost six and is a grade one student. Um we are attending Forest Elementary. We are the only stop on our street. Um and yet we are having to walk down to a fire hydrant which is at the

034other side of the street. We have no sidewalks. The exact same situation as many uh parents are facing. It has not been a problem thus far. I bring all three of my kids down to the bus every day. However, I do believe that come winter when the snow piles up, our neighbors may not be as friendly. we may not be able to wait on their property and we will be forced to wait in the middle of the street. Again, I do believe this is an extreme safety issue. I was looking to see if there could be some consideration for these unique situations uh where it can be left either up to the bus driver or um to the discretion of the board where maybe again I understand a route needs to be streamlined. However, there

035are situations like this where there are no sidewalks. Come winter there will be nowhere for us to wait. Um secondly, situation that we are in is that we are the only stop for Forest Elementary on our street and the bus after picking us up at the fire hydrant drives directly by our street uh sorry by our house. So I I just you know think that there could be some consideration um for the the houses that were not studied um in this uh the study that did look at the 71 uh streets that uh oppose other safety issues. there are other issues that maybe have not been discovered yet such as ours. So, I was looking to um see if that could be um looked at by the board. Thank you. Appreciate it. Thank you, >>

036Lisa Perry. Good evening, members of the board, administrators, and community. My name is Lisa Perry, and I'm here to speak about student safety in the district's bus stop policy. For many years, Williamsville picked students up at or near their driveways, even though the written policy stated otherwise. Families built routines and safety plans around that long-standing practice. This year, however, enforcement changed abruptly. Drivers have expressed that they fear disciplinary action if they make even a single safety based exception, even in cases where an adjustment adds no time or distance to a route. Many neighborhoods in our districts have no sidewalks, forcing students to walk in the street. Right now, children are stepping into leaf piles. Soon, they'll be walking through snow and ice in the dark early morning hours. Many students must now walk to busy

037corners that were never designed for small children to wait safely. The district recently shared the PTSI school bus stop safety audit. While we appreciate the effort, the audit examined only 71 stops out of more than 5,000, less than 1.5%. That is far too small a sample to accurately represent safety districtwide. The audit does in fact note that driveway stops are often the safest safest option when sidewalks or shoulders are absent, reinforcing the need for flexibility. And every child is different. Some simply do not have the executive functioning needed to follow safety instructions. Our neighboring districts have taken more protective approaches. Clarence and Sweet Home continue driveway pickups and drop offs, accepting extra time on the bus in exchange for safer access. Other districts like North Tanowanda use bus aids so young children board and exit

038safely. Williamsville currently provides neither of these supports. Families also face real life challenges that current policy does not account for. Grandparents who help with child care may struggle to walk to distant stops. Parents carrying infants or managing toddlers face same difficulties. District policy should work with families to support safety, not create daily obstacles. Inside our schools, safety is treated with the utmost seriousness. That commitment to safety cannot end at the building doors. It must extend to transportation from school to the porch and back again. A petition calling for flexibility, safety centered adjustments has now gathered nearly 500 signatures. Tonight, I respectfully urge the board to amend the policy to allow for reasonable casebycase stop adjustments. Our children deserve safe access to the bus just as they deserve a safe environment once they arrive at school.

039Thank you for your time. Thank you, Erin. Aaron Petritz. Thank you. I can't say anything more eloquently than the last two speakers already have. So, I would just um bring up the exact same issue. We live on a culdeac. We have 15 homes, two kids at a 10 public school. We've had the same location for the last two years was suddenly moved to a much more dangerous location. Um we've addressed the issues with the uh transportation department policy. Um we would just like an answer on why has been moved to more dangerous location. What steps need to be made to uh move it back to where it was. We're not asking for the bus to take longer, go a different route. I'm fine with my kids walking and that stop is in a dangerous location.

040There's a lot of visibility issues. Your own traffic study says there's issues with the stop. Nothing has been done to change it. So, if you're not going to look at your studies, you're not going to listen to the parents want to know what solutions we can expect. Thank you. Andrea Mlan. >> Good evening. Thank you for having us. My name is Andrea Mlan and my comments are on bus stop safety. Williamsville Central School District does so many things in the name of student safety. Yet this year the decision was made to remove a measure of safety from children of all ages. a poorly communicated strict adherence to the bus stop location policy. I moved here in 2022 and my children have always gotten off and on the bus at our house and the reason seemed

041very obvious to me. We don't have sidewalks and our road is a through street to transit. I feel this change was reckless. Many of the parents and bus drivers who have years of experience on their roads and routes were told hydrants and corners only in the name of policy and treating all kids the same. What should be considered fair to all the children of this district? The rigid policy that all children are standing next to a hydrant or corner when the bus arrives or that all children have a safe path to the bus stop and a safe place to stand while they wait. In different neighborhoods, this means different styles of stops. For roads with no sidewalks, no marked shoulder, it is not safe for children to walk in the shared roadway with vehicular traffic.

042On my street, there's a long history of speeding traffic which the Clarence Highway Department will verify. This polic simply puts children and their caregivers in harm's way more than necessary. The district should be helping to mitigate risks even if they deem them not the district's liability. Our school district has an excellent reputation because it goes above and beyond, not because it meets the bare minimum of the law. Academics, art, music, sports, all of these areas are invested in above and beyond the bare minimum. And I believe our district is capable of providing transportation to all students in a way that surpasses the bare minimum requirements and is appropriate for the actual conditions on each street. I would like to know what are the metrics driving this change? How much has the district saved in dollars

043and time by making this policy enforcement change this year? What savings of time and money does the district hope to get by increasing risk to families health and safety daily? Who decided what our children are worth? And has the district seen any benefits from taking the safety measure from us? I propose that the district include language in its policy specifically to ensure the safety of students on through streets with no sidewalks. Housetohouse bus service should be in place. I implore the district to prioritize student safety over efficiency. Removing measures of safety should only be an absolute last resort and believe our district has not exhausted other solutions to his transportation efficiency issues. Thank you. Thank you. And that concludes our first public expression. Thank you to all. >> Thank you to everyone who spoke tonight.

044Uh we are moving on to item 4B. Dr. Brown Hall, I turn it over to you for uh introduction of the enrollment projections presentation. >> Thank you very much, board president. Every year we hire um Dr. Gman. Previously with the Reed Group. This year Dr. Gman will be presenting and this is actually his final year presenting. So we thank Dr. Gman for the many years of service to our district with developing our enrollment report. Our enrollment report is used to actually identify enrollment projections for the district and help us to understand where we might see increases or decreases in student enrollment which then will affect our FTEEs and our staffing at our school buildings. I turn it over to Dr. Gman. and I welcome you and thank you very much for being here this evening

045to present your report virtually. The report is housed in board docs and Dr. Gman, I turn it over to you. >> Thank you. Can you hear me? All right, >> we sure can. >> Okay. Um, I'm going to rely on Nicholas to move the slides along. Um, I just wanted to >> Okay, you're getting a little bit lower with the volume. >> What's that? >> You're getting a little bit lower with the volume. Can you get closer to your microphone? >> Sure. >> Awesome. >> Okay. >> That's a little better. Yes. >> All right. I'll try to speak up a little bit. We want to yell. Um anyway, it's really been a pleasure to for two decades doing these and uh I've never uh had any uh problems. The staff uh with new staff, new

046superintendent. Uh everyone's been fantastic for the last 20 plus years, but I decided that uh I I'd go out uh on I appreciate everybody's uh cooperation and I hope you you let me know if you can't hear what I'm saying. Uh so we'll go to slide slide one, next slide. There we go. Uh nothing has changed from the key factors, but for those who might not be familiar with this report, we have been uh here for the report in prior years. Um the key factors that we look at are changes in kindergarten class size, the current enrollment of course, migration in and out, the number of resident school age children in private field home and charter schools and the number of students in outof district programs or our concentrated students. >> Uh we look at

047dropouts uh high school leaders and residential development. Those are the factors that really haven't changed in all all the times on this slide three. Um so we're going to look at uh assumptions that we use in making these projections. the current K12 uh enrollments, the birth rates and kindergarten trends, the relationship between birth rates and kindergarten trends, migration and residential development and that impact the impact of of those u residential development and in migration on enrollments, the history of K12, elementary, middle school and high schools and the projections of those and then we have a summary and conclusions. So the report doesn't take too long to to go through uh and frankly there's no new assumptions, no new uh there's no new um outline for for the uh report number four. So our assumptions are

048that kindergartens will be smaller than 12th grades for at least four years in allow. This has been uh an assumption uh for the entire time I've been doing this. Um we'll go into detail on that in migration will offset attrition and I'll explain to those who haven't um got experience with this report what in migration means. the housing turnover, new residential development will increase. That is an assumption and that is continuing and other factors such as incarcerated youth and so on uh and students in um in uh parochial schools and private schools will stay stable and that's been true except for increase in homeschool students during the co uh pandemic. next. Okay. So, if you look at this, it shows you what our K12 enrollments are this year. And um you can see that uh

049the kindergarten is not the smallest class, but last year it was quite small and this year it's gone up significantly. Uh and the largest class over 800 is uh leaving the 12th grade this year, but a class of 799 is in the fourth grade. Uh so we're really leveling out as we go uh in the size of the classes and that's been ongoing. We used to have classes in in the high eights, even over 900. Um, and so our declining enrollments have not been as bad as in other districts, and we'll talk about why that is next. So, one of the things that I like to do is look at the uh birth rates five years prior to uh class a kindergarten class and the correlation between the birth rates which are the red line

050and the kindergarten classes 5 years later which is the blue line is pretty pretty stable. um they go up and down pretty much in the same direction. Um and then there's a factor of students moving into the district which um supplements the fact that if you just had the students born in the district 5 years prior, you wouldn't have a class of more than let's say uh you know 134. But when you get the kids that have moved in who are in that age group over the over the period of 5 years, you have a class of 600 plus. So uh that what we do is we take an average of the difference between the birth rate and the and the kindergarten enrollments and um we apply that to the projection. So that's how we

051make projections in class projections have been pretty accurate about 100% because it's hard to predict what's going to be. Okay, we move on. So migration and residential development, we haven't uh seen you do this report before. Migration in or out is the net effect of both housing turnover and new residential development. And over the past years and decades in migration has mitigated the effects of smaller kindergarten classes, lower birth rates on the overall paytime targets. So if students were moving out of the district, you call it out migration and you can see that. Okay, next slide. All right. So, historically in the last five years, the K12 enrollments have increased by 50 students, which on a base of almost 10,000 is um almost the same um really have been very very stable over the past

0525 years. uh next and we project something similar a little bit of of an uptick which has taken 20 years to to appear. Um and a little bit of an uptick on the um enrollments about 200 give or take over the next 5 years is what we would project. Okay. Next, the elementary school history of all the elementary schools is again very stable. This 27 increase of 27 over the last 5 years, which is better than it was when we started because of this decreasing curve. 11. Thanks. Um and next year uh for the next 5 years we project continued increases um of about 150 120 students across all the elementary schools. So it's not a huge increase but it will have an effect. And then the middle schools, the 5year distribution, uh was uh

053an increase of 155 students um which put some pressure on some of the schools. Next, but we look at some of these larger classes moving out. Um we're replacing some some smaller classes for the elementary schools, but still not a significant uh gap. uh 82 students that's within the margin of error I think over the next five years next the high schools um in the high schools very similar uh because their classes were so large uh grieving uh and smaller middle school classes moving in there was a net minus 143 and but 450 All right. But we project that leveling out will will occur maybe a little bump up in the high schools of 155 students 60 150. Okay. So there again it's more or less stability all the way through. Um and then we

054look at uh what we say is the summary conclusions what we say in terms of the current versus next year versus 5 years from now. Um you can see relative stability across the board with some districts being projected to some I'm sorry some elementary schools being projected to increase a little more than others. uh some may be decreasing but overall pretty much um fability there and uh what we found was Dodge Maple East and Maple West um you need to look at what these numbers what the implications of these numbers are and Hind needs attention due to the number of proposed developments in the current feeder patterns Um and I did mention in the report that um it's hard to predict or hard hard to determine um how developments are progressing based on the gsi

055um you know of satellite images because they're not current. So I I recommended that that staff occasionally go out and look at the different projects that are on the boards and the planning department can tell you that and just see where they are. Are they starting to settle? Are they just just starting to clear? Because if they're just starting to clear, you don't have to worry about it for about 5 years. they're starting to uh sell um you go on Zillow too and look at it. Um then they will start having an impact. uh number and it's the same story but there is a bump up in North High and again that is due to the potential for a lot of projects that are in that part of the district coming in um and coming

056into middle schools elementary middle and the high school. Um so summer students next slide uh K12 enrollments will level out uh as follows increases in elementary and small decreases middle and small in the high school. The key word there is small, but they can be impactful year to year. Um, and school district to school district because you can't really predict that closely. Oh, you know, five families moving in with with five uh five to 10 uh children of school age can can have an impact on one school. uh the economic recovery including home turnover and new instruction will add students to the district outside of smaller elementary classes. And while the uh the COVID pandemic had a a big impact slowing um development, there were a lot of activities that have geared up, but now

057there's a downturn in in some of the home sales for a variety of reasons. But eventually uh those homes are going to turn over and and the new construction is going to have students in it. And uh as I just said the effects of residential development will vary among the schools but with things that you can't really project. And that's it. Any questions? >> Board members. Are there any questions? Dr. Gman, I don't I don't see any questions. >> I've done that quite a job. >> Yes. And and thank you because I have been here this is my sixth year and I know you have uh provided this for the all the time I've been on the board. So, we appreciate everything you've done for us. Thank you. >> Thank you very much. Have a

058great night. Dr. Gmith. Enjoy your retirement. >> Mhm. >> Thank you. Dr. Brown Hall, I turn it over to you for item 4C, which is our bus safety audit presentation. >> Thank you very much, board president. So, as many of our speakers have indicated, our policy 5710 has been in our books for many, many years, dating back pre209. After we completed our transportation efficiency study in the spring, we saw that we actually weren't adhering in many instances to policy 5710. We communicated over the summer that we would be adhering to this policy and we wanted to make sure that all of the information we received from the transportation efficiency study we acted upon beginning the fall of 2025. After we did that, we did receive a number of inquiries and complaints from parents explaining that

059they had been used to the way transportation was actually taking place in our district. many parents that had home pickup. Um, and unfortunately we are not able to actually identify how many of those home pickups were legitimate because of um stops that we made as a district or which of the pickups were in place because bus drivers decided or par parental request to the bus drivers not in adherence to policy 5710. So when parents say we are strictly adhering to policy 5710 this school year, they are absolutely correct. But with those inquiries and complaints, I did discuss with the board and our acting assistant superintendent of finance and management services that maybe we actually contract out with the pupil transportation safety institute who is very well known for their best practices in bus stops and

060bus routes and their examination of bus stops and bus routes. So, we reached out to PTSI and they agreed to come into our district to perform the audit. There was a lot of great background work done before this audit. Really getting all of the bus stops that we received complaints about and our acting assistant superintendent, Dr. McInley, actually compiled those stops and additional stops so we have a representative sample that PTSI would examine across the district. I'm going to turn it over to Dr. McInley first and he will discuss some of the background with the study. Dr. McInley. >> Great. Thank you Dr. Brown Hall and thank you for going to launch the presentation here. All set. So as you know our transportation department coordinates a massive operation each and every day to safely transport

061approximately 9,000 public and private students uh daily. Uh that's once in the morning and then again once in the afternoon. Uh so with over 5,000 bus stops and uh it's important to to note that that's 2500 in the morning and 2500 in the afternoon. We average about three and a half students per stop. Uh but that doesn't mean you're going to see three and a half students at each stop. There's going to be some stops that have maybe one student and other stops that have over 10 students. There's also uh there's also days that students don't ride the bus due to a variety of factors including families who choose to drive their children sports or high school students who drive their own vehicles. This equates to roughly about 1,400 students with with roughly 9,600 Williamsville

062students. This means we have about 8,200 in district students who ride the bus daily. Additionally, because we are required by law to provide transportation within 15 mile uh 15 mile radius of public um of private schools. This mean we this means we service about 75 schools on a daily basis with a fleet of over 125 buses. Keep in mind that most buses have three bus runs in the morning and another three bus runs in the afternoon uh that service our high schools, elementary schools, and middle schools. So, as you can see, there's a significant and complex operation that occurs each and every day to safely and efficiently transport thousands of students to and from school. Our transportation policy 5710, which has been in existence for over 20 years, affirms the board of education's commitment to

063providing safe, efficient, and economical transportation for all eligible students. This polic outline standards for distance measurement, bus assignments, routing, and bus stop locations, as well as specific provisions for students with disabilities. With regard to stops, it's important to note that in nearly all cases, unless a home has a hydrant or the property is located on a corner, the bus is either going to pass directly by the house or stop just short of the house. However, as stated in our policy, students in grades K to four would not be expected to travel more than one of a mile uh to the bus stop or two ten of a mile in grades 5 to 12 unless a child lives on a street that we're not permitted to travel down. Nevertheless, following recent transportation discussions regarding this policy

064and family inquiries, the district engaged the People Transportation Safety Institute or PTSI uh to conduct an independent on-site audit of a representative selection of district bus stops, including several locations where safety concerns had been raised in order to help us strengthen our review process. PTSI is an internationally recognized provider of school bus driver training, management, consulting, and safety resources that happen to be located in Syracuse, New York. They've been serving the school transportation industry since 1994 and have a long-standing partnership uh with thei uh with the New York State Education Department and have been and have developed the state's district safety review program. Our evaluations centered around 24 regions and included um neighborhoods and over 70 bus stops that represented a diverse range of factors including many u main busy roads, residential streets with and

065without sidewalks, rural areas, culde-sacs, wide roads, narrow roads, fire hydrant stops, corner stops, and apartment complexes. It's important to note that this study was not a scientific randomized study. It was an intentional targeted sampling of stops already identified as having concerns. This is a common and appropriate method when the goal is to analyze areas of potential risk. The audit was therefore not intended to draw definitive conclusions about every stop, but rather to test, validate, and enhance our existing criteria and methodology. We also strategically conducted this evaluation in the last week of October which allowed the auditors to observe authentic safety consideration uh considerations such as limited morning visibility, inclement weather such as rain and frost and roadway obstructions such as leaf piles. We also asked the auditors uh to consider additional safety factors such as

066snow and ice in their study. We're fortunate tonight to have uh Miss Maria Karachi, training and development specialist for PTSI with us tonight to share her findings and the PTSI findings. Miss Karachi brings a wealth of experience to her role. Prior to joining PTSI in 2018, she spent over 20 years as a school bus driver, safe uh safely transporting everyone from preschool children to adults with special needs. In addition, she served as a transportation student behavior lazison for 17 years, providing training, monitoring, compliance, and consulting drivers, attendants, students, parents, and principles. She is also a certified crisis intervention trainer through Cornell University and currently holds certifications as a New York uh state school bus driver instructor and 19A examiner, ensuring the highest standards in transportation, safety, and driving driver training. Miss Karach has uh dedicated

067her career to transportation and continues to develop uh materials and programs and enhance the industry. It's my pleasure to introduce Miss Maria Karach. >> Thank you. Thank you. It's my pleasure to be here tonight to have a little discussion regarding the study that we did. >> Can you speak into the micro? >> I can. >> Thank you. used to that bus driver voice. I don't want to blow you all out of the seat. Anyways, it's my pleasure to be here tonight to discuss the uh study that we did for you at the end of October with bus stops uh in the community of Williamsville. Thank you for this opportunity. A little bit about PTSI. We are a notfor-profit operation. We've been in operation for 30 years. Not only do we do training online and in

068person. We will create curriculum for individual uh areas in in need. We do consultations as well as contracting throughout as uh as he said throughout the country and uh we enjoy what we do. I think he covered most of my uh information here. I have been in the industry for 39 years. Retired in 2018, had an opportunity to work part-time for PTSI. they offered me a full-time position and here I am out of retirement. Um, one thing I would like to add is that I am at the national level a pupil transportation specialist in addition to a master instructor here in New York State. Awesome. The methodology that we used at PTSI when we did the study here, we had a team of three auditors. The district obviously as uh he said identified 24 neighbors

069neighborhoods for us to examine and within that those neighborhoods 71 stops. We did traffic counts morning and afternoon. We did bus stop assessments with a strong focus on the safety of those locations. the bus stop, excuse me, study field criteria that we we covered. The traffic counts involved a 30 minute window. And when we talk about that 30 minute window in our uh our daily routine, there was established pickup times on the routes that we covered. And in those routes, if it was a 7 o'clock pickup, what we did 15 minutes before we were at the stop, we waited till the bus arrived. 15 minutes later, we left. So during that assessment of that stop, we were able to absorb the amount of traffic that flowed at that intersection or at that bus stop. That

070included both commercial vehicles and non-commercial vehicles. We also took a look at the geographical layout of that bus stop. Was the bus stop on a curve? Was it on a hill? Was it a straightaway? Were there any obstructions there? Were there trees, bushes, shrubs, things that we needed to take into consideration during the evaluation. We also looked at sidewalks. We looked at the walk path the student would have to take. We looked at the areas where they waited for the bus. Is it adequate? Does it meet the regulation for New York State? We took all of those factors into consideration. We also look at the intersections and railroad railroad tracks, which ironically you don't have any of those here. I was quite impressed. First time ever, but through that whole process, we were able to

071come up with with a great positive study and the outcome. The assessments that we received were par parent inquiries over time. Um, the assessments focused on specific addresses and we we went out and we measured from a particular address to a bus stop location, whether it be at a hydrant or at an intersection, from the middle of the driveway to that location. There were non-specific concerns that we covered. It was a general assessment for safety and how you were doing in the district, district, and families. They flagged 71 concerns, 71 stops. 52 of those stops received no recommendation for enhancements and that overall is 73% of what we looked at was okay. It really looked good. 22 recommendations for enhancements at 19 stops were made. Those recommendation examples consisted of moving the stop a few

072feet away, combining some stops, creating a house stop, removing limbs, removing any type of obstruction that may be there or possibly adding a stop, a warning, a bus stop warning sign, which you can see on the screen. That's what that looks like. And that's a little bit more involved because it gets the town and the county involved to come up and assess that location. The general study uh the summary that we have data collected highlights the the uh correlation between effort and safety and you met it. You are good seeking better. Kudos. The district focused on safety of their children time and time again. You are 22 recommendations away from safer and it's my understanding based on a an email I received yesterday that you have already made those steps and put that in progress.

073We know that there'll be a few things, a few more steps involved to the signage process for approval from that. But overall, that's what we found. I want to thank you again for that opportunity to come out here and evaluate your district. It's a wonderful place, Williamsville. I had no idea it was a hidden secret all these years I traveled to Buffalo. Didn't know it. But so, do you have any questions for me? >> Dr. Singh, >> I just have one question. What are your suggestions in case of snow covering parts of the road or at least in fall? >> Yeah, when it comes to snow, that's a difficult situation. Obviously, we don't know what the percentage of snow will be. We don't know the specific locations and how well parents or or driveway owners,

074you know, the residents that live there will clean that. um the best bet, you know, we we did a lot of measurements as far as width of the road to make sure that there was at least a safe accommodation even if two vehicles passed. >> You will see in in the report where we'll have 27 and a half ft. So, you average the the distance of two or the width of two vehicles side by side would still allow them enough distance or enough safe walking space even with snow in the road. Thank you. >> Yes. Uh perhaps you or Dr. McInley can can answer this. Why is it important or if it's not important to have established bus stops? I you know a speaker had said earlier we've re received emails that they have to

075go to point A but the bus picks them up at point A but then drives right past their house. Why is it important to have those pre-established stops? Or is it important? >> Right. I can help answer that. >> Go ahead. I can do it. You're okay. >> Well, for the safest thing for uh for student pickup and drop off is to have an established stop. The purpose for that established stop is for the driver to be able to identify the child and say, "Okay, there's five children at the stop. I'm going to wait for five children." If there aren't five children coming to the bus, then I can assume one may not be coming at all, we don't want to miss a child because that's how accidents happen. So, if there's a designated stop

076with a designated number of students to pick up and drop off, it's easier for them to know exactly who's on their bus and who's getting on and off at what given time. That's why this that's why they establish bus stop locations. >> Thank you. And you know, my other comment would be that, you know, I I wish the district had the capacity to do door-to-door service. You're talking hundreds of extra bus stops, literally hundreds of stops. If you took every one of those children who live on streets with no sidewalks, and Williamsville has a significant amount of those, it's hundreds of stops. would add another half a dozen at least dozen buses which our provider could not provide and we could not afford even if they could provide. Um again I wish we could do

077door-to-door service. Um and I'm glad you focused on the stops that were you know problematic or troublesome where you receive phone calls on because there's a bus stop in front of my house. I have sidewalks. I'm glad you didn't spend time looking at that one. Right. You focused on um getting a larger representational sample of the troublesome stops, not just of every stop, but of the ones that are were problematic. So, I think on your methodology, I think I agree with the way you conducted that. >> Thank you. >> Are there any other questions or comments? >> So, I move that we the agenda to address item 14A policy update 5710 transportation program now before moving on to item five >> second it sounds like we are done with questions for you so thank you

078so much >> thank you Nick I'll leave this here >> and we have a motion and a second to reorder the agenda to address item 14A policy update 5710 transportation program is there any discuss discussion on that motion. Okay. Dr. Singh, >> just one I have a request from the policy committee to highlight the change we have made in the policy so everyone is aware of that. >> Absolutely. So uh before we're okay for a discussion then the the part of we did make a few changes but the pertinent one that we're talking about tonight is school bus stops may generally be established at street corners fire hydrates and then we added or at a district designated location that is safe and efficient for bus routes. >> Thank you. So, I have a motion and

079a second. Is there any other discussion? All in favor of moving the agenda item? Motion carried unanimously? So, now we're This is We actually jumped ahead because now may I have a motion for the second review of policy update 5710 transportation program as presented? Dr. Singh, Miss Fletch, is there any discussion on the policy? We just outlined the change that was proposed. Again, it's adding at a district designated location that is safe and efficient for bus routes, which means that the transportation department will be making those determinations. Um, is there any other discussion? Okay. All in favor of the second review and adopting this updated transportation program policy as presented. Motion carried unanimously. Did I do everything here? Yes. >> Okay. Just want to make sure. Okay. So, now we're moving back to our normal

080agenda. We are on agenda item number five. The Superintendent report. Dr. Brown Hall, I turn it over to you for agenda items 5A, 5B, and 5C. >> Thank you very much, board president. So, we will start with the community update for November 18th, 2025. Our wall of fame. So, when you go to our high schools, you will excuse me water. I get some more water. When you go and walk through our high schools, you will see there's designated No, you will see there's designated space on many of our high school walls where we do have wall of fame inductees. So, these are some of our high school graduates that have gone above and beyond and are very accomplished. Nominations can now be submitted for the 2026 Williamsville Wall of Fame. Applications are due by April

08113, 2026, and the induction ceremony will take place on November 13, 2026. We have a district-wide induction ceremony. And then we actually have at East, South, and North, we have a separate program honoring those students who are inducted into our wall of fame. As we sit here tonight, the National Technical Honor Society induction ceremony is taking place at Erie 1 Boseis tonight. We have a number of students that we wanted to highlight and list here that are being acknowledged this evening and are being inducted into the National Technical Honor Society at Boise tonight. So, I want to acknowledge and applaud these students for that accomplishment. Next, we're hiring. These positions are positions that we are always hiring for. So, we have yearround hiring for many of these positions. Clerical, custodian, and maintenance mechanics. There are

082no civil service exams for those positions. We have comprehensive benefits for full-time positions, paid time off, and holidays, multiple locations, and shifts available for those positions. We are also hiring for two additional positions that have no civil service exam. Teacher aids and cleaners. Again, paid time off in holidays, and they're available at multiple locations and shifts. So, if you know of someone that is looking for a position, that loves being around students, that loves being in our schools, these are the positions for them. For many of these positions, we can be very flexible. So, I would encourage them, anyone, to visit our jobs tab on our website to see how to apply for these positions and then have a conversation with our HR department, our communications department. As you saw the three videos this evening

083when we did school spotlights, our communication department works tirelessly to make sure we are showing all the great things happening in our district. And our communication department is nominated for several awards. Our communications team was recognized recently by the New York Schools Public Relations Association with four awards for our video for excellence in our 2024 opening day. Our honor they received for the video for the Flamefest at East High School. Also an honor for our photograph of the last day of school as you see right there. That is a great photo. And we received an honor for our 2024 2025 calendar that every family member gets that really highlights student artwork also. So kudos to our communications department. Nick along with Dave Morales, our assistant director, and Amy Vwinkle, who is one of our graphic

084artists and designers. Winter weather. I actually wanted to remind and I I see it a lot al also we we know we have even when there is very very high amounts of snow we still have students who wear shorts and I get it right but I want to please make sure you and your children are prepared for the winter. If you are missing hacks glove jackets or sweatshirts please be sure to check the lost and found at your school or the transportation department. Those pile up fast and elementary recess can still take place outdoors during the winter months. So, make sure our students are prepared for that. Chromebooks. So, this is a discussion we began um districtwide. Right now, our middle schools, when you arrive in middle school, grades 5 to 8, you are assigned

085a onetoone Chrome Chromebook device for all students. We are beginning initial discussions to continue the onetoone Chromebooks for grades five and six for the 2627 school year. So we want to have balance of screen time, right? So we have a continued desire for that. We want to make sure that we're not aiding in that screen time accumulation over the day. Every classroom that we do not assign the students a one-to-one Chromebook will have a class set so that students are still able to use the Chromebooks in school and all of their classes. Right now we are really getting feedback. for soliciting feedback from our parents and if you are willing to share any feedback, please do so with your building principal. We are in the initial stages of this. We hope to make a decision

086soon so that if teachers need to adjust any assignments that they give our students, they will have a good chunk of next year to do so prior to the 26 27 start of school in the fall modernization. So, we're always looking, our board is always in a continuous improvement mode, and we're always looking to how we can not only better our instruction, our curriculum, our homework and grading processes, but also our school buildings. So, we're having initial ideas and thinking around a modernization project for the future. Our air conditioning in the buildings remains our long-term plan. As you know, we have phase one and phase two of our air conditioning project happening at our elementary schools. We're in our initial thoughts to enhance and modernize our school. Looking at some common areas in all of

087our school buildings, whether it be the hallways, the cafeterias, the libraries. Now, some of our schools have had those areas already updated during recent construction projects. So, every school will not be receiving the same amount of modernization. But right now, we're in the idea gathering phase to see what could be done at each of our schools to increase the modernization. We realize that priorities differ from school to school. So, we'll be having discussions with our principles about what modernization would be effective, efficient, and necessary for their school buildings. >> Mr. Brown Hall, can I just interrupt you there? I know I'm jumping ahead, but do we are we planning to set up a reserve for modernization? >> I didn't answer questions. No. Yes, we are. We we will we definitely will. We always have reserves

088set up and you'll you'll remember I believe um we re recently added another reserve last year. So, we do have reserve setup and we will continue to do that. Absolutely. Any other questions, board members, before I do the next three slides? Thanksgiving recess. I want to remind everyone after this week we have Thanksgiving recess next week, November 27th and the 28th. We realize that it is late this year. When we return from Thanksgiving recess, it will be December 1st. We will have 15 school days before winter break. And then we're on break for two weeks for winter break. And then we come back and it is 2026. So seniors, I will say again, savor every day of school because you will be walking that stage before you know it. want to remind you all of

089our PTSA craft show. It's our 49th annual. It will be on December 6th and 7th at Heim Elementary and High Middle School. I encourage you if you are looking to buy some of the cookies that that I I forget her name, the lady that sells the cookies every year. They go quick, so get there early on December 6. But our craft show is phenomenal. You can spend all day there. So, I encourage you to make sure you stop by. Last but not least, our winter recess is December 22nd until January 2nd. Classes resume on January 5th, 2026. And that is the community update for November 18th. Any questions, board members? Thank you very much. I will jump to item 5B. Item item 5B is our uh 2025 2026 staffing and class size report. This report

090is prepared annually. It's used to review professional staffing during the present school year. It also serves as a resource for developing staffing models and projections for the following school year. Considering the total number of sections in grades kindergarten through grade 12, there are a few exceptions to the class size budget development guidelines. You will see we list on the report classes that are underenrolled or overenrolled. We want to make sure that we are staying within the ratios that are set up by the board of education that were adopted many years ago. If there are elementary classes that are over the guidelines, we do provide additional support in those classrooms. At the high school level, you may see some courses that are low enrolled. So many of the small enrollment numbers you see at the high

091school are for classes that must be offered as part of the sequence requirements for graduation or a specific diploma. You may also see this in world languages and project lead the way technology classes. Any questions about the staffing and class size report members? I will jump ahead to item 5 C. item 5C and I I'll click on it here. It's very thorough the explanation there and I want to uh thank Dr. McInley for that. So the audit item that is referenced the audit firm of Joshua Malucky stated at the October Board of Education meeting that their 2425 financial audit showed that the district's financial condition is stable. The difference between the district's revenues and expenses resulted in a $9.63 million addition to the fund balance. A summary on the changes in assets, liabilities, fund balance,

092revenues, and expenses is provided in the PowerPoint presentation that is in item 5C. In addition, the 2627 budget planning historical budgeting increases and decreases document. It clearly identifies the district's main expense area as salaries and benefits. This represents 85.3% of all past annual increases and 76.6% 6% of the budget increase in our current budget. So that report is very detailed also and you can find the entire report in item 5C in board docs. Are there any questions board members? >> All right, board president. I turn it back over to you. >> Thank you so much, Dr. Brown Hall. We are now on item 6A, events. Our conversations with staff is tomorrow, November 19th. We will have a student board member selection committee that will hold a virtual meeting on November 25th at 3 pm. Our

093board retreat is December 3rd, 6:30 p.m. with student board members um attending for the first hour if they're able. Our next building visit is January 15th. And during our November 4th visits to Forest South and Mill, we viewed facility updates and class instruction. We also had a very nice turnout for our community forum on November 1st and the topics included football safety, constitutionally protected prayer in schools, modified sports, transportation, and school start times. We are now on item 6B. Would any of our student board members like to provide a report on activities at their high school? >> All would you like to start, please? Yeah, sure. Start us off. >> Uh, so first of all, I just want to congratulate Dr. Redmond once again. I personally had him freshman year in Global One first thing

094in the morning. It was honestly an amazing class to start the day off with. It was very memorable and yeah, I know he does a lot of work within our school. So, yeah, that's just great that he was able to be honored for his work. Um, as for sports, we've had very successful fall fall sports over at East uh boys cross country, we had qualify for states. Girls tennis, we had two athletes qualify for states and doubles. And girls swimming, they went crazy. The team and class B championships. They won section champions in 200 medley rele. They also set multiple pool records at their transit middle pool. And then they had several state qualifiers across events including the 50 free, the 100 free, the 100 fly, the and all the relay teams. As for gymnastics,

095we had two athletes qualify for states in vaults, bars, and floor and bars. And then on November 13th, our college signing day, we had three girls commit to division one sports in cross country, track, and field hockey. And then for boys, we had two boys commit to D2 in baseball. Um in our school on Veterans Day, we had a we our music department performed at Solstice um housing, senior housing. So basically the students what they did is they created cards for all like the veterans and all the senior citizens there and then they took like a mini field trip there and then they performed some of their band music and orchestra music for the veterans. So that was nice. And this past week on Friday and Saturday our drama club fall play, Radium Girls, which

096was an awesome production. I was unable to go, but all my friends told me it was quite the show. And I'm sure they're already hard at work planning out their winter musical. Um, speaking of the Winter Musical, we have our Winterfest auditions this upcoming Monday. So, Winterfest, how it works is the band, orchestra, and chorus, they all perform. However, it's a two-day event and it takes up the whole night because students can audition to perform individual acts or group pieces. And basically, it's set up throughout like the east stage where the lights like the stage crew they they have people performing near the pit, near the odd and like everywhere. So, that's always a great experience. And there's so many people trying out that they have to do audition and that's just how many people

097are enthusiastic about Winterfest. So I urge all of you to come if you can make it. Um this week we have or this Friday we have NISMA Senior High All State at Sunni Fredonia and next week on Friday December 5th we have NISMA conference all state at Rochester Convention Center and students from East for band orchestra and course they were all selected for these two um band groups and they'll be traveling there to perform. Williams East also had it Thanksgiving food drive where we work with the turkey basket project of Western New York where we provide Thanksgiving dinners to 180 local families in Ammeris and throughout Western New York. So, how East does it, it's sort of like a class competition every year. And on the second floor in the main office, outside the main

098office, there's four big bins and students can donate canned goods and supplies. And there's no pressure because it's like in a public area. So, it's completely legal with the competition rules. And so, whichever um classier wins, they basically, you know, win like the competition. That's basically how they motivate people to donate for the Thanksgiving food drive food drive. Um, for the SCAK meeting this past week, I was personally in group A where we were discussing a district-wide event for this school year. And we were thinking about narrowing it down to a bake sale sometime before spring break. And what this bake sale would consist of, it would be a multi-day event where all three schools, east, north, south, they'd sell they'd sell goods in the morning and They would all be raising money for one

099specific charity and the school that raises the most money, this isn't finalized yet, but they'd get to pick the charity most likely. And there would be other events to go along with this big sale, such as a canned food drive that all like the elementary and the middle schools could also partake in. And they were also thinking about doing like a hot chocolate sale if it was the right time of the year. Um, Stuco also is doing a clubhouse decoration event next week, Wednesday, so right before break starts. So how it works is every club what they're allowed to do is they can sign up to build and decorate a clubhouse in the commons which is our cafeteria area. So everyone comes down, you get supplies, buys all the supplies and you basically have fun,

100hang out with your friends and just decorate like gingerbread houses and then at the end students get to vote on which ones are their favorite designs and then gives out to the, you know, best designs. >> And I also conducted a survey through StuCo home room reps. I basically gave them uh open-ended questions. It was fully anonymous about just the overall school experience. And the time frame of the survey, it was after homecoming, just so that students would have a chance to settle down a bit and get to get used to the whole no phone experience. and some of the topics were about student experience, the school spirit weeks, cell phone bands, and school lunch. So, of the 111 people who were able to answer the survey, uh I had 37 responses. So, I'll just

101quickly go over the major takeaways I had from it. For the phone policies, some of the positives were that students noticed people were talking to each other more, they were paying better attention in class, they were conversing with their peers more. But the negatives were A lot of students complain about specifically in ninth period and anyone who was leaving early, they weren't able to contact their parents unless they were out of school. So the way East does it, you can't contact your parents unless you're like in like the gate waiting to go out, but they complained about the Wi-Fi issue. And you're not allowed to step outside of school and come back in until after 3:00. So that was another issue. Uh difficulty contacting parents, they can do that. They also couldn't do like quick

102communication with um you know anyone outside of school. There was also no music through like their phones and they also did notice certain students you know being like I wouldn't say breaking the rules but not necessarily following it to the full extent of placing it in their locker as it was intended. But the majority feeling was it improved focus but just added inconvenience to the school day. Um for school support, how the school has helped out the students through this transition. What students said was that the games, Chromebook carts, they were all great. However, they could use a couple more Chromebooks in the commons, which there hasn't been any sort of like plan for yet. But all like the games, I know in the library we have like Monala, chess, board games, like puzzles, those

103sorts of activities. And whenever I go up there, I personally do see kids playing with their friends, you know, just relaxing, not on their phone. Um, the free breakfast and lunch program, it was widely appreciated for a lot of students. People were talking about how if they forgot to pack lunch, they appreciated being able to just go in, not worry, not having to worry about how much money was on their account, being able to just type in their code and get a free breakfast or lunch. But two of the biggest complaints were the quality of the food. Many people the quality of the food had decreased and the reduced menu options. And another complaint was about the long lines due to the increased number of people wanting to, you know, take part in this free

104lunch and free breakfast program. So they complained that there'd be long lines and they'd have to spend like a lot of time waiting in the lines to get their lunch. So that was that. So basically students just wanted better tasting, faster lines. Um, as for the transportation, I also had a question about that. So, majority of the students who answered the survey, they did not take the bus. However, those who did take the bus did mention that it they did have a bit of a far farther walk than previous year and it was sometimes unreasonable stops. But majority of the students didn't take the bus who answered my survey. As for spirit weeks, this was this has been like a discussion within our schools, but many students feel is those spirit weeks, they've been growing

105repetitive and a bit stale, I guess, because there's been so many spirit weeks throughout the school year that it's just been too much effort having to know which spirit week is happening this week and what to do for that. So, students said that they enjoy them, but things feel a bit repetitive and the participation is low. So, they thought that they wanted more like competition such as for Halloween, what we did was we had a photo booth and you could take photos with your friends for different like categories such as scariest costume, best like most creative or funniest costume, things like that. And they wanted like prizes and incentives, which they thought would improve the whole spirit week experience. And then for overall school improvements, um people talked about adding heating in the music wings,

106allowing Chromebooks in the commons, um the vending machines not working, which is another thing. And this wasn't a majority of the responses, but I did a couple of responses about talking about school start times and whether or not the board would talk talk about the issue again. So, that was just something they wanted me to ask the board. >> Okay, thank you so much Jazelle. >> Uh thank you. Um, as uh student council and Alita mentioned earlier, uh for our November be good, do good ghost barns event, it's operation turkey where uh each class has items they're asked to donate and seniors get one go government hour for a full Thanksgiving box which is a certain amount of items that you can donate and um all these proceeds are given to local families in need,

107especially with some SNAP benefits being um up for grabs. Uh it's just hopefully to uh help people in need, but also to get uh the students more involved in caring for the community. Um NHS and Link Crew at the end of October had our trunk or treat community outreach event and luckily the weather held up and we had a great event. We had a lot of games and activities. Uh I helped out with a car. We got a pass out candy. It was amazing to see uh a lot of students that like were that were in I believe Caseyheim, Maple East, Maple West, but also some kids that didn't even go to our district that wanted to come down and uh like kind of hang out. So, it was a great event. The North Drama

108Club on the 21st and 22nd of November are is having their uh annual fall play called Arsenic and Old Lace. >> And if you could come out, I know they've been preparing for a while and hopefully I'll be there. Um we I was able to attend the ECASv4 for internet event and they talked about uh cyber security and the protections and how to identify cyber security attacks, how to resolve them, how to prevent them and how to prepare students. They actually provided us with this uh children's book called Cyber Safe and Dogs Guide to Internet Safety. and they talked about how uh I mean I'm not a teacher but how teachers and staff members can uh kind of employ this to their students and uh going into our career paths and as we're working with

109uh our schools how we can ensure safety uh on the internet but Williamsville actually has a lot of firewalls and preventions um we're not able to access Gmail as students we're only communicating through it mail obviously um we can't receive outside emails there's lots of firewalls and VPNs for certain websites um and this protects students and uh there are less infractions that can occur. So it was very insightful uh all the ways that we can prevent these cyber security attacks and also the amazing job that Williamsville is doing to protect their students. Um at SCAK we have a lot of developing ideas and one of the ones that we're talking about at our December meeting is a potential Williamsville concert closet for students in elementary and middle schools and some of the high schools like

110East and South um to receive concert clothing at this concert. So if they're unable to to provide their own clothes for concerts that other members of the community can donate these uh pieces of clothing so that they are well prepared for concerts and able to perform to the best of their ability. Um we also talked about potential of solar powering in the district and hopefully as we go on uh these will be addressed in future meetings. As far as sports, as we transition from fall sports to winter sports, I want to congratulate the volleyball for receiving section champs and making it to regionals, as well as field hockey receiving section champs making it to regionals. And swimmer Sophie Ksmerki is going on to states this weekend. So, congratulations Sophie. And Mia Cap Cupchenko got ninth

111in the state for cross country and is going to Nike regionals to qualify for nationals. So, congratulations Melia. Um, similar to East, we are also having our uh club gingerbread house where uh same thing. We're also decorating uh each club can have one a few representatives decorate um a gingerbread house and compete to see who has the best uh house. I'm not even sure what the prize will be, but uh student council is running this and that'll be our do good spar do good do good be good gosp. So, a lot of fun activities happening at North and hopefully as the winter goes on, we'll have more. >> Thank you so much, Jazelle. DSP. >> Hi, >> I'm going to start out with events. First, we had our pink week where student government put up

112posters and sold pink accessories in the cafeteria for breast cancer awareness. And then we had our fall play called the Phantom Toll Booth. This year they took a bold approach and they had the audience sit directly on the stage with the performers and their response was immediate. All three of the shows were sold out uh immediately online within within days. And then Halloween this year really stood out. There weren't any major themes or incentives, but everybody participated whether it was wearing full costumes or just small just a small gesture with like a themed shirt and Then we also had our trunk or treat with high school students decorating the back of their trunks and representing whether that was representing their clubs or just they just wanted to do it for elementary students. And elementary students

113also brought in stuff to donate for the food drive which is currently happening. It's running till tomorrow, Wednesday. So I encourage people to donate. We also had two major performances, the fall course concert and the spectrum concert which is currently happening like right now at South. It brought um South and middle students together. What I thought about it like it's basically like more than music. It's middle schoolers seeing a glimpse of their future and high schoolers like setting an example for them. We also had red a ribbon week which um returned with posters across the school. Awareness I think is easy to make. Oh wait, sorry. Awareness is easy to make but like sustaining that message uh year to year, you know, that that's the real challenge and we don't let it become a background

114noise. This past Monday, we also had a gym volleyball tournament. It's something students look forward The best teams from each gym class compete and throughout the day students and staff stop by during their free periods to cheer them on. And it's just such a wonderful event. I believe like we also had a number of field trips this month. Many of them included like visiting college. One in particular was to Damon on World Kindness Day where Stephen Henderson and Stephen Rosenthal were there to present where it focused on social justice and community building. I also had them the chance to go to the art field trip to the AKG Museum. My biggest takeaway from there wasn't a painting. It was the see-through glass doors. >> They're intentionally designed to represent equity, letting people on the outside

115see in and those inside see out. I thought I said it was saying like art is for everybody, not just for whoever can afford to walk through the doors. Moving on to the clubs, pickle ball has officially taken over Thursday mornings thanks to Spanish clubs. And then the weightlifting club continues to grow its own culture of effort and consistency. Their monthly challenge right now is It sounds simple until you try it. >> Really humbles you. >> French club hosted a cheese tasting event and is also planning to have a chocolate dip and chocolate dip strawberry and marshmallow fondue event soon. It's >> exactly how you convince people to show up voluntarily. And then I also had the chance to spend some time with the GSA club. For those of who don't know, for those who

116don't know what it means as Gay Straight Alliance, they're incredibly welcoming. And we also played we played board games and had some snacks. And they're also making plans to have an arts and craft day soon in library. And also tomorrow they're hosting a movie talk which is b which is interesting because it's connecting horror horror movies to the LGBTQ community. And another major thing happening soon is Connect Life Club is hosting a blood drive on December 5th. Then I'm going to move on to athletics. The big headline is girls varsity volleyball. They're headed the states. They were on Fire West regionals on Saturday and had a fan bus of students made the made the trip wearing blue and caring signs showing support and spirit. Also, the boys volley took the division to beat sectional championship.

117And then girls swim swim place six in the relay, but one of the students, Bridget Riley, will be competing at states as she won two individual first place finishes. Also, the girls and the boys volleyball or soccer both made it to the sectional semi semifinals. And then South football made it to sectional semifinals too. And even though they didn't like advance, they definitely are part of the conversation. And we will also be celebrating signing day for our students athletes soon around um I believe it's going to happen around the first week of December. And winter sports are also underway. I know triyouts are happening this week and you know it's adding more life to the building than the weather outside ever could. Yeah, our trophies just got more stories to tell but trophies aren't the

118point here. The people behind them are. Thank you. >> Awesome. >> Thank you for ending on that positive note. Appreciate that. And like I said the last time, it it is just amazing everything that is happening at all three of our high schools. So, thank you all for sharing those events and accolades. Um, yes, DSP, >> I I didn't have this in my report, but I wanted to add hearing feedback from Cel I I I was on the phone committee and it's called the distraction free zone committee. Actually, um I like South like we already anticipated kids were going to have a trouble have troublece they didn't So the way we prepared is by having games in the cafeteria especially and our library was already fortunate enough to have Legos and other other games in

119there already. I just thought like our transition was pretty good I would say when it came to the cell phone. >> Great. Thank you for sharing that. >> All right. Are we are we ready to move on? All right. We are on liaison on assignments that are listed in board docs. Uh and then item 6D, our policy committee met on November 10th and provided suggestion revisions for four policies. All of that is listed in board docs. Are there any questions or comments regarding those items? Okay, we are on ECSB and NISBA items. Those are also in board docs. And are there any comments related to ECSB or NISBO events recently? Miss Puland? >> Yes. Um having had the opportunity to attend the NISBA conference in um New York City a couple weeks ago now. Um

120there were some really interesting sessions that I was able to attend. Some things that I just shared with Dr. Balen. Um one was on the junior seal of live literacy which I thought was a very interesting thing for us to thinking about with our younger students and some of some who are very fluent in more than one language and being able to honor that. So, um, lots of good takeaways from that. >> Wonderful. Thank you. Any other comments, board members? Okay, we are now on item 6G, which is the board compensation committee. As a recap, at our September meeting, our board approved seeking a legal opinion on board members receiving compensation for their service. And then at our October meeting, we approved the school board compensation committee to further investigate this topic. Tonight, we are

121looking to discuss and finalize the mission, membership, and responsibilities of this committee. Would someone like to begin that conversation? >> Oh, I begin. I believe there's a someone's asking for an amendment of the charter. >> I had s Yeah. So in our board docs, let me pull that up. Thank you, Mana. There it was a proposed charter that I had suggested an amendment to. And why can't I find it? I'm sorry. I just while you're looking. So I believe the last meeting the board approved the charter mission charter and then we're going to begin choosing the people on the committee which is going to take place at some some point somehow. And then I I saw a an amendment, I believe your amendment. So, >> right. Well, I don't think we actually ever officially approved

122the charter. We only approved the development of the committee and then we added the the item to our agenda. Um, but on the charter, the mission it says to render their opinion to the board of education on whether board of education members shall receive compensation for performance of duties. And my amendment is to add if so their preference regarding a legally available option for pursuing compensation and or the compensation amount. Um so I had suggested that amendment to the mission of your proposed charter. So are there any thoughts about that? Any board? >> Well, I'm just unclear. I thought there was only one legally available option. We had discussed two potential options at the last meeting. I believe the the one option was going directly to a legislator to have an amendment or I'm sorry

123to have legislation added to provide only our district with compensation. That was one option. Correct. >> Yes. And then the other option that we had discussed was doing it or attempting to do it through a NISSBA resolution. Um which after our last meeting there was actually an article in the onboard that a similar resolution was proposed to NISBA in 2022 and that motion failed by a large margin. So in other words, it doesn't seem like NISBA would be supportive of this uh resolutions should we choose to go that route. >> Which brings me back to my original like we already know where that path leads, the NISBA path, right? Which is they're not going to support it. So, why wouldn't we do what I I am under the I understand we created the charter and

124created the committee by 7 to2 vote. Um, and I'm fine with amending it. I don't have a problem with it, but I I don't see why we should eliminate the words where it says the amount what the amount shall be if any. You know, I think what the board's goal was to focus on what William stakeholders were saying and it's a okay board. Um there is a legal way to do it through a legislation specific for Williamsville and we would put together some committee to say we think you should pursue this legislation and here's the an amount we would recommend. or this committee may say, "We don't believe you deserve any kind of compensation and don't recommend that you pursue any legislation." So, it would seem to me we'd want to stick knowing that the

125NISBA support slash path is non-existent. I am for starting in Williamsville and seeing where it leads. Any discussion? >> Dr. Spicer, I I think I'm just going to be repetitive to what you both just said, so I apologize for that, but I think you're both kind of saying the same thing in that um one part of the the edited language is pursuing compensation andor the compensation amount and the previous language what the amount if any shall be to me reads the same just worded differently. So I feel like we can agree on that one. Um and then I would offer that you know it's now 2025 almost 2026 so why not have a committee look into both options and if you know Vice President Mana if the option of legislative approach is better then the

126committee can decide that as well as what is a good benchmark for compensation if there is a benchmark for compensation >> I think add the original language and then add uh President Kashmir Goldner's amendments I don't see why the two have to like kind of All right. >> It's not that wasn't my intent. And like Dr. Spicer said, really my intent was only to add um their preference regarding a legally available option. That was my intent. >> Yeah. My point was just the the compensation language. We can just choose which one we like better, but it says the same thing. >> I I would prefer just to to to keep the original language and then add your I would like the committee to come back with we recommend yes and we recommend 1 cent or

127whatever they want to recommend. So that way we have at least that committee's recommendation and then they could decide okay you should do a NISBA route or we should do specific legislation. Let's I mean let's empower the committee with some direction. >> So I'm I'm a little I'm still confused. So what I had proposed is only to add if so their preference regarding a legally available option. >> A legally available option for pursuing compensation what the amount if any shall be comma to begin sooner or later than that's what it should be. That's what I'm saying. You struck that though. I struck that because I added for and or the compensation amount. >> You just word smith that. >> That's what I'm saying. You're you're way ahead of me then. I'm confused. >> But we

128all need to understand what it is that we are the mission of this committee is. So can you repeat what your suggestion was? >> Sure. My suggestion regarding specifically >> the mission the mission for the committee. Let me get to your screen. To render their opinion to the board of education on whether the board of education members shall receive compensation for per performance of duties and if so actually I would just and the amount what the amount shall be and their preference regarding a legally available option for pursuing compensation. That way they have a definitive, you know, amount or an idea or a path. >> Mr. Per, >> I am just confused as to why we would need to amend what was already in there. I agree with uh my colleague over here where I

129don't think they essentially the same say the same thing >> before the amendment that I suggested it wasn't asking for their preference regarding a legal available option and there's there's more than one option. So I added that wording so that we specifically have the committee look at all legally available options and come back with their recommendation. That's all that that was all my only intent in that language change. >> Well, I think it was kind of just in the original um charter was kind of wrapped up in the ball that um they would give a recommendation. Um, and I I kind of like thought that would be baked into or that'd be part of the discussion of, you know, should what should it be should we be compensated, what the compensation should be, and what

130viable path is there. So, you narrowed it down. Again, I I would prefer to have the original and then yours added in, which I think is is just more comprehensive, more clearer, >> and that's fine. Okay. Any further discussion on that? We also need to come up with the membership for the committee because we do not have any designated membership currently. How the members of this committee will be chosen. >> Well, h how would we go about choosing that? Is that allowed in through emails or suggestions? Uh should we set it now? Should we say it's going to be nine people from the general public and we'll figure out if it's people from PTSA or we do like a lottery like we've done for other things. Uh I suggest maybe three board members. I'd be

131happy to chair the committee if it's if it's the board's will. Um I mean should we just add a number and then work backwards from there or do you want to specify now what groups should be part of that committee? Typically in a charter you would have specifically the the the groups. So whether that be you're choosing three board members, however many from PTSA, however many from the general public by lottery. >> Are those discussions allowed to be held via email without violating the open meetings law? Just to make a suggestion. No, we would need to we would need to have those discussions. And I was under the assumptions we were having that discussion today. >> I'm willing to have it now. >> Okay. >> Any thoughts, board members? >> I'm going to suggest uh

132I I'd be happy to be the chairman. Two other board members who want to volunteer. I would like to have the PTSA um choose uh um three representatives and then I would choose to have uh um whatever Not another odd number. Um, five people uh from the general public. I don't know what term you want to use. Um, >> yeah. >> Are you saying the PTSA council or PTSA? >> What do we three board members? Three PTA council and three members from the >> Yeah. PTSA, >> right? PTA council and then three members from the general public chosen via lottery. >> I would just offer maybe having it be co-chared. Um just to reduce any perception that there's a bias in >> we could have all be named co-chairs. We just have three co-chairs really.

133I mean I'm not looking for any, you know, pride of authorship here, you know. I'm just saying I'll I'll start the process. >> Is this a committee that students will be into? >> I don't see why. I have all for elevating student voice, but for this I don't see. So, just to recap, just so I'm clear, there'll be three board members, three PTSA reps appointed by the PTSA council, and then three um general members of the public, and we can set up very similar to how we get other uh input, anyone that would like to, they can send an email in to the designated email address, and then we would do a randomized lottery to pick three people from that list. So that' be a total of nine. >> Okay. So it sounds like we

134have a plan for the mission and the committee composition. Are is there any further discussion before we vote on moving this forward? >> Just what board members will be on the board? I'm sorry. >> Just one clarification. So this would mean the nine board members and three student members. >> No compensated >> three. It was three board members >> who are going to get compensated. >> I'm sorry. Say that again. Dr. >> be compensated. Is that >> I'm just going to make sure that the board members who will be compensated will be the nine members. >> Yeah. >> And the student members. >> No. >> Okay. Thank you. >> They're nodding their heads. >> Dr. S's trying to get y'all paid. >> So, how do we choose board members who want to be on this?

135>> So, by our policy, those can either be chosen um well, typically those are appointed by the board president by our policy. >> Okay. >> But I would be more than welcome to hear if there are folks that are interested in being on that committee. I would be interested in being on the committee. I'd be interested. >> I would be interested. >> All right. We have three. >> Okay. >> So, we have Dr. Spicer >> quicker than I thought. >> Mana >> and Miss Fletch. All right. So, we have everything we need for the charter. We already um agreed to approve the committee or to move forward with the committee with these details. So, are there any other details we need to discuss before we move on? I see our student board members saying no.

136We're done. Just joking. Okay. All right. So, do we need I don't think we need to make a formal motion because we already voted on forming the committee. So, we do have the details figured out and the amendment to the mission and the committee members. So, we will go ahead and move on. Thank you everyone. >> Thank you. >> Um we are now Correspondence. Correspondence was received regarding Casey Middle School, South High School musical tickets in Boston, the West uh Williamsville payroll, the 2026 27 school start date, school board compensation, and school bus stops. We are on our consent agenda. May have a motion to approve the agenda items. Eight minutes, nine personnel, 10 business and finance, 11 district facilities and support services, 12 exceptional education, special needs and student activities, and 13 other business

137as presented. Dr. Singh, Miss Fletch, is there any discussion? All in favor? Motion carried unanimously. Thank you to the following retirees for their service to the district. Claudine is check. >> Say it. >> Isador check. >> Is a door check. Thank you. Claudine is a door check. H middle school world languages world languages teacher with 32 years of service. Darlene Prrowse Casey middle school teacher with 36 years of student service. Oh my goodness, I'm tongue tied. and Audrey Amateur Him Elementary School full food service helper with 35 years of service. Congratulations to all and thank you. We already approved item 14A. So we are now on item 14B. May I have a motion for the first reading review of policy updates 3271. Solicit Elicitation of charitable donations. 3290. Operation of motordriven vehicles on district property.

1386330. Employee political activities. 7513. Medication and personal care items. 7557 with a number changed to 7540 suicide and 7670 due process selection and appointment of impartial hearing officers as presented. Miss Puland Dr. Spicer is there any discussion? All in favor? Motion carried unanimously. May I have a motion to postpone these policy updates for the second reading and adoption at the December 9th meeting? Miss Fletch, Mr. Bulan. Any discussion? All in favor? Mr. M. All in favor? Carried unanimously. There are no matters to discuss under 15 instruction and 16 legislative matters. We are now on item 17A, committee of the whole. Spectator admissions was proposed as a topic for information and discussion. Miss Flesh, would you like to address that? >> Yeah. So, I just had a question regarding football games, I guess, at the high

139schools and the admission and where that money goes, I guess. >> Absolutely. Thank you very much for that question. Our athletics director, our districtwide athletics director, uh, Mr. Chris Mika uh has confirmed that we do charge admission for our varsity football games, our home varsity football games and our home varsity basketball games. That money is then put back into the general fund of the district and a question came up before is that money then only earmarked for athletics and that is not the case. It goes into the general fund of the district. >> Okay. So is this why I asked another question about donating? I guess this came about because somebody wanted to know about donating. Can any of that money be donated to a charity? I guess how does that work? >> Gift of

140taxpayer money. >> That would be a gift of public funds that came out. >> Then it would be a booster thing. >> The boosters can definitely do that, >> right? They could do an additional one, >> you know. And the other question the other question that came up was could that money be used as we heard all the amazing athletics happening over at our schools. Um it was asked at um a PTSA meeting could that money be used for a fan bus or to get students to a a higher level game >> and that so we don't again we don't earmark the money that comes in. It's general fund money. So if that is a request that would have to go through the athletic director at that school and then a decision will be made

141after that. >> Thank you. >> Any other questions on this topic? Dr. Singh? >> No, not this topic. >> Oh, okay. Do you have another topic for discussion? >> No, I just had a question for Dr. Brown. Has there been any decision made on the calendar for next year? >> The calendar for next year? >> Yeah. So the calendar for next year um what we do just so that the public knows we actually partner with our Boseies component districts the JMT which is uh a number of our Boseies components they actually develop a shell of a calendar for the 2627 school year that work began in October they are still working on it and the the the diff well what's not a difficult part one area of concern is that school will start later next

142year Labor is the latest it could be September 7th. So it looks like school will start September 8th. So they're actually developing a shell of a calendar with those parameters. Once we receive that, assistant superintendent Scanuzo along with District Clerk Carrie actually work our calendar realizing that we have additional culture and religious holidays and then they set our calendar up based on that shell. Because one of the questions I had at the PTA meeting was we'll cut short our Christmas sorry the holiday break in winter by one week because we're moving calendar back one week. >> No. So the we actually set those breaks depending on what when the holiday that surrounds them falls. So we know for a fact that next year we will not have a twoe winter break. >> Okay. >> Thank

143you. >> I had another topic >> Mr. Mana. >> It's a it's it's a previous topic. It's the compensation committee. I'm wondering because we have an actually an even number of non board members, right? Three general public, three PTSA. Would we consider adding uh a former board member if willing to serve to kind of make it an odd number? Maybe somebody can give a little different perspective. >> I think we have an odd number because we have three. Three and three. >> Who's the Yeah, but we're not voting. Three from general public, three from >> I see in >> case somebody wanted to advance something or take a vote. >> Well, it's it's always just a recommendation. It's not a formal vote when it's >> I'm fine. You throw it out in case they maybe

144get their perspective, but I'm fine keeping it as it is. >> To do to that, I think if there were former board members that would be interested as community members, they could certainly put themselves into the that lottery. Okay. Any other comments on this topic or any other topics to discuss under committee of the whole DSP? >> I think I just have a question. >> Okay. >> Doesn't our district provide buses to like every single kid and not just like people like oh you're like not like in a certain radius, >> right? >> You know how if you're too close like you might not get a bus. I believe provides buses to everybody. >> Correct. >> By by state law, we do not need to provide uh buses, I believe. And oh, now I'm going

145to forget the radius. I believe it's one and a half miles for elementary and three miles for high school. Am I correct? I'm getting a yes. Um so yes, we and we do provide buses for for folks that live under those radius guidelines by the state. >> And Amherst Clarence and Sweet Home do not. they have a a portion of their students who are are mandated to walk >> because they do not get to that point. They do not get reimbursed or any reimburseable rate for those students that live within those guideline numbers. >> I just thought I would bring it up as like parents complain that we can't provide doortodoor bus transportation. I I believe that's a factor. >> Thank you. Absolutely. Thank you. Any other comments or questions? Do I see something? >>

146I just wanted to wish our community a very happy Thanksgiving. >> All right. Thank you. >> Thank you, Dr. Sing >> because I would not have remembered that Thanksgiving is next week. >> Next week. >> Okay. Um we're going to move on to item 18A, our second public expression. If anyone in the audience would like to speak at this time, please step up to the podium state and state your name. I do not see anyone in the audience who wants to step up to the podium. So, this concludes our regular board meeting. The next scheduled regular board meeting is December 9th. There a motion to adjourn the regular board meeting. Dr. Spicer, Mr. Bulan, all in favor? All in favor? Sorry. Motion carried unanimously. You and good night and happy Thanksgiving to our community.