001Welcome to the to the December 9th, 2025 um Haldane Board of Education business meeting. Please stand for the pledge [clears throat] to the flag of the United States of America >> and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> Okay. Vice President Valentine here. Trusty McNall >> here. >> Trustee Copper >> here. >> Trusty Flemson >> here. >> Student member Rierro >> here. >> Um approval [clears throat] of the agenda. I don't think anything has changed. I'll move it. >> Be it resolved that upon the recommendation of the superintendent of schools, the board of education hereby approves the agenda as written. Have a motion. >> So moved. Second. >> Um, all those in favor? >> I. Any opposed? Um, this is our last meeting
002of the calendar year. The next schoolboard meeting will be Tuesday, January 6th, 2026 at 7 PM in the middle high school library of the Helane Central School District. Um, and the meeting will include a presentation of the results of our transportation audit. Um, so there's still lots of days to go before winter break. Um, and hopefully everyone can find some time to unwind and and relax during the end of December. But I wanted to note quickly um that that the district's wellness committee um recently held its first meeting of the school year. Um and I just wanted to express some gratitude toward the folks that that were there. Um that included two of our building principles, school psychologists, school social worker, guidance counselor, director of PPS, a couple of teachers, community members, and one of
003our school nurses. and um they reminded [clears throat] me at least uh everybody that you know year and the holiday season in particular isn't joyful for everybody um including many of our students for whatever reason. Um so I'm heart heartened by their work. They're really proactively keeping an eye on our children um you know on their feelings um and you know anything that they can do to help them through the weeks ahead. They're reaching out providing resources. So just reminded of how empathetic much of our staff is. So I'm so grateful for that. So thanks All right. So, I'll kind of maybe start there. So, as I reflect on so December, I've just been here officially in this seat from July, but I feel like I've been part of Helane from really last winter to
004now. I am in awe of the level of care that I see on a daily basis from all of our administrators, our teachers, and our students to one another. Like when people say, "What are you most proud surprised of here or grateful?" One of the things I'm really grateful for is this school community. And I see it from the kids on up to every adult that there is no um kind of walking by people in the hallway and not acknowledging if someone's having a tough day or if you know someone is what type of resources can we provide and so it's such a gift this time of year to take a moment. So I'm really happy to hear that was your experience with wellness. But it is true and true to who is and I'm
005really just very happy to be part of such a caring school community especially. Um, a couple of just quick updates on my ends. I know our last board meeting was the beginning of November, so it's bit of time. It feels like a little bit longer than than we're used to. Um, but the year is already flying by, which is exciting. And then also kind of bittersweet as we're thinking through the different things that are going on. I had the opportunity to see my very first of many high school productions um last weekend, and I've seen a lot of high school shows over the years, and I am just in awe. This was definitely did not land to me as a high school production. It felt very much like a Broadway show. Um, I was in
006awe. I was telling a couple of people, you know, when you see a young actor or actress on stage, they're executing their lines and then waiting for the appropriate amount to pause. Our students would like look into the audience and very comfortable wait and then go on to the next line. whether it was wait for a laughter or wait for just a pause in the audience. I was just in awe of the command on the stage that our kids had. And I don't know all of the students very well yet, but sitting with some of the chaperons, they're like, "This part was perfect for the person who got it or it was the exact opposite personality that they see in the classroom." So, how cool was that, too? So, it was just such a well
007done presentation, and I'm looking forward to many more shows to come. it really felt like it wasn't only high school students up there. It was it was quite a gift to be able to experience that. So that was last weekend. So kudos to um everyone who was involved in the show from our directors down to parent volunteers down to chaperrons and our students and their families because I know it's a good amount of time you give up as a family to be involved in this. So can't wait for the next show. >> Um also this coming week starting on Thursday night are a winter concert. So we have the high school this Thursday. Next Tuesday is middle school and next Thursday is is um our K5 build our preK5 building and so looking forward to
008those concerts and also winter sports have begun. So I will see my first basketball game tomorrow. We have varsity girls tomorrow and then varsity boys on Thursday. So looking forward to kind of closing out 2025 with all these activities. And again just to echo what we heard already, grateful to be in such a community that is so caring and takes a minute to pause and really watches out for each other. So, it's really nice to be here. >> Thanks. >> Um, an update from Luke. >> Yes, I hope everyone's Thanksgivings were uh great. Um, Thanksgiving food drive was a great success. We were able to help 28 different families in need as well as winter sports starting with uh cross country going to states before that and the girls basketball team starting out 3 and
0090. Hoping to add on to that tomorrow. Um, drama. Uh, the Three Musketeers production was a great success. I can say personally that I did enjoy the play with my friends. So, it was good to see a lot of my other friends in the play and kind of seeing them act. Um, I think both nights were almost sold out, which is great. And, um, auditions for the, uh, new musical in the spring are starting December 19th and 20th. That's exciting. Um, >> yeah. >> What's the musical? Uh, lemas. >> Oh my goodness. >> Yeah, >> I'm gonna try out. >> Maybe not this year. I was actually I was talking about this with um and our friends. We might do it next year. I was thinking about it. >> Yes, >> it our friend good
010our good friend Henry did it this year. He was one of the musketeers and it seems fun and it seems cool and it seems interesting. So yeah, >> maybe you think about this upcoming show. I don't know. be a little Jair used to be. There's a cop, right? The >> John Bel. Is that right? Yeah. >> Not sure that there. [laughter] >> That'll be fun. That's definitely one to look forward to. Um they all are. But um all right, it's our first communication from the public. Um the Holiday Board of Education desires and values input from the entire school community. This first public comment session is reserved for comments on any special presentations or active agenda items. For those who wish to address the board, please sign in and state your name. Please keep your
011remarks to three minutes or less. Disparaging remarks and discussion of district personnel are strongly discouraged. Although we don't engage in dialogue, we are listening. Leave your contact information with a district. Anybody? All right, we have our administrator information reports. Um I thank you for these for all the admins for these. Um there's a lot in there. A lot of curriculum work at the high school. Um at the you know Dr. Silky provided a really great update on the middle school reconfiguration with adding fifth grade and then there's a bunch everyone else. Um you know it's interesting in the high school once you read about the new topics for personal finance and climate education are getting underway. um really good credit and um like credit and debt management uh cost of college saving and investing like
012this is awesome. So glad to see you moving forward on that. All right, information reports to be approved next time. Committee minutes. Anyone wants to add anything? I think we can give a little up with the policy committee later as we do our first reads. Um consent agenda agenda minutes. May I have a motion please? >> Second. >> Um all in favor? >> I I >> I Any opposed? Consent agenda financial. May I have a motion please? >> All from last time couple grants. >> Oh yes. Oh yes. Thank you to the Heling Arts Alliance for always funding our um everything but our drama our drama >> performances in each school. Right. This was I think the high school and elementary school. So, thank you for that. >> Um directed the grants that >> I
013sure did. I held my breath a little with the sword fighting spot on and no one got hurt. So, >> fun. Um all those in favor? I >> I any opposed consent agenda personnel? Uh may I have a motion, please? >> Second. >> Anything to note? >> All in favor? >> I any oppose? Okay. Um new business. CSC CPSC recommendations. Be it resolved that upon the recommendation of the superintendent of schools, the board of education hereby approves the recommendations of the committees on special education and preschool special education as presented. >> May I have a motion? >> Second. >> All in favor? >> I. Any opposed? >> Um, our draft of our budget calendar for next year. Does anybody have any questions? >> So, I can speak to that briefly to let you as you
014look through it, it should look familiar to previous years. There's one additional U meeting that we added in January to discuss the parameters of the budget. So, that'll be a new um additional meeting, but the rest of it you're familiar with. Um it's the similar process that we followed in the past. I was glad to see the reintroduction of the parameters. It's a useful conversation we'd had in the past just to >> make sure everybody was on the same table as to how we are moving and >> it's a nice entry point answer to the stuff and I'm just a good reviewer. >> Yeah, for sure. >> And we're not approving it tonight, right? We're that'll be the next. >> So if anyone has any questions along the way, I think all is available, right?
015>> Absolutely. >> Great. Um we don't no action on that. Okay. um policy review. There's sort of two batches here. Um the first one, first reading, the first one is oh fundraising, which we look at pretty much regularly, right? This was sort of a desire to streamline the approvals process a little bit more. >> One of the main things to highlight I think is no use of personal online payment platforms. So no like personal Venmo account. So each organization should have like an official one that is designated as their own Venmo. That makes sense. >> Um, and then the next batch, again, no approval of that one, right? >> Correct. >> And these came the second batches recommendations from Eerie one. Both >> a lot of language clean up. And then concussion is new, right?
016The >> So, >> cyber security is the one that's new. >> Okay. >> Concussion is just a small edit. >> Okay. >> Great. So, take a look. Any questions? Feel free to to email us. Um second chance for communication from the public. >> Um board reflections already. >> What reiterate that the show was wonderful and I thought everybody came together. You know it's very difficult to execute not only the you know the uh the timing of of this particular adaptation. in comedy. It's a difficult one to do well, but also to do so in a very safe way, which they did, and >> sort of commend them for um you know, having been allowing their bodies to be designed in such a way to sort of create the the violence in a fun way and
017sort of I think all the reports I got throughout the process is that everybody remained respectful. It only takes one person to get a little overconfident for there to be a real real trouble. You know what I mean? and to the trick is to to appear to be in danger and will have fun and not put the audience on edge. And I feel like they really walk that ed you know they really talk walk that line in a really great way I think in the storytelling. So I was really and you know every year I'm like wow I've known that that human being since they were so young and now how this happens. So that's what's very beautiful about it too. So, and lay miz is a big big show and there are lots of
018lots of students in that show. Lots of opportunity to be murdered on a barricade. >> That's it. >> Very romantic. >> For the people people sing >> else, >> I had the opportunity to go to that session on AI with Dr. Duffy and with Peggy Clemens. It was really interesting. I mean, um, I'd never been to Telly Fosty Foster Farm before, so that was cool just being there. But they they presented a very, I think, different take than I thought they were going to. You know, we were all sort of there as board members wanting to hear about how are people creating policies around AI. And the presenters were kind of like maybe we don't need a policy specific to AI. It's a tool that we're using. And if we have appropriate policies for acceptable
019use, plagiarism and student wellness, maybe we don't need to be wrestling this huge thing into some sort of policy that gives us a lot of prescribed don'ts and therefore limits us. So it was really sort of like this freeing opportunity to say yeah you know what it is maybe it's possible to use this thing in in classrooms and there was a lot of focus on how you can it's about process more than product now you know like things are shifting for sure but I don't know it kind of left me feeling a lot better about AI in schools than I went in feeling I don't know about you >> yeah and there was also a nice focus on just like the human side to making sure that we're And I know Heldane does such a
020good job of this here, but making sure students are always connected to a human being. >> So if they're using technology, >> yes, you could ask an AI chatbot for advice, but there's plenty of people in your life to have those wonderful conversations, >> right? You can ask ask your English teacher instead of like putting it into AI to edit it, but like actually have that conversation with a person. It was nice and it was um um Ellen McDonald who is down at the lower Hudson uh regional information center but she has played plenty of roles. I know Josh you probably know her from different things but was a director of technology at some point as well. So nice to hear her perspective on it. >> Yeah, definitely. >> And that dinner every year they
021do have it. There's different topics. So it could be something as a board we decide a group of us would go together. You know it's just another way to kind of learn a different topic. But they do offer that through the uh lower Hudson [clears throat] uh council of superintendents and the school boards association. >> I like that policy angle that gives us something to think about. >> For sure. >> I know. I know there's been a lot of work at the high school um and we've done different conference days on AI and things. So it's not something new to Haldane and I appreciate that we don't have a set policy in place because it's a little early even for that you know as we're figuring out what tools and how kids are using the
022different types of technology >> and there hasn't been any indication from the state that there's going to be any mandated policy of any kind >> I haven't seen that right I don't know if you've seen right Josh or Julia we haven't read anything like that in any of our groups like a mandated >> there's a sample but it's just a sample sample but not not coming down that Right. Right. Right. But I mean usually sometimes that could be the the gateway >> the gateway in. Yeah. >> A lot of districts don't have policies. It really is what we've done here the best practices and guidelines and maybe um sampling different platforms >> right >> to get a sense of like well what works within our school community. >> Yeah. >> Anyone else? >> Okay. Um
023Gail and Dr. D. I just want to wish everyone a happy holiday season and take some time over the break to actually take a break, take some time with family and friends and let's bring some peace and joy into, you know, 2026 >> with not a lot of snow. I'm just going to say want to deal with snow the next two weeks if we don't have to. [laughter] But we'll see. >> Early morning calls on Christmas. >> Wait till the new year to get job to name. >> We'll see. I'll let you all know. If you know ahead of time my nickname, let me know. I'm looking forward to it. >> Thank you. >> All right. Uh, make a motion to adjurnn. >> So moved. >> Second. >> All right. All in favor? I. Any
024>> opposed?