001Good evening, everyone. I'd like to call to order the Mount Vernon City School District Board meeting, Tuesday, May 26th for a special meeting. Let's stand for the pledge. >> To the flag of the United States of America. >> May we have roll call? I would like to acknowledge that we have Trustee White on um visiting us remotely. >> Trustee Brown. >> Present. >> Trustee Kelly. Trustee McDonough. >> Present. >> Trustee Middleton. Trustee Peterson. >> Present. >> Trustee Scott. Trustee White. >> Present. >> VP Mitchell. President Marable. >> Present. >> Okay, we have a quorum. Student Trustee Adoro. >> At this time, we will have a presentation from our Superintendent on a revised budget presentation for 2026-2027 due to the um vote on May 19th, which did not accept the presentation of the uh budget vote.
002So, therefore, we will have a revised budget presentation from our Superintendent, Dr. Strickland. >> Good evening, President Marable, trustees, students, staff, families, and the residents of the city of Mount Vernon. Here's the new proposed budget presentation for the Mount Vernon City School District for the 2026-2027 school year. Next slide. So, again, before we talk about the numbers, I always want to ground in why we're here. Uh these are not just words on a slide. They are the beliefs that drive every decision that we make in this district. A child's zip code should never determine their future. And everything in this budget is built around that conviction. When we invest in this budget, we are investing in that belief. Next slide. We set clear, measurable targets this year. We want to move our third-grade ELA proficiency,
003our fifth-grade math proficiency, increase ninth-graders earning five or more credits, and push out push our four-year graduation rate to 84%. These are not aspirational talking points. These are commitments. And this budget is what makes achieving them possible. Next slide. The new budget that has been put before you is a $275.5 million budget, a decrease of 700,000. This is only a 1.2% increase from the 2024-2025 budget, which it was uh down from 1.5%. Finally, we dropped the tax levy to 1.5% because our foundation aid came in at 2%, and our first budget was very conservative. Next slide. Here are some of the adjustments that were made. We had an increase of 137,000 in state aid. Uh we decreased the property taxes by 688,000. Other revenues uh decreased around 148,000 for a total of negative 699,000. For
004expenditures, uh we reduced overtime, which is uh by 225,000. And the target reduction, excuse me, the target reducing charter school enrollment due to bussing changes and process improvement was decreased by 474,000 to equal the revenues at negative 699,000. Next slide. I'd like to remind everyone what this budget protects. It protects athletics, arts, music, clubs, counseling, safety, technology, career pathways, gifted and talented programming, and dual language education. These are not extras. These are programs that keep students engaged, support their whole development, and prepare them for life beyond Mount Vernon. Next slide. This is not just about maintaining status quo. Families will see real, tangible investments in their children's school experience. The resources in this budget translate directly into better classrooms, stronger supports, and more opportunities for every student in this district. Next slide. Just wanted to
005show you or remind you other fellow districts in Westchester County. We are one of two districts that are going back out for re-vote. And um here we are. Next slide. If this budget does not pass, the consequences are real and immediate. We are talking about eliminating some of our library services, extracurriculars, athletics, arts, and music. We would face a 5% staffing cut across the board. Maintenance and technology upgrades would have to stop. After school programs and non-mandated counseling services would cease to exist. And we would be unable to move forward on new contracts for our our administrators and civil service staff. A no vote is not a neutral vote. It has a direct impact on every child in this district. Next slide. Um and I welcome give you uh regarding uh what was put forth.
006Thank you. >> Thank you, Dr. Strickland. Do we have any questions of Dr. Strickland based on this revised budget presentation? I'm going to start to my right. Trustee Peterson. >> Uh thank you, Dr. Strickland. In reviewing the revised budget, I personally feel like more cuts need to be made. I feel like as someone who has over the past definitely 5 years, I've really have delved into the district's finances um in detail. I've looked at audits year after year after year. Same repeated issues going on. Same thing year after year. I feel that from last school year, us closing three schools haphazardly, no true cost analysis done, not having a position control, things were done very in a in a very sloppy fashion last June, last school year, I'll say to for the the reorganization. We
007have not truly had an in-depth look at our finances. We have been operating year after year with the same budget due to a loss of students. I personally feel like there needs to from what I'm looking at, some serious cuts need to be made. Like I've said, we need to have a year of we can't go to McDonald's, we have McDonald's at home. To truly get this district's finances in a in a in a healthy shape, in a much more in in a in a fashion where I can say, "You know what? Now I can see from this year to this year, I see the improvement." Over the past decade and past five years of looking at the finances in this district, I have not seen that. And I personally don't feel comfortable that even
008with this cut, it's still not going to get us in a we need I feel like we need to have a bare-bones school year. My child go to goes to this district. It's a sacrifice for myself. And in order for us to really turn things around in this district, we need to really clear the board, I personally feel like. And I see the cuts that you have done and I appreciate it, but there are things that I feel even there's way there's more cuts that can happen, that we can find, you know, that we have deficits in and there's areas where it just some certain things from year to year, it's just it doesn't add up for me. So, I appreciate what you have done. I personally would like to see more cuts happen. >>
009Trustee Brown. >> Thank you, Dr. Strickland, for your presentation on this. Um Well, I know we have to make really tough decisions. Um I guess for me as a parent, because I too have a parent I am a parent of a student in this district, and it does directly affect um what I will have to now extend myself in doing, because the district won't be able to do those things, and there are a lot of services that my child does receive, and you know, she will be affected. But, at the very top, you at the what's at stake, and you say programs and library extracurricular and athletics and field trips and enrichment and arts and music and electives, it seems very flat. Like, we need to What are the library services that are not going
010to be given? What are the extracurricular activities that are going to be removed? What athletics are going to be cut? I mean, field trips, I've always been a little impartial to that, because I feel like our district never really went on field trips. I am the field trip. I'm the parent that takes my kid on the field trips. Um and enrichment um arts, does that mean like are there not going to be arts anymore? There are not going to be those electives? Is there not going to be music? So, I would love to see that a little more blown out, because the community needs to know and understand exactly what's at stake. It's just very flat for me, and I think it's flat for other parents to know exactly what is at stake. So, just
011saying the library and extracurricular and athletics, because that's big, that's major here in this in this city, and they need to really understand what's at stake. Um for me the facilities portion, the maintenance projects, upgrades, and grounds. Right now we're putting lipstick on pigs at this point. I'm I'm just going to call a spade a spade. And to not be able to have the money to do the bare bones is scary. Because we've walked around the buildings and they need more than TLC. And if now we're cutting the TLC, like what does that look like? That's it's crazy to me. Um so for me those are the things that I would love to be a little more um pulled out um and actually enumerated so people can see it exactly what's at stake. Thank you.
012>> Trustee McDonough? >> Thank you. Thanks for this. Um I I'm would respectfully disagree with you about about the cuts. I I agree that we need to continue to um have close eyes on all aspects of revenues uh and expenditures. Um but I think uh the administration um really did a good job at implementing zero-based budgeting practices here. Um and starting to really um untangle a system that made it impossible to see what was going on so that we can now see um things um much more clearly. I think that um relative to inflation this is essentially a cut um when you when you factor inflation in. Um so it's really it is a cut in expenses relative to the actual costs that the district has to bear. I think that it's important to rebuild
013um our fund balance which is you know um um, woefully low and puts us in a very, very precarious position. Um, I look forward to this budget, uh, starting a series of years in which we stabilize our finances and we're able to help, uh, the district implement the vision for for academic excellence that, uh, that Dr. Strickland has laid out for us. Thanks. >> Thank you. Vice President Mitchell. >> So, Hello. I'm still I'm still this reeling from these one of these amazing mics. So, couple of things. I also I feel like the district has been in limp mode for the better part of 10 years cuz, right, we've been told that we were closing the budget and there was no need to raise taxes for the better part of 10 years. But, what was
014happening was we were spending the savings account to make it to make the district operate, which I've said this so many times is equivalent to using a credit card to buy groceries. It just doesn't make sense. You can't Using a credit card to pay Con Ed is insane because Con Ed is a recurring cost and you're using a credit line or a savings account, which is supposed to be holding on to for, you know, those those, you know, when the roof the roof fund I always use the roof fund or the hot water boiler. But, um, when you say things like counseling cuts, wh- when you have we're at a shortage on counselors, right? To some extent, um, if I'm not mistaken, we've talked about that. When you have we have the ability to scramble
015the strike force of counselors when we have students who are facing extreme bullying and things like that to the point that they want to take their own lives at the age of 13, which is horrifying, and we're talking about cuts that may possibly impact counseling. That that that disturbs me. When we just came out of of four-year wasteland of fight of of not fighting but negotiations for teachers who didn't see anything like what they deserved or were asking for. Took 4 years to do that. No more walking into contract negotiations for CSCA administration and stuff like that. And again, I always going to call out my CSCA people because they're the ones that are the unsung heroes that don't They They are here working and doing all of the everything that you see that nobody
016thinks about because there's no The kids don't come up and give awards for what their CSCA folks in their buildings do, but they're they're so important. And you keep hearing in social media and things like that these blind-sided comments about um you know, 17 million we were supposed to see in savings per year because of the closed buildings. When those closings were based on Floyd Floyd numbers that we knew were Floyd and when I Floyd meaning not based on actual data. Data that came from people who already saw it demonstrated their utter incompetence while sitting in cabinet seats. They were presented to us by three different CFOs in the matter of one school year. Truly just drove why you had a five-four split on the why the buildings were closed. It wasn't because oh, you
017know, so-and-so doesn't want to see the district save money. No, it was because none of what was being presented to some of us made any sense for us to make such a decision that would have such an impact on these babies and our teachers struggling to find a parking because the school building they're in is being closed and they already face parking issues now, but now they have to park their car at Hamilton and also and or at uh another building and walk clear across 10 blocks to another school where they're actually at. You know, so the 17 million was a Floyd projection, especially in the face of under-budgeting of what we were entitled to pay the charter schools. And and in the face of what we already have known for at least since I've
018been on this board, a crumbling infrastructure of the entire school district, especially the South side. $56 million in priority one repairs, and I'm I'm piggybacking off of trusty Brown right now. $56 million in priority one. Those are Those are health and safety. That's been in place since 2023, and we're still there. We just had K and G architects come out and speak to this. We're still in the same place, and things are not any not getting any haven't gotten any better because there has There was no money for for any of that. Fund balance being well below the state approved threshold should mean something. Savings does not come back and turn into spendable dollars. It comes back and goes to the savers account that we've been using to live life. If I blow my If
019I blow my savings account on Call of Duty bucks and tires on the car, that's still money that I have to put back. So, when do we ever put it back? And savings were cut to Again, we're cut to the bone. I don't understand how we can try to find more cuts. I do agree with trusty Peterson on we're going to end up seeing a very desolate school year if this budget doesn't pass, but you know, at the end of the day, how do you justify being in limp mode and still trying to cut the budget further while we're already struggling just to meet the what we're trying to meet for all of these years. I just don't see it being possible. I would like to see in budget presentations the a real a better
020I think it was a great idea that we need to have a big a better picture of what those cuts are going to look like to library, what they're going to look like to counselors, what it's going to look like to athletics cuz everybody likes to go to basketball games and football games. What are these cuts these 5%? What is it going to look like? I think that's going to be key to any other presentations that we do for the budget doc. We We did I think we We really do need that. Trustee Scott. Thank you very much. Um for me, I think we with the last vote, we gave our voice to someone else to speak for us in regards to what this budget was about and the importance of this budget. And I
021think we need to take that back in regards to making sure people really understand what this budget means to this district. You know, that means getting out there in the community talking to people, showing them what is necessary, you know, meeting with the stakeholders where they are at their offices or wherever, explaining the budget to them so that they understand, so that they don't need to go to social media and have a select few of people who just want to their own agenda done and they're following that. All right, I think we have to be in their faces, providing them with things that they could touch because Mount Vernon to me is a visual city and they need to be able to see and feel what's exactly going to come if this vote does not
022pass. And I know that if this vote doesn't pass, Mount Vernon is going to be turned upside down. So, we can't have a select few people who are always going to be the negatives driving what we know is best for these um young people in this district. So, we need to make sure that between now and this vote we are out there in the community explaining to the people what this budget means, breaking it down to the ABCs of what budgets are about because a lot of people, I'm sure, are not watching this right now, didn't see that you said that these cuts are going to be um the next step. And like trustee Brown said, we have to show it. No athletics. No extra extra curricular activities. No after school. All of that is
023what's at stake if this budget's not passed. And when people see that and they understand that these things are going to be cut, now they have to decide what they're going to do in terms of the care for these kids when they don't have basketball, they don't have coaches, they don't have all these other things, they're going to really be like, okay, let me really pay attention to what's happening here versus just following a social media thread. All right? So I just feel that we need to do that. Um ground boots on the ground. You guys got to do it in terms of explaining this budget. Thank you. >> Any other comments? Um I'd just like to say I do agree that the implications of not having this budget passed needs to be quantified in
024terms of what those specific numbers are going to translate into if those services are not provided. We can look at and I'm I'm I'm an accountant by trade. I'm a certified school business business official. So I know what this budget looks like and I know when we talk about um a $276 million budget, it sounds like a lot of money. But when you look at the percentages and what's allocated to our salaries that are required in order to run our schools, yes, we closed three buildings. And that $17 million that was thrown out there for savings, let's just keep it real, that was not true. It was never shown to us on what that seven how that $17 million actually was uh came how they made it up, how it It was It was a
025fairy tale. And even if we believed a half of that, we closed schools. Those children still had to go somewhere. We may have saved money on a principal. We may have saved money on an assistant principal. We may have saved money on a head custodian. We may have saved money on a school nurse and and their benefits, but those students still had to go into another building. We still had to buy them books. We still had to buy them computers. We still had to make sure that they ate. We still There were still services that we needed to provide for those children that were still here. And when we talk about an austerity budget, I've been here when Mount Vernon has been on an austerity budget, and it is not fun. And then when I
026take a look at some of the things that were cut from the budget last year, that Dr. Strickland tried to put back this year, that cancels each other out. Gifted and talented was cut, but Dr. Strickland is trying to put it back in this budget. Why? Because we know that when we have students that are excelling in a classroom and there are other students that may not necessarily excel, the research tells us that those students still benefit from those children being in the room. We also realize that there are number of special needs students. That increases, and yes, those costs increase as well. We also know that transportation costs went up. We also know that health care went up. We also know that we now have a a contract with some of our bargaining units.
027So, those costs are going up. We have a rate of inflation of 3%, so that's going up. So, if you look at one and raise it, and then you take a look at how some of those those costs may come down, they equalize themselves. And if you do the math, because I hear all this the math ain't mathing, well, maybe you don't know how to add 1 + 1 = 2. We're not adding 1.1 + 1 = 3, we're trying to get to two. And when we take a look at all of these the career and technical education programs that we did not have last year, that we implemented this year, we're trying to bring those programs back. That's some of the things that the the public has asked us to do. Well, we can't
028do it with no money. So, I would just say, let's start putting our money where our mouth is. Stop listening to the rhetoric on Facebook, because Facebook is not where you Listen to the facts and stop listening to fantasy. Because the numbers are real. Okay, enrollment has gone down. People want to know, "Oh, why has enrollment gone down?" Well, let me just going to say this, my mother had four children, I had one. So, the birth rate is not as high as it was. Let's just keep it real and just talk sense. And then we have people that that that want to look at us like we're not trying to be transparent. We don't know how much more transparent we can be. We We have opened up the books to you. We're trying to be
029as We are We're being as open and transparent. And then we want to blame Dr. Strickland, who wasn't even here. He's trying to right wrongs that were done. He's trying to correct and right the ship. But all we get is attacked, attacked, attacked. And we want to go back and live in the past. Well, guess what? The past hurt us. We We've got to move forward. Stop looking in the rearview mirror, because if you're looking in the rearview rearview mirror, you're going to run into something in front of you. So, let's start doing what's good for children and stop listening to a to to people who just want to politicize education. We're talking about children's lives. We want to talk about how oh, our children are not achieving. Well, guess what? We're going to have
030to provide supports in order for them to achieve. You can't do that with no money. And everybody wants more money, more money, more money, more money. We talk about money earning Mount Vernon. We ain't earning nothing. But a reputation for not doing what we're supposed to do for our community. And all we do is build this negative rhetoric about what's not happening. Let's talk about what is happening. Let's talk about the successes in this in this community. So, I would just say that if the budget does not pass, if it does not pass, all I know is you're going to feel it. Dr. Strickland. >> Um so, I just want to thank you all for your thoughts. Um I do want to say that uh Trustee Peterson, I agree with you in terms of more
031budget cuts. Um I'm constantly doing that even throughout the year to make ends meet. Um we've been able to decrease the number of overtime hours through standardized operating procedures. That's a cut in a sense. That's why we cut it even more because I'm like, I can actually get it down, you know, a little bit more. Um I I still though will continue to do that process throughout the year. Uh one of the things we did not do, uh as you know, this is my first year learning the lay of the land, we did not do a true up. And that's where we actually go into classrooms, count students, and say, "Uh-uh, this class has to close. There's not enough students." We will continue to do things like that. Um I would also say that um
032I'm being honest, I still don't know what bills are going to come because I get slapped with a bill all the time um while I'm trying to do work. And um they are not cheap. Um that's why some companies do not come when we call them, even though they're on our vendor list. Uh I have to pay them, and these are I'm I'm telling you I'm signing off on stuff 2022, 2023. You know, "Hey Strickland, the elevator doesn't work." Well, that's because the we we have an outstanding bill from 4 years ago that needs to be paid, and then we have to move money around. So, those things are consistently happening. Uh Trustee Brown, I agree with you 1,000% putting those items towards numbers. So, right now uh the next time um I I will
033uh because this has to be ongoing, obviously. I will show you what $4 million in cuts looks like. Um and that includes ballooning class sizes. So, you know, we talk about we don't want 25 students to a class, well, we're going to get up to 30 to 35. Our counselors are struggling as it is. They're each of our elementary buildings where our students have a growing need only have a half-time counselor split with another school. Yet, every time you go to an elementary building, those are the young students that are really struggling and need the additional support, but they don't have an IEP. Uh but nonetheless, uh point well taken about what's really at stake in athletics. When I say athletics, that means no athletics. And it's not just oh, we can have basketball, but
034we can't have this. No, we we won't have a program. You can't do it under um that type of budget. Um appreciate uh Trustee McDonald's uh thoughts. Yes, we need to rebuild the fund balance. Every day we turn on the news and we don't know what's going to happen in Washington. And I'm just waiting for something to hit the the ground um as it pertains to public education. We already know that uh Governor Hochul, I believe, has opted in to the tax credit uh for education, meaning those individuals can use that money to go anywhere they want and get a tax credit. Um our fund balance cannot get us I mean, we wouldn't we can't do anything with that. Uh VP Mitchell, you hit the nail on the head um in terms of this is
03510 years of stuff. Some of it is 10 years of not paying bills. I'm not trying to be funny, but that's what it is. Those zeros equal not settling contracts. Those zeros have gotten us to where we are now. Um I didn't know that about the CFOs. Um Trustee Scott, everybody has to be boots on the ground. Boots on the ground and selling the right story because even me and my personal psyche has sort of been attacked when all I do is want to do what's best for children. No no gain for me. Just doing what's best for children. And those are the louder voices, but I don't see the responses. But every time, I will say this, you put out the right information, they come back or someone comes back saying that you're not
036right. So, after a while you get tired. And I think people are tired. But nonetheless, we still have to get out there and and do what we need to do. And President Marboe, to sum it up, um I don't want to know what an austerity budget feels like. Just being honest. Um our our students can't afford that right now. Uh too vulnerable. Um the three billion the three buildings and the $17 million number that's out there that's completely not true. But I have also continuously said we started with a deficit budget this year. Meaning my budget was negative. It was negative. So, right off the bat, that money was used to pay or bring the bring the the the the budget up to zero. Can't control that. Um and you're right, the number of special
037needs students continues to climb. Our ELLs, it climbs. Those two groups of individuals already call for additional needs, additional bodies that are supporting them which means more money, more funding. Um, and then CTE, we just submitted our Perkins grant application. And it's it's great, but we were able to do that because we are now eligible for it. And now we could start bringing our facilities for those students at Mount Vernon High School up to snuff to look like other communities. And um that's that's all I have to say. So, I've taken all of your thoughts. You know I'm very reflective and I will definitely continue to get you exactly what you ask and present it as we continue to move forward. Thank you. >> Thank you. At this time, uh Clerk James, do we have
038any communication from the public? >> We do not have anyone who signed up to speak this evening. >> Okay, thank you. We will move on to the approval for general funds transfers. >> Can I have a motion, please? >> Motion. >> Second. >> It's been moved and properly seconded to approve general funds transfers. >> All in favor? >> Aye. >> Any oppose? Abstain? Motion carries. We will now look at items five, establishment of registration for the June 16th budget revote. There are some things that we need to put in place in order to make that happen, so that's what these items are under the Board of Education 5.1 through 5.4. We basically have to re-submit those authorizations in order to have a budget revote. And the cost of that budget revote is $70,000. >> $70,000.
039>> Okay. May I have a motion to accept resolutions 5.1 through 5.4. >> Motion. >> We have a first and a second. Do we have any discussion? Here. Vice President Mitchell. >> $70,000. Did you vote? If you told us and you were telling people in the street save money, make the budget work, don't vote for the budget because your intention supposedly was to uh what is it? Protect taxpayers' dollars. Someone who told you to vote the budget down should now explain why you're now paying towards $70,000 to vote for another budget. That's all I got to say to that. 70 grand is not saving a taxpayer anything. And for those of us that did not just didn't come out to vote, it's going to be we can't continue the same narrative when we're not even
040going to let be heard our voices. We're not even making our voices heard except to complain at uh at you know, at the Sugar Bowl. We can't just complain about it but we're not even coming out and making ourselves heard. That's all I'm going to say. 70 grand and but these they but they were telling us they here to save us some money and do it right. >> Do we have any other discussion? Call for the vote. >> All in favor? >> I. >> Any opposed? Abstain? >> Motion carries. >> Let's look at the approval of the proposed revised school budget and property tax report card for 2026-2027. May I have a motion? >> Motion. Second. >> It's been moved and properly seconded that we approve the proposed 2026-2027 revised school budget and property tax
041report card. Is there any discussion? >> Just >> Trustee McDonald >> Thank you. Just I just want to point out on that on the tax card, you can see for anyone who's interested where our unrestricted fund balance is and it's about 1.5 million dollars, which is 0.56% of the budget. We could go eight times that amount about >> No, 4%. >> 4% >> So, $11,000. >> $11 million >> $11 $11 million so >> $11 million, excuse me. >> Yeah, that so that's is very scary low number given the aging infrastructure we have. Um that that's why I'm really focused on having a systematic approach to slowly rebuilding >> the budget that fund balance. Thanks. >> Any other comments on that? And the state requires us to have 4% of our budget in our fund balance
042and with not having that 4%, it puts us on the list for being fiscally distressed. Can we call for the vote? >> All in favor? Any opposed? >> Uh myself, yes. No. >> Opposed, okay. Abstain. Motion carries. >> Thank you. Do we have anything for executive session tonight? >> We do not. One thing. Can I have a motion, please, to enter into executive session for the purpose of discussing confidential letter. >> Motion. >> Second. >> It's been moved and properly seconded that we enter into executive session to discuss a confidential letter. >> All in favor? >> Aye. >> Any opposed? Abstain? >> Motion carries. We are now going into executive session. We will not be returning back to this room. We thank you so very much for those that attended virtually or in person. And
043please come out to vote on June 16th. >> Max.