001All right, board. I need a motion to move back into public session. >> Make a motion. >> Brian, I need a second. >> Second. >> John Galligan, all in favor? >> I. >> Thank you. Welcome everyone to our Board of Education meeting. It's April 29th, 2026. I'd like everyone to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. Okay, before we begin our emergency procedures, we have two exits. I can't speak tonight. Two exits at the top on each side and two exits on the bottom on each side. Um, do we have any veterans here this evening? No, okay. Um, do we have any media with us this evening? All right, moving right along. So, we're going to have our superintendent's message from Mr. Lipshy, but Mr. Lipshy has no voice tonight. So, Sue Craddock will be um,
002reading his message. >> Thank you. Good evening. Good evening and welcome to the April Board of Education meeting. Mr. Lipshy wanted to share some of the amazing school activities that have taken place on our campuses. Our Laddie A. Decker Sound Beach School and Andrew Muller Primary School students displayed their best works at two of our art shows. The Miller Place High School art show will take place at the end of May and the North Country Road Middle School art show will take place in June. Students at Andrew Muller Primary School and Laddie A. Decker Sound Beach School celebrated Autism Acceptance Week. Throughout the week, students dressed up in different themes and participated in different activities all centered around autism awareness. At Edna Medina Primary School, kindergarten students will be learning about seasonal changes and will
003begin a unit on plant needs. Grade 1 will be incubating fertilized chicken eggs in their classrooms and learning about life cycles. They will observe the chicks hatch and grow. Grade 2 will begin a unit on plant adaptations. April was bus kindness and safety month. Students learn the importance of safety on the school bus. At Laddie A. Decker Sound Beach School, students concluded the building-wide March Book Madness tournament in which Salt in His Shoes took the title of the book of the year with 71% of the school-wide vote. Laddie A. Decker Sound Beach field trips included Grade 3 students visited the Port Jefferson Bowling Alley where they where they eagerly tried something new and enjoyed time with friends outside of the classroom. The experience connected directly to their science unit on motion and force. Grade 4
004students visited the Vanderbilt Planetarium where they experienced an interactive live star talk in the dome theater. Students journeyed through a variety of ecosystems across the planet through the We Are Guardians program. They learned how satellites and scientific research help us understand the connections between human activity and climate change as well as what actions we can take to improve the health of our shared home. Grade 5 students traveled to Nissequogue River State Park to deepen their understanding of ecosystems, animal adaptations, and the interdependence of living organisms. Through guided discussions, students explored how the physical features of different species are shaped by their environments. At the North Country Road Middle School, the Mobile Mobile Museum of Tolerance visited the school for two days to share important lessons with 7th and 8th grade students. A museum trained educator
005delivered important messages about empathy and compassion through the history of the civil rights movement and in their program on combating digital hate. 6th grade students had the opportunity to attend a presentation by a North Country Road Middle School student who was joined by her service dogs. This engaging and interactive assembly provided students with a look at the important role that service animals play in supporting individuals in their daily lives. 8th grade students recently returned from Washington D.C. This annual experience provided students with the opportunity to bring their classroom learning to life as they explored our nation's capital. Students toured many iconic landmarks and historical sites, deepening their understanding of American history and government. 6th grade students attended a Ride for Life presentation. The organizer shared the inspiring story behind the Ride for Life and its
006founder, Chris Pendergast, whose determination in the face of ALS continues to impact communities across Long Island and beyond. Our students had the opportunity to learn about the realities of ALS and the power of perseverance, resilience, and hope. At the Miller Place High School, the Spirit of Triumph organization presented a virtual reality tour of Auschwitz to the 10th grade English classes. This was in conjunction with students reading night. Students had an opportunity to engage in authentic experiences. A group of students were selected to attend the Unity Teen Conference, where they listened to a personal Holocaust testimony from survivor Manfred Kormann and viewed exhibits on loan from the Holocaust Memorial Tolerance Center and Suffolk County Community College. The Italian 5 honors class recently welcomed Mr. Chris Vaccaro, the great grandson of Italian immigrants from Sicily. He's a
007media executive, professor, and author from Long Island who has been an advocate for preserving Italian heritage and culture. He delivered engaging presentation discussing the many challenges Italians faced upon arrival to the United States such as language barriers, discrimination, and the struggle to adapt to a new culture while also highlighting their resilience, determination, and lasting contributions to American society. High school students are diving into real-world STEM at Stony Brook University through the iSTEM collaborative program. Students had the opportunity to experience designing space missions in the GeoLab to researching cancer treatments using bee venom, analyzing satellite satellite data from Earth and Mars, and exploring environmental sustainability in greenhouse labs. Miller Place High School seniors had the opportunity to participate in a distracted driving course presented by Suffolk County Sheriff's Office. Sports marketing and sports history classes visited
008the New York Islanders 2026 sports business day at the UBS Arena. Students participated in tours and interactive sessions with the Islander staff in marketing, ticket sales, and game presentation and explored how the business and history of sports come together in a real-world setting. They had the opportunity here directly from executives about their career journeys. In athletics, we had 11 senior spring athletes who have committed to play on the collegiate level. Some spring season team updates include the boys badminton team has a 9 and 2 record, tied for third in their respective league. Girls' badminton has a 10 and 2 record, tied for first in their respective league. Baseball has a 6 and 3 record in league play and is ranked 13th in New York State Class A. Softball has an 8 and 1 in league
009record, tied for first in their league, and ranked 11th in New York State Class A. Boys' tennis has an 8 and 2 record, second in their division. And girls' lacrosse has a 5 and 3 division record and ranked ninth in New York State Class C. Boys' lacrosse has a 3 and 5 division record and ranked 23rd in New York State Class C. All nine spring varsity teams qualified as scholar-athlete teams, and Miller Place High School will once again be a school of distinction with 100% of its 24 out of 24 varsity athletic teams earning scholar-athlete team status for the 2025-2026 school year. The Miller Place High School chapter of the Tri-M Oh, I'm sorry. In music, the Miller Place High School chapter of the Tri-M Music Honor Society mentored young musicians from the North Country
010Road Middle School in preparation for the New York State Schools Music Association or NYSSMA Festival. The NYSSMA solo and ensemble festival was held at the Miller Place High School. During this annual event, students performed prepared solos for adjudicators and were evaluated on their technique, musicianship, and sight reading. Please visit the community page on the district website where you can find links with information and activities to various groups that support our students. Some upcoming events include on May 5th, the budget hearing. May 6th, incoming third grade parent orientation. May 8th, Andrew Muller Primary School Field Day. May 9th, Laddy A. Decker Sound Beach School drama production. May 15th, grade a grade six and seven dance. May 19th is the district budget vote. And on May 20th is Laddy A. Decker Sound Beach School field day. Thank
011you. >> Thank you. That was a lot of stuff going on in our district over the last month. Congratulations to everyone who did really well this this spring season. Um usually what I do every um month is I will answer any questions that have been brought to the Board of Ed in um public be heard. And Mrs. Miller, you had asked us I think you and Dr. Gerwin last um month about the budget vote for the museum. We're going to have a museum um in Miller Place and a proposition. And um so that it's going to be on the ballot. And yes, we are going to vote on that every year. So the budget you're voting for them for this year is only for this year and then next year on the school budget there'll
012be another proposition. Sure. Sure. Thank you. Okay. Um I also want to let everyone know that we have concluded our superintendent search. I've been keeping everyone um apprised of what we've been doing. And later on this evening we will be um voting to appoint our next superintendent. I will be introducing Dr. Ferris at that point. Um Also, I want to remind everyone that uh like Mrs. Craddick said, we do have a special meeting next week, our last budget vote on uh a last budget meeting on May 5th, and we have um our budget vote on May 19th, which is very important. There are two candidates running unopposed, and that is myself and Dr. Gallagher. All right, so that leads us to um the comments for the consent agenda only. Two minutes per person and a
013total of 30 minutes. Um did we forget someone? >> No, consent, just agenda. >> Just agenda, right. Just for the agenda items. Um so, if you'd like to come up to the mic and ask about agenda items, please do so. No. Okay. Any comments on that? Guys, you good? >> The only comments I have are I just want to thank everyone who's made donations. We had quite a few in our consent agenda. Um they can all they can all be found in the agenda. There are a lot of them, and I just want to thank everyone who has donated to our school district. So, thank you. >> All right, lot of scholars. >> highlight Miller Place Friends of the Arts. That was a a really big one. So, thank you so much. >> Thank you.
014All right, I need a motion. Motion. Was that you, Jen? >> Yes. >> Thank you. I need a second. >> Second. >> Brian, all in favor? >> Aye. >> Thank you. Um that leads us to our student representative report, and before I let you do that report, we you know, we had decision day in the high school the decision day is Friday, actually, right? Um, but everyone all the kids came out with who where they're going and and where they're going to college, and we're very very proud of you, Steven. Um, you why don't you tell everyone where you're going? >> Um, currently I'm planning on going to Princeton next year. >> So, he's going to Princeton. Very proud of him. >> Okay. Um, good evening, everyone. Um, I have a good bit to share
015today. As you know, a lot has happened this month, so um, I'll start with academics. So, you know, uh, at the end of March, seniors received their final college decisions, as did I, um, marking a major milestone as they begin finalizing their plans for next year. Over the past few weeks, many students have been attending admitted students day, which is really exciting, and the national decision day is approaching this Friday. Um, students are now in the final stage of committing to their colleges. Um, around the same time, the third quarter came to a close a few weeks ago, giving students and teachers a clear checkpoint as we head into the final final stretch of the school year and begin preparing for AP exams next week. Um, so that's a bit stressful, but um, outside of
016the classroom, student life has remained very active. Spring sports are underway, um, and one highlight from what I've heard has been the baseball team, which is having a really good season despite losing a lot of seniors last year. Um, and of course, the softball team. Um, I'm personally on the tennis team. Um, as Mrs. Scarlett mentioned, we're eight and two so far, so we're doing pretty all right as well. Um, in terms of student initiatives, business students recently visited the elementary school to run a financial literacy workshop. Um, they either worked directly with younger students on foundational concepts like saving and budgeting, which not only reinforces their own learning, but also creates a meaningful connection with the broader community. Our music program also had a major moment this month as we hosted a regional Nisma
017music festival. This brings in student musicians from all across the region and county and showcase both talented art students and the strength of our arts program. Um I personally had an award ceremony and I couldn't attend, but for my personal experience with these Nisma festivals I've went to, they're huge logistical operations and it's really impressive our music department and our student volunteers from Triam who able to, you know, get it going and do a great job. Um finally, uh in terms of student wellness and safety, seniors participated in the drunk driving awareness workshop. Um one of the the coolest parts of this interactive activity where we had these drunk goggles on um and we had to navigate this course with these cones that were supposed to represent people. Um I personally wasn't very good at
018this. I was told that I ran over all of the cones. 23 of them. And and as each of them was supposed to represent a person, I killed 23 people. It's just been unfortunate. Um But but yeah, it was it was fun. Um and then perhaps most importantly to our seniors and me has been um senior assassin. So, participation has been really high. I think this year we had like 100 like five people or something. And um so it's it's like it's like a $2,100 prize pool. So, it's it's very competitive. Um and speaking personally, it's taken up a surprising amount of time from probably things I should I should be doing instead. Um I may or may not have invested like $200 into like an electric water gun I saw on TikTok. And I
019bought a drone. >> Did you get a drone? >> Yes, I bought a drone. I hung water balloons with like a relief mechanism. Um so, I probably should be studying for my APs instead, but you know. Senior assassin, okay. I I am still in. I got my round two targets out. Um I I have to survive until this Friday. Um and then I'll be on the round three and then they'll I don't know how I'm going to survive next week though cuz I have four APs in a week. So, I don't know if I'll have time to go out and and hunt, but um yeah, it hasn't been good for my sleep schedule, I will I will say that. Um, and then yeah, overall April has been very productive and product productive not for me,
020for for many other people. Um, well-rounded month with strong engagement across academics, extra extracurriculars, and student led initiatives. Thank you. >> One quick question. Are you safe up on stage here or is this a safe zone? >> all school grounds are safe and and also the middle school and the all the just all school grounds. So it's like Yeah, sometimes when you're like when you're getting caught in a chase around you just like drive to the school and just like camp in the parking lot cuz cuz then you can't get out. Um, and then basically if you have like a like a garage that isn't like you have like a a working garage, you just like win cuz you just park into your garage, you can't shoot you can't go into someone's house. So that's
021essentially like the game. Um, and then our school is like really bad in that we don't do like floaties or goggles like you most schools have floaties and goggles for like protection then you're like you you're immune. We're like just full purge stay every day. It's like nothing Yeah, no protection. Yeah. >> And you had a lot of rules. >> Yes. I I even like climbed onto someone's roof. It was >> Well, thank you Steven for that that very long explanation. We appreciate it. Um, and congratulations again on on going to Princeton. >> Yeah, one quick thing just like to any parents here, if your like kids become seniors, I would just recommend for like their own well-being don't make them do you know, just like don't senior assassin like no. Yeah. >> Wait, did
022we have a choice in that matter? I don't think so. No. All right. No, parents don't usually have a choice in that matter. Okay. Um, thank you for that. All right. Um, so our next order of business is um, we are going to appoint our we're going to vote on Oh, I'm sorry. Ran you out before. Board committees, we do have two. We have um an audit committee this evening and we also have health and safety. So, um we'll start with health and safety. So, Dr. Galligan, would you please read your >> All right. The health and safety committee met on April 21st, 2026. We met from 4:00 to 5:00 p.m. Um many attendees were there. Um the basic round up of the committee meeting is that Mr. Guido, our architect, reported that the roof
023repair project will have be happening this summer. Um that was related to work that was completed originally in 2010 at Amps, Ladier, Decker and Miller Place High School. These are being repaired due to manufacturing issues um that um I guess have come up where the roof portions are now being repaired by the manufacturers, by a certified installer for these roofs at no cost to the district. The other work that is tentatively planned for the summer at the high school is the replacement of the tennis courts, uh the replacement of the stadium turf and uh the update of the Miller Place technology room is that that work is going to be started. Um also uh the specifications, the district, the plans and the specifications for the new field bathroom facility are still in the process of
024being finalized and um we're we're waiting to hear when that project can be commenced. Over this over the winter um the district had three snow closures that were pretty significant. Um it required significant snow to be removed and the staff handled it really well. We did have some equipment that needed to be repaired and replaced, which has been completed. Um at AMPS, uh the update on our lock system is the AMPS lock system project has been completed, and the closeout paperwork has been reviewed. That project was done um at AMPS as a result of the addition that was put on with the new gym. So, the uh lock system had to be updated. And now uh the plan is to move on to the other schools uh for the cycle of the lock replacements. Uh
025at the high school, um Miller Place classrooms two classroom floors are slated to be abated and replaced this summer. That's basically it. >> I have a quick question about the roof. I don't know, Colleen, maybe you would know. Um so, the part of the roof that they're repairing, does it have any of our solar on it? >> I don't know that answer. >> Okay. >> But they're going to they're responsible for abatement, so if they have to move something, they're going to have to take care of that. >> Okay. That that was going to be my question. Thank you. >> Mhm. >> And just for clarification, that was a manufacturer issue, so it's no cost to us. Correct? >> Correct. Um the district held its audit committee meeting tonight with the audit firm uh Cullen
026and Denowski, who are the district's external auditors. The committee met with the audit partner to discuss the external audit functions, annual audit report, and specific staff expectations and performances. The committee discussed the audit objectives, the overall audit engagement, audit responsibilities, district responsibilities, the timing of the audit work, issuance of the final reports, and the upcoming government accounting financial statement reporting changes. The audit committee will meet with the external auditors in August to review the audit results and is expected to accept the final external audit reports at the September excuse me, September board meeting. Thank you. >> Thank you. Okay, so now we are going to >> One more item. >> Oh, technology plan. I just want to get right to the meet, right? Um, we have our technology plan which has been updated for the
02726th through 29 um, school years and um, Mrs. Craddock will be reporting on that. >> Thank you. Uh, yeah, the the instructional technology plan is actually a survey that is required by the New York State Education Department. It's a three-year plan that outlines um, how the district intends to use technology to support instruction, improve student outcomes, and just ensure access for all learners. The submission process involves an initial review by the Eastern Suffolk BOCES Regional Information Center or the RIC. And then there's a final approval by the New York State Education Department and we submit that through the State Business Portal. And following completion of the survey, the State Education Department will provide us with the um, final confirmation that the plan has been approved. It's already passed the initial review through the Eastern Suffolk
028BOCES and although it's not required that the plan be approved by the Board of Education, uh, we do submit the plan to the Board of Education for their review prior to submis- submission with the State Education Department. So, we are ready for the submission to the State Education Department and the Board does have that plan for their review. >> Thank you, Mrs. Craddock. Now, can I? Okay. Um, so we in a moment we're going to take um, a vote and and um, appoint Dr. Ferris, but um, I thought it important that each of us tell our community, um, why we thought Dr. Ferris was the right person for, um, this job. And, um, I always like to write things down so I don't forget anything. Um, so, tonight I am very proud to share, um,
029the reasons why I chose Dr. Ferris. Um, throughout this process, um, you know, we had our parameters, but I was looking for someone who was, um, experienced, compassionate about education, student focused, and ready to lead our district forward. He's coming from Sayville Public Schools, and he has a strong record of success with a high solid academic performance over there and student-centered leadership. He supports ongoing curriculum development and teacher professional growth as well. Dr. Ferris has also shown the strength to make difficult decisions in Sayville when needed, always keeping students first and doing what is right for the district and students. At the same time, he has built strong relationships with staff and supported a very positive learning environment. Just as important, he understands communities like Miller Place. He values communication, transparency, and the partnership between
030schools, families, and the bigger community. I believe Dr. Ferris, with his experience, integrity, and vision, will build upon the strong foundation we have here in Miller Place and continue moving our strategic plan forward, and I'm really excited for the future of our district under his leadership. So, thank you. >> At the end at the onset of this pro this process, the community made it clear that we're seeking a superintendent who is not only a strong curriculum leader, but somebody who was guided by a solid moral compass. Throughout the search, we remained focused on identifying identifying a leader who will elevate the Miller Place School District and move the district forward with vision, integrity, and purpose. These expectations are high, and we are confident that Dr. Faris will rise to meet them. His He is committed
031to delivering high-quality curriculum and instruction that gives us confidence in the future of our schools. As we begin this new chapter in district leadership, Dr. Faris brings a kind and collaborative approach that will engage all stakeholders, students, staff, families, and the broader community. His leadership will support the continued implementation best practices in teaching and learning, ensuring that every student is provided with an opportunities to support that that they need to support and and thrive. Our goal is clear. To prepare students for to reach their full potential academically, personally, and to embody the very best that it means to be a Miller Place graduate. In the ever In the ever-evolving 21st century world, we are confident that Dr. Faris will lead our school district with purpose and distinction, helping our students succeed today and in the
032future. >> Good evening, um families, staff, students, and community stakeholders. Since this fall, the Board of Education has been working diligently to conduct a thorough and transparent search for the next superintendent of schools in Miller Place. As you all know, we hired a highly regarded search firm with extensive experience successfully placing superintendents across Long Island and New York. Following their guidance, they gathered input from parents, students, teachers, and community stakeholders to develop a comprehensive profile of what our community was seeking in its next leader. I'm going to take a minute just to reiterate and go over those qualities. Across all groups, several key qualities consistently emerged. Our community was looking for a strong communicator, both in speaking and writing, an experienced superintendent, preferably with a doctoral degree, a leader with a proven track record of
033improving curriculum and student achievement, someone who's visible and actively engaged in the community, attending sporting events, concerts, school activities, etc. to support our students, a leader who demonstrates integrity, transparency, and strong ethical values, and someone with solid fiscal management skills. These were all the key qualities that emerged from the focus groups and surveys done by the hiring team. Throughout our search process, including extensive background checks and reference calls, Dr. Mark Ferris demonstrated each and every one of these qualities. He has been described by colleagues and community members as an exceptional communicator and collaborative leader. References shared with us that he is highly visible in his district, often attending school events, and celebrating students through their creative through creative outreach. We were told even earning the nickname the TikTok man for his engaging and modern communication
034style. He's also shown integrity and strong ethical values through decisions made at his current district. Dr. Ferris also brings a strong instructional background with a proven record of implementing differentiated instruction, expanding enrichment opportunities, and leading strategic initiatives that have improved student outcomes. In addition, his fiscal management has been consistently praised by his current Board of Education and colleagues. The board has dedicated significant time and effort to ensure that we have identified the best possible fit for Miller Place, and we were guided every step of the way by the priorities and values expressed by this community. And I have to say we all took this particular job very seriously because we agreed it would shape our community for years to come. With that, we're confident that Dr. Mark Ferris will do great things for the Miller
035Place School District, and we look forward to everyone meeting him in the near future to discuss his ideas for the district that he has already shared with us. Thank you. >> Okay. Um three of my colleagues spoke before me, so my my my words are probably going to be a little bit shorter. Um Good evening. Over the past several months, we as a board have spent a great deal of time, countless hours, weekends, a lot of time away carefully considering what's best for the Miller Place community. Throughout the interview process, Dr. Ferris consistently stood out as a leader who reflects the values we as a community want to see in our next superintendent based off of what my colleague has just said, off of the surveys, off of all of that extensive work that we
036did to to build our composite for for the appropriate candidate. A A bit about Dr. Ferris. He brings more than 25 years of experience in educational leadership along with a strong track record of supporting student success, strengthening instructional outcomes, and creating inclusive student-centered environments. In Sayville, he led strategic planning efforts, expanded STEM opportunities, improved academic outcomes, and strengthened communication with families and the community. Earlier in his career as an assistant superintendent for instruction in Wantagh, he oversaw all aspects of curriculum and instruction and helped expand innovative opportunities for students. As a middle school principal in North Shore, he built a culture of both belonging and achievement earning recognition at the state and national levels. Needless to say, we are looking forward to working with Dr. Ferris and truly believe he's the right person to lead
037Miller Place forward. >> Thank you. And my words will be shorter because they have already been a lot of it has been spoken already. So, good evening. Um I'm really excited to speak um this evening about our incoming superintendent of schools, Dr. Mark Ferris. As we begin begin this new chapter, we are committed to leadership transition that sets the tone of partnership and alignment to Dr. Ferris's vision with our district core mission. Dr. Ferris brings um a great deal of experience having served as a teacher, a principal, superintendent of instruction, and district superintendent, as well as an adjunct professor in the collegiate setting supporting teachers and future educational leaders. Throughout his career, he has successfully developed and implemented strategic plans by fostering high levels of collaboration with school boards, administrators, and teachers. His background as
038a superintendent of instruction specifically highlights his experience in curriculum development and his ability to identify and advance educal educational priorities while maintaining fiscal responsibility. We look forward to the community, family members, students, and staff having an opportunity to meet Dr. Farrace in the upcoming weeks and working together to find our shared success. Thank you so much. >> Thank you, everyone. And so now, the Board of Education of Miller Place hereby appoints Dr. Mark Farrace as Deputy Superintendent effective August 1st, 2026 through and including August 31st, 2026. And further appoints Dr. Farrace as Superintendent of Schools effective September 1st, 2026. Board, I need a motion. >> I'll make a motion. >> Andrea. I need a second. >> Second. >> Jen. All in favor. >> I. >> Thank you. Welcome, Dr. Farrace. We have just a few
039more things on business and then we'll come down and congratulate you. >> Okay. >> Um we have our TAN borrowing that we do every year. Um we're we have to make payroll, so we have to borrow before we can get it. Um so I need a motion, Board. >> I'll make a motion. >> Is that Andrea? >> Yep. I'm sorry. >> That's okay. >> Second. >> Um second, Brian. And this is a roll call. So, um Lisa Righthand, yes. Brian McCaffrey, >> Yes. >> John Galligan, >> Yes. >> Jennifer Keller, >> Yes. >> Andrea Spagnola, >> Yes. >> That was a a five motion carried five, defeated zero. Okay, board policies first time reading. We have two in first time reading. Um we have a handful in review, and we have about 10 in action.
040Any questions board on those? You're good. Okay, um I need a motion to put those policies into action. >> Motion. >> Jen, I need a second. >> Second. >> John, all in favor? >> Aye. Thank you. I need you robotic. Do you want me to introduce them? Yes, you want to So, wait, are we doing them as part of public be heard? Okay. So, we have our robotics team here and I I'm not sure if we're going to Yes, we're going to congratulate them, but we're going to call them up in public be heard. Um everyone is entitled to come up to the mic as you know in public be heard, but we would like our robotics team to come up first. >> Hi. >> Good evening, members of the Board of Education. Thank you
041for letting us speak today. My name is Jack. I'm a junior at Miller Place High School, and I am the business team lead on our robotics team. Um Thank you for giving us the opportunity to speak and to share some updates about our team. A big part of what keeps our team going is our fundraising. Um we come we go through many fundraisers throughout the year. Some of those fundraisers include our Double Good fundraiser, where we sell popcorn, which has been a big one every year for us, helping us raise lots of money for the team. Um a few of our other fundraisers include um our boosters are helping are running a gift card fundraiser in the month of May where it's selling raffle tickets and every day for the month of May a raffle
042is run to give away a gift card. Uh we are helping them put that together and uh put it out to the community. Um it's something that the whole team helped organize and promote and it's been a great way to involve our community. Um we've also supported many events like STEAM nights um by selling snacks and showcasing our robot to the community. Um this not only helps us raise money, but it also lets us connect with younger students and their families. Um we're continuing to look ahead and we have many more fundraisers that are currently being planned and that we have planned for the future. Um this year during our competition we faced major challenges. Um one of those challenges was at competition on the first day we realized that we built our robot 10
043in too big. And so with only 6 hours until uh the end of the day we had to fix that otherwise we would not be able to compete the next day. And so in that moment it's our team came together and it was um a way that showed me and all of us what we could do when the team works together and um how we stay focused when issues arise. Um one of the most exciting things about our team is how we are growing. Uh this year we've seen a big increase in the number of freshmen joining which brought in new energy and new ideas. Um at the same time uh experienced members are stepping up to help mentor them and build skills and confidence in our younger members. Um that growth is setting us
044up for a stronger future and helping the team to continue to thrive. What really makes this all possible is how close-knit our team is. When we're uh organizing fundraisers, solving problems under pressure, or preparing for competitions, we all support each other every step of the way. And I'm excited to see how much more uh students can achieve as this program continues to grow and gets to its full potential. Thank you for your time, and I'm going to pass it off to my team members. >> I have a question before you go. On your fundraisers, you say you put it out to the community. How does the community know about your fundraisers? Where do you put them? >> so, a lot of our fundraisers are sent out in many ways. Um so, the one specifically that
045I talked about, our gift card fundraiser, that is put out through our social media as the first place. Um all of our um members of the team, we aim to have them go home and spread it to their families and have their family spread it out to their community, too. Um I know our coach, Ms. Warren, works at the elementary school, so she puts it out to her the families over there. And we put it in all like the break rooms at the schools, so the teachers know as well to how they could support us and what we're doing. >> Great, thank you. >> Hi, my name is Brighton Freeze. I'm a freshman on the robotics team, and despite my age, I am one of the main members on our business team. Um so, this
046season, I worked on starting a nonprofit foundation, as well as securing funding for our team, and being a presenter for the impact presentation at the Hofstra Regional. Our biggest accomplishment this season was starting the Holly Foundation, which is a nonprofit organization that invites teams to donate $100 throughout the season. This money is then divided and distributed to the winners of the Hofstra Regional who are in desperate need of funding for worlds at Houston. I personally spoke to many coaches across Long Island who have struggled with this problem, and we saw this as a way to make a big difference in our community. I spoke to over 50 teams at the Regal Eagle competition and the Hofstra Regional, and we have great interest in this foundation. You may be wondering who it is named after. It
047is named after a Miller Place team alumni, Holly Angel, who recently passed away from cancer. As you'll notice, our our foundation is the color purple, which is cancer awareness. Which adds a layer of meaning to our foundation is that both of Holly's parents are board members of the foundation. Um we recently have become an official nonprofit, so we're now accepting um donations for the next season. We already have many, so that's a big thing to look forward to. And this was our main topic for the impact presentation this year, and it's going to continue to be as we grow it throughout the next couple years. Thank you. >> Congratulations on doing that, and thank you. >> Hello. Um Fabio Esposito, and um I'm a freshman in the uh robotics team. I just moved here from
048France last year, almost a year, yeah. And even though I came in almost a month late in the team, they still welcomed me and asked me what I wanted to do in the team. So, I said I wanted to be a programmer, and they they put me as a one of the main programmers in the team. And they also made me in charge of the website of the team, so I'm the one that created the page of the Ollie Foundation on our website. And I helped a lot creating the robot's code with a lot of our with other two persons in our team. And yeah. Unfortunately, this year we lost our programming mentors, so we had to work all together to learn more about programming and see what we could do for the robot. >>
049Thank you. And welcome to Miller Place. >> Thank you. >> How do you like it here? >> It's great. I like it. >> Good. Good. Your English is amazing, too. >> Thank you. >> Good evening. My name is Scott Disbrow and I'm a sophomore and member of the Miller Place Robotics team. Our team also has a Lego League team that introduces middle schoolers to the world of engineering and problem-solving skills. We have 17 rostered school middle schoolers who are split into two teams. The first team focuses on the basics of robotics and programming. Our second team focuses on competing against other middle school teams. We also invite our eighth grade members to come to our high school meetings to introduce them to the next step in robotics. Uh along with having come to our meetings,
050having them come to our meetings, us members also go as mentors to the middle school to help lead them in the right direction. We're looking forward to expand our Lego League program. Thank you for your time. >> Thank you very much. >> Good evening. I'm a junior. My name is Vlad Shaftan. Every year our primary, elementary, and middle schools host Steam night. Not only do we set up the cafeteria and gym to show off our robot that we had built for the season, but we also build mini robots for the kids to drive around and play around with. We can also We also host our own rooms with the primary and elementary schoolers, uh they which we have received a lot of interest from a lot of them with a lot of them coming back
051for multiple years. And we teach them how to build small robots called Doodle Bots, which draw on a piece of paper. Um for the middle schoolers, we try to persuade them to join the Lego League team and our robotics team for any of the eighth graders graduating middle school to to get them into STEM. We're also planning to create a STEM-based summer camp or program that goes on for 4 days teaching kids going to grades 3 through 5 mainly technology and get some hands-on learning in STEM. We plan to purchase interactive STEM kits and snacks throughout the days and are excited to continue teaching the younger generations about STEM. >> That's amazing that you mentored the little kids and thank you, right? It's really good. Thank you for sharing that. >> Good Good evening evening,
052everyone. My name is Devin Bianco. I am a junior on in robotics. Um you know, I think one thing that's very important about us is who we are and our identity. Um as you can see with Fabio, a perfect example, we welcome everyone. We want kids to come, learn, spend time doing what they love, and you know, get involved in STEAM. And I think that's a big thing of who we are. We've had seven seniors this year who are graduating going to college with all STEAM fields. Um tech technology teacher, engineers, um and I think that's a big part of who we are. Like Jack had mentioned that at the competition, we faced adversity with having to disassemble our robot, you know, almost 500 individual pieces and put it back together to adjust to the
053parameters of the game this year. And that really showed that we worked as a team to get that done. And I think that really brought out in a lot of us our team identity and brought us closer than we ever have is that we achieved that this year. And that made myself and a lot of us here realize is we need to focus on that and we need to grow as a team, work together, and we will go places. And I think that's all about what we are. Um I'd also like to mention that we Sorry. You know, we want kids to be a part of robotics, and it's hard for us to like you know go through a competition, and you know, we placed 46 of 48 this year. That's not great for us,
054but we have the freshmen come in, they're there, they cheer us on, and I think that's a big part is having the numbers supporting us, supporting each other. We can't go. That's like a team trying to win a game with, you know, kids on the bench not rooting for them. That's It doesn't work. So, I think our most greatest, you know, um factor this year was our support that we had from everyone. Working together, we had great coaches from Mr. Mormon, Ms. Warren, and Ms. Agostino. I think it was very I wasn't at the competition personally. I had a prior conflict, but from what I heard, it was great. We worked together. We achieved what we had to achieve. And I think that's the big thing about who we are. So, that's all I have.
055Thank you very much for your time, and on behalf of me, Jack, Brighton, Fabio, Scott, Vlad, we appreciate this time. Thank you. Good night. >> Thank you. And what's so important is that you guys, you know, whether you came in 46th or first all the lessons that you learned and, you know, how you came together as a group. So, you should be really proud of yourselves, and um I know we appreciate you guys a lot. >> Sitting over there. >> But thank you very much for sharing, and come back to the board meetings more often and and, you know, share out what you guys are doing, okay? Thank you. >> I'll just quickly say I think that's amazing that you you said you took apart the robot like 500 pieces and reassembled it in time.
056So, just that alone was a quite an accomplishment. I want to thank Ms. Warren because I you know, we've watched her for quite a few years now advising this group in this club and I think you're doing wonderful things with them. Um We were chatting before cuz she was my older daughter's fourth grade teacher. You know, I was reminiscing with her. So, I know Ms. Warren quite well and just thank you so much. Thank you for taking this on and sticking with it and we love to see the robotics team continuing to grow and and succeed. So, thank you. Um is there any other public be heard? Okay. Um we are No. Doesn't look that way. Um Okay. So, we're going to just adjourn the meeting. I'm not used to doing that. Just adjourning the
057meeting. Okay. Oh, there is one. Okay, come on up. Come on up. That's okay. >> Hello. >> Oh, thank you. I need support. >> All right, just state your name so that we have it correct. >> is Tiffany Ventimiglia. >> I'm Caitlin Contos. Um I do have something written, but I'm just going to talk. I'm a little nervous. Uh my concern is about the class sizes next year. I'm very concerned about that for all of my kids and I want to kind of understand why it's going to be three teachers less. >> So, I know you haven't been to our board meetings, um but and that's okay. We don't usually answer your questions at public be heard. Um, I know you had a letter to me in in to us in the uh Board of
058Ed and I did answer you this morning. Um, but um we will get back to you on Like just like I got back to Mrs. Miller. We don't answer directly from >> Okay. >> the podium. >> Okay. So, I mean keep going. Keep Keep doing your little speech. That's okay. Put it on record. Go ahead. >> Are the answers only through an email or is it for everyone to >> No. >> I don't know why you know they're not here, but there are other people in the community that have the same concern that we feel like we're a small district and we're very concerned about the >> Absolutely. >> class size. We both have children in the district. Both of us with children specifically going into third grade and we're hearing that they will be
059largely impacted next year. Um, and obviously it's for the all the children. Um, so we just want to know really like why and if there's anything that we can do to prevent it just because we don't feel like it's acceptable. >> I understand. So >> that response be so that we can make sure others know as well. >> When I respond, I will respond publicly so everyone can hear the answers. Um, I I did share um with you the presentation and on that presentation there was a graph of the sizes. >> I looked at the data. >> Yeah, so yeah. So, I shared the data so that you have a clearer picture rather than just things on social media. Um >> It only gave you the last 3 years, so I don't really know what
060the class size was. That's what the grid had. It was the last 3 years. Um, so I don't really know what the class sizes were prior. So, maybe we're getting back to where they were, but regardless it's Miller Place. I We're a small school district and we expect the the ratios to be smaller. To my daughter that's going into sixth next year who's coming in off an IEP, might have 27 kids in her class. That is going to be detrimental to her. And I'm very concerned, and I just would expect we want our district we want us we want our district to do better. We are an average district, you know, for New York. We are not ranked one of the highest, which I feel like we should, and making these class sizes larger is
061really going to hurt us. It's not going to help these students. >> And I just want you guys to know that we do take everything the community says um back to the table, and we work really hard at putting out the best budget that we can put out without cutting programs. And that's for now that's the best explanation I can give for you. Um you know, we do have to work within a tax cap, and um that's as I explained to you we we try to do the best we can for the entire community. And I we understand. I mean, I was an elementary school teacher. We were all teachers, and we really we really do um understand, and we work very, very hard to make it the best we can. >> So, just to
062round it out, I'm sorry. >> No, it's okay. We didn't know if the teachers are like if they're retiring or if they're just getting excessed. That was one of my questions. Their positions not being replaced or you know, we know that your name may not answer here. >> Yeah, I don't have that data with me right away, so I will get back to you on that. >> My other thing, which was in the budget, was it's only a savings of 177,000, which is such a minuscule percentage of the budget, so what's the purpose here? >> We work on a very tight budget. We work on very small margins. Very I promise you, we look at everything. >> We're just concerning. >> I know. I understand. I do understand. And we we, you know, our next
063budget meeting is the 5th, our final budget meeting, and we do we will look at it again. And And if we can, we will make adjustments. And if we can't can't, just know that we really we understand. And we are doing the best we can with what we have. >> Cuz like four or five children added to a classroom, I am a I'm a mother, but I'm also an elementary school teacher. And uh they're saying that's like a 20% increase, and I'm telling you I have 26 kids in my class this year. I had 30 last year in the district that I am, which I won't name. And as a teacher, when it's even one or two kids, as you know, it makes a difference in who we can reach and the small groups that
064we can pull and the amount of time and the curriculum that we can like manage in a day. Um so we're just concerned because we feel in a smaller district, it shouldn't get to that point. Um I think that it might have been mentioned that there's a 28 cap. I don't know if that's >> I think that was >> That's on the That's on the on the sheet, yeah. I think our teacher cap is 28, yeah. >> Yeah, we shouldn't have to get to that >> I don't have I don't have the data in front of me. >> son right now only has 19 in his class, and then they're saying it could jump to like 25. I know it's an average, so that's a pretty big increase in size. And that will affect their
065education. >> I understand. I I do understand. >> Yeah. Um it's out there in the community that mothers and fathers were concerned. >> I'll quickly chime in. I have a third grader this year, and um looking at the chart because I saw the email correspondence, the third grade average class size next year is going to be actually smaller than what it is this year, even. >> I'm looking from second grade going into >> Correct. Right. No, I'm just I'm just clarifying that as well, that the second grade class is significantly smaller than the current third grade class. So, the second graders that are moving in to third grade next year, their class size next year will be smaller than the average class size of third grade this year. >> This year they cut a teacher
066cuz I mean I I believe I talked to my son so they didn't they cut a teacher and that's why the class size went up for this year? Two? >> Again, it has to do with the budget every year and how many sections that can be accommodated. And the only other thing I can say is whenever the budget, whenever we have an increase on a line in the budget, the very first thing we put back is a section in elementary school. So, when we're at the very end of the budget season, I mean, that I've been on the board now for 4 years. If there's ever been anything extra that shows up, we that's the first place we would we would put it because that is our utmost priority. So, I think that's all that
067we can discuss at this point. But, thank you. We appreciate you coming in. >> we do the best we can and >> Okay. >> you know, we >> Yes. >> Thank you for coming up. >> Thank you. >> Anyone else for public be heard? Okay. Board, I need a motion to adjourn the meeting. I'll make a motion. Andrea, I need a second. >> Second. >> John, all in favor? >> Aye. >> Thank you everyone for coming.