001Okay. Good evening everyone and welcome to the Oyster Bay East Norwich School District Board meeting. If we could all please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Thank you very much. I would now like to turn over to Dr. Yanni for the Superintendent's report. Hi, good evening everybody. Um I would like to welcome everybody back. I hope you had a good spring break and I'm going to pass it to Giovanna for a student report. Thank you, Dr. Yanni. Good evening, everyone. I hope you all enjoyed your spring break. It's been a while since our last meeting and I'm happy to share all of the events
002that have occurred over the past few months. Firstly, I would like to say that our International Night was was a success. Many families came and enjoyed lovely decorations, music, and food provided at the event. On the same night, Oyster Bay High School held a successful Humanities Honor Society Induction Ceremony. Additionally, the National Honor Society Induction Ceremonies occurred last Thursday. Congratulations to all of the students who were inducted into all of these honor societies. This is an astounding achievement. Furthermore, our Cavalcade of Choirs occurred on March 25th and was a beautiful gathering of choruses from multiple grade levels. It was wonderful seeing them all singing together. Finally, I would like to extend my gratitude to the Rho Kappa Honor Society, which held the first Social Studies Showdown. Congratulations to the A Push Survivors team for winning.
003It was such a fun event to partake in. This is all the news I have to share with you guys tonight. Have a great evening, everyone. Thank you so much, Giovanna. It sounds like we're getting close to the final quarter of the um of the school year and the students are doing very well, but I think that this year, more than ever, we are not just completing another academic school year. Um we are experiencing a true renaissance in terms of the academics. Uh when we benchmark our progress, the data speaks for itself. We're getting new standards for excellence in New York State. A middle school achieved a perfect 10 out of 10 rating um outperforming 98% of similar schools statewide in academic growth. And the high school has doubled its rating from a an eight
004out of 10 from a uh a rating to an eight out of 10. Um it was a four out of 10 before. Simultaneously, our AP success rate went from a a 62% to 84% in terms of students receiving uh three or higher on AP exams. And 97% of our seniors are actively pursuing higher education. This excellent results um they paid tremendous dividends for our residents. Oyster Bay East Norwich has seen a 27% increase in real estate value vastly outperforming the county average. Furthermore, the Niche now ranks us uh 41 in New York uh in the top 3% of school nationally. So, to our students, our dedicated teachers, the administrators, and our supportive families, on behalf of the entire team and the board, we want to say thank you. You are the engine of our collective
005success. Great job. Um on Thursday, May 31st, the Oyster Bay High School hosted the annual breakfast of engineers. Uh this is a wonderful traditions where students from engineering, computer science, and robotics uh courses interact with local engineers, alumni, and parents on real-world exercises involving engineering challenges. It's a great event and um happens every year, and it's nice to see alumni coming back and share their experience. I want to say thank you to Mr. Schlendorf, Subramanian, and Mr. Locastro, our assistant principal, for organizing this this event. Thank you. In line with the Board of Education goals, I'm also very proud to announce the Oyster Bay Alumni Network. We created dedicated page on our website and posted on social media to collect alumni contacts. The goal is to create a network for alumni who want to give
006back to our school, become possible career mentors, guest speakers, and interview subject for the Bay News Now, builds a reliable database of professional to help with career days um like the engineering for breakfast, and also create that connection that will eventually help our seniors once they graduate from college. I think this is a wonderful uh initiative and I want to thank uh Miss Arguman for coming up with the idea, implementing it, and following up on on this great idea. So, thank you and great job, and I hope all the alumni listening uh they will click and share their information so we can connect to our seniors. Thank you. >> [applause] >> Uh during the last few weeks and during the break, uh the district completed some schedule work on several of our athletic fields. At
007the Memorial Varsity Baseball Field, the infield was reconditioned. This type of work is done periodically and maintained to maintain a safe and properly constructed playing surface and requires a specialized equipment and expertise. At Vernon and Roosevelt, the grass fields received a routine annual treatment including seeding and fertilization. This has been part of a regular maintenance approach for several years. Overall, this work reflects the standard upkeep of our fields to ensure they remain safe and in good condition for students. Our ground crew continues to do an excellent job maintaining these fields between our professional services and all the work that they do every day. At the high school, we are upgrading the sound system in the gymnasium, and that work should be completed by the end of the school year. I also want to take this
008opportunity to share with the rest of the board and the community that the Academic Subcommittee of the Board of Education met. Um present were Miss Castrogiovanni, Mr. Kopacs, and a member of the members of the administrative team. It was a very productive meeting. Just to outline some of the topics that we discussed. Um we had a graduation rate. We are actively working towards a goal of a 100% graduation rate, and I'm proud to share that at this point for the 20 for the class of 2026, we are forecasting a phenomenal 98%. In terms of literacy curriculum and the elementary level at the elementary level, um and students are doing very well in math and reading. Uh the summer literacy and math program this year is new, the math program. Uh this July will take place
009at Theodore Roosevelt. The Atlantis program uh we also discussed that and the many initiative about the cross-grade initiatives between the sixth graders and the seventh graders. And the new buddy completely revamped uh buddy day program that will take place on Thurs- on Thursday, May May 21st, where the students from Vernon will spend an entire day at uh at the high school. And also um at the secondary level, we are talking um we're taking our data analysis to the next level. We are utilizing centralized department dashboards and regional benchmarking to give our teachers a clean road map of for student performance. I believe that the state of academics in Oyster Bay is incredibly strong. I'm not sure if Mr. Kopacs or uh Miss Castrogiovanni want to add anything new that was discussed. It won't. I guess
010I'll just speak really loud. Um I just wanted to comment on the two connections you said to the Bay News Now, building the alumni kind of network with seniors, and like we saw at a board meeting a couple weeks ago, um community members coming in, another connection, um and having the opportunity for our students to interact with people in the community, having them come into the school. I think that really works towards our goals. I'm Also, I was um amazed by the amount of work being done by our curriculum associates in conjunction with our teachers and principals. Uh the amount of initiatives going on in all of the schools related to the academics of our student students and keeping it um cutting edge um is greatly appreciated. So, the the amount of work being done
011is is incredible. So, thank you. Uh In um so, thank you. Uh since my first day in Oyster Bay East Norwich, it was clear to me that our our students are exceptionally bright. To truly match their potential, we revamped our entire academic structure from the ground up, leaving no stone unturned from TR to Vernon to the high school. By completely transforming our science research program and elevating our mathematics initiatives, we have provided an environment where our kids can thrive. Today, the results speak for themselves. Our students are competing and succeeding at the national and soon international level in both science and mathematics. And they are ready to show the world the true caliber of an OB and education. Tonight, you will hear more about this phenomenal work from Miss Arguman, our principal, and Mr. Locastro.
012So, please at this point join us at the podium. Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Um thanks for everyone for being here tonight. Um this evening, I have the pleasure of recognizing some students that sat for the American Mathematics Competition, better known as the AMC 8, 10, or 12. Participating in the American Mathematics Competition is an impressive achievement for our students as it demonstrates a strong commitment to academic excellence and a passion for mathematics. These competitions challenge students to solve complex problems, fostering critical thinking, problem-solving skills, and resilience. By competing, students gain valuable experience in tackling rigorous mathematical concepts and improve their ability to work under time constraints. Furthermore, participating in the AMC allows students to stand out in college applications as it showcases intellectual curiosity and determination. Whether or not they achieve a top score,
013students can take pride in the effort, learning, and growth that comes from being part of such a prestigious competition. Now, with that said, we have some students here tonight. Some students um with extracurriculars, they weren't able to make it here. Um however, we're we're proud of all of our students that participated this year. Now, with that said, I would like to call the following students in attendance to the stage to receive their certificate and proceed to the bleachers where you can line up for a photo op. We could start with the AMC 10. So students in 10th and 9th grade took this assessment. Uh we're honoring the top scores here. So our first top scorer receiving an honorable mention this evening is Jeffrey Zang. Following Jeffrey, in third place, we have Liana Altomarano. In second
014place for the AMC 10, we have Sophia Vrettos. And in first place with the top overall score, we have Anthony Shaiduck, who I believe has a game this evening. Now for the AMC 12 competition, here are Oyster Bay's top performers. In third place, we have Alyssa Kelly. Okay. The AMC 12, we're going to honor them, um but I think they all have some extracurriculars tonight. In second place, we have a tie with both Elias Stewart and Elise Kim. And our first place scorer for the AMC 12 this evening is Gianna Peritas. Okay. And finally, we have our students that participated in the AMC 8 competition this year. This is exciting to see as we are capturing students with a love for mathematics at an earlier age. Uh we have three students that have tied for
015second place this year. And they are Ronan Timmons, Liliana McEvoy, and Jonathan Evers. >> [snorts] >> Okay. And we also have a tie for our top score this year. In first place, we have both Brendan Mala and Caden Walsh. Congratulations to all of our participants and winners this year. >> [applause] [applause] >> Okay. Yeah, it's right here. All right. And now I am pleased to present on our science research program. So good evening members of the Board of Education, Dr. Ianni, Ms. Reiner, administration, and the Oyster Bay community. It is a privilege to be standing here tonight to celebrate the remarkable growth of our science research program. This program is more than just a sequence of classes. It's a journey of discovery that begins in middle school and culminates in high-level international competition. Beyond the
016trophies, we are equipping our students with the critical thinking, resilience, and analytical skills that ensure they will thrive in the most rigorous environments in college and beyond. The foundation starts in 7th grade where we merge traditional curriculum with specialized research skills. All of our students begin with general science 7 where, through inquiry-based labs in evolution and physics, students complete a comprehensive science fair project. This year, we also offered a new course called Atlantis 7 Research. This course teaches students how to investigate civic improvements and how to craft claims supported by empirical evidence. This is where they learn the art of the foundational presentation, a skill that serves them across every academic discipline. In 8th grade, students expand their horizons through Regents level Earth and Space Science earning a high school credit and specialized middle level
017research. These early years provide the soft skills of public speaking and data analysis as they compete in prestigious science competitions as early as 9th grade. As students enter the high school, the curriculum becomes increasingly more sophisticated, mirroring college-level independent study. These courses are taught by our science research teacher, Mr. Moy. In grade nine, they start with Introduction to Research. Students begin their high school journey by building a foundation in the scientific method and identifying areas of interest, moving from local impacts to broader inquiries. In grade 10, Honors Science Research 1, this class In this honors level class, students refine their experimental design and begin competing in regional arenas to communicate their findings to the scientific community. In grade 11, they take Honors Science Research 2. Students advance to sophisticated data analysis and methodology in this
018course, preparing them to present complex studies at state level summits. In 12th grade, they finish with Advanced Methodology and Research. This culminating course mirrors college-level independent study where students act as published level researchers competing at international and and state summits. The progression ensures that by graduation, our students aren't just consumers of knowledge, they're actually creators of knowledge. The climb to science research success is not a leap. It is a deliberate multi-year ascent. We intentionally expose our students to local fairs early because it builds their emotional confidence and their logical thinking, which they need to defend their ideas. What starts as a 7th grade project on model rockets, for example, becomes a sophisticated cancer study on a study on cancer mutations by 12th grade. This journey culminates in an international Regeneron Summit where students are standing
019shoulder to shoulder with the brightest young minds in the world. These are some of the research competitions that our middle level students have attended this year. In fact, just this week, our middle level students attended the junior division Long Island Science Congress. We are eagerly eagerly awaiting results from that fair where our students impressed the judges. Tonight, we will honor the impressive achievements of our science research students. When I call your name, please join us on stage to accept a certificate of recognition. I would like to begin by honoring George Thornton. Come on up, George. George took first place overall at our Oyster Bay Middle High School 7th Grade Science Fair for his project on model rockets. Tate Bear, Benjamin Cansler, and Joseph Kopacz. At this year's middle level SAWA, which stands for the South
020Asian American Women's Alliance, uh these young scientists earned an honorable mention in biology for their study on copper sulfate toxicity. Cleo Hox. Cleo, is she here? Come on up. Okay. Cleo secured a third place um third place in biology at SAWA for her work on phthalates. Adrian Jimenez and Ryan Obando. Adrian and Ryan also earned third place in biology at SAWA for their research on insecticides in produce. At the high school level, our researchers are competing with the best in the nation. I'd first like to call up Ella Kopacz. Ella received honorary research award from the Association of Chinese American Physicians for her work in breast and ovarian cancer research. Krista Thomas. Krista also received an honorary research award from the American from the Association of Chinese American Physicians for her work on breast cancer
021tissue cells. Okay. And Krista has certainly had a historic year with her project, which was called Shaped by Signals, Leveraging Breast Cancer Nuclear Morphology to elucidate regulatory pathways as therapeutic targets. And we are so proud to announce that she took third place at the Long Island Science and Engineering Fair. But wait, there's more. Krista also came in first place in Biomedical and Health Sciences at the New York State Science and Engineering Fair. A huge accomplishment. Because of her success on the state level, Krista Thomas has earned a spot at the 2026 Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair. She and Mr. Moy will be traveling to Phoenix, Arizona this May to represent Oyster Bay on the global stage. >> [cheering and applause] >> Krista. Krista, this plaque that which we've given you is going to hang
022in our Academic Hall of Fame for all to see. And the banner that we've created will also be hanging outside of the science research room for all students to see. And I want you to know that students are already incredibly inspired by you. They've mentioned to Mr. Moy a few times, "How do we do that? How do we get there?" So, we are so beyond proud of you and congratulations. The success of these students is a testament to their curiosity, of course, but even more so to their incredible work ethic. These accomplishments are not reached overnight. They are the results of countless hours of after-school research, meticulous data collection, and relentless trial trial and error, which defines true scientific discovery. We commend each and every one of you for the grit that you showed in
023balancing rigorous projects with other academic and personal commitments, as you could see with Krista coming right off the softball field today. But by investing in these programs and supporting the robust pathways we have built from 7th grade through graduation, we are ensuring that when our graduates walk onto a college campus, they do so not just with a diploma, but with the confidence of seasoned investigators and the proven dedication of lifelong learners. So, thank you to our Board of Education for your continued support of our students. And most of all, thank you and congratulations to our incredibly hardworking students and for making us all so proud of you. So, at this point, um congratulations to all the students. I know you have homework to do, so have a wonderful night and thank you for coming. Um
024a quick uh follow-up regarding some of the questions that we received uh at the last board meeting. So, I'm going to pass the microphone to um Ms. Raynor. Okay, as a follow-up last meeting, there were several questions on the budget. Um so, just to review some of them, the first ones was uh several questions on slide 28, which is the overview of the revenue budget. So, we'll start with this one. This is slide 28. It does present the revenue side of the budget. Uh presents the tax levy, state aid, reserves, fund balance, and miscellaneous revenue. Uh comparing the current year to the proposed. The first question was on slide 28. You're proposing there will be about $4.5 million in excess. Will that go into the reserves? So, slide 28 reflects the projected revenue for 2026-2027
025school year. It does not represent funds that are being placed into reserves. We are currently estimating $1.5 million of year-end fund balance that will be appropriated to the subsequent budget, which I'll review slide 25 in just a second. Um it's also important to note that the appropriated reserves and miscellaneous revenue are planned funding sources. There we go. So, this is slide 25 that describes that, where the year-end fund balance is surplus funds. And this year we are planning on appropriating 1.5, which is consistent from the prior year. The next question was about the 1.9 million in miscellaneous. So, the 1.9 miscellaneous was described in general on page slide 27, which I'll show here. It is rough less than 3% of the budget. However, tonight there will be more details on that as well. Uh the
0261 million reserves, uh the question was, is that going to into the capital fund and the technology fund? So, the 1 million in appropriated reserves does not represent money being transferred into the capital technology fund. It reflects responsible use of reserves as a revenue source to make sure we have budget stability. Um the next question was about the propositions for capital projects in the amount of 980,000 and technology projects in the amount of 495,000. Uh referring to slide 79. The capital reserve was listed at 3.8 million, and the question was, where is the 25-26 listed? So, this is the slide 79 that we're referring to. You can see here that the 3.8 was for the 24-25 school year. That reference represents the closing balance as of June 30th, 2025. The school district runs on a
027fiscal year of July 1 to June 30th. So, therefore, the numbers for the 25-26 school year will not be available because the financial records are still in process. All the final balances, including year-end fund balance, will be determined after June 30th. All the revenues and expenditures at that point will be fully accounted for, and the external audit will be conducted over the summer. Um as we've shared in prior presentations, this information will be finalized over the summer and presented to the public in the fall. As well as the financial statements will be on the on the website. Uh thank you. I believe that addresses all the questions. Thank you, Ms. Raynor. Um I also want to give an update on the uh some of the athletic teams for the spring. So, spring 7-8 uh girls
028lacrosse, uh the team began the season with the minimum nine players required to compete uh and no designated goalie. So, nine girls is the minimum to be on the field, the 12 is the regulation. I know the coach and the AD have been trying to recruit, but based on the latest attendance and despite the recruiting efforts, we will most likely cancel the uh competitive season and move forward with either a season with interscholastic scrimmages or a coach-instructed intramural program to continue the development and skill building of the athletes. Either way, um the girls will continue to practicing every day. In terms of the sailing, uh the district's overall financial commitment to the sailing program has remained fairly consistent. Last year, we were able to accommodate all the students that requested by reallocating some funds. This
029year, due to the high interest and other sports that we did not have last year, um sailing with respect to sailing, the students will have uh a tryout just like the other sports. Um So, so, Dr. Yianni, on the sailing, I don't know if this mic works. Anyway, on the sailing, Dr. Yianni, what is do you know how much the line item budget is? And how what it costs per student? Um we had done numbers, it's changed a little bit. Um the uh the item the line item that we have was between uh 35 and 40 for the year. Uh the cost per student at the um Oakcliff sailing uh this in the spring, I believe, is 875 per student. Um so, we have about 13 students that were in the program and 18 that
030expressed interest. So, we're working with Oakcliff. >> five additional students would cost at least 4,000 more, which is not in the budget this year, so there has to be a tryout. Does Oakcliff realize that we have to turn down students. Is there any thing we could do to maybe arrange a better price point with them? Yeah, we've been we've been working with Oakcliff and and I think that at this point there is an understanding about the the students, the 18 students. So, I think we're coming with an agreement on that without changing the cost. Okay. Cuz because in my opinion, Oakcliff is a good community partner. And if we can make it so that we don't have to have tryouts and we can get all our students who have interest, you know, covered by whatever
031we could budget for, maybe Oakcliff could work with us on the pricing a little bit. Uh they've been working with us and they've been um very responsive to to obviously the constraints that we have in terms of the budget, but I think we are at a good point right now. Okay. I No, no, no. Um just a question about uh I guess the budget and allocation. When we have teams that don't run or aren't able to run, I think we had some maybe JV teams this year that didn't run. Is it possible to allocate that money back to a different sport to allow more participation? Because that's something that can be done in the moment or does that take planning or can we kind of pivot based on student demand? Um Yes, I mean in
032terms of in terms of the students playing, some of the teams uh that we have to cancel, in this particular case, the coach is still if you're referring to the um the girls lacrosse, we are still committed to obviously paying the coach, but if the team is not running at all, uh definitely reallocating resource would be an option. I guess I guess my um comment is that if if a team doesn't run like that like that a cross team wasn't able to run, are we able to kind of pivot that money into sailing where there would be an interest not necessarily forever um just to accommodate the interest that we're seeing now with the understanding that next year we'll look into it more and uh get student interest in what sports they're going to play
033so that we're able to I guess accommodate the the greatest number of students in the most number of ways? Yes, definitely reallocation of resources always an option. Um there obviously sometimes there are constraints in terms of uh the the placement and you know, the students what what type of sports you have. So, for example, if they're committed to a certain number of boats and you have more students than uh that could change the dynamic, but in terms of reallocation of resource, the goal is to make sure that every student has uh a place to to and a team to be part of. I just want to be clear particularly with the girls lacrosse that you just mentioned, they're going to still run it either as as some sort of intramural or clinic, so they they're
034still a coach, they're they're being trained, instructed and and the coach is still receiving salary. Correct, that's my understanding. Okay, thank you. Um Dr. Yanni, just I'm sorry to dwell on sailing, but I just think living in Oyster Bay and having this opportunity for our students is so important. Could you just give us a report as to how many students are not going to have the opportunity that are showing interest and maybe you know, like next next meeting, not to put you on the spot here. Yes, um by hopefully by uh I I I know they were doing tryouts, so by the end of the week I will have a full report and by next board meeting, I will update the board on what's the status of sailing and how many students we have. Okay.
035Um so, at this point I'd like to invite to the podium Ms. Raynor for the uh budget adoption presentation. Thank you. It's a sound. Can you hear me? Here we go. Thank you. Good evening, members of the Board of Education and members of our community. Tonight's fourth budget presentation reflects the proposed 2026-2027 budget that is being recommended to the Board of the Board of Education for adoption this evening. As with each presentation, our work remains grounded in our vision of empowering all students to achieve excellence and our budget mission to support every student while maintaining disciplined financial leadership and long-term stability. This budget focus has guided the development of the 2026-2027 proposed budget throughout the process. It reflects our commitment to remaining within the allowable tax levy cap, continuing to invest in strong academic, athletic,
036and arts opportunities for our students, maintaining safe and forward-thinking facilities, and doing so with clear focus on financial responsibility and long-term organizational wellness. We will begin with the review of the revenue budget. As we have discussed through the process, the overall structure of the revenue budget has remained consistent. Approximately 89% of our revenue does come from the tax levy, about 5% from state aid, and the remaining 6% from reserves, fund balance, and miscellaneous revenue. We begin with the tax levy, which continues to be the district's primary source of revenue. This slide illustrates the relationship between CPI, the tax cap, and the district's tax levy over time. While CPI has continued to fluctuate, the tax levy growth factor has continued to be capped at the lower of CPI or 2%. As a result, even when inflection
037inflation increases, the district's allowable levy growth remains constrained, creating ongoing budget pressure. The allowable levy is the amount the school district is permitted to propose as part of its annual revenue budget. That amount is determined through the New York State tax cap formula, and we've reviewed it in greater detail in earlier presentations. For the 2026-2027 school year, the allowable tax levy for Oyster Bay-East Norwich is 2.58%. The proposed tax levy for 2026-2027 is approximately 61.4 million, which reflects an increase of approximately 1.54 million over the current year and remains within that allowable tax levy limit of 2.58%. The next component of revenue is the state aid. For 2026-2027, the total state aid funding is projected to increase by approximately $104,000 or 2.56%. However, the majority of this increase is driven by expense driven aid. Foundation
038aid, which is our only flexible operating aid, is increased by only 1%, which is $19,500. This slide provides a detailed breakdown of our state aid. While expense driven aid is projected to increase by approximately 70,000, it's important to remember that this aid only reimburses cost that have already incurred. It does not create new or flexible operating aid. It helps offset existing obligations. The third component of the revenue budget includes reserves, fund balance, and miscellaneous revenue. These reserves are restricted by law and may only be used for very specific purposes. They play an important role in stabilizing costs, supporting long-term planning, and helping the district manage future financial obligations responsibly. As of June 30th, 2025, the district's reserve balances remain healthy and appropriately maintained as shown here. In addition to the reserves, the district plans to
039appropriate 1.5 million in fund balance, consistent with the previous years. Appropriating fund balance helps reduce the tax levy in the subsequent year while maintaining fiscal flexibility within the current adopted budget. This slide reflects the proposed budget that includes the same use of appropriated fund balance and appropriated reserves as the prior years. The miscellaneous revenue includes items such as pilots, tuition from other districts, use of facilities, and interest income. Taken together though, they only represent less than 3% of the total revenue budget. Combining this together, the total proposed revenue budget is approximately 69.4 million, which is an increase of about 1.5 million over the current year. This slide provides the detailed breakdown of all full revenue budget, including the items considered under miscellaneous revenue. Now, we'll move to the expenditure budget. The expenditure budget continues to
040be organized within the required three-part budget. As shown here, the three parts of the budget are administrative, capital, and program. Each category serves a distinct purpose, but together they reflect the full cost of operating the school district. Over time, we continue to see a shift in the budget structure, reducing the relative share of administrative and capital spending while reducing the increasing the program share. The proposed 2026-2027 budget continues that trend with the greater share directed to programmatic support for students. This increase in program component is a direct reflection of the Board of Education's goals and continued commitment to our students. This slide reflects the proposed 2026-2027 three-part budget in detail. This distribution comes to align resources with student-centered priorities while maintaining operation and facility needs. This next section will highlight the main factors driving this
041expenditure budget. As we step back and review the expenditure picture overall, the district continues to monitor the major changes and the categories that are shaping our budget development. The overall expenditure structure remains consistent with prior years, but the pressure points within this budget are continuing to intensify. Approximately 73% of the proposed budget is committed to salaries and benefits because education is a people-driven enterprise. Even with modest changes in these areas can create significant budget pressure. The proposed expenditure budget totals about $69 million, which represents that increase of 1.6 almost over the current year. So, what are the main factors that is in this increase? As we have been discussing, the growth is not being driven by new initiatives, rather than by contractual and structural cost pressures. As we have been discussing, there is an imbalance
042that has been created by just a small number of budget items. Only five categories account for the majority of the pressure we continue to see in this budget. Transportation, health insurance, retirement system cost, IEP mandates and services, and liability insurance have averaged almost 1.3 million of our annual increase over the past 5 years. These small number of structural cost drivers consume nearly all of our allowable revenue growth, and that is before accounting for any salary increases. The district has relied on reallocations, cost reductions to sustain programs, yet the gap between these rising costs and allowable revenue continues to tighten. That is one of the core fiscal challenges that are shaping this budget. We have been addressing immediate pressures through strategic staff realignment, retirement planning, while simultaneously advancing long-term workforce strategy tied to enrollment and program
043priorities. This dual approach will stabilize our current budget while positioning our the district responsibly for the future. This includes replying replacing retired staff at entry-level salaries, a reduction of 2.0 full-time equivalent positions in the middle high school aligned with the needs of students, and the reallocation of UPK salaries to the grant funding without any impact on the current UPK program. Even with these adjustments, the budget maintains the programs and opportunities our community values most. It preserves small class sizes at the elementary level. It sustains our arts and music programs. It maintains athletic and co-curricular offerings, and protects academic opportunities for students. This brings us to the budget summary. Most importantly, this proposed budget is structurally balanced with revenues fully supporting the projected expenditures. This means the district is able to maintain all programs and meet
044all financial obligations within the allowable tax levy. In summary, the proposed 26-27 budget totals approximately 69.4 million. That represents a budget-to-budget increase of 1.6 or 2.34% and remains within the allowable tax levy limit. Now, we shift from the operating budget to capital reserve projects. This section will begin with the proposed capital projects supported through the existing capital reserve. The proposed projects for capital is totals approximately 980,000 and includes auditorium rigging renovations, a hot water replacement at the high school, gymnasium air conditioning at Vernon, and several projects at TR including a new pre-kindergarten playground, and replacement of a scoreboard at Memorial Stadium, as well as an abandonment of an unused oil tank. Next, we will look at the proposed technology projects from the existing fund, which totals approximately 495,000 including student device replacements as per our
045long-term technology plan, replacement of classroom devices, and educational boards that support the district's technology plan and instructional program. We'll now move into the capital reserve fund discussion for this year. As discussed in earlier presentations, the current capital reserve fund is nearing the end of its term. Tonight's presentation includes the related recommendation and ballot proposition language. The district's current capital reserve fund was originally established by voter authorization in May 2006. It was later amended in May 2011, amended again in May 2013, and amended again in May 2017 to expand the purpose, to extend the term, and to increase authorized funding levels. Over the past decade, the capital reserve has supported a wide range of projects across the district. These investments have helped us proactively maintain and improve our facilities, support safe and efficient learning environments, and
046address infrastructure needs before they become more costly. This slide provides a multi-year view of how the capital and technology reserves have been funded and used. It reflects a consistent and transparent practice of funding reserves when surplus is available, and using those funds over voter-authorized projects. It is important to clarify what the community will be voting on this May. This proposition will authorize the creation and funding of a new capital reserve. It does not authorize any specific project. Each future use of these funds would still require a separate board action and a separate voter approval. The current recommendation is establishing a new capital reserve fund, which would have a maximum funding level of 25 million, a term of 15 years, and annual transfers of surplus funds not to exceed 2 million per year. Next, we'll move
047into the ballot propositions that the community will see on the ballot in May. Proposition one will be the proposed 26-27 school district budget in the amount of 69 million $370,079. Proposition two will authorize the expenditure of $495,000 from the technology reserve fund for student devices, educational display boards, and classroom devices. Proposition three will authorize the expenditure of $980,000 from the existing capital reserve fund for the projects just outlined earlier. Proposition four is the proposition to create a new capital reserve fund. This slide is the first portion of the ballot language, which outlines the broad range of capital purposes that could be used. The second slide is the language that outlines the key parameters of the proposed reserve including the 15-year term, the 25 million funding cap, and the annual transfers not to exceed 2 million,
048as well as the authority to transfer any remaining balance from the current reserve into this new fund. As we move into the remaining steps of the budget timeline, this evening is the budget adoption. The next steps would be the budget hearing on May 5th and the annual budget vote on May 19th. The full timeline of budget activity is listed here from the first presentation in January through the final vote in May. We continue to monitor this process closely, provide updated information as needed, and remain responsive to community questions. The community is also invited to attend the upcoming Meet the Candidates event for the Board of Education election on Monday, April 27th at 7:00 p.m. in this high school auditorium, which will be moderated by the League of Women's Voters. We also want to remind the
049board and community of the budget resources available throughout this process. All the presentations and supporting materials here are posted on the meeting agenda on BoardDocs prior to each meeting, as well as a dedicated budget page on the district's website, which provides ongoing access to materials, updates, and key information. This section includes some voter information for the annual vote and board election, and the eligibility requirements for the voting in the school district election are outlined here. If you are unsure of your registration status, this slide provides the registration information and deadlines. The last day to register vote is Thursday, May 14th, 2026. Here, you'll find information regarding the absentee ballots, early mail ballots for residents who may not be able to vote in person. I thank you for your time and continued engagement throughout this process.
050Any questions? Comments? Okay. Thank you. Uh one final thing tonight on this agenda, uh the board will see uh the recommendation for the appointment of our uh special education director. For the past uh several months, we have been working together with staff, uh community members, and parents, and teachers uh to conduct interviews, and after an extensive search, I am very proud to um recommend to the board uh Dawn Wong. She's here um tonight with us. So, >> [applause] >> Dawn uh comes to us with tremendous experience um in in the area and special education areas as a teacher, as a mom, and uh we're looking forward to have you on board, and this is an amazing district. Uh you're going to enjoy every minute of it. And um we're just going to wait for the
051board to um hopefully approve the recommendation, and then we'll congratulate you as sound. Sound good? Excellent. Uh that's the end of my report. Thank you. >> Okay. Thank you, Dr. Yanni. I'd now like to move on to the approval of the minutes. Do I have a motion to approve the meeting minute meetings as listed and attached below? So moved. Thank you. Second? All in favor? Aye. All opposed? Motion carries. Now we'll move on to opportunity to be for the public to be heard on agenda items. In keeping with the philosophy of open communication and and informed decision-making, the Board of Education welcomes input from the community. However, it's important to note that while the Board of Education meets in public, it is not a meeting of the public. Respectful input and behavior by each member
052of the community is appropriate and expected at all times and should observe the following Board of Education the following rules at a Board of Education meeting. The Board of Education will listen to comments and input from the public. Debate between members of the audience and/or the board members will not be permitted. The board will not address personnel or individual student matters in public. No person shall present orally or discuss at any Board of Education meeting charges or complaints against individual employees directly or indirectly. The speaker shall identify themselves and confirm their residency in the district on the residency in the district on the sign-in sheet. Um Amory has signed in. I can Yeah, yeah. I don't know. Doesn't matter. Um I Hold on a second. I'm sorry. It's hot. Go ahead. It's hot? >> [laughter]
053>> Thanks. All right. Um so, Jess, I have two questions a few questions. Um are you funding the capital reserve and the technology reserve this year? Um where do we anticipate the $1.5 million to come from if we don't have an estimated unassigned fund balance at this point? Um thank you, Dr. Ianni, for quickly sending to me an appropriation status report. Um it shows that in available funds at this point. Um of that how much do you feel would be unassigned and available at the end? Um just still a little confused how you can go through this whole thing and not know those numbers when you're adopting a budget tonight different than what was done years ago. Um and then why are you not hiring an assistant superintendent for curriculum from when one is leaving
054and that it is a different title and not an assistant superintendent? Thank you. So, um just to answer the stuff from the last question. We have an executive director right now. It's the executive director for curriculum and instruction is resigning. So, the plan is to move forward with the hiring an executive director for curriculum and instruction. So, that's one question. The second question was about the um following up on the fund balance. So, we'll get to the answer to that, but I think it's fair to say that the appropriation status report is provided to to the um Board of Education every month. It's reviewed every month. So, in terms of the that report um that report is obviously constantly changing every month because obviously we are spending the money. One of the things that we
055have done during this budget process is that um we have shown the historical data from uh 2 years back. Um so I think that that would show a pattern of spending so people can make the appropriate decision. So, in terms of the other questions I will follow up and and give an appropriate um a detailed answer. So, I don't want to just talk about numbers without having a specifics in front of me. No. So, I I guess my question my 2 minutes that are left is that I understand and clarifying that you are sharing that information with the Board of Education. That information should be shared with the Board of Education at public budget meetings so the entire community understands what the dollars and cents are. I do see the historics 23 24. You budgeted
05664 million, you expended 61 million. That's 3 million under. You expended but 24 25 65 million. You expended 62 million. That's $3.4 million that we put into reserves. Um you should those discussions should be held publicly so we all know where the budgets are, where the expensions expenditures are. How do we how does the Board of Education know to increase a line by 100,000 if they don't know how much was spent? I I'm just a question there. So, that's why I understand you're giving them to the Board of Education and they're reviewing it, but it should be given to the public. It's not anything that should be hidden from the public or not shown the public. Has nothing to do with teachers or kids or parents or individuals. It's the public's right to know the
057money that's being spent. Um and you guys are doing a great job, but we should know it. We should know it just like you should know it. And I believe that all funding and everything should be done before a budget is done, not after a budget is done. You should know uh uh um an accountant comes in here and just certifies your books. They're not telling you what to do with your extra money. That should all be done before a budget vote, in my opinion, not after budget vote and after the summer. Thank you. Uh Nora Winehausen sports. Good evening. I just want to circle back to sailing um regardless of the middle school lacrosse team that was eliminated that you talked about tonight or going to be modified. You also eliminated the JV girls
058lacrosse team, the JV boys lacrosse team, and the baseball middle school was combined into a seventh and eighth grade team instead of seventh and eighth. So, if we're saving all that money, can't you find the money for five kids to join sailing this year? And if you can't, then where is that money being spent? You don't have to get back to me tonight. Just let me know before the next meeting. Thank you. Now we will move on to approval of instructional personnel items. Resolved upon the recommendation of the Superintendent of Schools, the Board of Education of the Oyster Bay East Norwich Central School District hereby approves the instructional personnel items as listed in their entirety. Do I have a motion? So moved. Do I have a second? Second. Are there any questions or comments? Um
059I have a question. This is we're in eight, right? Eight eight instructional personnel. My question is on uh I guess 8.08. The two teachers being excessed. Is that due to a decrease in demand for um [snorts] or decrease in student needs or is that simply just for reducing expenditures? Those were decisions were made along with the high school administration based on student enrollment counts and projected class sizes. The high school administrations worked with the guidance department to get class counts of what students need to be in and based on those information, the number of sections for those areas were reduced based on students. No class has been collapsed. No program has been collapsed. All offerings are still being made. Thank you. Any other questions or comments? All in favor? Aye. All opposed? Motion carries. >>
060[applause] >> We'll now move on to non-instructional personnel items. Resolved upon the recommendation of the Superintendent of Schools, the Board of Education of the Oyster Bay East Norwich Central School District hereby approves the non-instructional personnel items as listed in their entirety. Do I have a motion? Do I have a second? Any questions or comments? All in favor? Aye. All opposed? Motion carries. We'll now move on to business items. Resolved upon the recommendation of the Superintendent of Schools, the Board of Education of the Oyster Bay East Norwich Central School District hereby approves the business items as listed in their entirety. Do I have a motion? Do I have a second? Are there any questions or comments? All in favor? Aye. All opposed? Motion carries. We'll now move on to special services. Resolved upon the recommendation of
061the superintendent of schools, the Board of Education of the Oyster Bay East Norwich Central School District hereby approves the special services resolution as listed in their entirety. Do I have a motion? Do I have a second? Any questions, comments? No. All in favor? I. All opposed? Motion carries. We'll now move on to the approval of the new business resolutions. Resolved upon the recommendation of the superintendent of schools, the Board of Education of the Oyster Bay East Norwich Central School District hereby approves the new business resolutions as listed in their entirety. Do I have a motion? Do I have a second? Are there any questions or comments? All in favor? I. All opposed? Motion carries. I'd like to thank the donations, this the scholarship donation that was made to the district. So, thank you very much.
062We'll now move on to participation, public participation for non-agenda items. Um Alina Vegliante, I hope I'm saying that right. Um I-Ready lawsuit. Hi, good evening. My name is Alina Vegliante and my question is regarding the class action lawsuit against I-Ready. Um I-Ready is an edtech program used by children in the elementary schools and it's currently being sued in a class action lawsuit that alleges that the company collects, uses, and shares information about children without proper parental consent. More specifically, that the data collected on our children is being sold to third parties and that psychological and behavioral profiles of the children are being generated. What is the district's position on this lawsuit's allegations and what is it going to do with the use of I-Ready going forward during the pendency of the lawsuit? Thank you for
063your question. So, as you mentioned the other day, we initially looked at it. The one thing that we are we take it very seriously is the information that we have about students student information. So, the student data is protected by a law 2D, which we have an agreement. The company has denied the any these claims related to the lawsuit. So, we are looking into lawsuit and we are monitoring closely. But at this point we are just That's pretty much the information that that we have at this point. Can the parents find out more information about what data is collected on the children and whether or not they can opt out, whether that data can be deleted, where it's kept. And I also just want to add that right now there is a motion to dismiss
064by the defendants, by I-Ready, and it has not been decided on by a judge. So, while they do say that they're following the laws that has not yet been decided on. Do you have any questions? about the way to opt out of the information I don't have that information right now. I'll I'll get back to you. Yeah. Yeah, we'll get back to you. Okay. Thank you. >> Thank you. So, now we're going to move on to a discussion regarding the Nassau BOCES Board of Education election. Nassau BOCES District Clerk shared some information that I will pass on to you right now. Um We are required as a component district of Nassau BOCES to meet on a specific date for the purpose of voting both on a tentative administrative budget and the election of board members.
065This year the date is set for April 28th. There are currently three seats on the Nassau board which will expire on June 30th, 2026. Two of these seats are currently held by Deborah Coates and Lawrence Greenstein. The third seat is currently vacant. Each seat carries a term of three years. Each school board is entitled to one vote for each vacant BOCES board seat to be filled provided that no more than one vote may be cast for any individual candidate. The three candidates receiving the highest number of votes will be elected to the board seats for Nassau BOCES for a three-year term commencing on July 1st, 2026. There are four candidates. Incumbent Deborah Coates incumbent Lawrence Greenstein Jean D'Esposito and Douglas Pascarella. So, we have the information regarding each of these candidates, which have been shared,
066and tonight the board should have a discussion and decide which of these candidates' names should be placed on the agenda for the April 20th meeting to be recommended for approval. So Sorry. So, you've all had time to review the resumes and bios that were presented to us for the candidates for the BOCES position. So, I would ask um and board clerk will take notes. I would ask that we um each convey who we would choose and then we'll come to a consensus that we will use for to submit to BOCES for the election. Um anybody want to start first or else? No. I'm I'm voting for um Deborah Coates Lawrence Greenstein and Jean D'Esposito. I vote for Deborah Coates, Lawrence Greenstein. That's it. Just the two incumbents. Okay. Douglas Pascarella. Mr. Schindler. Coates, Greenstein, and
067Pascarella. Ms. Santos. Okay. Pascarella and D'Esposito. I have a third one, right? Yes. Okay, Greenstein. Sorry. No one wanted the lawyer but the lawyer. No, I don't think so. I think he's going to go with D'Esposito. He likes lawyers. There's no time. Okay. So, so then on on our next meeting agenda will be the candidates. Yes. Okay, thank you. Okay. Uh with that I'd like to adjourn the meeting. A motion made to adjourn the meeting. Do I have a motion? So moved. Do I have a second? Great. Thank you, everyone, and have a nice evening. Good night.