EUFSD - Board of Education Meeting - 5/12/26

001Board of Education meeting. We ask that you please stand and join us in the pledge. Salute, pledge. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands under God, liberty, and justice. Thank you. My name is Mrs. Stacia Waffle, and I'm the principal here at the Claridge-Carlson School. Just a reminder, we have an exit to my right, one to my left, and some exits in the back. I'm going to turn the meeting over to our Board of Education for our first part, our audit meeting. Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Woffo. Good evening, everyone. Tonight we will have Mr. Richard Coffey joining us from Cullen and Donowski. Yes, sir. Step right up. Which are you comfortable with? Good evening. Richard Coffey, I work for Cullen and

002Donowski. We're an accounting firm. We're pleased and appreciate the opportunity to work with the district in the role of internal auditor. This is our first year working with the district. The internal audit function requires two types of engagements to be performed at the district. One is what's called a risk assessment, and the other is detailed testing. So we, myself, working with my firm for just about 20 years, I'm in my 20th year working with school districts, work with about 30 different school districts and a couple of BOCES, performing this internal audit work with districts, really look at it as an opportunity for trying to identify ways that districts and BOCES can enhance their operations, processes, and procedures. Even our engagements really are considered more consulting engagements. as opposed to audit engagements. So again, really working

003collaboratively with trying to identify and work on identifying ways to enhance operations and efficiencies at our clients, at our school districts. So again, pleasure to be here this evening. Thank you, Mr. Coffey. So the first section of the audit committee is going to be a review and acceptance of the internal audit report, specifically on payroll. So just some background, the Board of Education retained Cullen and Donowski to complete internal audit activities in accordance with education law. And Cullen and Donowski has developed a multi-year plan for the audit of the Elmont School District with major business processes and will complete the internal activities each year. So currently, Cullen and Donowski has completed its internal audit on payroll, and I will turn it over to Mr. Coffey for some highlights. Okay. Thank you. So one of the

004areas that we looked at in detailed testing, and those types of engagements engage us to, as the title says, to look more detailed, review of a particular area, and also do some testing. in terms of testing of transactions and activities. So the payroll area, which is one of the key areas in the district for a couple of reasons. One, obviously the amount of money in the budget that you have for payroll, plus the changes and activities within payroll itself. So one of the things we're looking for when we review payroll is gonna be the accuracy, completeness, and correctness of the payroll and payment amounts. How does the district and the business office look at and monitor the payroll cycles which happen throughout the year in terms of checking and ensuring that they're accurate and correct?

005And that's a payroll comparison, right? Comparing one cycle to the next and identifying and having those processes within the business office. So we work with, interview, and meet with people in the business office and do some testing of transactions. Some of the complexities related to payroll tie to your bargaining agreements, right? There's numerous bargaining agreements and they are going to be a driver and with their salary schedules in terms of what the earnings may be. There's also what's called lanes based on people's years of working in the district where they may get different salary amounts. So when we do testing, we always want to test and get a good cross-section to ensure that we test from different bargaining units that exist. So teachers, clerical, support staff, transportation facilities, and then you also have what's called

006non-aligned employees as well. Senior administrators, they have what's called unaffiliated or non-aligned in terms of they usually have a direct contract or agreement with the board. So we also make sure we select some of those as well and test those. So overall, it was a positive report in terms of no findings with extent. related to any incorrect amounts. So that means, obviously, the district business office. It's doing a very good job of ensuring the accuracy of those transactions and the payroll activities. We do also look to see if there's maybe opportunities for enhancements, either efficiencies or also if there's ways to even tighten or strengthen further controls. So we ended with some recommendations for the district to consider. And with payroll, the recommendations that we have here is one is considering using a system for

007electronic time and attendance system. for implementing that and considering that for timekeeping. And some of our recommendations and the ones here tonight are really efficiency based. Another recommendation related to payroll is to consider one of the things we look at is language in the board policies. And if you look at policies and we check and test those against practices and you want to be aligned, right? We want to make sure that our practices that we're actually undertaking in the district align with our board policies because some of the board policies may have specific language in those. So where we find an opportunity maybe where there's... Whether or not an agreement or a line will have a recommendation. So there's what's called a certification of payrolls required for every payroll to have certified by designee of

008the district usually a superintendent or maybe designee So here just consider the scenario there in terms of these specific titles for the person to certify payroll and also consider conducting periodic payroll audits. That's a good internal control and check just ensuring that you're paying people who are working and that might not be on a leave and such so they were looking for process to do periodic payroll audits by having administrators sign and that they know that the people that are on the payroll receiving paychecks that they actually had worked on that particular payroll cycle. And then the payroll comparison board as I mentioned that's a key report that's done to identify changes from one payroll to the next so that facilitates your payroll comparison and then your payroll certification process so we're recommending include that

009as part of that process just to get to strengthen and enhance that procedure. Thank you Mr. Coffey. Ms. Gomez? At this time, I would ask the board if we have a motion for the audit committee to recommend to the Board of Education the acceptance of the internal audit report on payroll completed by Cullen and Donowski LLP. Do we have a motion? Motion by Ms. Capers. Do we have a second? Second. Second by Mr. Ramos. All in favor? Unanimously approved. Thank you. Thank You miss Gomez the next section of our Audit Committee report will focus on the review and acceptance of the internal audit report on attendance Mr. Coffee will give us a high-level overview on his findings related to attendance. Thank you Okay, so the other area where did some detailed testing was related to

010employee attendance So these are that's a type of engagement that gives us an opportunity to get out to the district because we actually go out to the different all of the schools, me with the principals and the designees who are responsible for managing attendance for employees. What we do is looking at what the procedures are, the processes are to track, monitor attendance and ensuring the accuracy of any absences that are posted and recorded. Because what we want to do is the financial system that the district has ends up being what's called a repository of that data. And that's where you want to ensure the accuracy of the data, basically by tracking and monitoring the activities at the schools that they report in and we track and monitor and post any absences. The reason why also

011from a financial standpoint it's important is because people and individuals based again on the different bargaining agreements may be entitled to some benefit time that's been earned and unused, maybe some vacation days, sick days, et cetera. the calculations for those payouts for separations at the time when someone makes separate for the district, you're using that data from the system. So again, that's the importance of having it accurate. So we're looking at attendance based on the attendance records and documents and data. Again, positive report from the standpoint we didn't find errors or exceptions related to. the attendance information that's been posted for the various individuals that we selected. We also look at what's called the annual rollover. That's a key process where the district undertakes a procedure to rollover from one year to the next. And

012what they do is they're going to apply the benefit time for employees to be posted into the next year. So it's another process. You want to ensure accuracy there. Some of the things in... things to look at is if somebody's been out on a leave or been absent for an extended period of time, they may not be entitled to all of those days in the next year because they may have missed a number or a significant portion of the days during the year. Again, recommendations, some efficiency and consideration, recommendations related to attendance. One was considering again utilizing systems. So a lot of districts now have been using systems to replace maybe some paper processes really to gain efficiencies and enhancements. So here was to consider in terms of time off requests, consider using a system

013for when people request a vacation day or a personal day, they can do that through the system as opposed to using hard copy paper process in lieu of that. And next item was consider recommendation here. Consider maybe the deadlines for submitting this. So what happens is the schools all need to report into Human Resources. The Human Resources Department, they're the ones responsible for managing overall staff attendance and activities and postings into the system. And the information gets fed from the schools in terms of weekly reports that are submitted. So I know the consideration possibly for extending that from a Friday to a Monday because Friday is an inclusive day of such a report. So sometimes you may have to go back and make some adjustments and stuff. for Friday afternoon activities that may take place

014in terms of somebody maybe leaving or left early that day. Next recommendation was to consider cost benefit analysis here of possibly, in terms of attendance, teacher absences by using maybe building subs. So sometimes you have a permanent or a building sub at a school, they help and they basically, they're at the school each day to help fill absences. So there's a consideration there. Cost benefit analysis right on that process there. Okay. Thank you. At this time, I would ask the board to consider the motion that the audit committee recommend to the Board of Education, the acceptance of the internal audit report on attendance completed by Cullen and Donowski LLP. Do we have a motion? Move. Move by President Capers. Is there a second? Second. Second by Mr. Ramos. All in favor? Aye. unanimously approved thank

015you Thank You mr. Gomez the next section of the audit committee agenda is the review and approval of the corrective action plan for the internal audit report on payroll and attendance I'm in accordance with education law Cullen and Donowski has completed its internal audit the law requires that the district develop and adopt a corrective action plan within 90 days receipt of the internal audit report and the state education department recommends that the audit committee review and approve the corrective action plan the corrective action plan and recommendations are enclosed in in the committee's packet and will be placed on an agenda likely in june for approval so that we can submit to new york state miss gomez Thank you. The next motion before the board is for the audit committee to recommend to the Board of

016Education the approval of the corrective action plan for the internal audit report on payroll and attendance completed by Cullen and Donowski LLP. Is there a motion? Moved. Moved by President Capers. Is there a second? Second. Second by Mr. Ramos. All in favor? Unanimously approved. Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Gomez. The next area of our budget is the review and acceptance of the internal audit risk assessment report. Cullen and Donowski recently completed its internal audit of the two major business processes as just described, payroll and attendance. And the firm presents the district's audit risk assessment report for consideration. Mr. Coffey. Thank you. As I mentioned, the second type of engagement that we conduct is a risk assessment engagement. Since this is our first year with the district, we conducted what we call an initial risk assessment.

017So we put together a comprehensive report for the board to review and also to identify where there are key processes, good internal controls, references on board policies related to, we have what's called various business processes and areas, probably around 12 or 13. We have 15 key process areas with some sub-processes as well and identifying those. And we have a few recommendations added for consideration just to, for again, further enhancements and improvements related to some of the processes. One of the things we do and going forward would be a risk assessment update. So next year we do an update basically identifying the key changes that have taken place from this year to next year, whether it be staff changes, new processes, procedures, new systems. New new mandates from the from the from the state in terms

018of needing new policies and such as well as following up on Recommendations as you guys are hearing right there's what's called a corrective action plan So any audit reports that are issued to school districts district is required to put together a corrective action plan Basically does should address what the plan is to implement such recommendation also should include and identify the title of the person who will be responsible for overseeing that particular recommendation as well as a timeline. Generally, and the state has looked at these corrective action plans to check to see that they have such, you know, that they fall underneath such criteria. Also, generally you should look for about a one-year implementation. Some may take longer. Obviously, it depends on the type of recommendation. That's generally what they look for in terms of

019your corrective action plan. And it's due 90 days after acceptance of our reports. Thank you, Mr. Coffey. We'd like to recommend the areas for detailed testing for the next round be related to purchasing, capital projects, and student transportation. Ms. Gomez? Thank you. Before discussion? Of course. Questions? Page 17. I have a question. Risk assessment. Yes. Risk assessment under extra classroom activity funds, cash receipts? Yes. H? What's that designation? Okay, so the risk assessment table in terms of the risk is low, moderate, and high. So that would represent a high rating in terms of cash receipts for extra classroom activity funds. We generally include that as high as most of our districts. A couple of reasons. Extra classroom generally usually have a number of various different. accounts that are involved and when you have cash coming

020in and being collected for us to ascertain that 100% of all the monies that have been collected end up going into what's called through the central treasury and being deposited, it usually has some risk with something either possibly getting lost, miscounted, etc. So that's generally usually, it's not uncommon. We even on our external audits in terms of our firm, we even do a disclaimer on our opinion related to the extra class activity fund as well. So you didn't have a specific observation that moved you to a high, that's just your standard response as a high? Correct. Okay, very good, thank you. You're welcome. Thank you. The next motion for the board's consideration is for the audit committee to recommend to the Board of Education the acceptance of the internal audit risk assessment report completed by

021Cohen and Danowski LLP. Is there a motion? Move. Moved by President Capers, is there a second? Second. Second by Mr. Ramos, all in favor? Aye. Unanimously approved, thank you. Thank you, Ms. Gomez. The next few matters are related to other business. The first is the selection of our internal auditor for the 26-27 school year. The Board of Education retained Cullen and Donowski to complete internal audit activities for the 25-26 school year. A request for proposal was issued to eight firms who provide internal audit services. Proposals were received by four firms with pricing for five years. A summary of the pricing contained in the proposals is provided in the audit committee packet. The complete proposals from each firm were provided to the Board of Education in 2026 for qualitative review. And after due consideration, the audit

022committee recommended the appointment of Colin Zanowski as internal auditors for fiscal years 2025, 26, all the way through 26, 27 at a rate of $25,000. Ms. Gomez. Thank you. The next motion is for the Audit Committee to recommend to the Board of Education the selection of Colin Endanowski, LLP, as internal auditor for the school year 26-27. Is there a motion? Move. Moved by President Capers. Is there a second? Second. Second by Mr. Ramos. All in favor? Aye. unanimously approved thank you Thank You miss Gomez the next item on the agenda for discussion tonight is the selection of the claims auditor for the 2627 school year The Board of Education retained Denise Lungombardi to complete claims audit services for the fiscal year 26-25 in accordance with education law. Education law requires that the audit committee make

023recommendations to the Board of Education for the selection of a claims auditor. Ms. Lungombardi completed all work during this past year in accordance with the detailed requirements specified in the district's RFP, and the firm's work has been thorough and has met all required scheduling to ensure the district warrants are paid on schedule. As a reminder, the request for proposals was issued in March of 2021 to 10 firms who provide claims audit services. Proposals were received in April 2021 from three firms. Summary of pricing is contained in the proposal. The complete proposals from each firm were provided to the audit committee back in 2021 for qualitative review, and after consideration, the audit committee recommended Denise Lungombardi for audit years ending the 2025 26 school year. The claims auditor has proposed continuing the engagement at a very

024modest increase of just $300. Ms. Gomez. Thank you. The next motion is for the audit committee to recommend to the Board of Education the contract extension for Denise Longombardi to continue as the claims auditor for the fiscal year 26-27. Is there a motion? Move. Moved by President Capers. Is there a second? Second. Second by Trustee Douglas. All in favor? Aye. Unanimously approved. Thank you. Thank you. And the last item on the agenda for the Audit Committee is the approval of the Audit Committee dates for the 26-27 school year. Each year, the Audit Committee establishes and recommends the meeting calendar for the subsequent year's Audit Committee meeting. The recommended calendar dates for the 26-27 Audit Committee meetings are October 2026, at which point the external auditor will meet with the Audit Committee to discuss the audited

025financial statements for the district. Then again in November of 2026 where our internal auditor will come back to explain how he's kicking off internal audit services for the 26-27 school year. And then lastly in May of 2027 so we can have a similar presentation as we did this evening to speak about the results of the internal audit function for the 26-27 school year and the specific dates for these meetings will align with board meeting dates. Ms. Gomez. Thank you. The next motion is for the Audit Committee to recommend to the Board of Education the approval of Audit Committee dates as noted above for fiscal year 26-27. Do we have a motion? Moved. Moved by President Capers. Is there a second? Second by Trustee Wheeler-Massey. All in favor? Aye. Unanimously approved. Thank you. Thank you, Ms.

026Gomez. And that concludes the Audit Committee meeting. Thank you, Dr. Macias. Very nicely done with the new auditor. Appreciate it. Okay, we are officially adjourning the audit committee meeting, and we will go directly into the public meeting because it's after 8 o'clock and we can. All right? Okay. We do need a five-minute break for discussion with counsel. At this time, I would like to open the public hearing of the proposed 2026-27 school district budget in accordance with New York State education law. The purpose of tonight's hearing is to present the proposed budget to our community and to provide residents with an opportunity to learn more about the financial plan before the annual budget vote and board elections, which will be held next Tuesday, May 17th. The proposed budget reflects our continued commitment to academic excellence.

027fiscal responsibility, and meeting the needs of all our students while supporting our mission of six schools, one district, and one mission. Following the presentation, members of the community will have the opportunity to ask questions regarding the proposed budget. I thank you for your continued support, and at this time I introduce our Assistant Superintendent for Finance and Operations, Dr. Macias. Thank you superintendent small So thank you so much for the introduction. I'm delighted to be here this evening to present the proposed 26 27 school budget The budget development process starts typically in the fall where senior the administrators of the school district work with directors principals and various budget leaders regarding their requests, looking at existing costs, and looking at needs, of course, with input from various stakeholders. Throughout the winter, we develop a first draft

028of the budget, which is typically presented to the Board of Education earlier in the year. So we presented our first draft in February of 2026. followed by other budget presentations in March and April. We've almost concluded our budget roadshow. It's leading us all up to our public hearing tonight, which will ultimately lead us to the budget vote on May 19th. So thinking about the budget as a whole we like to think that the budget is not just a collection of figures that are put together it's more a reflection of our values and aspirations and what we need to do in order to support our students and community. So thinking about budget development priorities when the budget was developed we looked at making sure that we were able to sustain existing programs and services everything that's

029been authorized by the Board of Education so that we can continue that good work. So taking into consideration positions, wages, all of the collective bargaining agreement costs are all incorporated. Of course taking a look at all of the Board of Education approved programs, policies, and class size targets. So as a baseline we really just wanted to continue the excellent educational programs and services already offered by the Almonte School District. The proposed budget allows for a fully funding UPK program for our students, maintaining our current class sizes, and the continued implementation of the new science curriculum, expanding STEAM classes for fourth, fifth, and sixth grade, the purchase of hands-on materials for coding, robotics, and technology, and some funding for pilot programs for AI for adaptive curriculum to improve or support. individualized instruction. And of course, expanded

030opportunities for students to engage in inquiry-based learning through our science research program. The proposed budget also funds Model UN, which allows students opportunities to develop public speaking, global awareness, diplomacy, and critical thinking. It also funds our Saturday and summer enrichment programs, providing engaging and enriching experiences for our students. And it funds the integration of data management software to enhance our instructional support and student learning outcomes. The proposed budget also continues the theater program across all six schools. It funds for translation services to support our diverse linguistic community and also provides for additional staff and support for our students with disabilities and also continues the support for the expansion of the district's physical education program. In terms of capital improvements, the proposed budget includes additional fundings for our buildings and grounds, making sure that we're able

031to maintain them, providing funding for equipment and school projects. It also provides funding for utility expenses. for our new heating and cooling systems in all of our buildings. And there's also funding required, funding has been allocated for the bond issuance to pay back the principal and interest related to that bond project in the coming years. In terms of proposed operational enhancements, we do have funding allocated to continue improvements to our student transportation efficiency projects through upgraded bus routing software and GPS tracking for the district buses. And we also have an allocation for our frontline software, which is used to manage our staff absences and professional evaluations. So just looking at the historical tax levy information, we did a look back of the last 10 years and what you'll see is the district has historically maintained

032low taxes at averaging under 1% per year, taking into consideration the last 10 years. And looking at our neighbors, we're considerably lower. Our neighbors across Nassau County are averaging a tax levy of 1.8% in comparison to our 0.9%. So despite us being able to maintain extremely low taxes, the district is grappling with some fiscal challenges that is not unique to Elmont. All school districts in Nassau County are faced with this. So even though we've been able to maintain taxes at less than 1% over the last 10 years, there are some... Some expenses that need to be considered Special education services. We are legally required to provide individualized supports and placements based on student needs We have health insurance and pension costs which are set by external systems and continue to rise annually and we have

033charter tuition which is determined by New York State and increases based on enrollment and student and tuition rates, excuse me So looking at the overall proposed budget, it doesn't include an increase of 3% over the current year's budget. But of that 3%, 2.1% is related to mandated expenses. And just under 1% is related to what's considered discretionary funding. So looking at the impact the budget impact of the mandated services we start with our special education allocation which represents about 22% of the overall increase followed by medical insurance which represents about 13% Social Security employee costs represent about 9.2% We have the principal and interest related to the bond that we referenced in the earlier slide that represents almost 20% And then our charter tuition, which represents about 6.4% of the overall increase. Overall, the 2.4

034million represents about 2.1% of that 3%, where all other budgets account for just over a million dollars at that 0.9%. Overall, the budget-to-budget change is about 3.5 million, or 3% year-over-year. This slide just represents a breakdown of the proposed budget by the major cost categories comparing the current year to the proposed budget. Overall, the budget increases by approximately 3.5 million or 3%. So this slide reflects the New York State required three-part budget format which organizes every school district budget into three categories Administrative program and capital and this format helps provide transparency to the community by showing how resources are allocated across core operational areas So you'll see, for example, in the administrative category, you'll see an increase of about 1.9%. This category has costs associated with Board of Education expenses, superintendent and district office functions,

035business operations, legal, auditing, and insurance-related services. The program portion of the three-part budget is the largest component of the budget and represents the direct investment in students and instruction. It includes teaching staff, special education services, guidance and pupil services, transportation, BOCES instructional programs, and music, art, and other student support services. The majority of the district budget continues to be dedicated to student programming and educational services. And then the smallest component of the next component of the budget, which is a capital portion, we're seeing an increase of about 1.9%. and this category supports the operation and maintenance of the district facility and includes debt service on capital projects custodial and maintenance operations utilities and building repairs and grounds and facility related expenses overall this three-part budget demonstrates a balanced approach and the large with the largest

036share of the increase uh remaining focus on program and component which directly supports students while administrative and capital increases remain modest and controlled. So this slide just represents the overall breakdown of the three-part budget with the largest share going to program at 78%, followed by capital at 12% and then administrative at 10%. So thinking about the other side of the budget revenues school districts primarily receive their revenue through three sources state aid local and property taxes So the first segment is the overall state aid. The district is anticipating an overall increase of about 3.2 million, with the primary driver being the foundation aid increase, which is considered our base aids. All other aids are service-driven aid, meaning what we spend in one year, we receive a portion of that aid in a subsequent year. But

037overall, we're seeing about a $3.2 million increase overall in state aid. The next area of revenues is our local revenues. This is our smallest area of revenue. You will note that top line represents the Belmont Agreement, which we are anticipating to remain flat with minor swings in all other areas. Overall, we're anticipating about a $30,000 increase in our local revenues. Excuse me. Our next area of revenue is the tax projection. You'll see that an overall increase of taxes accounts for about 1.99% of an increase year over year, or $1.1 million of an increase. You'll also see that our pilots, our payment in lieu of taxes, is seeing a small increase of just about $79,000. Overall, the total tax revenue, we're anticipating about a 1.5% $3.2 million increase overall. So this slide represents just a summary

038of all of our revenues. You'll see the $3.2 million that we referenced previously related to state aid, the $30,000 increase related to our local revenue, and then property taxes. and pilots representing an additional increase. We do see a reduction in the appropriated fund balance of about a million dollars, and this brings our overall increase to 3.5 million, or 3%. But, oh, if you could just go back one more. One of the questions that we've been getting during our budget roadshows, which is a great question, is if we're receiving about $3.2 million in state aid and our overall increase is about $3.5, why is there still a tax levy increase? And it's a fair question. But one that... warrants an answer and the answer really relates to the district's long-term financial stability and our reliance on

039our appropriated fund balance. Appropriated fund balance, to put it simple, is essentially the use of the district's savings to help balance the budget and while it's an important financial planning tool, it's also considered a one-time revenue source because once those funds are used, they're no longer available in future years. So this year the district is proposing to reduce the amount of appropriated fund balance from 8.5 million to 7.5 million, which is a reduction of a million. So in simple terms, even though state aid is increasing, we're intentionally reducing our dependence on savings in order to strengthen the district's long-term financial position. So this just represents a breakdown of the district's overall revenue with the primary, the largest source of revenue being our tax base at 58%, followed by our state aid at 39%, and then

040the smallest source of revenue being our local at 3%. So thinking a little bit about the tax levy and the tax cap, the New York State Office of the State Comptroller has a complex multi-step formula that all school districts in New York State are required to follow. And it derives a permitted levy increase. And based on that formula, the Elmont School District is able to, can opt to increase taxes by 3.4%. The average tax cap increase for Nassau County and Long Island is about 2.81%. So we're above the average. But for purposes of this budget, for this proposed budget, we're proposing a 1.99% increase, which is well below the average that we've seen in Nassau County and Long Island, which is 2.58%. So we're still below the increase of our, you know, in comparison to

041our neighbors. So as it relates to a contingent budget, we are required under the law to explain to the public what a contingent budget is. Essentially, if the budget is defeated, the board can go out with a secondary budget. But if it fails again, then school districts are required to go to a contingent budget. And essentially what that means is the district cannot raise taxes. It must remain flat and only ordinary or contingent expenses may be funded and certain expenditures. may need to be reduced deferred or eliminated so just some important dates the budget vote is coming up on May 19th polls are open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. at all six schools we do have some budget resources available on the website the budget newsletter was mailed last week it is available on

042the district website our budget notice was delivered to the post office and is also on our district website for viewing and then we have other resources on our website which we encourage all community members to visit which is multiple budget presentations the budget binder with the line by line detail and other resources that you might find of interest so at this time if anyone has any questions we'd be happy to answer them step up to the microphone please state your name for the record amaba can you hear me yes okay Okay, in regards to the pre-K classes that are going to be implemented for full day, how many teachers were hired specifically for the pre-K program for this year? Do you mean how many sections do we have or how many additional teachers are going

043to be hired? You have two new full-day classrooms, correct, for the pre-K? I don't think we have any new. The sessions are full time? We are not hiring new teachers for this school year. We are rolling over what we have currently for next school year. We're not hiring new teachers. So we are rolling over what we currently have. So in each of our buildings, except... Dutch Broadway. We have two pre-k classes in each of our building buildings. Last year the board made a decision to increase that to three in Dutch Broadway because Dutch Broadway had extra classrooms and we had students who did not get into the program. So in order to support more of our students, we added an extra section last school year. This year we are maintaining all the programs we have,

044all the staff we have. There will be no new addition to the pre-K program. So, but it's going to be full time. Yes, the district has historically, I think over the last three years, provided full-time, full-day pre-K services to our youngest learners. Okay, so how many students in the classroom? We have approximately 18 students per class, so we have over 200 pre-K students. And then you were building two new classrooms, correct? Building two new classrooms? On Dutch Broadway? We are moving two additional classrooms into Dutch Broadway as a matter of space. It's one of our biggest buildings in the school district. And so to alleviate space issues in the other buildings, we are opening up two new sections in Dutch Broadway. Okay. Okay, so, and then you're going to be providing additional aids for that,

045correct? We will provide to our students the services that they need. So, yes, there will be additional services for those students based on what their IEP needs are. Based on their? IEP, Individual Education Program. No, I understand what that is. And that assessment is going to take place before or after they start the school year? What assessments, ma'am? You said the IAPs. Those assessments are typically done during the school year. Our special education department is currently doing annual reviews. That's when it is determined by the CSE, the Committee on Special Education, what the needs are for the students for the upcoming school year. So that's currently going on. Right, but you're going to have new students. Yes. Okay, so when are those students going to be assessed? their assessments have been done and the committee

046on special education is reviewing those assessments and they're meeting with parents to go over what the needs of the students will be. Okay. Okay, in terms of the transportation, so I hear that the GPS system is of importance for this budget. However, how about expediting I see that during the budget there's two new hires and then two new resignations correct? Two new hires and two new could you be more specific for me are you talking about where you're seeing that ma'am? B appointments So these appointments that we're having, sometimes we have needs that's based on resignations and so forth. Those positions are already in the budget. So when you see appointments that are taking place, those are not new allocations. Those are allocations that were already in the budget, but due to someone maybe leaving

047or somebody who has resigned, we have to go out and replace them. So it's not an additional cost to the district. For next school year, however, for next school year, for 26-27, we do have allowances in the budget to hire new teachers for the new classes that we're opening up at Dutch Broadway. Okay, and also new drivers, because I understand that the process right now to expedite the civil service hires in terms of... background checks, fingerprints, investigations for the bus drivers and monitors. It's a little cumbersome. So how are you going to be expediting that? And you said that's already accounted for in this budget? We do not. Civil service does the approval when we hire individuals who are covered on the civil service. we send those names to civil service to do the requisite

048checks and they are not put on the agenda until we get clearance from civil service. For all staff members who work in the school district, they are fingerprinted by New York State and we send their names in to be checked and once we get clearance, they're added on. So we don't pay for it. It's not an additional cost to the district. It is done by state agencies. Okay, but... the staff itself, the budgeting for it, you don't account for it until they're hired. Is that what you're saying? Well, we plan for it. So, for example, for next year, we are planning to hire additional teachers and aides to support the new sections that we are opening up at Dutch Broadway. Okay, and also the bus drivers and monitors. Bus drivers are continuous because we have

049bus drivers who leave, and so we are continuously hiring new bus drivers. As a matter of fact, there's been a shortage of bus drivers, and so I think we started this school year a little bit behind the complement of drivers that we should have. So we are continuously hiring bus drivers and matrons. But those are positions that already have been built in the budget over the years. But sometimes individuals leave, and it takes us time. to replace them. Okay and now in terms of the fleet so how many wheelchair vehicles do you have? I'd have to get back to you on that number. Okay so I have seen like that wheelchair bus break down a couple of times so is there Is this part of the budget in addition to the GPS monitors to replace

050all buses, especially the wheelchair ones that the mechanism and the mechanics to it, the wear and tear creates a more dependency to make sure that the fleet is working appropriately. that's a great question yes the district does account for the replacement of fleet we also actually factored into our tax cap calculation so it has a very big impact in the overall revenue for the district revenue and expenditures on both sides so the district does have an allocation for the 25-26 school year to replace vehicles and we've rolled that amount for next year as well as a contingency and we we are looking at our fleet continuously and recommendations are made based on the need of our fleet so we do recognize that we may be looking to purchase a new wheelchair vehicle in the near

051future to account for any breakdowns that may happen so that we can continue servicing our students How are the district investments, investments accounts, are being reviewed so that to make sure that the allocations with the different banks or institutions that the money's being, the funds are being placed in, to make sure that there's continuous growth? Good question. So the district does have investment funds. We pass a policy, not a policy, through the RE-ORG each year. The board authorizes the district to invest in certain accounts. The district treasurer is primarily responsible for keeping those tabs on those various accounts, but it's something that I review in my capacity and also go over with the superintendent. And then those reports are provided to the Board of Education each month for review and approval. So each month? Yes.

052Okay, so if there's an opportunity at another institution or a better market fund, whatever, and then the allocation is redirected? It is a little bit more complicated than that, but yes, essentially, there are two, primarily there are two banking institutions in public education that handle investments, and we're with the one that has a larger geographic footprint in New York State. We do keep an eye on competitive rates, and even with the accounts that we don't invest in, but that we have... funds in, we do work with those leaders in those banks to make sure that they're giving us the most competitive rate. So sometimes we'll say this bank is offering a higher APR, can you match it or can you do better? And so that's often the conversation on the back end to make sure

053that we're maximizing funds for our community. In terms of personnel and staff, so I see that you had a list of new substitutions because of Family Leave app. Care Act whatever and so on and so forth. So how we are ensuring what metric is it being used so that the assignments are given first and foremost fairly and that it adheres to the time frames so that it doesn't go over and then the person becomes now Adjudicated as permanent permanent well in terms of when let's say a substitute has a certain amount of time to be in one position, being because they're filling in for maternity leave or whatever, so that to make, have accountability and keep abreast of how much time that person is within that position. So is your question how are leaves managed?

054Yes. From an administrative lens and what steps are taken to ensure that we are protecting, I guess, their leave time? Not their leave time, but the substitute teachers, you know, when they go into that role, into those positions. Not sure of the question. It is part of the budget. You have substitute teachers. You have a list of teachers that are going on family leave acts, right? That was part of this budget. No, that's part of the agenda. So there's a section in the agenda where I ask if you have questions about agenda items. I'll ask you to hold that question until then. Okay, but for the part of personnel for this upcoming budget, didn't you budget for that as well? So, Ms. Amada, all current positions that you see there are currently accounted for in

055the current budget. So if a teacher is going out on leave, that's because we have a teacher who has been hired by the district. They are going out on the leave, so that's a budgetary allocation that has already been in the budget and approved. The budget hearing that we're having is for next year. And as I said to you before, the only new staffing that we're adding to the budget relates to the new programs that we will be implementing in the buildings and the hiring of the new staff for those programs. But if you're on the budget, if you're on the agenda right now... You have already been budgeted for in this year's budget or in previous budgets and those allocations already accounted for Including going out and leave it's something that is already in

056budgeted for okay. Yeah, that's what Because you had a section on the human resources, correct for the budget not displayed Not displayed, but you have one you have one for the budget We have a yes, we we manage person of course we fund the person the personnel. Yes, we positions Yeah, and that's all rolled is what mr. Small is So I'm going to interject the last time we had some questions from you which we sent to you I'm gonna have dr. Macias call you and you could come into district office and she will sit down with you and give you a comprehensive Overview of all the questions you have At this time, we're going to take any other questions or concerns that someone might have. Thank you. Good evening, board members. Michaela Beaman, Clara Carlson-Parent.

057I noticed there was a discussion of special education, and that being about 22% of the overall budget. Could you go into a little bit more detail as to what specifically are we adding to special education? What are the new approaches that we're taking for this upcoming year? Sure. Okay. Sumal, would you like to take this or would you like me? I would take it. So as one of the things that Dr. Macias said is special education is one of those mandated costs that the district has very little wiggle room in terms of expenses. We have to comply with the needs of our students. For the upcoming school year, we are adding three new classes. for special education or special education programs. One class we are, we do not have to hire a new teacher because

058we had students who have moved up. So we had the teacher available to be assigned to that new section. and then we have two new sections that we are opening up that will require us to hire new staffing, new teachers. And then some students might have one-to-one aids, or some students will need speech or PT services, or OT services. So based on the IEP needs of those students, we will have to, our OT and PT services are contracted by... vendors so we will most likely have to pay for additional services to meet the needs of those students. In addition to that When you hire new staff, you have to provide them with training. We might have to hire, as I said, new aides for students who have one-on-one or you have programmatic aides who are

059in the classrooms to support the program overall. And so with those new sections comes additional support services that are needed that we will have to make allowances for. Have we considered adding on like a consultant to help with supporting parents and liaising between parents and the support professionals that we might have on board? As we've been having our budget roadshow and we've been speaking to parents, that has been one of the suggestions or comments have been made about how do we interface with our parents on a more regular basis. We do do a lot of parent workshops and so forth, but we have to recognize when parents say we would like to have more support in terms of how do we support our students at home. So I have spoken to the interim director of

060special education and she's currently putting together what that would look like for next year so we can continue to provide supports to our parents so that they could you know support their students and support us in terms of how we work to meet the needs of our students with disabilities have we explored the possibility of doing 3k So reducing the age from four to three with the universal pre-k? Right now the the law that we follow for New York State is four years old and to be honest with you while we are offering a full day program while the state is proposing additional funding for pre-k the district was already subsidizing the program to have full day full day pre-K. I think if my memory serves me right, for pre-K, the state gives us $5,000

061per student. If you look at what it costs to educate a student, it takes away more than $5,000. So the pre-K program is already being funded and subsidized by the local taxpayers. And lastly, last week, since we had this long conversation about personnel, we did celebrate our teachers. So I feel like it would be remiss if we didn't acknowledge the office. Do we have that on my agenda for tonight? Yes. Okay, great. Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Beeman. Any other questions? Yes. Any questions from the board trustees? All right. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Dr. Macias. You can go to the regular portion of the meeting. All right. District Clerk, please note that all board members are present. May I have a motion to approve the meeting minutes of the April 14th and the

062April 28th special meeting, the regular meeting on April 14th and the special meeting on April 28th? Move. Thank you. Ms. Battles, second? Second. Thank you, Dr. Massey. All in favor? Aye. Motion carries, thank you. Do we have any correspondence? All correspondence has been given to the board for consideration. Thank you. All right, good evening everyone and welcome to our May Board of Education meeting. As we move closer to the end. of another fabulous school year, I'd like to take the opportunity to thank our students, staff, families, and the community for their continued dedication and support. I'd also like to take a moment to recognize our teachers. The board extends our gratitude for all the outstanding work that you do. And just like you all here, Mr. Small has said on many times, our teachers are

063wonderful. Our teachers are great. Yes. Thank you for all you do. And thank you to everyone who's joining us tonight, whether you're joining us virtual or in person. Let's get started. All right. May I have the report of the Sawanaka Central High School District? Mr. Ramos. Absolutely. May 2026, Wanaka Highlights. Good evening and welcome. Happy Mother's Day to all who celebrated this past Sunday. As we move through the final stretch of the school year, our scholars continue to show up and show out across the district. At Elmont Memorial, excellence is on full display. From being named a Best Communities, for Music Education Winners to Seniors proudly celebrating Decision Day. Our scholars are making global impact from a powerful study abroad experience in South Africa to advancing as finalists in prestigious science competitions and earning state

064recognitions in the arts. At Suwanaka High School, students are thriving through hands-on learning and meaningful experiences from international travel to Ecuador and the Guadalajara to earning a $10,000 education grant and seeing student research published. Their commitment to service, creativity, and academic growth continues to shine. At Floral Park Memorial, our scholars are leading in every space, whether it's celebrating Decision Day, earning top honors in national business competition, or making history in athletics with championship wins. From the arts to academics to leadership, Floral Park continues to raise the bar. As we approach the close of the school year, one thing is clear. Our scholars are not just participating, they are excelling. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Ramos. Are there any audience members who would like to speak on agenda items only? All right. Report about superintendent. Thank

065you, Madam President. So, as Mrs. Capers said and Mrs. Jasmine Beeman, tonight we'd like to take a moment to recognize and thank our extraordinary teachers across our district in all six schools in honor of Teacher Appreciation Day and in honor of the work you do each and every day. Every day our teachers inspire. encourage and challenge our students to grow academically, socially, and emotionally. Your dedication extends far beyond the classroom. as you work tirelessly to create supportive learning environments where each and every child can succeed. So tonight, on behalf of the Board of Education and our entire school community, we extend our sincere thank you for the passion, the professionalism, and the care you bring to your work each day. Your impact on the lives of our students and their families is immeasurable and we

066are deeply appreciative of all the work you do each day. So tonight we say a big thank you. We thank you for what you do. We thank you for showing up. We thank you for doing your very best each day for our students and we are just incredibly grateful for your service. Thank you. With that said, over during the month of March we had our Knights of Slat Academy and that was held on four Saturdays during the month of March. And before March we also had our Saturday enrichment program during the month of January. And the truth of the matter is our teachers, our aides, our staff show up on Saturdays. They leave their families to come out and support our students. And it is just one more indication or evidence of the dedication our

067students, our teachers display each year and each day to support our learners. And so I have our interim director of ENL services and the coordinator who helped her to coordinate the program here tonight who will give the board and the community an overview of this special program. I think it's fitting as we're celebrating our teachers and it's fitting as we have just presented the budget to see how the funds that our community vote to allocate goes towards direct support of our students, not just five days a week, but outside the regular school day each year. I would like to introduce Ms. Johnson and Ms. Rodrigo will give you a quick overview. Good evening members of the Board of Education, Superintendent of Schools, Mr. Small, District Administrators, faculty, staff, and families. My name is Rita Johnson.

068I am the proud interim director of E&L services. I serve as the program director of the Nice Slide Academy. Good evening. My name is Sonia Rodrigo. I am the proud acting principal of Alden Terra School and served as the program coordinator. Thank you for giving us this opportunity to share an overview of the Nisus Lab Academy. The Elmont School District proudly fosters a rich and vibrant diverse community where students' languages, cultures, and experiences are celebrated each day. To support our multilingual learners, the district receives Title III funding, which provides services and resources to help students attain English language proficiency and achieve academic success. Currently, there are 387 multilingual learners in grades K-6, representing approximately 11.5% of Elmont's total student enrollment of 3,367 students. Our district proudly represents more than 100 countries and territories with over

06970 languages and dialects spoken by our students and families. Among our ENL scholars, 53% speak Spanish, 16% speak Urdu, 10% speak Haitian Creole, 7% speak Punjabi, and the remaining 14% speak a variety of other languages. In the English as a New Language E&L program, students advance through different proficiency levels. These levels determine the amount of instructional support and the number of service minutes students receive from E&L teachers. When students in grades K-6 enter the district and a language other than English is spoken at home, the students participate in an interview to help them determine their English language proficiency. Based on the results of the interview, the student may then be administered the New York State Identification Test for English Language Learners, the NYSATL. This assessment identifies the student's proficiency level and the E&L services they

070may need. Each year, multilingual learners also take the New York State English as a second language achievement test, the NYSESLAT. This assessment measures students' English language development and helps determine the level of E&L support they will receive throughout the school year. So this is an overview of the 2025 NYSESLAT assessment data. Last year, 420 multilingual learners took the NYSESLAT assessment. 85 students representing 20% of the tested students achieved proficiency levels that allowed them to exit the E&L program. In addition, four scholars exited the program by achieving an expanding level on the NYSES-LED assessment while also demonstrating proficiency on the New York State English Language Arts Assessment. In response to student data and instructional needs, an annual Saturday Nice to Slide Academy is offered to provide additional targeted language support. The Nice to Slide Academy provides

071focused instructional support aligned to the four language modalities, listening, speaking, reading, and writing. This year, 195 multilingual learners registered with an average of 132 students attending, including both general education and special education students. Students were grouped accordingly to proficiency levels while maintaining a teacher-to-student ratio of 1 to 10 to ensure individualized support. The program was staffed by 40 educators from across all six schools, including teachers, teacher's aides, instructional coaches, and a counselor. The night's slide was a four-week program held in March. Each session lasted two hours and 45 minutes. We focused on meaningful and authentic practice in listening, speaking, reading, and writing. To promote family engagement, the program offered Parents as Partners in Education Workshop, a culminating parent event that engaged over 60 parents and guardians. This workshop provided strategies, QR coded resources to support

072language development at home. As mentioned, the NYSASLIDE assessment is given annually to all kindergarten through 12th grade ENL students. Our multilingual scholars have been engaged in the NYSASLIDE assessment from the beginning date of April 13. to the end date of May 22nd. The students are assessed either individually or in small group by certified E&L teachers. Proposed enhancements for next year for the program. For students, we're exploring the addition of bag, breakfast, or snacks. We're also considering participation incentives. For families, we would like to expand our Parent Academy model to include conversational English workshops and additional guidance on navigating district resources and supports. These enhancements will help ensure that both students and families continue to feel supported, connected, empowered throughout the language acquisition process. To conclude tonight's presentation, we would like to share a brief glimpse

073into the year's nicest lot Academy. Thank you. Hola. Sasegar. Enjoyed or idea? Number two. Good. Snow angels. And what about letter D? Snowman. Say it again. They built a snowman. Say that. They built a snowman. Perfect. Good job. You can trust Fred help each other. Fred share. Fred talk. Can you tell me was it her friends, his friends, your friends, or their friends? Which one did you put? It is it's letter B. It's his friends. Good job. Old toilets. There's toilets and what else? Good let's think about we're gonna include that. Replacing old toilets and shower heads. Thank you for your time and continued support of our multilingual learners. Thank you, Mr. Rodrigo and Ms. Johnson. Okay, and I'll turn it over to legal counsel, Ms. Gonzalez. Ms. Gomez. Thank you, Mr. Small. Thank you.

074I have two legal resolutions for the board's consideration tonight. The first legal resolution number one is pursuant to the recommendations of the audit committee, the Board of Education hereby accepts the following reports completed by Cullen and Donowski LLP. One, the internal audit report on payroll. Two, the internal audit report on attendance. Three, the approval of the corrective action plan for the internal audit report on payroll and attendance. And four, the internal audit risk assessment report. Do we have a motion? Moved. Moved by President Capers. Is there a second? Second. Second by Trustee Ramos. All in favor? Aye. Unanimously approved. Thank you. I have one more legal resolution. Legal resolution number two, pursuant to the recommendations of the audit committee, the Board of Education hereby, one, approves the selection of Cullen and Danowski LLP as internal

075auditor for fiscal year 2627. Two, approves the contract extension for Denise Longombardi to continue as the claims auditor for the fiscal year 2627. And three, approves the audit committee dates of October 2026, November 2026, and May 2027 for fiscal year 2627. Do we have a motion? Moved. Moved by President Capers. Is there a second? Second. Second by Trustee Ramos. All in favor? Unanimously approved. Thank you. Okay, Madam President, I seek a motion to approve personnel agenda items 5.1 through 5.2. I have a motion to approve personnel agenda items 5.1 through 5.2. Thank you, Ms. Battle, second? Second. I heard Dr. Massey or Dr. Douglas? Yep. Thank you. Dr. Douglas, all in favor? Motion carries. Thank you. I seek a motion to approve curriculum agenda items 6.1 through 6.2. I have a motion to approve curriculum

076agenda items 6.1 through 6.2. Thank you, Dr. Massey. Second? Second. Thank you, Mr. Cahn. All in favor? Aye. Thank you, motion carries. I seek a motion to approve support services agenda item 7.1. I have a motion to approve support services agenda item 7.1. Thank you, Mr. Khan. Second? Second. Thank you, Mr. Palmer. All in favor? Aye. Motion carries. I seek a motion to approve business agenda items 8.1 through 8.4. May I have a motion to approve business agenda items 8.1 through 8.4. Thank you Mr. Palmer, second? Second. Thank you Mr. Ramos. All in favor? Aye. Motion carries and a congratulations to the Elmont Teachers Association and the Elmont Teachers Aids for approval of your agreements. Thank you. Thank you. Item 8.5 is noted for the minutes. Item 8.5 so noted for the minutes. Madam President,

077this concludes my report. Thank you. Thank you. Does anyone have any committee reports or informational items? Do we have any old business? Do we have any new business? Yes, I do. Yes, Dr. Massey. Good evening, everyone. For our new business this month, I am excited to share that we have a new doctor in the house. Please join me in congratulating Board Trustee Douglas, now known as Dr. Stephanie Douglas. Welcome to the Academy and the 2%. Thank you. All right. All right. If I can just piggyback off of that, I want to say thank you to the teachers in this room. I know we just said happy Teacher Appreciation Week, but my love for education started in this district. As a graduate from the Elmont Union Free School District, my love for education started here. for

078service, for giving back, from starting as the president of Gotham Student Council to now having my doctorate. I want to say thank you to the teachers of this district. We appreciate you. And thank you for believing in our children, that they are the future, and we will come back and serve this community. Thank you. As you did. Thank you. All right. We passed old business, but you can make your comment in audience. Sure. Sure, sure. Go ahead, Ms. Craig. I just wanted to ask, and I know you did ask me one, I think it was, I forget what day, about something that was old, and I forgot at the moment, but I wanted to ask if there was any follow-up about the water stations that had the lead poisoning or lead. diagnosed with lead because

079I've never got any follow-up on that. I beg to differ. I believe the superintendent reached out to you and was unable to reach you. So... That's news to me. Okay, so we'll try again. Well, he's right here. Did you reach out to me? Yes, I did. By way of... A telephone. I don't have any missed call from you or voicemail. And you also know that my email, you guys know I'm the email queen, so I don't understand why there wouldn't be at least an email to say that you reached out. All right, we'll try again. Are you really going to try? Yep, we sure as we did last month, and we'll continue. I think it's probably like the fourth time that this is coming up. Mr. Walker will email you the reports on the district

080website. So we'll just please email. Mrs. My question wasn't about the report It was about what was going to be done to the stations that were taken out of Commission as a result of the lead findings. That was the original Question that has not been answered So he's going to email me with that or is he gonna refer me to the website that I've already seen He will email you with that information. Thank you so much. I got your question. What will be done about the stations that are taken out of commission? Got you. All right. Moving on to agenda, excuse me, audience comment. Is there anyone in the audience who would like to speak? We ask that you limit your comments to three minutes. And please remember your first order. No, please remember, excuse

081me, not to use any employee's name. If you have a... Concern about an employee, whether it's praise or problem, your first contact should be to the building principal and then to our superintendent. Please step up to the microphone, limit your comments to three minutes, and state your name. Chica Craig. So I just, as we're winding down the school year, I really just wanted to talk to Trustee Kahn, Trustee Ramos, Trustee Palmer, Trustee Battle, Trustee Willamasse, Trustee Douglas, and really ask you all to seriously advocate for us for this reading program. It's been mentioned many times, and the feedback so far has been there are other things more important. I don't have to say there's nothing more important than us being up to date with reading. I see Ms. Douglas, now Dr. Douglas, and my time.

082We had reading set things that could be used. Those of you that have children, you may have seen that. There is nothing that we as parents have as a template to refer to for our children for reading. So I'm asking you to please don't be afraid, don't be bullied. It doesn't matter if you're here for three years, six years, 12 years. Your time is neutral. What you do for us, that's what makes you great. And that's why we asked you to be here. So I'm asking you to please, as we move into the next budget season, to hold the district accountable for our children to have that. Every year that we don't have an up-to-date reading program, yes, the teachers are great. I've had great teachers, I'm sorry to say, and I love most teachers.

083I've had not so great teachers also. This is an issue about equity. Because when one student gets a teacher that's great and awesome, but another student doesn't, then we're imbalanced here. And I've been on both sides of the coin. So I'm asking you all to please make this a priority so that this can move forward and not keep being pushed on the shelf. As our representatives, the teachers have their union. You're our union. You're our students' union. I also wanted to ask about... Can you just state the reading program? I'm sorry? The reading program. I don't have a... Well, there are several, and I know that the superintendent is going to want to go through several. There are different ones, and that's the thing. There's a variety to choose from. Teachers can also build on

084curricula. It's not something that has to be a stone tablet. But if one teacher, if two teachers are using the same program, more than likely the students are going to get something similar. That's not happening now. So I'm really asking you guys to represent us for why we asked you to be here. The other thing that I wanted to mention is I did check the website about transparency. for feedback, for benchmarks. Benchmarks are assessments essentially that are done throughout the year. They're not announced to us as parents. They're done. The teachers have that information. It happens at different times during the year. If a parent doesn't know to ask for it, they're not going to get it. And I learned so much about my child when I get that feedback. I think she may be

085here, and when I see that report, I see, no, she's actually here. And then I can help and work with her. What's on the district now, the website is NWEA and report cards. If there's something that I'm missing, I would love for you all to tell me, but transparency is so important so that we know in real time. what the teachers know about our kids. Whether you come to open school night or not, that information should be privy to all parents, not only parents who ask for it. Please. Yes. Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Craig. Okay. Anyone else? Ms. Hall? You don't have to put it on because it's not working anyway. Good evening, everyone. Good evening. Thank you. Is this on? Can you hear me? Yep, we can hear you. So first of all,

086you know, I get overwhelmed when I come into Claridge-Carlton because in 1978, I walked across that stage as a proud Claridge-Carlton graduate. However, good evening everyone again. Sorry. You all recognized and... by all means they deserve everything as far as our teachers for teachers week however we also have to recognize our school nurses because it was also nurses week so in addition to our teachers let's not forget our school nurses as well so i'm going to steal mr small i'm sorry i'm going to steal the superintendent's slogan as well as the um the President's slogan, our teachers are wonderful, our teachers are great. But I'm going to add something to that. Our board president is great as well because she's running unopposed. So the Elmont community has spoken. No one took out a petition for

087our president. And they had not one chance, but they had two chances. and no one took out a petition for our board president. So in the words of my forever first lady, Ms. President, when they go low, you go high. Because you are doing along with the rest of the board a wonderful wonderful wonderful job And that's not coming from me It's coming from the Elmont community because no one again no one turned in a petition for you. I thank you not Because of my son or anyone else that's on the board or my children that may go to the schools because I don't have any I Thank you for the job that you're doing for our children in this community. And along with everyone else on this board, I appreciate you, I thank you,

088I have 23 seconds to say keep up the great work, you're doing a wonderful job, and thank you for our children. God bless you and have a great night. Thank you, Ms. Hall. And I just need to add that I wouldn't be able to do any of this without my board. We are a great board, and I'm looking forward to another three years with all of you. I don't do it alone. It's all of us. Sure. Yes, ma'am. Dr. Douglas likes to add to that. Dr. Douglas, you have the floor. Thank you so much for including nurses in that. I also want to take the time to thank principals. It was also principals' appreciation day last week, and we cannot do this work without you as well, and superintendents' day. Thank you as well. But

089thank you so much, leaders, for the great work that you do for leading our teachers. You truly are appreciated as well. All right, Miss Amada Hello, yep, we hear you it was mentioned before on prior meetings that there was a gap for the special education children there wasn't substantial, substantiated progress made for four years. What policies or decisions were initiated to support the special education students, whether they were incremental or assigned for the yearly school term? Okay, what policies or decisions were initiated to support the special education students, whether they were incremental, and what was the last part? I'm sorry. Incremental or yearly. Or yearly. Okay, we have your questions. Someone will get back to you with an answer. Okay. I got, yep. You have another? Sure. Yeah. I'm listening. I'm taking down notes. We're

090coming to a close of the school year, but especially the sixth graders in the different elementary schools had funds. In the past, there was funds misappropriated or that were not going to the activities designated for the students and that the parent committee had expressed. What was done this year to create an oversight to make sure that the funds, whether it was through donations or raffles or whatever endeavor was undertaken to gather funds. What was the oversight taking into account to make sure that those funds went to the appropriate activities? Okay, I have your question and someone will get back to you. You want to know what was the oversight for the sixth grade funds, whether those funds were accumulated through raffles or donations. You want to know what the oversight is to make sure that

091they're handled correctly. Did I get it right? That they were handled, yes. Okay, I got you. That they went to the appropriate activities. They went to the appropriate activities. Designated by the students and the parents committee. Okay, got it. Thank you. Is there another question? You're down to 28 seconds. Like you said, you don't have children. So unfortunately, for those who do have children, these are important matters. You're down to two seconds, Ms. Amara. Okay, thank you. All right, we got your questions. Madam President, I have to say this for the record. There has been no misappropriation of funds in this school district. I cannot allow anyone to stand in a public forum and denigrate our staff, our teachers, our administrators, and give the impression that illegalities or misappropriations are happening in this school district.

092So there has been none whatsoever that has taken place in this school district. Thank you. Thank you, Mrs. Small. All right, our next regular meeting of the Board of Education is Tuesday, June 9th at 8 p.m. at Dutch Broadway. But before that, don't forget to vote on May 19th. Polls are open 6 a.m. To 9 p.m. May I have a motion to adjourn the public meeting? Moved by Dr. Douglas second Second by Dr. Matthews Motion can I have a second Matthew motion carries