001foreign I'd like to call to order this regular meeting of the Board of Education in Boston Spa Central School District for April 19 2023 please rise for our Pledge of Allegiance I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all I'd like to welcome everyone and just share that in case we needed to evacuate this room for some reason the emergency exits are behind me in each Corner leading outside and the exit that leads out into the hallway I would like to welcome everyone who is here in person welcome those who are watching on the live stream I'd like to start the meeting by hoping that everyone in our school Community had a relaxing
002and Refreshing Spring Break it is great to see that our educational and extracurricular activities are fully back in action for those who stayed local there was some great weather for those who traveled I hope you also had good weather and travel was without incident last week I myself was driving in a suburb of Phoenix Arizona and I passed the Middle School with a big banner along its fencing advertising that bus drivers were needed and please apply with a number and an address and another please apply on it it's a reminder that many challenges in public education are not unique to Boston spa or our area and occur in many states Across the Nation in that line of thought there's been some publicity and social media postings in the last few days regarding a resolution on
003the agenda tonight the resolution is a decision on an appeal made by a Community member for whether a book should be on our high school library shelves I just want to outline a few pieces of the process here for folks who might not be fully aware of what's going on the board is a specific policy number 8320 in place that regards the selection of textbooks Library materials and other instructional materials the board also has a specific policy number 8330 which is an objection to instructional materials and controversial issues these policies are the guidance in the background for how this resolution has come about policies are available for anyone to access on our district website under the Board of Education drop down menu specific to the book and the resolution tonight I want to make it
004clear that the book in question is a library book it's available as a reference or resource for any student who voluntarily wants to access it by checking it out or reading it in the library it is not part of any curriculum or class nor at any point is it a required reading material for any student as our policy 8330 describes parents caregivers Guardians who may have a concern are always encouraged to reach out to the media specialists in the case of a library book and to the school principles in the case of a library book or a classroom book or material to get more information on the educational value for the book or material and why it is used or available and I will leave further comments on this matter to when our resolution is
005motioned for consideration later on in the new business section of our agenda so first on our agenda tonight is recognition Dr duka thank you we have a few pieces of recognition tonight the first one I'd like to congratulate all our Odyssey of the Mind teams who compete in the state tournament this past Saturday on a special congratulations to the amazing problem for division one team that placed second in the entire State and will be representing Malta Avenue Elementary School and Ballston Spa Central School District at the World Finals tournament held at Michigan State University in May so we'll hopefully be having them to a future board meetings they can kind of elaborate a little bit more on their accomplishments but congratulations to all those teams very well done next up we have Mr Rasmussen from
006Wood Road who will be recognizing one of the Librarians from the district thank you Dr Duca members of the Board of Education um for giving us a few minutes here tonight uh to me especially to recognize my librarian at Wood Road Heather Thomas starting several years back we began a partnership with the Ronald McDonald House and their read for um for their charity the Ronald McDonald House readathon it's led to some really fun principal challenges along the way but but importantly it exemplifies the spirit of giving Which in our school is something that we hold um as a core value for us and something we impart to all of our kids that we truly believe that it's better to give than it is to receive for those of you that don't know much about Wood
007Road demographically speaking our students are not the wealthiest we have a fairly significant number of free and reduced lunch students that come to school each and every day from some some great families and some hard-working parts of our community and what I'm very proud of is even in that we have such a spirit of giving and that's part of the the the leadership and the demonstration that we've been them and particular tonight I wanted to recognize Heather Thomas who I think is going to recognize some of the work that our students have done uh this year and over the past years with this really really awesome charity so miss Thomas I'll drive um so this kind of Journey started three years ago for us at Wood Road when I was approached by a colleague who
008colleague who had suffered kind of an undescribable tragic loss in her family and um the Ronald McDonald House played a huge role in her family's support and Recovery during her law her family's loss and I couldn't say no when I started talking to the organizer Nancy it was just a great program something that we could easily Implement very um with videos and papers that will home with the kids and ideas for them to read so we kind of went with it um part of it is having a principal challenge so fortunately Mr asmussen is always up for a good challenge which really excites the kids um but through all of this they have learned a lot I have one in particular student she was a kindergartner when we started she's in second grade now she
009has for the past two years come to me in September and said are we doing it again and I said oh yes yes you gotta give me till March but we're going to do it again she just gets excited so I had a quick conversation with her today and I said what is it that you like about it and she's like just that we can help somebody that we can go beyond and and help it wasn't about the reading which I'm like so what did you read this month um it wasn't about Mr R's challenge it was about the fact that she as an eight-year-old has this power to help somebody and I believe that she's individually has raised over three thousand dollars um you know in her own her own three-year Journey so um
010go to the next slide is it this year we just got our grand total last week from the Ronald McDonald House and one more click I think and we raised just shy of seven thousand dollars this year in our little school um we had 57 students participate which was an awesome number we've gone up every year with number of students that have participated um and when I started reflecting in my past three years I started realizing that these kids have they're excited about this program we talk about what they're reading we make the whole month of March about reading and the love and the joy that we can find in books um and I started thinking when I I'm like wait a second we've been doing this for three years and I know our first
011year we knocked it out of the water we um our first year we raised over ten thousand dollars which was insane and then our three-year grand total we've reached over twenty three thousand dollars at Wood Road for the Ronald McDonald House and um yes you know the credit goes to the students because they take the lead on this I'm just there to kind of guide them and say you know show them the videos make them aware of what the raw McDonald House is and through all those conversations it's been uplifting that many of them uh fortunately unfortunately maybe have actually used the Ronald McDonald House we've had a couple students that I've had cancer we have a student that's had a kidney transplant that they've used these services so they become very aware of them
012whether it's the Ronald McDonald houses or the facilities that are in the hospital um so they have really taken a liking it to it and um two of them did ask about Mr R's challenge next week um so Mr R is going to be doing some karaoke for us next week um last year it's not an open invite we'll do some videoing that we'll uh Stewart will be there right we'll make sure he's there and I'll give you a time and a date um so again we look forward to doing it every year I get very excited every year we kind of set a goal we always surpass it this year with five thousand dollars and fifty students so we very easily hit that goal um every week those kids come in and every week
013we show a quick minute video that the Ronald McDonald House sends and it just kind of Lights their fire a little bit and they go home and they charge through they open up their own websites and once they leave my doors it's kind of all on their plate and uh it's just a great a good I could call it my uh what I tell them it's my my heartwarming event of the year because it does it gives you all the good feels and they truly enjoy it so and we have to thank Mr R for always being up for the challenge because that's what they do look forward to so all right thank you very much I just want to thank Mrs Thomas because it really despite what she says it's a lot of work
014for her it is that's not something that um she has to do with something she loves to do so so all the thanks and all the all the Vintage sixth in the region um so which is a very large region and to have uh Wood Road in the company and some of these other students from the communities that they come from really speaks to the work that Ms Thomas puts in and and really what I care about most is um the the sense of giving that our entire School community at Wood Road has and and Miss times keeping that alive is uh amazing there were 64 schools in the capital region this year and we were six six or maybe eight six we were in the top ten out of 64 schools so that's a
015pretty amazing feat for for our our fun building so all right wonderful thank you very much any questions or comments from the board members I think can I make a request for karaoke the kids have that down there's been lots of lots of people Bohemian Rhapsody yeah that'd be a good one thank you all right is absolutely wonderful and certainly um as part of your promotions of your success please make sure you uh share links to the Ronald McDonald House website so that some people can find out more information okay if they don't quite know it it's quite the amazing organization if you've ever had a chance to go down there and visit they're always very welcome to um it's a very busy place it's actually three houses now connected so it's a very very
016good place and the top our top three students this year get to go do a tour so that'll be nice yes it is wonderful many people have a connection to the house and um besides the house which is a facility where people can stay if their child is in the children's hospital they have a dental roving Dental mobile that goes to schools and brings dental services to students in Albany and it's just wonderful place so it's a good place again great any information we can put out for it and thank you both very much thanks to all the staff who have a part of it all the parents and and community members who are part of it as well yes all right thank you [Applause] that concludes recognition okay thank you next up is our
017first public comment session okay so we have quite a bit of public comment tonight at our meetings public comment is where the privilege of the floor is given to members of the community um I just want everyone to understand that you know we ask everyone's cooperation and making sure that everyone is heard I will read guidance that I read at every meeting for it the Board of Education welcomes District residents parents and other interested persons to its meeting Community involvement at board meetings is encouraged that the board can better understand and represent the views of its constituents Please be aware however that information such as individual student information or particular Personnel issues cannot be discussed at public sessions of the board speakers will be called upon individually when recognized by the board president will be
018asked to approach the podium and state your name and residence and particularly this evening please take a moment to adjust the microphone so that when you speak you can hear yourself coming out through the speakers so that we again can make sure that everyone can hear you and our live streamers at home can hear as well uh did I read this already approach Podium state your name in Residence statements are restricted to a maximum of two minutes so at the two minute Mark I will ask you to please conclude your remarks I know some other nights when we have fewer speakers I may be a little bit more generous with it but because we have quite a few speakers tonight please try and keep your remarks to two minutes um the board and the District
019staff take your public comment very seriously however the board will not respond to comments or questions during the public comment period please make sure that you address the board as a whole and not any individual board member or any individual District staff member the board asked the Public's cooperation of maintaining our safe and respectful environment and the board president reserves the right to limit individual comments if it is deemed necessary to achieve this speakers will please not make slanderous attacks on any group organization or individual a member of the board an employee of the district a member of the audience or a member of the public please do not use profane vulgar threatening or disparaging language or racial or ethnic slurs and please I'd like no disruptions of the meeting with loud outbursts or other
020disruptive conduct of behavior either during a speaker's assign time or at any other time during the meeting speakers understand that a failure to comply with these rules for maintaining a respectful and productive environment may result in early termination of the speakers a lot of time a denial of future requests to speak and any other actions deemed necessary by the president of the board or where appropriate in terms of health and safety measures the superintendent of schools so we're going to take a moment to make sure that our camera is on the podium and uh Chris Dubuque will you approach Cody good evening ladies and gentlemen the board Chris Dubuque Calene drive before my time starts I will be honest I'm going to be covering some material that may be a little graphic in nature I
021know sir a few individuals in here under the age of 18. so I'd like to just give a little bit of a leeway that if this material may make them feel uncomfortable that they have a chance to leave the room or anybody at home not to be paying attention uh obviously and it of course relates to the book in question that is being voted on in resolution 515 genderqueer so I'd just like to take one minute to give anybody a chance if you'd like to step out all right [Music] as I said I'm up here to talk about resolution 515. I want to address a few things in this resolution uh let's get the first elephant out of the room here where you had mentioned in number three the Board of Education determines that the
022book should remain in the high school library the Board of Education finds this book is appropriate for the high school age group now everyone in here stated that you read the book according to the resolution he went through it and went through two reviews one review from a separate committee one review from this board you can easily find this book on Amazon you if you have Kindle unlimited it's free you can gain access to it and one of the suggestions in there is the reading level is 18 and up so I sort of question how that is School uh High School age I know Urban High School is not 18 and over so that's the first off and I'd like to address now I'd also like to adjust number two here where you mentioned the
023Board of Education determines that the book provides informative messages on a variety of topics that could be beneficial to all readers the Board of Education finds that the themes present in the book provide a unique Viewpoint that enhances the overall Library offerings for students now I can't say what everybody in here is going to talk about tonight I know there are a few people probably in support of the book and there's probably a few people who are clearly in opposition to the book I'm sure one of the things that will be referenced will be the graphic depictions on page 169 which the author is showing at one point where they are imagining themselves with a penis and their partner Z at the time is performing fellatio on them that's in One Clip and then the
024next box below it is a strap-on sex toy that is very graphic in nature in and of itself but there's something else that came to my attention as I was going thoroughly through this book I didn't want to get up here and be unprepared and not mention something that I found quite objectional and I don't know if anybody when you went through and you reviewed it you really noticed this but Maya the author had stated at one point that they were interested in producing fan fiction and I'm just trying to put myself in you know 14 year old shoes or even in my son's shoes my oldest son was gay and had a hard time with trying to relate to a lot of things in school it was a difficult time please what's that if
025you can conclude your remarks certainly so I want to put on page 159 that's awfully quick for two minutes but this was on the top of page 159 some of the research material that Maya used for fan fiction if you look at the slide to the upper right they mentioned they toured the San Francisco Armory which at the time housed the filming Studios of kink.com so lovely that that website is put in there I don't know if any of you been reviewing this first saw that website and then thought to look at it because what high schooler does not have a cell phone or does not know someone has a cell phone or a healthy sense of curiosity I went to the website I won't show you the pictures on that website it's quite clearly
026just very inappropriate please can I get my full two minutes sir it is three minutes and six seconds not counting your introduction okay at this time all right so I won't go over everything on here but obviously some of the sites on here and again or the subject material on here that I'm assuming Maya used for the research for fan fiction uh everything from bound gang bangs brutal sessions device bondage families tied hardcore gang paying gang bang hog tied kinky bites King Classics Kink features Keak University I'll conclude on one thing and I'll conclude on this somebody's got to be the adult in this room this book can be in a library it shouldn't be in a school library [Applause] so Board of Education policy 1510 regular board meeting and rules provides the opportunity for
027the board to respond in regards to matters of fact and I just want to make sure that everyone understands that the reference to the website everything that Mr Dubuque just said that was on that website those words are not used in the book itself and that is a extrapolation a step away from the actual content of the book itself thank you next Mr Shear Jim shear my name is Jim Shearer I'm from Glenville New York I have a grandson in Malt Avenue School regarding your resolution to approve genderqueer for the library I want to refute refer you to New York penal law article 25. which classifies obscenity in the third degree as a Class A misdemeanor obscenity in the second degree is a Class E felony obscenity in the first degree as a Class D
028Felony it defines obscenity as any material is obscene if a the average person considered as a whole its predominant appeal is the pure and interest in sex B it depicts or describes in a patently offensive manner actual or simulated sexual intercourse criminal sexual acts sexual bestiality masturbation sadism excretion or lewd exhibition of the genitals and could serve as a whole it lacks serious literary artistic political and scientific value the predominant appeal shall be judged with reference to ordinary adults unless it appears from the character of the material or the circumstances of its dissemination to be designed for children or other specially susceptible audiences according to the proposed resolution all the Review Committee have read genderqueer have they read all the other obscene books contained in this room which may also violate this statute according to
029the statute people who should be judging whether this material is or seen or not should be ordinary adults which I interpret as parents and grandparents not school librarians superintendents administrators or Review Committee members if you read this material and were not offended by at least some of it you don't meet my definition of ordinary adult thank you [Applause] thank you for your comment next Celeste shear I am Celeste Shearer I have a grandson at Malta Avenue School I live in Glenville New York reading continuing on what my husband had to say the New York State penal law article 260.1 endangering the welfare of child states to act knowingly in such a way that is likely to cause an injury to the mental state person or moral welfare of a child 16 years old or younger
030federal law 18 USC number 1470 unlawful to transfer of obscene materials to minors we are closely following the Fairport parent Alliance who served the Fairport Board of Education and the superintendent on March 24th with legal papers against the district surety bond for failure to remove obscene materials from their library and a book girl in transition that is required reading for 10th graders they are using the New York State penal codes and the federal codes as a basis and have also given the litigation materials to the Monroe County Sheriff the D.A and the local police if The Surety investigates and finds the district in violation of federal and state statutes and the district does not remove the offensive materials each board member and the superintendent are individually responsible for the entire amount of the surety bond
031and if you think you have liability protection you might want to think again there is case law on this issue 1973 Supreme Court ruling Miller versus California 413 us-15 upheld the prosecution of a California publisher for distribution of obscene materials obscene materials are not protected by the First Amendment also New York versus Ferber 1982 was similar and I just don't understand why this has to be in a school library you know you can get it over to the library and get if you want but why does it have to be where there are children it's clearly porn and I would not maybe uncomfortable reading it myself so I would hate to think of my children or grandchildren all my children are older but my grandchildren reading it I just think it's inappropriate thank you thank
032you for your comment next Tim Bantham good evening I'd like to comment on resolution 515 regarding the book title genderqueer my comment is a show of support that the board has made the correct decision I want to point out that the subject matter of this book needs to be viewed in complete context this book is written as a memoir about the author's coming of age this book the subject matter of this book literally could save the life of a gender non-conforming teenager who who may who might feel a sense of comfort knowing that they are not alone in how they view the world around them after reading the actions taken by the board as outlined in resolution 515 I get a sense that the school board and the school superintendent have completed a thorough review
033and have done so professionally and with respect to all viewpoints I am 100 confident that the board has made the correct decision in allowing this book to remain in the high school library thank you thank you for your comment next Martina Phantom good evening Martina Bantham Birch Tree Lane Boston spa resident of the District parent of to Boston spa High School alumni I am also here to speak in support of resolution 515 the gender queer book review um I put utmost faith in our school professionals particularly our librarians for putting books in the library that are appropriate and of interest to the kids in the school and I think that the board went through the appropriate process in responding to the parental concern here and doing a review and may is making the correct decision
034I think it's very important that we have books by writers of diverse backgrounds and identities and books in the library that appeal to everybody there are no doubt numerous books in this library that one person or another is going to find offensive for one reason or another and censorship is not something that I can ever support or canceling or book bands I mean only in the most extreme cases and this is not that so that is all I wanted to say thank you thank you for your comment next up Karen Barone board members Karen Barone Pleasant Street I have a child as an eighth grader as parents were constantly being faced with decisions about our kids get off of social media don't read that don't look at that if I had more time I would
035tell you about the 50 rounds we just went through about A Clockwork Orange in my house needless to say he's not allowed to watch it options are subjective they're made in the home because it the home is where values are that are subjective to that family that is where we use our background our education our politics our religion to make decisions for our children and not for other people's children a lot is going to be said tonight about appropriateness about taste those are subjective and luckily this is not a referendum on taste and it's not a referendum on whether or not you like something it's a discussion on whether or not this book is educational and all we need to be able to do is identify a hypothetical student who can grow intellectually socially emotionally
036because they had access to this book and if we can pass that litmus test then I offer to you that this board has done its job that this book is educational it belongs in our library and it belongs in our community thank you thank you for your comment next Rayna Hughes Marina Hughes Middle Street I have a junior at the high school I just want to start with a quote Banning books gives us silence when we need speech it closes our ears when we need to listen and it makes us blind when we need sight by Stephen chbaski I'm here today just to speak on the general idea of banning books the idea that we would pull books off the shelves because of subject matter that is deemed inappropriate and proper is such a slippery
037slope we are constantly talking about how times are so different than when we were kids and as a parent and an educator I live that every day this being even more reason why we should not pick and choose what topics are appropriate to discuss and which are not we need to be open to discuss any topic that may impact our children literature is meant to evoke a motion create discussions and grow Minds in this current climate we should create a school environment where high schoolers can experience books that reflect who they are Inspire questions promote meaningful discussions and Foster inclusivity when we start to make decisions on what books are okay and which are not we shortchange our students we Short change them with experiences and creating a feeling of rejection for those who may
038feel reflected in that specific text or story I believe the home is a person on Sacred Space to teach your own personal values and beliefs we choose the literature that comes into our own homes the role of public education is not that Educators create environments that are non-judgmental a safe space to ask questions and create opportunities for young adults to question what might be uncomfortable scary or different we cannot combine the two and we need to trust that the Educators we have in our district are student centered would not include any literature in our libraries that would be harmful and think about the needs of all the young adults that walk through the doors thank you for your comment Jason severia foreign I live at 936 state route 67. um on September 3rd 2022 at
0397 A.M I met Jason fernell the president of the Boston spa board of education for coffee at Coffee Planet to discuss my concerns over the book genderqueer and various other issues this meeting was at Jason fernell's request to which I agreed a voice recording of this meeting was made for my reference the recording is approximately one hour and 10 minutes long interested parties May request a copy of this recorded meeting to me personally the full recording will be released to various media outlets in the Capital District at my choosing the following is a transcript of a portion of this meeting at minute 19 me I wasn't happy that it had been the 60 days and then him saying that it's like I'm wasting my time or am I being lied to or just strung along
040I don't like that feeling Jason for now so you certainly were not wasting your time I again the district took it very seriously your objection that was part of pulling the book from the shelves right away was feeling there was absolutely was Merit to this I'm as frustrated as you about the delay and the time that it and I urge you if you're again unhappy with the committee's decision to file an appeal and let's go through that process me sounds like there's already been a decision Jason for now no not at all I don't know I'm telling you I don't know and I'll also share completely off the Record that if it does come up to the board the board was very concerned about the content of the book me yeah it looked like Katie
041was going to throw up Jason for now the board was very concerned about the content of the book for this matter all I can say to you is I think you should trust the process and the book was removed the day after you brought it up I think it's going to turn out in a way that we are all comfortable with into our satisfaction me I hope so Jason for now this particular book I think we're on the same page I'll repeat that Jason for now this particular book I think we're on the same page me yeah I was just the imagery like our kids they have access to the internet 24 7. I hear the way that they talk to each other on the baseball fields um I'm not as concerned with the swearing
042and stuff like that but when things are described in the nature I mean we don't have to you've read the book Jason for now I understand like I said I think we're on the same path with this so I hope that again I will inquire and if the board isn't really involved can you conclude your remarks please just a couple more senses Jason until it would come to a stage where the board would need to be involved so again I have no clue whatsoever what the discussion and the thought process is with the review of it I really don't I have no clue whatsoever because it's not my role it's not our role but I will see what I can do to make sure that we get one and again you continue to do what
043you do with it within what the process is again we're on the same page with this okay me yep [Music] foreign [Applause] thank you for your remarks next Zachary brand well members of the board my name is Zachary Brandt I rise today to hold on let me start the timer I rise today in support of the of the book genderqueer and keeping it on our shelves as a member of the lgbtq community myself I find it on I find it very very on I'm sorry I'm I have very trouble speaking so it's very unethical to be banning books from our our libraries especially when it comes to knowing when we should be learn teaching our children that it's okay to be who they are as and who they are is is okay we shouldn't be
044telling them that it's not okay to be that way and they should be learning every day [Music] everything in the world and it's unethical to be banning books from ourselves reading books equals freedom and the freedom to learn must be protected at all costs so again I'm glad that you have decided to keep the book on your shelf and that's all I have to say thank you [Applause] thank you for your comment next Megan Soden good evening Meg Soden 34 Liberty Drive I'm here to talk about resolution 515 genderqueer I've struggled to find the right words to talk about tonight and how to say them you know I kind of went back and forth of do I go for the shock value of showing you a picture which sure you've already seen from the book
045or do I describe and read in detail some some of the excerpts from the book so other folks can people that haven't gotten a chance to read the book um and I've I've determined that in good conscience I can't do either um gender career is is the number one Banned Book it's banned in more states in the U.S than any other book to ask yourself why why is that well because quote unquote it was considered to have sexually explicit images the author of the book states that the intended audience when writing the book was for adults and older teens she stated that herself furthermore Australia's classification board found that the book not suitable for readers under 15. consumer advice is given as M mature not recommended for readers under 15 years old Amazon further stated
046ages 18 and up with all this said I ask why this book is in our high school library and why is proposed to be kept we have students 13. and up in our high school my son will be 13. when he goes to high school so I'm talking about I'm not talking about feelings here I'm not talking about whether I agree or disagree with the book I clearly don't agree with it but I'm talking about age-appropriateness what the author recommended as that age what other people outside of the author recommended as the age for for distribution of the book and for appropriateness of that book just because we can please yep just because we can have this book in our libraries doesn't mean we should thank you [Applause] thank you for your comments next Cameron
047McKay [Music] hello uh my name is Cameron McKay and I am a senior here at the high school and I would like I live at six Florence Drive um I would like to start off with a comment from my mom who couldn't make it tonight but um she has some thoughts that she would like to be shared and I bet you can guess what I'm about to say but it brings in a couple other things too and my mom is Sarah McKay and yeah pull the high school students and ask how many of them walk into the library and check out books on a regular basis pull them again and ask how many even know that the book genderqueer is on the Shelf our school board is spending too much time on an issue that
048the high school students are not even that concerned about a book in the grand scheme of things that is not affecting them or their safety the real issues that are affecting their safety are not being addressed by the district constant fights vandalism in the bathrooms drug overdoses and students getting hit by cars two years in a row because of traffic flow issues a book is not having an effect on kids overall safety ask students why they do not feel safe in the high school and I will say that I do agree with my mom but um I also have something I would like to say um like I said I'm a student here and I will admit that I had absolutely no idea that this book was here I had no idea that anyone was
049upset about it I haven't heard anything about it um and I have read this book I urge anyone in this room to sit and ask themselves if they have read this book cover to cover because I have seen so many people who have been outraged and they've only seen someone else's opinion on it they haven't given themselves time to sit with it and form their own opinion so I urge everyone in this room not just the board to do that also LGBT people are not a threat their stories are not scary and I've grown up in this District I've spent my childhood going to the school libraries I freely admit that I have read this book I've read it I learned from it I would not put it in the elementary school library I would
050not put it in the Middle School library I admit that it is include your remarks please yes um I give a suggestion I recognize that for some people who may be more sensitive to this kind of content I understand keep it on the shelves but I suggest putting a warning if you are worried about it some sort of warning saying hey this may have this has sexual or mature content and that way the student can think for themselves that is something we need to do and it will let them do that we do not need protection from books we need protection from physical violence and I don't think we're getting that thank you for your comments next James warlockowski James wurlikowski 105 Prospect Street I've got two kids in the district talking about the replacement
051to Harvey and Jean stalters I was here not too long ago and you know we had a great sending off for them and to my knowledge we haven't posted the job I know that we have one guy that's already been helping out and he's fantastic and he has not yet been offered a job I know we've got a head coach from another school district in Fonda that would love to come and help out and I know we've got another teacher in the district that would also like to help out in some capacity and to my knowledge from what I've heard nobody has been offered this job we haven't been moving like this team this was the best team that we've ever had school history it was incredible um we lost a few great guys but
052I mean these guys are still grinding the day that the season was over preparation for next year started and these guys are moving forward without a coach right now I mean can we help that out please real quick on this book um I'm not for Banning books I don't believe that keeping a book out of a school is necessarily Banning it however I propose a compromise is it possible like I haven't read this book full disclosure but I have seen the pictures in it and I do have a problem with the pictures can can we censor the pictures like is that an option is there like there's all kinds of books and movies that you can get like watered-down versions of like can we just get the graphics like I don't remember seeing those kind
053of pictures in the health class when I was taking sex ed but like you know what I mean all right just think about it have a good night guys [Applause] thank you for your comment Jason gertler good evening Jason gertler 99 Rollins Street so it seems there's been a lot of Buzz about a particular book in the library well the bus started on April 13th 2022 and according to the minutes of the meeting on that day a member of our community stated that he had middle school students he raised concerns and voice displeasure on the sexually graphic content in two specific books in the school's library he read excerpts from Lawn Boy and genderqueer and asked the school board to intervene and do something about the books being available in The District Library here we
054are a year later for context the district removed the video stream from The Archives of that meeting due to the explicit nature of the content that that Community member read during that meeting it does not exist why because the district deemed it inappropriate to be put out for public View sounds like a double standard to me and as the gentle woman earlier mentioned about morals character and decency traits to be taught in the home I agree if you want a library book like this go to the public library where you have the ability to assist your child in making that decision and I just want to speak a little bit to the community this has never been an issue about sexual identity or sexual preference or gender has nothing to do with that is about
055the graphic images that are depicted in the book do you want to give it to your 14 15 year old I don't think so I know I don't so again I support everybody it's it's not an issue again against it's not a war against anybody it's about the book and the images that are depicted Within and how immoral and essentially illegal they are to be held in the hands of anybody under the age of 18. I beg you to consider this when you make your decision thank you thank you for your comment Steve galish my name is Steve gillish I live in the town of Milton I've attended a majority of these meetings since August of 2021 and during that time I've made a number of observations that should be disturbing to all of us
056as taxpayers this school is now spending 25 000 on each student per year do you realize that's three times what it costs to attend a SUNY school last year's State Testing revealed that less than 50 percent of those tested in this very School were proficient in Lea and math that's appalling and yet here we are talking about genderqueer and may you discovered it on your in your in our library and so now a year later nearly a year later we decided that the board is fully going to endorse this I'm a Christian and I believe what the Bible says concerning what how we should act about immorality and sexual relationships Jesus had a very special place in his heart for vulnerable in children and he said in Luke 17 things that cause people to stumble
057are bound to come but woe to anyone from who they come it'd be better that for them to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around their neck than to cause one of these to stumble here's the takeaway you're not only causing these children to stumble to fall into sin what you are bringing on God's full and complete judgment on yourself this is not about banning a book buy it read it paper your walls if you wish but don't expect me as a taxpayer to pay for it I think that's unconscionable in the meantime I will never ever vote for another school budget or a library budget in Boston spa again until this is rectified if the school wants to buy it let them take up a a special offering and then buy
058it but don't make me pay for it thank you [Applause] thank you for your comment and sweet good evening trying to address can you hear me I'm still too short for this Mike Garner okay good evening my name is Ann sweet I live in the village and I have kids at Malta Ave and in the Middle School I like many others am here to address the board regarding agenda item 11g under new business also referred to as resolution 515. while I personally trust our Librarians and our Educators and their training and their experience I commend our board for having a policy and a process in place to address Community concerns about instructional materials I think our review policy is clear I think it provides due process and transparency I want to thank the board again
059I want to thank the Review Committee the Librarians again the Librarians all the Educators in our schools and the administrators here tonight for their time and their energy and the careful consideration that you've put into this review thank you [Applause] thank you for your comments that concludes our first public comment period next on our agenda is our Student Government report our Student Government Representatives good evening we hope you've all had a wonderful break I apologize for my lack of attendance I'm a competitive dancer and we're in our competition season so I've practiced as I can't miss but I'd like to thank all of the student government members that have stepped in for me in my absence moving on on Friday student government is hosting their annual leadership conference in the library over 30 students are
060already signed up to be in attendance and we will also be holding our Spring Fling dance from 7 to 10 on Friday as well tomorrow is the last day for purchase of tickets so if you're planning on buying a ticket please buy it tomorrow tomorrow's Spirit theme is barbecue dads and soccer moms next Friday the music department will be hosting the Suburban Council Music Festival finally the middle school will be holding their International showcase and Community projects on Thursday April 27th from 6 to 7 30 in the Middle School cafeteria thank you any questions for our Student Government Representatives comments sounds great it's very exciting we're in our middle of our spirit week and um welcome back from the vacation and of course if you want to excuse yourself please do next down at the
061our agenda the approval of minutes may I have a motion to approve the minutes for the April 5th 2023 regular meeting so moved second any amendments or additions not hearing any all those in favor I opposed extensions minutes are approved next is our superintendent's report thank you a few items for superintendents report tonight so we've had several budget presentations over the past few months we presented our proposed budget last time April 5th and we will have a budget hearing for the public May 3rd our next board meeting starting at 6 30. and as part of the budget process which I kind of alluded to last time we have Kevin Flores here from the high school tonight to talk about the new high school offerings for 23.24 come on up cup um pretty much we're going
062to want to get our camera rotated to our speaker as well thank you Dr Duca Board of Education we have a few new course offerings at the high school for next year that I'd just like to give you some background on the first course is AP Human Geography the target grade level for this course is our 9th graders there are some prerequisites that come through with this course we are looking for students who have achieved a 90 or above in Region's earth science and Algebra 1 in eighth grade this shows that they can handle a significant workload this also they must also have achieved a 95 or higher in eighth grade history and English classes as well as a teacher recommendation those prerequisites may change as the course continues on through the years but with
063this being the first year those are the prerequisites AP uh human geography is organized around major themes of human interactions within a shared World it focuses on the questions where and why where do people live why or how do cultures influence human behavior seven topics explored in the course are geography it's nature and perspectives population cultural patterns and processes political organization of space Agricultural and Rural use land use industrialization and economic development and cities and urban land use this course is based on the syllabus developed by the college board for AP Human Geography I will note that the completion of this course fulfills the 9th grade social studies requirement for the first half of the global history and geography coursework additionally in 10th grade students can move to global history regions or AP World History
0642. uh just some additional notes about this course the course introduces students to the systematic study of patterns and processes that have shaped human understanding use and alteration of the Earth's surface students will employ spatial Concepts and Landscape analysis to examine Human Social organization and its environmental consequences AP Human Geography is designed to mirror an entry-level College introduction to Human Geography course students should expect nightly homework reading and or writing assignments they should also expect a challenging but engaging classwork students will be prepared to take the AP Human Geography exam in May and students are eligible for college credit for successfully completing the exam but the AP exam does not impact their Boston spa grade point average the next course offering is turning points in U.S history this is a social studies elective the target
065student population is grades 11 and 12. prerequisites are successful completion of global nine and global 10. turning points in U.S history examines changes and Trends in American society through the lenses of the Civil War World Wars one and two these events affected various groups socially economically and politically knowing what these events are how they came about and their effect is essential to grasping the full story of the United States it may even offer Clues as to where America is headed in the coming years and decades using documents reading and various visuals students will form a greater understanding of how these events promoted change in our country and again it is a semester-long course culminating in a project that will be due at the end of the class and will serve as the final summative assessment
066there will be several choices offered to students that they can focus on next course offering is a course called algebra a again the student population Target is grade nine this course is the first year of a two-year Common Core algebra curriculum the main topics covered are variables equations operations with integers formulas graphing linear and exponential functions and problem solving skills the course is designed for students who have shown some Proficiency in basic mathematics skills students enrolled in this course generally are unable to grasp algebraic Concepts at a rapid pace and require greater maturation before progressing to Geometry the course will also allow students to complete again Algebra 1 at a slower Pace over two years it allows students to learn Concepts on sets variables open sentences and operations with numbers of arithmetic ratio proportion percent
067measurement area and volume students will also learn the relationship between word problems and open sentences order symbols and Concepts this course is the beginning of the preparation for the New York State Common Core Regents exam in algebra it will follow the first half of the algebra Common Core learning standards by adopted as adopted by New York State and a local final exam will be taken at the end of the course and the fourth and last new course offering will be College a career financial management the target student population for this course are students in grades 11 and 12. during the first half of this year-long course students will explore career options and steps needed to prepare for a career students will develop a portfolio that includes personality profiles interest and value assessments a resume and
068cover letter in addition students will learn job application and interviewing tips financial literacy is stressed during the second half of the course as students learn subject areas needed to manage their economic future including financial planning banking credit retirement planning and investing just an additional note on the College and Career course in terms of you know need we understand that many students don't necessarily fully understand all of the financial decisions that they'll be making including whether to attend college and what they should specialize in many students have to borrow and finance their education but don't necessarily fully understand financial aid loans debt credit inflation budgeting and credit scores so this course hopes to expand upon those topics that is all of the course offerings thank you very much any questions from the board members I have
069two questions sure um my first question is um is it logical to assume that next year we will be hearing about algebra b yes So the plan is to incorporate algebra b in that second year as a as the continuation of that two-year course okay and for um the AP Human Geography is the targeted the only option or because it's new those Juniors and seniors who might be interested in it is it an option for other grade levels or you just want to start it is just ninth grade okay yep and again in terms of those prerequisites those are the prerequisites that are set but we are also again looking for Teacher recommendations so there is some you know fluctuation that we can certainly Grant we have open enrollment so those students who wish to
070challenge that we can certainly consider those thank you um I I don't need an answer to this question but just maybe some something to consider perhaps in the future if algebra a is successful that maybe it could be offered at the eighth grade level to allow 8th graders and 9th graders to then advance in some of the math sequences as they go along foreign any other questions thank you much Mr thank you very much I have one more uh update so it has to do with these stop arm cameras uh so you know we've had uh instances of vehicles passing stopped buses and we have a number of our buses that have that are equipped with the stop arm camera uh and so training was was um uh taking place and so what we've done
071is we've turned the the buses that have the stop arm camera have been activated and we've tried to shuffle um the buses around uh routes that have had complaints in the past with you know some heavy traffic and people passing those stop-arm cameras so hopefully that starts to curtail um and we'll continue to move forward and try to equip as many of the buses as possible with the stop arm camera okay okay any questions on the superintendent's report just want to say thank you very much for the Stop on cameras getting that program rolling I know there's lots of parents in the district they appreciate that next on our agenda the committee reports and I don't think we have any no committee reports correspondence correspondence to the district the district receives three emails um one
072regarding stop arm camera two regarding student matters and one phone call regarding the traffic pattern and correspondence to the board since the last meeting the board has received roughly 49 emails and I'll explain my hesitancy in a moment so prior to today the board received two emails one was support for handling the threat that occurred and the other was regarding the stop arm cameras and cars passing school buses during the course of today the board received approximately 47 emails and this is maybe as of 6 30 regarding the book challenge and all were in support of keeping the book available in our high school library announcements Mr Williams good evening the students out at our techsmart facility in our Early College High School program will be participating in a semiconductor day on Friday it's open
073to the public it's sponsored by Hudson Valley Community College as well as some area organizations and businesses like applied material and Global foundries in the morning there's an open discussion talking about the industry and its effects in the area and the economy that type of thing but the afternoon is for the students to actually participate in a series of workshops so it's open to the public if anybody's interested there is a green flyer in the back and we have information on our website as well our robotics team is going to be hosting their annual event next Tuesday night it's a mac and cheese pizza tasting event where they try to determine the best tasting mac and cheese and Pizza in Boston spa and they invite all the area businesses to participate in everybody's welcome to
074come and and to help them decide who is the winner of the best tasting mac and cheese or pizza they also run a silent auction at the same time so they do have a variety of objects here baskets and similar types of prizes that are available for people to bid on as well as it's a silent auction online so you can bid from home as well so that's on Tuesday the 25th on Thursday you heard the the girls mention the IB project showcase it's going to occur in the Middle School cafeteria it starts at six o'clock and it's where our 8th graders will be demonstrating some of the things that they've learned this year and presenting their projects and different um some foods some some projects that they did on the different countries that they're
075interested in so again that's on Thursday night the 27th at six o'clock again open to the public and it's in the middle school cafeteria next Thursday and Friday we are hosting this Suburban Council Music Festival here at the high school so be very busy we have over 300 students involved from 16 different school districts so they'll be taking over the high school um pretty much next Friday afternoon and all of Saturday there is a public performance on Saturday at 2 p.m it's open again and free for the public to attend so if you'd like to see a very nice concert there's three or four different groups performing but it is involving over 300 kids from from the area high schools and then just a quick update on the wellness Expo the registration for both the
0765K run and the Fun Run for the children the registration links are now open so if you check on the website you can follow through to register register for those the volunteer link is not open yet they're going to try to get that up and running tomorrow so if you're interested in volunteering and helping out with any part of that day again that's May 13th when we do our district-wide Wellness Expo and I guess your next meeting is May 3rd so that's it any other announcements from board members from the district all right next is old business do we have any old business Dr duka okay old business for members moving on to new business I have a motion to approve resolution number 506 the adoption of the 2023-2024 school budget so moved second any
077discussion not hearing any all those in favor I opposed abstentions resolution number 506 passes I have a motion to approve resolution number 507 the property tax report card so moved second any discussion yes just want to make a comment because this is a very good document obviously it's mandated by New York state so it's got you know a lot of format to it just for the regular for board members and for the audience the one that I like to key in on is um unrestricted fund balance is a percentage of total budget last year was 3.37 3.37 this year will be 3.13 uh the goal is to keep that under four percent that is per New York State guidelines um and when the district's done a very good job of doing that um partially so
078things think of that as our savings account Randy day fund we need money to to go and that's how much we have in reserve as a percentage obviously the dollar amount is listed above there um but the reason why we can do that is because we manage our Reserve fund so well and anticipation in our long-range long-range planning so I just wanted to highlight that because it sometimes gets lost in all the business of the numbers so thank you very much for paying attention to all those all those numbers thank you any other comment not hearing any all those in favor I opposed abstentions resolution number 507 passes I have a motion to approve resolution number 508 NYS MEC electricity so moved second any discussion not hearing any all those in favor I suppose extensions
079resolution number 508 passes I have a motion to approve resolution number 509 nysmec Natural Gas some second any discussion not hearing any all those in favor I opposed abstentions resolution number 509 passes I have a motion to approve resolution number 510 agreement Professional Services second any discussion not hearing any all those in favor aye aye opposed abstentions resolution number 510 tasks I have a motion to approve resolution number 511 budget transfers so moved second any discussion not hearing any all those in favor I opposed abstentions resolution number 511 passes I have a motion to approve resolution number 512 Award of bid Auto truck and bus parts so moved second any discussion not hearing any all those in favor I I opposed abstentions resolution number 512 passes I have a motion to approve resolution number 513
080award if bid Safety and Security film so moved second any discussion not hearing any all those in favor aye opposed extension resolution number 513 passes I have a motion to approve resolution number 514 scholarship change so moved second any discussion not hearing any all those in favor I opposed extensions resolution number 514 passes I have a motion to approve resolution number 515 book review that's almost second now it's time for discussion just for clarity's sake this motion is for the Board of Education to uphold the determination of the Review Committee and the superintendent and deny the appeal of the requester like start conversation Mr Ryan thank you board members um so I have some comments that I would like to share about my thought process on this topic but before I get into the details
081I would like to start at the End by giving you a summary of my opinion and kind of like bullet point fashion the book gender queer was challenged for its inappropriateness in the high school library collection because it contains sexually explicit content explicit being the keyword this book review was not a proposed book ban due to it being related to themes of gender identity or lgbtq plus studies the term book ban being used in the media does not Foster the discussion that this topic needs there's no one rating system for books as there is for TV shows and movies but the book service tidal wave used by the district lists the audience level for this book as adults and from the publisher age 16. the research genderqueer on Amazon click on the book title scroll
082down to the product details section it shows reading age 18 years and up go ahead check it out while I continue well the book genderqueer is unique in its themes and presentation that uniqueness does not allow it to contain inappropriately sexual inappropriately sexually explicit material for a high school library this book is available through the public library in Boston spa and there are other books in the high school library collection that address similar gender identity issues well a library collection should afford all students the availability to materials that interest and would benefit them it should not do so without consideration of the potential harm to other younger students that was my summary so I will not get into some of the details um I first want to thank the community for their patience during this
083book review process it has taken almost a year to complete largely due to changes in the administration But ultimately this was the board's responsibility I've given a lot of thought about this resolution in this in this book appeal when a parent read parts of the book genderqueer that he deemed inappropriate out loud at the Board of Education meeting in April 2022. my first thought was what is he doing if he wanted the board to review the book content we could certainly do so by reading it ourselves I must admit I was a little upset from a common sense approach I thought okay I am not sure how books get approved to be included in the library but this one sounds like it's not appropriate for a school setting even a high school the parent completed
084the form request for review of Library materials and specifically answered the following question to what in the work do you object and his response was and a quote graphic statements describing sex acts images depicting children engaged in sexual activity nowhere in this book review request was the topic of gender identity or lgbtq plus themes discussed or challenged after hearing the parents comments at the Board of Education meeting in reviewing the written request I had a good understanding of his concern a Review Committee was formed to read and address the book and I do want to pause for a moment since a comment was raised that this was a secret committee since his members would not be made known to the public I do not believe this is an appropriate characterization of this committee it was
085formed in good faith by the district to conduct this book review but their decision as a committee should not impact them individually that responsibility falls on this board hence the discussion tonight I was a little surprised that the community's decision to keep the book in the library collection but I tried to stay impartial as the review process ran its course I will say that the book as a whole does have many positive attributes that the author expresses from their childhood memories through adulthood I can see the benefits of this book for certain students as I gain some insight as well the main takeaway for me was a conversation between the author and a friend the author who was born cisgender female but never felt comfortable as a female and the friend who was a transgender
086male the friend asks so why do you identify as non-binary rather than a trans man the author response because really I want people to be as confused about my gender at all times I don't want a beard I don't want my voice to change I don't want more gendered traits I want less for me this is very informative and a good summary of the book's message I do agree with the review committee's assessment that the ex explicit sexual content is between two adult cisgender females and not children I can understand the confusion however since the author jumps around um the childhood adult timeline quite a bit throughout the book kind of like the Quentin Tarantino movie so how do we gauge what is explicit and inappropriate content a friend of mine who was Raising teenagers
087has what he calls the grandmother rule and he uses it when his children want to listen to songs with explicit content the rule is if you would not feel comfortable printing out the lyrics to the song and speaking them to your grandmother at the dinner table then it's not an appropriate song for you to listen to so apply the grandmother rule to this book I would ask any Community member if they would be comfortable having their 14 year old child reading or showing the sexually explicit text and images and the soft cover book here Pages 166 to 167 to their grandmother at the dinner table something to think about well this book genderqueer is unique in that is a graphic novel written as an autobiographical Memoir on the topic of non-bound non-binary gender identity and
088asexualism that does not mean its uniqueness allows it to contain inappropriate age material for the high school population as young as 14 years old this book is appropriate to be in a public library just not a high school library in fact this book is part of the library collection available to the Village of Boston spa Public Library so any high school student who wishes to read this book has that option available to them the author chose to include certain sexually explicit text and images that make this work of art appropriate for adult audiences similarly directors of the many Marvel and DC super hero movies purposely refrained from certain topics like sex nudity profanity Etc in order to appeal to a wider younger audience choices and consequences more relevant example would be the TV series euphoria
089which contains themes that are relevant to teenage struggles Elizabeth Brown here to teenage struggles but also contains inappropriate content for teens under 17 hence it's TV MAA uh rating mature audiences only the creator of the show had the following to say on this topic a 17 year old has had very different experiences than a 14 year old and because of that you can show more explicit content and still be effective while communicating your message the point I'm trying to make is if a work of art contains sexually explicit content then is not appropriate for a high school library regardless of his value as a memoir work of fiction versus non-fiction graphic novel versus movie or being unique I am not naive that high school students have access to much more inappropriate material through their phones
090and TV streaming services the sexually explicit content in genderqueer pales in comparison to what is available on the internet however schools limit that too is okay to say genderqueer is a book that provides value and benefit to students that may be struggling with their gender identity but it is not appropriate for a high school library based on the content that the author chose to include in its memoir if the district wanted to show an R-rated movie in a classroom as part of curriculum it would seek parental input information I do not see a distinction between this and sexually explicit content in a book any book I have not if I have not successfully been able to convince my fellow board members that this sexually explicit content in the book genderqueer is not appropriate for the
091Boston spa High School library then I would request that the district place the book on reserve and available only with parent caregiver permission this practice has been done in other school districts I understand the concern that some parents and caregivers may not be open-minded about the gender identity themes of the book but that is not the point of the book being on reserve it's sexually explicit content is the issue this next section is just from today because when I wrote this it's a 25 emails today now it's 47 emails I think I read every one of them today you know the board is received these 47 emails in support of keeping the book gender career in the high school library the main theme of these easel emails was do not ban books ban books used
092a lot the district already provides parents with a mechanism for limiting specific books so that their child that their child can check out no particular parent or small group of parents should be able to decide what is available or appropriate for the children of others to read and one email stated with a little bit of sarcasm I'm confused as to why notebooks are being banned that discuss straight sex so taking this feedback into account I would like to clarify a few things the words book ban are not listed anywhere in the discussion of resolution 515. I have mentioned this previously but we'll reiterate that this book review was challenged as by a parent for the inapproprieness of sexually explicit content particularly for the younger High School age group this book was not being challenged due
093to themes of the book such as gender identity or lgbtq plus topics yes parents May request that their book that their child not be able to check out a specific book however books are still available on the library shelves with unrestricted access since this book would be unrestricted in the library NHL that answers the library would have access to it the congress position would be why is it okay for the district to allow access to books with sexually explicit content but limits internet access does not allow R-rated movies without parental consent does not allow music with inappropriate defensive explicit lyrics at school shows or sporting events even the recent play mean girls put on by the high school group and the PG-13 rating right on the Playbook cover the expression the sexually explicit content appropriateness
094that I have discussed applies to all books including the ones that pertain to straight sex as previously stated well a library collection should afford all students the availability to materials that interest them and would benefit them it should not do so without the consideration of potential harm to other younger students I support different viewpoints and critical thinking if any student parent staff or Community member would like to discuss with me their thoughts about this topic and my vote tonight then I welcome that conversation based on my preceding comments I shall vote nay for resolution 515 as I do not believe the Board of Education should uphold the determination of the Review Committee and the superintendent regarding this book review thank you to my fellow board members for allowing me to express my concerns on this
095issue Ryan in just a few moments we'll be voting on The Resolution regarding this review of Library materials the book in question has been the central point of a nationwide discussion one that can easily be described as tumultuous and controversial we have heard a variety of differing opinions especially strong ones while I have my own strong opinion regarding the Banning of Library materials I also recognize as a board member I must put that aside in judging the content and context of this book as a whole and the appropriateness of its placement in our library thankfully I have the district's written policy regarding Library materials to help to help guide my decision and I am able to reference similar cases throughout our country it is with that in which I can confidently say my decision to
096vote to keep this book in our library is driven by policy and not personal opinion with all this said I would be remiss not to address the book genderqueer and the great benefit a book like this can have when we're attached to read this book for this appeal I will happily say that I was looking forward to it I have always been a fan of Memoirs for The Unique perspective it provides the reader understanding this to be the from the perspective of a non-binary individual I was concerned I would not be able to relate to the subject matter but still went into it with an open mind after finishing the book I discovered that I could not be more wrong the journey into the author's own self-discovery while not not exactly the same as my
097own is beyond relatable I picked up a book which I expected to be geared exclusively to the lgbtq plus community and I discovered one which people from all walks of life can find great benefit as a straight cisgendered white male I recognize the fact there are a number of different perspectives and lived experience experiences which I will never truly understand nor fully comprehend I do however hold a sense of responsibility to hear the voices of those with experiences different from mine and at the bare minimum show empathy toward their viewpoints rather than put them down there is a great need now more than ever to uplift stories like the one told in genderqueer this story is useful for those who may question their own identity as well as for those who may seek a better
098understanding of that perspective we need stories like this as a viable resource while I can empathize with the concern over specific content found within the book we all we also must not cherry pick and take into consideration the context of the content as a whole I grew up with a great appreciation for literary Classics such as To Kill a Mockingbird Catcher in the Rye and Slaughterhouse Five if we went through these novels we would also find graphic content which many would find questionable today we Revere these stories for the context as a whole and we should give the same consideration and respect when we look at genderqueer ultimately we would be doing a disservice to our students if we so happen to remove this book our library policy encourages stories like this to be shared
099and I am proud to stand by my decision to keep it in our library thank you Mr terbiak Mr chair do you have any comment s uh after reading the book genderqueer multiple times I am choosing to vote to keep it in the high school library someone viewing the images in this book without reading the context in which they are used could perceive them as provocative however since we do not share a common set of values in each of our homes as a board member I feel that is my responsibility to ensure that we allow families to make this choice on their own parents are Guardians who do not wish their child to borrow this book or others from the library have the right to make that request to the librarian or principal I was
100deeply moved when I read the numerous emails addressed to the Board of Education this week one parent's comment stood out books are a huge part of learning they encourage imagination and understanding both necessary to grow both necessary to grow into a productive adult sadly some people would take away the opportunity to learn by Banning books for those students who don't know how they fit into the world books are a Lifeline they open up the whole world to Discovery and show that there is a place for our children books can Inspire and for some they can also provide Comfort what no book can do is change your gender I do want to clarify and agree with what law stated that it is a book challenge not a book ban but I do think the sentiments of
101this parent are worth noting um I am very proud of our district for providing the necessary due process that led to tonight's resolution I am honored to serve with my fellow board members you are each role models for our children the parents and the staff within our district and you each demonstrate the ideals of democracy and of civil discourse I am photo to keep the book thank you um sure so I I do want to start by saying that I'm going to vote to keep the book in the library I want to thank everyone who was involved in the very careful and thorough multiple reviews that this book went through so thank you to the members of the original committee thank you to Dr Duca and thank you to my fellow board members for our
102thoughtful and careful conversation about this book and I want to thank the members of the community who have written and have spoken today in careful and respectful and mostly courteous ways because that is exactly the kind of model of conversation that our students need to see in action and so I just want to make that uh thank you very public and very clear um I'm this book has value in all sorts of ways on a library shelf this book has value folks have already talked about it being um if you're someone who has been uncomfortable with your body if you're someone who has struggled to talk to somebody who has a crush on you if you're someone who doesn't know what to wear if you're someone who is an adolescent trying to figure out how
103to stick up for yourself this is a book that a lot of students in our high school could potentially identify with and need and it's a book that speaks very specifically to a group of our students that we know are most vulnerable in many ways so our lgbtq students who we know have higher rates of suicide higher rates of victimization and higher rates of bullying so it's even more important for that group of students specifically to see themselves represented on our library shelves while I understand and appreciate the concerns about the explicit sexual content that is in some pages of this book that to cherry pick that out of the many pages of the book I think does the book A disservice and I think our high school students are more than mature enough to
104handle this kind of content and it's our job to prepare them for that kind of content because the world is complicated and I think taking books away from shelves does not ultimately serve their education so I will vote to keep this book on the library shelves thank you Miss Whitmore so I first of all would like to thank the community as a whole whether you emailed whether you spoke in the past year about this topic we are listening we may not agree but we listen and that's very important for the community to understand is we are here to represent the community as a whole and we do take into consideration what you say um I personally have read this book three times I have learned so much and I as an educator myself in a
105different District have found I am better able to support my students after reading this book um so after reading the book genderqueer it is an interesting personal Memoir about a person who struggles with their own identity and creates a unique perspective for students struggling with the same situation this book is not part of any curriculum no one is forced to read this book um I will be voting to keep the book thank you so I'm just going to restate again something I said in my opening remarks that specific to the book and this resolution tonight I want to make it clear that the book in question is a library book available as a reference or resource for any student who voluntarily wants to access it by checking it out or reading it in the library
106it is not part of any curriculum or class nor at any point is it a required reading material for any student the first consideration for me was is there any content in the book that is illegal under state or federal laws the board met twice with District legal counsel and was told by Council that there was not any illegal material after a complete reading of the book it is my opinion that the images and words viewed in the context of the entire book that are of a mature nature are spoken by adults and show actions by adults these images and words are part of the overall literary and artistic value of the book I find nothing to support the assertion that minors are depicted in any illegal or inappropriate way this school district being a
107public Institution funded by taxpayers from the entire public of our community and in fact New York State as we receive New York State funding and being representative of our entire community should have material that is supportive and has educational value for all members of our student population just as our community has straight gay by cisgender transgender non-binary and asexual adult members it also has straight gay by cisgender transgender non-binary and asexual young adults who attend our schools I am proud to represent the community standard that believes that we are here for all of our students I am proud to represent the community standard that believes that none of our students should be made to feel ashamed or marginalized for who they are in the fall of last year when this board voted to affirm federal
108and state civil rights protections we were told by a small minority in our community what dangers we had put our students in well those dangers never materialized there are a number of things that I worry about in regards to our students near the top of that list is what is available to them on the Internet and what occurs in social media postings and discussions the availability of this book and our high school library that describes the author's gender identity Journey and sexual identity Journey in a manner that is supportive of non-binary and asexual young adults is not something that I am worried about are there any other comments um listening to the public comment one thing that I remembered at the time that this was was brought up a year ago we also had comments
109um from the book Lawn Boy that was read at the public meeting was that book on the library shelves at that time and have we since removed that book from the library collection so per our policies books would only be removed or be considered for challenge if a appeal a challenge to the the book's existence was made The Lawn Boy booked no challenge was made okay I thought my member collection was different on that so that book is still in the in the in the collection as far as I know the Community member read from that book but decided not did not appeal that book The only appealed okay we've had a number of comments public comments about a number of books the actual challenge or any actual action is started by a formal appeal
110as the policy states okay I can clarify that later I thought it was the the district voluntarily chose to remove it from The Collection so I'll double check that thank you any other session questions almost three years as a board member I've always took the community the public not as number one of the decisions that I make um I give a lot of respect to the passion that the parents that are um wanting to ban the book uh but I've always said to everybody when I speak that whether you voted for me or not it's always about the community as a whole it isn't my right it isn't for me to tell any parent in this community to um ban a book from them whether you agree with me or not it's just something that
111I can't included conscience tell another parent in this community that we're going to ban a book um it's just not who I am I've always been again a community as a whole and for the students to us to take a book away from somebody that is confused or that might want to identify or relate to and that book is there and the public and the high school library I I feel that that should be granted to them it's been a very difficult time since we've had to review this a couple times I read the book two to three times and it's been very hard but that's that's my standpoint thank you for your comments any other comment or discussion not hearing any all those in favor opposed abstentions resolution number five one five passes I
112have a motion to approve resolution number 516 placement of students with disabilities second any discussion not hearing any all those in favor aye my motion to approve resolution number 517 placement of preschool students with disabilities second any discussion not hearing any all those in favor all right resolutions number 518-527 are recognized as a consent agenda for the purpose of Board of Education action I have a motion to approve the consent agenda resolutions number 518-527 any discussion not hearing any all those in favor I I opposed resolutions number five one eight through five two seven pass the consent agenda we do have tonight to walk on resolutions they are resolution number 528 purchase of school Vehicles preposition proposition and resolution number 529 Boston spa Public Library proposition so every year is part of the budget there
113is the main budget vote and then there are also uh propositions that are attached to it um that's what these walk-on resolutions are due to oversight they were not in a previous agenda so district is asking that we consider and approve and have these walk-on resolutions be part of our discussion so or be have action taken upon tonight may I have a motion to walk on resolution number 528 purchase of school Vehicles proposition and resolution number 529 Boston spa Public Library proposition exactly any discussion all those in favor I opposed abstentions uh the ability to walk on fraction resolutions 528 and 529 passes I have a motion to approve resolutions number 528 purchase of school Vehicles proposition so moved second any discussion not hearing any all those in favor I I suppose abstentions resolution number
114528 passes I have a motion to approve resolution number 529 Boston spa Public Library proposition so moved second any discussion not hearing any all those in favor I oppose abstention resolution number 529 passes any other new business from the district no new business for members we are now at time in our agenda for our second public comment period foreign to have a number of public commenters the guidance that I read at the beginning of the first public comment period is still in effect we ask again that speakers please uh address their comments to the entire board as a whole not to any particular board member or member of our Administration let's make sure that we have our camera working and then focused on the podium and our our mic is working in police speakers make
115sure you adjust the microphone so that you hear yourself and um again after the two-minute Mark I will be giving people a request to please wrap up your comments first up Chris Dubuque [Music] good evening ladies and gentlemen the board Chris Dubuque Kaling drive I have another controversial topic to discuss so I'm given anybody in the audience a chance to exit all right you've been warned volunteerism we have whistle Park coming up there's some great plans we're planning on doing I know there was a request for days uh maybe to get the volume or the football team to volunteer uh we got a couple cleanup days already on the calendar in mine and everybody here it's great to see people show up for what they care about uh in the library but I would love
116to see just as many people show up with the work we need to get done in whistle Park uh again I think I see a few that were at the meeting for Woods Hollow uh I know you like using those trails and equally we do like our whistle Park in the village as well so the days we have and everybody here did read speeches from their cell phone so I know you have access to counters on your cell phone so feel free to Mark these down June 2nd June 3rd June 4th June 2nd we're planning to oversee mulch delivery and cover annuals we may have to pick up June 3rd we're really going to need all the hands on deck that's worked oversea volunteers including hopefully the Boston a high school football team to carry
117some heavy bags of mulch and again we're looking at nine o'clock assembly 9 30 once we get everybody organized to help with that task June 4th we're just going to finish some last items sweep walkways clean up discard debris so again I know it's a busy time of year for a lot of people you're going away but you're in luck there's three days we need help anybody who can't show up we are looking to replace the benches there we are looking for donations any amount given will be more than appreciated uh I know I had reached out about the pavers as well again it's been commented the ones in front of the high school are amazing and have stood up the test of time and the test of traffic we are looking to put something
118similar in again in whistle Park and hopefully we'll put together a program for that as well for anybody who would like to donate time or money for that so again we don't yet have a full contact I will be hanging around after though so anybody in the crowd or from the board who's interested in signing up for any of those days feel free to reach out to me I'll get your contact information or fill you in on any further questions or details you may have and again I know you're busy but any response on those papers anytime soon would be greatly appreciated all right thank you thank you for your comment next up Josh Ness hey there can you hear me okay uh I'm a resident of the village 70 Chapman Street um and I
119think I kind of misunderstood when I should be doing public comments about what so I'm here to actually speak about 515 but um what I will say in the resolution you know it states that the Board of Education determines that the book provides informative messages on a variety of topics that could be beneficial to all readers that the themes present in the book provide a unique Viewpoint that enhances the overall Library offerings for students and further the Board of Education asserts that the importance of concerning the book as a whole in understanding each image and phrase in context um I bought the book I read the book you know when someone's concerned about not having a book that that Peaks lots of people's interests me included um I found it to be very powerful um
120emotionally and intellectually honest Memoir um about a young person's life um it was a read that I found both comforting and challenging and I think that's a really hard balance to strike in a buck I mean that that's to my mind the measure of a successful book and also the measure of a successful library is sort of you know having both those elements comforting and challenging um there's been some of the language that I that I've heard or senior year two we're talking about um a library of books that appeal to everyone I'm sure that's the bar that we want to set I mean I don't think there's any any book that appeals to everyone I think a better way to think of it is our goal is that we want a library that um
121everyone can find works that appeal to them I mean there is no universally acceptable book I guarantee that so rather I think our standard should be can everyone find Works in here that challenge and comfort them that Inspire them and to my mind this book absolutely meets that um that standard for a variety of different audiences and ways that some folks have talked about um so I really appreciate that and I and you know thinking about this theme of of what would be acceptable to everyone I think even some books that we would probably think of as non-controversial classics probably could be pretty unsettling I mean I was sort of thinking like all right what's a non-controversial classic and Romeo and Juliet kind of came to mind like a bug her performance that really every
122Everybody reads at some point or you know sees sees the play whether it's Romeo and Juliet or West Side Story but you walk through it right and it's it's it's got promiscuity it's got lewd language it's got at least the implication of sex there's murder there's Apothecary assisted suicide I mean there's plenty of sort of unsettling things in it but nonetheless it seems like yeah that's that's absolutely something we want here um well I want here so I really want to appreciate or express my appreciation as a taxpayer as a parent of two children in the district as just sort of a citizen of New York and of the village for the board and the superintendent and the libraries for creating this ensuring this is a space or doing their best work to make the
123space that's comforting and inspiring thank you for that thank you for your comments [Applause] and I'm a little confused about this next one if they're actually here or not Renee Menzie are you here or this is just a reference to an email you're saying someone fill this in okay I don't think they're here next Diane O'Connor good evening my name is Diane O'Connor I am the parent of two students in the district both of whom are student athletes I want to just say that it was a pleasure to see the Boston spa Varsity wrestlers and coaches Jean and Harvey stalters honored here at the April 5th Board of Education meeting as the coaches embarked on their well-earned retirement I believe many residents in our district would agree that the stalter's brothers have built an incredible
124and may I say legendary wrestling program that is the Envy of other school districts after 30 years of coaching the Salter's Brothers have earned their retirement and I believe their shoes will be difficult to fill following the exceptional winning season that the Scotty's varsity and JV wrestling teams experience this past winter season in which the varsity wrestling team finished fourth in New York state and several of our Varsity wrestlers placed within the top five wrestlers within New York State I would like to respectfully request that the Board of Education and Dr duka please take all necessary steps to ensure that a wrestling coach is hired without delay the winter sports season may seem distant at this time however our student athletes deserve an opportunity to train with a new coach during the spring summer and
125fall Seasons to prepare for another winning winter season a very dedicated and talented wrestling coach candidate shadowed coach Harvey and Coach Jean at every practice wrestling meet and tournament during the winter season including the two state tournaments that the team participated in as a parent of two young Boston spa wrestlers I hope to see the strong team spirit and winning tradition continue for many years to come and I believe that begins with the prompt hire of a dedicated and experienced coach or coaches for our Scotties wrestling program thank you for your time [Applause] thank you for your comment Jason savaria Jason's Ferry 936 route 67. there's so much to one pack uh I definitely don't have two minutes I want to thank you Lawrence what you said was absolutely perfect and I hope the people
126standing behind me heard you loud and clear I'm the one that started this book review of genderqueer I probably have uh more experience in the LGBT community combined then everybody behind me I've been to more drag shows and there's people in this room so I am my sole purpose for this book review were the images um your votes tonight set a very dangerous precedent and I I hope it doesn't come back to bite Us in the butt but if it does you're responsible for it um I think your explanations were purely cowardice you didn't look at what I objected to in the first place I agree with you I agree with the people standing behind me aside from the images in this book it would have been a good book but I didn't write it
127I didn't put those images in there I have a daughter sitting right there that had to leave the room when somebody just talked about it yes that's my personal opinion but many of you board members also sat there tonight and agreed that the images in this book were sexually explicit so you're openly admitting to the public that you agree that they're sexually explicit images in a book that you just voted on to supply to children there's two sheriffs sitting in the back of the room I fully support our men and women in blue but I wish they would come up here and arrest each one of you you openly admit that there are sexually explicit images in this book can you please conclude your remark and you agreed to supply it to our kids shame
128on every one of you but I'm kind of glad I'm kind of glad that this process went this far because now I know names and faces of each person that I'm going to keep my kids away from thank you for your comment next Frank Rossi Frank Rossi Jr 63b Saratoga Avenue um first off regardless of feelings or thoughts on either side of the aisle on this one I just want to applaud the community for a generally positive vibrant debate I want to compliment all of you for taking the moment seriously stopping explaining it's important and so thank you to all of you for the service you provided tonight to the community um I want to thank Jason and law for both attending our village board meetings and setting a standard there as well it was
129great seeing your involvement your concern about the community we're going to get duka there to talk about the school district very soon hopefully so uh we'll be there I want to talk tonight though about some of the community contributions by your students in the school district because it has been just really important for us to build community in that way we were talking about Ms Thomas's fundraising I want to actually underscore the fundraising by the athletes of this school especially and also Malta Avenue with the saint baldrick's event that Steve and Becky cook are very very instrumental on the points lacrosse team it was the Lion's Share of this and you know go Scotties on the field the season as a result of getting about fifteen thousand one hundred dollars on our team for saint
130baldrick's for cancer research uh coach Bryant uh with his Malta Avenue team got about 3 600 in addition to that that's just incredible fundraising for such an important situation there thank you to them thank you to all the athletes for what they do back to the community and all the students generally I want to give one last uh shout out here to the Odyssey of the Mind team from Malt Avenue we had a parent reach out this week asking for some help in terms of getting a fundraiser together we've linked them up with the Boston spa business the professional association I'm happy to announce that on May 5th during a first Friday event at wiswell Park The Odyssey of the Mind team will be selling Stewart's ice cream and some uh other stuff from B
131Spa in wiswell park for fundraising for that Michigan State trip and then the next day it sounds like on May 6th they're going to be joining rotary and Friends of the Caterers for a cleanup event on the Romano Trail in Kelly Park giving in both directions that epitomizes the relationship here between the school district and our village I want to thank you for setting the standard and for making this such a great Community for us [Applause] thank you for your comment Keith Lewis good evening my name is Keith Lewis Boston spot 38 East High Street my family's been contributing to the school district finances for almost four decades and I was the executive producer and co-originator of a documentary called for the Bible tells me so that was a intersection of five Conservative Christian families
132and their gay children how they came to terms or didn't come to terms with those gay children in 2007 we were a grand jury nominee at Sundance we were also banned in some schools we were picketed in theaters throughout Utah when we actually got distribution um we were shortlisted for an Academy Award we were named by Entertainment Weekly as one of the five films that changed the world so the subject of the book tonight was especially close to me because I'm able to look back of almost 20 years 15 years and be able to see where we were at that time and how we were viewed at that time and there's a few statistics I wanted to just share and I appreciate all the families coming out it's difficult it's important to have the conversation
133it's important to be heard on all sides and it's nice to have a place at the table no matter what the opinion is a couple of Statistics that stood out was 75 percent this is New York Times January 10th 75 percent of 17 year olds have viewed pornography online with the average age of the first exposure at being 12. the Trevor Project which works to stop suicide among lgbtq youth say that 45 percent of 21 and under have seriously considered suicide in the last year eighty percent of transgender have thought about it 40 percent have attempted it and they also found lgbtq youth found that their school to be affirming they had less of an of a chance of committing suicide if they found that their school was affirming and I just want to share
134one email that we got that our director got from a young man who was struggling with his sexuality outside Omaha Nebraska and he said last week I bought the gun yesterday I saw your film today I threw the gun in the river and now my mom never needs to know thank you for your decision tonight [Applause] that concludes our second public comment do we have any of our associations here tonight for statement we have PTA updates uh just a couple announcements I'll carry over from the previous announcement from the previous meeting uh Milton Terrace ptas held in their next meeting on April 27th Uh Wood Road is hosting a talent show on May 5th they are holding a mandatory meeting tomorrow for all performers and uh High School PTSA is looking for people to help
135serve pizza this Friday at the Spring Fling thank you and I know the high school PTSA is also reaching out making preparations looking for volunteers for the after prom event and that's always a great event that we can have as an option for our students and please again check the high school website and look for emails if you have high school age students any other PTA or announcements yes law yes I was in contact with Colleen Russo at the bacc there she's interested in presenting to the board maybe something in the near future May June time frame so I you know make contacts with her and Dr duka to arrange that she just would like to um go over the offerings that they have and I said we're more than welcome it so thank you
136any other announcements any other announcements from the district all right then we are adjourned our next meeting will be um on May 3rd I have a motion to adjourn so second