001I call the regular board meeting to order. All board members are present. Dr. Spicer, would you please lead us in the pledge of allegiance to the flag? I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. [Music] May I have a motion to adjourn into executive session to discuss employment matters relating to particular persons and collective negotiations? Miss Puland, Mr. Bulan, all in favor. Motion carries unanimously. May I have a motion to return the regular board I'm sorry. Yes, the regular board meeting to public session. Miss Fletch, Miss Puland. All in favor? Motion carries unanimously. As we return to public session, all board members are present. Good evening and welcome to all in attendance.
002Please be advised in the event of a 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, Dr. Brown Hall. I turn it over to you for item number three, recognition. Thank you very much, board president. So, wellness is an integral part of the DI district strategic plan. At each of our schools, wellness committees work to promote healthy minds and healthy habits that students can use throughout their lives. Please welcome Assistant Principal Lindseay Johnson, who will share more about Heim Elementary's wellness day. Welcome, Lindsay. Thank you, Dr. Brown Hall. Good evening, everyone. High Elementary's wellness day took place on March 17th.
003It was spearheaded by our incredible school social worker and wellness team coordinator, Nancy Folultz, along with our building wellness team. It was an entire day that provided students tools and strategies in order to care for their minds and their bodies. our building DEI committee and our wellness team worked together to provide an opportunity for a whole school read aloud. And so fourth graders Zakiyia and Noah shared a read aloud with the entire school. It was a story called I am We by Sud Susan Verde. It's a book that emphasizes the importance of community as well as how when we care for ourselves, it directly impacts how we can care for one another. Some of our stations included yoga poses in the gymnasium. It also included breathing beads in the cafeteria as well as a culmination
004of the folks from NED who provided a super engaging assembly teaching our students the importance of believing in themselves and never giving up even when it's hard. So, in our video, you'll hear from teachers like Mary Kate Stevens, Brad Ber, and our social worker Nancy Folultz. It was truly an incredible day that taught students the importance of caring for their minds, their bodies, the importance of community, and how when we work together, we can in turn care for others when they need it most. We hope you enjoy the video. Thank you. Thank you. [Music] Wellness day is a whole day of wellness activities for kids to learn how to take care of themselves and how to take care of their community. I think it's very exciting and I think what people don't realize is that
005this is what helps all the other academic areas too. So if we work on wellness and mindfulness and breathing and and those kinds of activities with kids, it only helps them in math and reading and writing and all the other subjects. [Applause] Oh, it's wonderful. I love when they are in tune with their emotions and being able to communicate that is so important. And I think in our society we can feel like we have to keep them in and we want to let them know it's okay to feel and it's okay to feel positive and negative feelings and it's important for them to grow stronger that way. So one way that we can be kind to our mind is by using our breath. Our breath tells our brain that we can relax. So in order
006to do that we are going to make this fancy tool called breathing beads. In this day and age, there's a lot going on and having the skill or the coping mechanism to be able to calm your mind, calm your body is extremely important. Um, having a calm mind and calm body helps you to be able to do your work. It helps you to better interact with your peers and adults. It's just a huge kind of skill that we all need to have in order to really support our community. So we just signed it like uh for like a positive message says like relax, chill out. That means just chill out. We can pull a bead for each breath and do the candles. Ready? So you can take one and slide it. I wrote be kind
007because it's a good thing in the world to do to um help people um help people do something important, help somebody in need. Mental health matters, wellness matters. Making sure that these kids feel mentally strong is so important for not only their mental health, but their overall physical health as well. The greatest thing about watching kids learn now is that we're teaching them at an age where they're eager to learn everything and they can practice it and they can help others learn it. So, a lot of our kids go home and they teach their family members, siblings, those kinds of things and then they can carry through with those kinds of activities later. [Music] Awesome. Thank you very much, assistant princip. Next, we have a truly special recognition. Each year, we have hundreds of student
008athletes compete with their peers and teams for state titles. In the pool, Williamsville South Carter Kob Kobielski, did I say it right, Carter? Yeah. All right. Reached the top of the podium for the first time in his high school career, a program first for the Billies, by winning the 100 meter freestyle title. His hard work, training, and dedication set a new standard of excellence for the Williamsville South Billies. Let's take a look. It was pretty cool to do. I mean, it's the first time my coach has ever had a swimmer do it before, so that was cool for him. And then for me, obviously, it's a big thing. Uh, never thought I'd get something like that. It was really kind of surreal. It was super exciting. Um, a lot of emotion. Everything's gota aligned perfectly.
009It seems to get a state champion. And it was just super exciting exciting for him. I'm watching his reaction and it was just really, really cool. So, it was 2 from the person next to me and it was kind of cool. the last five yards. When I put my head down, I could kind of tell that I had it. Awesome. A lot of pride. This was my high school as well. So, for that to happen, it's just super cool to know that, you know, he'll have his name up on the gym wall. Um we'll probably put something up in the pool so that, you know, when people walk in, they're going to know that, you know, we had a state champion. Emotionally, it felt um absolutely amazing. unlike any other feeling. I mean, I've done
010other stuff in my swim career that's been, I guess, like a big obstacle, but nothing like this. Nothing as exciting as this. We have more work to do to get uh some other records, and we have other goals that we want to attain to be that. You know, he wants to go down as the best swimmer in Williams history. Awesome. That's the goal. [Music] Please join me in welcoming and congratulating Carter, the swimming state champion, his family, and head coach Richard Grant. Come on up. [Applause] I know it's okay. We're going to the picture. Go ahead. Hi. Um, thank you guys for uh coming and uh recognizing me for this. Um, it means a lot. What was your time? 4515. Amazing. Congratulations. That's exceptional. Yeah, absolutely. Do you want to say anything, coach? Um, all
011I will just add is just that uh Carter's work ethic is incredible. It's not something that just uh physical talent you get up there because he's seven feet tall and anything. He is up there against people that are quite bigger, stronger than he is. And his work ethic and determination is just it's incredible. And his time of 451 was also a section record. So that is awesome. It was it was great performance. Grab some pictures. Yeah. I turn it back over to you, board president. Are there any board acknowledgements this evening, Dr. Spicer? Um, I have two, imagine. Um, so I just wanted to commend um, Mil Middle for their craft show um, that they had right before break. Um, the student talent was amazing. It was a full house. And um, I of course
012can't remember any of the students names that I bought from because I bought from so many. But, um, earrings, drawings, um, slime, you name it, they had it. And it was just very, very impressive. So, um, I'm just always I can't do most of what they did. So, I was just really impressed by them. So kudos to the group that pulled that off. Um and then thanks to Mr. Lester sharing. I just wanted to acknowledge at the board table Alyssa Bodzinski who was nominated for the New York State softball pitcher of the year. So kudos to awesome. And go on to the website and vote. She's up. Yes, you need to vote. All right. Thank you. Any other board acknowledgements? All right, moving on. We're on item number four, public expression. I call on parliamentarian
013Blackinger to review our public expression format. Thank you. Welcome to all who have come to observe this regular board meeting for policy 1510. The board allow us 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 we're here to listen carefully, 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
014information or any topic that 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'll be signaled at 2 and a half minutes so that you may conclude your remarks. At this time, we will begin public comments. After I call on you, please step up to the podium and state your name. I am Drew Catsman. Let me state my name, please. Oh, Drew Catsman. Thank you. Can Can I start? Yeah. Okay. Hi, my name is Drew Catsman and I am a senior at Williamsville North High School. As you listen this evening, I ask you to reflect on a line from the district's mission
015statement. Students are your highest priority. I hope you'll keep that guiding principle in mind as I share concerns that directly affect students and only students. Recently, students and AP teachers were notified that this year's exams will be administered on schoolisssued Chromebooks. For many of us, this came as a surprise. I, like countless others, have completed nearly all of my high school coursework using a personal device. I haven't regularly used a Chromebook since middle school. That matters. AP exams aren't just another test. They're the product of months, even years of preparation. Familiarity with our testing environment, especially the device we use, plays a critical role in our performance. Asking students to switch to unfamiliar technology weeks before before a high stakes exam isn't just inconvenient, it's unfair. Some students were issued Chromebooks in September. They've had
016nearly the entire year to grow comfortable using them. The rest of us, we've we're expected to perform under the same pressure using technology we haven't touched in years. That's not equity. That's inconsistency. When my mom contacted Mr. Bowen, he was surprised to learn that Chromebooks haven't been used uniformly across classes. There was an assumption that all students had equal access to this technology, but that simply isn't the case. We hear the word equity often in this district. But how how is it equitable that some students will test on devices they know well while others are forced to adapt on exam day without warning and without a transition period? Research supports what common sense already tells us. Students perform better on high-stake digital exams when using a familiar device. It reduces anxiety, increases focus, and improves
017both speed and accuracy. Whether intended or not, this decision gives some students a clear advantage when not based on merit or preparation, but on which device they happen to use. And here's the most important points. AP exam scores do not impact the school. They don't affect district rankings, state reports, or teacher evaluations. These tests only affect students, our college credit, our financial aid opportunity, and most importantly, our futures. All other surrounding districts have handled this more thoughtfully. Most provide school issued Chromebooks at the beginning of the year, creating a fair and consistent testing environment for all. And in places that don't, they allow students to use personal devices as long as it adheres to College Board rules. To be clear, I'm not asking for special treatment. I'm simply asking to use the device I've studied
018on all year. I'm fully prepared to follow all College Board protocols. I'll install the Blue Book app, comply with every rule, and accept full responsibility, just like I did during the SAT. So, tonight, I ask you to return to the district's mission. Students are your highest priority. Let that commitment guide your actions, not just your words. because right now it feels like convenience has taken precedence over fairness and that priority needs to be realigned before it's too late. Thank you. Thank you. Next, Danielle Bones. Hi. Um I'm Danielle Bones. Um I'm sure some of you have come across my name in the recent weeks. So, um, my son Kaden is a type 1 diabetic. He is currently 3 and a half years old. He is up for UPK in the fall. Um, I reached out
019a number of times to the district prior to the lottery selection. Um, I started in January. Um, also I did mention he had a CPSE meeting with Kathy Rzzell end of January where he was picked up for a speech disability in which I indicated that he was a type 1 diabetic. However, on his IEP, there is no indication of his medical um diagnosis at this time. Prior to the lottery, I also emailed Anthony Scanuzo, sorry if I butchered that, Rosella Tahar Kathy Rzzell regarding my concerns and asking for special consideration. He was placed at Pixie Village on Main Street. When I called and spoke to the director, Jenny, she told me that she cannot handle a child with type 1 diabetes and offered to me that two years ago they had a child with diabetes
020had hired an aid. For whatever reason, it was too difficult to manage. So, the mom ended up on the payroll. Um, I'm not entirely sure why the district was not aware of this. I do not know specifics on whether this child was part of UPK or not. However, that's very disappointing to hear that he was placed at a location that cannot accommodate his situation. It wasn't until I expressed my concerns at the end of March that I was provided the information to contact um Christine Harding and then also Dr. Marie Bailing. I'm wondering why I was not provided this information when I called the UPK secretary in January to just get a little more information regarding the process and how we handle children with this type of situation whether it's type 1 diabetes, ADHD or
021what have you. So at this point um I am being told that he need I need to accept placement at Pixie Village. If I do not then I forfeit basically the UPK option and then he doesn't get to attend. My concern is also that kindergarten this could also be an issue as kindergarten is voluntary from what I understand he won't be six until the following year. So basically at this point I'm a little disappointed with my interaction with the district in what I'm being told can be done. And although I do have full faith in Christine Harden that she will do everything she can um for his safety, I think the interactions I had with Pixie Village um and just the lack of communication on who to speak to is very disappointing. I'm a pretty
022savvy person and I think it's very hard to just to figure out just as a parent who we're who to talk to to get in any information. So, at this point, like I said, my son is a type 1 diabetic. He's going to be in the district district for a while. So, I hope that in the future, um, I have a little more information and peace of mind to where he's going. And that's all. Thank you, Daniel. Thank you. That's all we have. Okay. So, that concludes public expression. We are now on item five. The 2025 2026 code of conduct is available for review and a 30-day public comment period. Any feedback may be submitted to the district by emailing contact williamsville k12.org. Are there any questions or comments from board members about the code
023of conduct at this time? Okay. The code of conduct public forum is open to community members in attendance. Anyone wishing to address the board regarding the code of conduct only may go to the podium at this time. I do not seeing anyone approaching the podium, so we will move on. Dr. Brown Hall, I will turn it back over to you for the community update and budget presentation. Thank you very much, board president. We'll start with the community update for April 22nd, 2025. First, um you will see in the board packet this evening that the last student school day has been moved to Wednesday, June 25th, 2025, pending the approval of the board this evening. So this year the uh New York State Education Department gave us two rating days, Thursday, June 26th and Friday, June
02427th. With the additional cultural and religious holidays we had and the two weeks at winter break, we actually kept the last rating day June 27th. When I met with many of the union presidents, I explained that if we use three or fewer um emergency school closing days that we would be able to move that day back and still meet the state requirement. And since we have used three emergency closing days, we're able to move the last student school day back to Wednesday, June 25th, making our rating day Thursday, June 26th. Communication will be sent home to all families and staff with this update pending board approval this evening. Measles information. As you know, there is a measles outbreak across certain parts of the United States. So, we want to make sure we provided information from
025the state um state health department. The misos health information and health tips are available on the district website. Please know your immunization status and posters have been placed in our school buildings. Job openings. We still have vacancies listed on our district career opportunities web page. And you also want to check that for anticipated teacher openings for next year. 24 anticipated teacher positions will be posted. We also have our assistant principal position at High Middle School posted. The closing date is tomorrow, April 23rd. We always have teacher aid and clerical positions also posted. So, if you know of anyone that needs a flexible position, our aid position or some of our food service positions may be beneficial to that person. We also have clerical position, full-time clerical positions open in the district. If you know of
026someone who is a teacher that is looking for an opportunity in Williamsville, please encourage them to visit our job posting website also for the 24 anticipated teacher positions that will be posted. Our budget vote and board of education election. Tuesday, May 20th is a very full day in the district from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. at the Womenville North High School gymnasium. we will have um the a uh availability to approve the district's 2025 budget and elect three board of education members. The board terms are from July 1, 2025 to June 30th, 2028. Student board of education members will be elected to one-year terms and a schoolwide vote in their high schools. The budget vote and election results will be announced after the polls close, immediately after we do them that evening. So, don't forget,
027mark that date, May 20th, Tuesday, May 20th. Come out and vote um for our district budget and our board of education members. Our code of conduct, as you just saw, we did have our code of conduct um review. So, you are able to email contact at wingsville k12.org with any comments through our comic period, which is open through Thursday, May 22nd. You will see in the code of conduct that there is language that is being changed and new language that is being updated and added. Our transportation efficiency study is still available in Wix to provide efficiency for a 2526 school year. We are very appreciative of the 40% of parents and guardians that have already responded. The survey closes on June 2nd. Reminders will be sent out in May and the beginning of June to
028please complete this information. Distractionfree school zones that is still, as we know, part of the governor's budget proposal. Our committee that we have formed, Principal Andrew Bowen at North High School is the chairperson of that committee. The committee met in April and is on track to present at the June 10th board of education meeting. We will be also be sharing information, very preliminary information at the April 28th Williamsville PTSA Council training that they will be having. So, if you want to hear from that committee, please make sure you visit the PTSA Council and the information on their April 28th PTSA Council meeting and training. Our speaker series tomorrow evening, we will have our final speaker series on literacy. It will take place via Zoom. It will be live, but it will also be recorded and
029posted on our district website. Christy Carroll, our director of English language arts and reading, will share insight into ELA at the elementary, middle, and high school levels along with our work to be at the forefront of the science of reading discussion. Our district art show kicks off next week and it runs from April 28th through May 11th. Elementary school opening night is on Monday from 5:30 to 7 o'clock. Middle and High School opening night is Tuesday, April 29th from the same time, 5:30 to 7 o'clock. You'll be able to actually see all the wonderful works of art from April 28th to May 11th and it's at the Audabon um library. Correct. Regent exams. The regent exam schedule is already public. So, please make sure you're contacting your school guidance counselors and administration to get all
030of the details for your middle school and for your high school. The regent exams schedule is here in the community update. It will also be on the district website and it's on the state education department website. The dates are set and the locations are set for summer school. Elementary and middle school will be at Transit Middle School from July 9th through August 19th. High School will again be at Williamsville East High School from July 8th through August 20th and the special education summer school will be at Mil Middle School from July 7th through August 15th. Our monthly themes in April we have ArabAmerican Heritage Month and in May we have Jewish American Heritage Month heritage month and Asian-American Pacific Islander Heritage Month. And that is a community update for April 22nd, 2025. Are there any
031questions board members? Mr. Bel, just for clarification, the first day of the regents is that that's a day of school attendance for the people not taking the regions. The the I think it's the 10th though the geometry exam I think I saw. I think it's the nth. Oh, is that the ninth? I I'm sorry. It is the nth. That's a day we hold we hold classes for people not taking the exam. Yes, those early ones. Yes. Okay. I just want to double check. Thank you. make the community aware. Thank you very much for that clarification. Any other questions or clarifications? All righty. We are going to move right in to the budget presentation. So, I'll ask our assistant superintendent of finance, I was about to say Mr. Tomurski, Mr. Mike Kelly to please present um
032and he'll go over the highlights because we have presented on the budget um every month and sometimes uh two times because of the budget hearings. So, Mr. Kelly, I turn it over to you. Thanks so much. U as the superintendent noted uh we've we began this process uh much earlier this year and really got into it in earnest uh in October and we we developed that budget schedule and we've stuck to the budget schedule all along. So I'm happy to report that and we'll take a look at the budget where we stand today. And uh the one thing I want to note about this first slide that I pulled up here, um I wanted to point out that the district was able to reduce employee salaries from our last budget meeting in March by $150,000
033as the district had previously budgeted for some special education salary increases for additional special special education itinerant services. Um and the proposed budget totals 242,719,867. Again, on the right side, uh we have the projection of what we think the following year's budget would would be uh at this point in time. On the next slide, we have our program enhancements. And I want to take a minute and talk about the program enhancements. These are items that were built into the budget, but we've not necessarily uh talked about um thus far along the way. So, the first one you'll see is for $150,000. You heard me say a moment ago that we were able to reduce the salary line by $150,000. And when we reduce that salary line, we put it into our special education contractual service
034line. These are going to be costs that we use and money available to provide contractual service for special education itinerant services. We anticipate that some district employees will in fact provide these services to our students um versus hiring additional employees above and beyond what we currently have within the district. Secondly, we have some additional classrooms for special education. These were uh items that again as I mentioned and as noted down below were previously budgeted. We have a a 1511 class standardbased at high school. We have a 15-1 self-contained class at the middle school level as well as a 121 middle school class. The total cost of adding these program enhancements is 374,852. When we combine the two program enhancements, we have total program enhancements of $524,852. What I want to note about these two program
035enhancements together combined these are less than one4% of the total budget. So it's not a lot of additional dollars, but we do think we'll get a lot of bang for the buck by adding these program enhancements for the district and continuing to show our commitment to our special education services and making that programming even stronger than it is today. On the next slide, we have our total program continuations, which is about 9.8 million, as well as the total program enhancements. Again, that 524,000 number that I just mentioned. Altogether, we're looking at uh additions of 9,979,293. Again, this brings our budget total to that number I mentioned a moment ago, $242,719 867. This is a increase of 4.29% which is actually very consistent with the increase that we saw in the current year budget that was
036put together a year ago. On the next slide, we have our property tax levy. A couple things I want to point out about this. There really are not any changes from the last time we saw this. Uh we had the ability to set that levy at 148,845,213. That would have been an increase of 3.29%. But similar to last year and prior years, we were able to reduce that number a little bit. And our proposed levy in this proposed budget for the 2526 school year, the levy totals 148,413562. This is a decrease from that maximum levy of 431,651. This increases the levy 2.99%. We put an emphasis uh in trying to keep that levy increase below 3% and I'm happy to report that we were successful in doing that in preparing the budget. On the next
037slide, we have our revenue slide. And what I really want to say about this, again, not a lot of changes here from the last time. Our state aid totals 69,916,534. We have the levy total amount of the levy which is is you know the the biggest piece of our our budget again is 148,413,562. When we add all of our revenues together, we equal our expense budget. In bringing the budget into balance, again, 242,719 867. On the next page, we have our estimated tax rate changes. The important thing to note here is that the equalization rates did not change between the three communities that we service here in the district. That being Amherst, Chetoaga, and Clarence. In Amherst, our equalization rate is staying at 100%. In Chetoaga, it's staying at 80% and in Clarence, it's staying
038at 100%. You can see in the last column our estimated rate changes and um you know I think the one thing I want to note here the difference being Chewaga has that equalization rate at 80%. This makes the tax rate slightly higher uh for Chikawaga. You see the 43 versus the 35 for the other two communities that we have in our district. On the next page, we have our estimated tax bills for the three towns within our district. Again, we're looking at a market assessed value of $250,000. In the town of Amherst, for example, for the upcoming school year, if the proposed budget were to be passed, we would be looking at an estimated school tax bill of $3,5 for a house valued at 250,000 within the district. And you know, I think last year,
039earlier this year, somebody said, "Well, what would that mean for, you know, a home of 500,000?" And and very simply, we can just double this. So if a home is assessed at 500,000 in the town of Amherst, you'd be looking at an estimated school tax bill of $6,10. And of course, you can take a look at Chiktoaga and Clarence here. Um, and those again have not changed. Some of the key points with our working budget, our proposed budget for the upcoming 2526 school year. Again, we have a budget total of $242,719,867. This is an increase of 4.29%. Previously, the increase was 4.27%. So, we were able to reduce that um a little bit. Our tax cap maximum again was 148,000 I'm sorry 148,845,213. That was an increase of 3.29%. We lowered that and our proposed
040tax cap is the 148413562 which is a 2.99% increase. Again, this is below the tax cap levy by $431,651. Our total New York State aid increase is $6 million43,460. Our current working budget deficit is zero. So, we have a balanced budget. And uh again, our revenues equal expenses. The one thing I want to note, and the superintendent noted it uh earlier, the budget is not finalized in New York State. So, could something change? And the number I'm really looking at is that New York State aid increase, it could potentially change, but it would probably be very minor. And if you know the board were to approve this budget and we went out to the community with this budget and something changed, we would be able to rely on our fund balance to fund any difference
041that might uh you know happen after the budget was finalized. So I just want everybody to understand that how that potentially could work if there were any differences with the final New York State budget. With that, I' I'd like to turn it back over to the superintendent and the board president. Thank you very much, Assistant Superintendent Kelly. I will turn it back over to President Obs. Dr. Singh. Uh, just one question. How much do we have in fund balance? Uh, last year our fund balance we put in about 9.9 uh million after last year's uh school at the end of the year. So, any other questions? And I just want to note recall that that fund balance is limited to 4% of our budget every year. So, and the interest on that is a part
042of the revenue for this year, right? Interest income. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Yeah, we've earned interest on that during this year. Yep. Okay. Any other questions? All right. Moving on then. We are on item 7A events. Our staff conversations with the board of education and the board candidate ballot draw were held earlier today. Our board retreat will be on June 17th. Um student board member candidates have been selected and as Dr. Brown Hall mentioned on May 20th each high school will facilitate the election by their student body. Our remaining 202526 building visits to Dodge Elementary School and district's office are on June 13th. I am planning to attend along with board members Blackinger, Fletch, Puland, and Singh. If any other board members are able to attend, please let Mrs. Kerry know. And then from our prior
043events, board members visited Heim Elementary School and Heim Middle School on March 19th. We were able to view facilities and to observe teaching and learning in the classrooms there. Thank you to all those involved. During our March 25th community forum, we had a third grader who advocated for celebrating Purple Day for epilepsy awareness, which happens on March 26th. And then some other topics that were discussed that evening were modified sports, emergency response procedures, school start times, class sizes, special education, and Bosey's programs. We also held a student conversations with board members on April 8th. And I'm wondering if any uh comments from board members who attended that afternoon, morning, both the day Um I I will just comment from my perspective and invite others who were there to comment as well that it was um
044a wonderful opportunity to go to all three of our high schools at different times and meet with the students who chose to come and spend time with us and to listen to them and to hear their concerns and um the depth of their thoughts was very refreshing to us. Uh I recall hearing from students um regarding equity issues in terms of class availabilities between schools and um how that affects them. Um they we did hear their thoughts on the um governor's proposal regarding distraction free school zones. Um we did say that we will be following the law of the state. So regard um that will be our determining factor. We also heard about their concerns with stress um the amount of homework that they have and how that impacts their stress and their life balance
045and uh encourage them to be inc encouraged that we have a committee that's looking into that. So we tried to reassure them on those things. Um other aspects that they brought up were school safety. Um um I think that oh they they also brought up the concern about whether uh our DEI programs were safe in the state. Um we assured them that they were at this time. Um the dangers of vaping. The dangers of vaping. He has a very big concern for them. Um as well. Wonderful. Thank you. Any other comments on that, Mr. Bulan? I just want to say I I that's one of the best parts of this job is listening to what the students have to say. These that's who we essentially answer to in the end. And we talk about elevating
046student voice. That to me is the best way to do it is actually hear from pardon the expression but the horse's mouth because what what we do here affects them and it's good to know how that plays on them. Right. Wonderful Mr. Mana. Thank you. And exactly what Mr. Bulan said because when the students were asking questions the one I was able to attend um because I would ask well do you know the program? Here's the program. Do you know the program? And they would and they would they would say yes we know the program. We talked about safety and having more safety drills at different times of the of the school year at different in different classes. And when we asked, well, do you feel safe? Do you feel confident in the safety plan
047the district has? They said yes. So, you're right, Mr. Bulan. It's it's it's very important to not only get the feedback of what they what they're saying to us, but what are we saying to them? And are they understanding our message and our concept and our plan? And when they say yes, I mean, that's the validation that we really strive for. Thank you so much. Any other comments? All right, moving on. Are there any additional board member comments or questions regarding these or any other events that were just discussed under 7A? Okay, we'll move on to items 7B through 7H. There are five official board candidates. Phillip Danielson, Julie Emerson, Mark Mana, Christina Blackinger, and Stuart Bulan. The ballot draw happened earlier today. I don't have those numbers, but that will be available on in
048board docs. Oh, it's right there. A big Okay, so uh one Julie Emerson, two Mark Mana, three Phil Danielson, four Stuart Bulan, and five Christina Bleinger. Thank you. I didn't realize it was right there. Um and so more information on this and also the May 20th district annual vote are in board docs. Our ECSB NISPA events and liaison assignments are all also in board docs. We receive correspondence from community members on Harkness programming, Department of Education, UPK, homeschool policy, Casey and middle school modified sports, a PTA donation, and health insurance. Our draft 202526 board of education meeting calendar is in board docs and will be on the July organizational meeting agenda for approval. Are there any board member comments or questions regarding these items 7B through 7H? just one of the parents who spoke about
049the opportunities at Harkness not being available to the their son who wanted to get into welding or some a field like that. I got an email from her today that he was accepted into the into the building trades program and she was very grateful for uh all of our help. Thank you for that report. Okay, we'll move on then to item 7 I. Is there a motion to nominate David Lowry to serve as the area 1 director for New York State School Boards Association for a two-year term beginning January 1st, 2026 through December 31st. It's a two-year term. Okay, that's right. 2027. Dr. Spicer, Miss Bleinger, any discussion? All in favor? Motion carries 8 0 0. Moving on to agenda items 9 through13 which are minutes, personnel, business and finance, exceptional education, special needs and
050student activities and district facilities and support services. May I have a motion to approve items 9 through 13 as presented? Mr. Bulan, Miss Puland. Is there any discussion? All in favor? Motion carries unanimously. I would like to thank the following retirees for their service to the district. Janice Bennett, North High School teacher aid with 21 years of service. Gregory Kiba, Hyel Elementary School cleaner with 23 years of service. Annette Schmidt, South High School laborer with 40 years of service. Wow. David Schmidt, Casey Middle School Laborer with 45 years of service. Rosella Tahare, District Office Student Services Department senior clerk with 28 years of service. Peter Thomasello, North High School head custodian with 35 years of service. and Deborah Van Kirkov, East High School teacher aid with 26 years of service. Congratulations to all. [Applause] [Music]
051Now, may I have a motion to take from the table for the second reading of policies 1210, 3311, and 5840? Miss Puland, Dr. Spicer, all in favor. Motion carries unanimously. May I have a motion for the second reading and adoption of policies 1210, 3311, and 5840 as presented? Mr. Bulan, Miss Fletch, is there any discussion? Mr. Mana, did you have discussion on this on amending policy 1210? Students, uh, I I I think it was you answered the question when I asked it that it's it's in our right does there's there's three options to the policy if we wanted to amend the policy. The policy that's up for adoption tonight is the original policy. So, did anyone want to discuss amending that policy? because I know that was discussed at the last meeting. Yes. Okay. Thank
052you, Miss Puland. Yes. Um I I as I stated at the last meeting, I think it is important for our B our board policy to reflect our actual process and not just a restatement of the law which gives the full context of all possible options for selection. Um, so I would like us to consider I would either I'm comfortable with either of the amended policies as they are presented. Um, so I personally am open for discussion from the board about that. Um, but I do wanted to reflect our actual process. Right. So there were three um versions of an amended policy. There was uh a version that we looked at at the policy committee meeting um that discussed part of the process that would happen and then it was sent um for review and uh
053legal provided two other options. The second option again uh talks more in depth about the p about the process and the third option um doesn't have quite as much detail about the process. So I don't know if anyone has thoughts about which of these three versions is preferred or if anyone has given that any thought the other option is we could we could potentially table I make a motion motion okay only because on the question if if there's a second I'll be on the question I'll I'll second you're seconding table okay so we have Mr. Mana is moving to table policy 1210. Yes, that's up. And Mr. Buan is second. Is there any discussion on the table? All in favor? Motion carries unanimously. Okay. So, we were on the discussion. So, now we will be
054the new motion because we have tabled policy 1210. We will be adopting 3311 and 5840 as presented. Is there any further discussion on that? Okay. All in favor? Motion carries unanimously? Moving on. May I have a motion for the first reading of policies 7120 and 7223 as presented? Dr. Spicer, Miss Buckinger. Is there any discussion? All in favor? Motion carries unanimously? May I have a motion to table pol these policies 7120 7223 for the second reading and adoption at the May 27th read meeting. Motion Mr. Bulan. Second, Miss Blacker. All in favor? Motion carries unanimously. We are now on item 15. Would someone like to make a motion to resolve that upon the recommendation of the Superintendent of Schools, the Williamsville Central School District Board of Education adopts the proposed Eerie 1 Bosey's administrative budget
055for the 2025 2026 year in the amount of 4,127,759 as presented. Mr. Mana Dr. Singh is there any discussion? All in favor? Motion carries unanimously. At this time we will conduct the Eerie 1 Bosey's board member election. Would someone like to make a motion to cast one vote for Erie one for an Eerie one Bosey's board candidate? Those board candidates were Mary Busussy, Mark Mecca, and Cameron Hall. Miss Blackinger, you're casting a vote for Cameron Hall. Okay. Board member Blackinger has resolved to cast one vote for Cameron Hall located in the Hamburg Central School District to serve as a trustee for the Board of Cooperative Educational Services First Supervisory District of Erie County in a term beginning July 1st, 2025 through June 30th, 2028. Is there a second? Mr. Mana, any discussion? All in favor?
056Motion carries unanimously. Is there another someone like to make a motion to cast one vote for another candidate? Miss Puland. I'd resolve to cast one vote for Mark Mecca, the incumbent located in Williamsville Central School District to serve as a trustee for the Board of Cooperative Educational Services for Supervisory District of Erie County for a term beginning July 1st, 2025 through June 30th, 2028. Is there a second? Dr. Spicer, any discussion? All in favor? Motion carries unanimously. And is there one more casting of a vote? Mr. Mana, I I cast a vote for uh Miss Mary Busussy. Board member Mana has resolved to cast one vote for Mary Busy, the incumbent located in the West Senica Central School District to serve as a trustee for the board of cooperative educational services first supervisory district of
057Berry County and a term beginning July 1st, 2025 through June 30th, 2028. Is there a second, Mr. Biscalia? Any discussion? All in favor? Motion carries unanimously. We are now on items 16 and 17. And there are no instruction curriculum or legislative matters to discuss. So, moving on to item 18, committee of the whole. Are there any matters under committee of the whole that board members would like to discuss? Okay, we are now on item 19A, our second public expression. If anyone in the audience would like to speak at this time, please raise your hand. I can't see everyone. Is there any hands raised? No. Okay, seeing no hands raised. Lowered. We will move we'll move on. Item 20, our special meeting budget public hearing is on May 13th at 6 PM with the PTSD council's
058school board candidates night to follow at 7 p.m. The budget vote and school board member election is on May 20th and our next regular board meeting is May 27th. May I have a motion to adjourn the regular board meeting? Dr. Spicer and Dr. Singh. All in favor? Motion carries unanimously. Good night everyone. That was a