001to open session. Uh resolve that the board of education reconvene to open session. The time is >> 7:05. I'll make a motion. May I have a second? >> Second, Michael. And all in favor, that's unanimous. Can you please stand and recite with me the pledge to the flag? >> Allegiance to the flag of the United States of America. to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> Okay. So, on to number uh six. We're going to start with our student board member remarks. It's going to be kind of a sprint of a meeting tonight, but we'll start with um Nell. You want to make any remarks this evening? >> Good afternoon, everyone. I'm very excited to share some updates with you. I recently had a
002meeting with our high school principal, Miss Ken, and we are already starting to plan ahead. We have begun setting dates for when we'll be looking for our incoming student liaison and sending out applications to the sophomore class. I want to even though it's early, I want to especially encourage any sophomores here and any who are watching to start paying attention to upcoming information about becoming the next student liaison. Sorry. How to apply for student leaison position will be available in midappril. So be ready. So be ready and keep an eye out. I'm really looking forward to seeing who steps up next and I'm excited about what's ahead. Thank you. >> Thank you so much. I know trusty Orie brought up getting the student board members pictures and maybe a little bio online, right? So maybe
003we could talk about that. Maybe we could do a group picture too with all of us. Top of the pyramid set up something like that. We'll see. All right. So, uh, all right. I'll turn it over to our, uh, interim superintendent who's going to start with a couple of, uh, presentations this evening. >> Thank you, Mr. President. Um, so, interesting enough, this is kind of you never know until you know type of thing. So, over this past weekend, um, Pauling was represented incredibly in the, uh, division 2 sectional championships at the county center. Um and as a part of that um we had a number of wrestlers who performed really really well in which you know our athletic director Mr. Baluchcci will give a little bit of an oversight. So we're here tonight as a
004celebration um those who participated and of course we have a ex section one champion who will be celebrating in a couple of minutes. So without further ado I'm going to ask our athletic director Mr. Beluchcci to come up tell us a little bit about what this weekend looked like some of how our students performed and then we'll take it from there. >> Mr. Carlo. Um, yeah. So, the county center, uh, iconic place to perform and play basketball, now wrestling for the last couple years. So, credit to the, uh, organizers of that. Um, and our wrestlers did a great job. We had a first, second, third, and a fifth. Um, and I, so I'll start with the fifth. Um, EJ Greenhaw, senior, finished his career and, uh, got on the podium. They uh you know the
005top six are all section and um get medals and nice nice picture. So congratulations to DJ for a fifth place finish uh to finish his career. In third place we had Aaron Villa Lobos. He's a junior so he'll be back next year um and hoping to you always hope to do better than next year. So he's going to be looking for number one hopefully. um in second place sophomore, Ed Garberino. And um he uh he has a quite a bright future, but already uh made his mark coming in second as a sophomore at his weight class. And I always say right in the middle of the bell curve where all the toughest wrestlers are. Uh I was happy to be a little higher up outside that bell curve, but uh impressive for a sophomore to
006get to the finals and uh just one takedown away. So, next year, I know he's uh he's going to be thinking about that all year. So, good luck to Eddie. And his brother, Junior, Hudson Garbarino, got to stand on the podium on top and finish number one. He gets to represent Balling at the um arena up in Albany. And um that's in three weeks. So, he has time to prepare. The section winners, division one and two, all will meet down at Horses Gley High School for about a half a dozen practices between now and the 27th and 28th when they go up to the state championship. So, um, Hudson, without any further ado, I'm going to give you the And here's the neat thing about it. Not that big. We give out bigger medals for
007little league, I think. And and yet the state championship medal is about a third that size, but it's worth way more to every kid. So this this is worth a lot to every kid who wrestled. section one championship medal and you know like I said it's it's really what it represents. So that's something to think about when you're you know we're giving out awards. It's not it's not the size of the trophy. It's really what it represents. So section one championship uh not easy to do. And here's the certificate that says this certificate is proudly presented to honor Hudson Garberino for winning the section 1 wrestling championship in the 215 lb weight class. Your hard work, consistency, and determination bring great pride to not only yourself, but to your family, your school, and the entire
008Pauling community. Uh, signed by the superintendent schools, February 10th, 2026. And at this time, I definitely have to bring up his coaches, Coach Joe Muso, uh, Steven Malone, Paul Baluchi, coaches wrestle over this. The winner gets it. Now, this is uh for Eddie. Wear this up at uh with the states. Little you have one already in white. >> Yeah. >> Now you got a black and a white. So, congratulations to the coaches. >> Uh um uh thank you everyone for being here tonight. Uh, I would like to say a huge thanks to the Pauling High School athletic department. Um, I'd like to say thank you to Mr. Beluchcci and I also like to say thank you to Brooke for keeping all of us, you know, in good good health and ready to wrestle. And I
009also like to say thank you to all my coaches for, you know, preparing me this season in order to, you know, get the big achievement in the end. But um I'd also like to, you know, recognize all the other wrestlers on the team where maybe they didn't get to the goals that they wanted to, they still put in just as much work as me. And um it's an awesome feeling being part of a team that works so hard. And to be able to place eighth as the smallest school in uh D2 is a great feeling. Thank you. It's it's been um I think was it six or seven years since we had a a representative up at the states in wrestling 20. Okay. Six roughly six years. All right. And um looking forward to that
010up at the uh arena in Albany. So couple weeks to prepare and then let him have at it again. So thank you Just a footnote about what happens at a wrestling match. It's not just the physical, it's the mental. And I will tell you, um, Hudson's last match, he had to wait because the match before him went extra periods. And if you saw him trying to keep his psyche together, and it's something that we miss, right? It's not just the athletic piece, it's the mental piece. And not just Hudson, but all of our student athletes who wrestle. So, congratulations again to all of you. And Hudson, we wish you the best of luck. Okay. Congratulations. You do us proud. Go Tigers. Great job. On uh on that note, congratulations all of our se all section
011uh wrestlers and coaches. That's an incredible feat. Like Hudson just said to be eighth place as the smallest school in in that division. That's incredible. Uh Hudson, is it true that you were going to show the board your wrestling all section winning move on Mr. Maine to to um but lastly too and and Eddie as a sophomore coming in second. That's awesome. And I can't wait to see you up here next year holding that medal uh when you come in first. We're all rooting for you too. And everybody else, DJ, everybody else that came in the top six, that's awesome. Congratulations to uh to everybody. So awesome stuff. Um, from there we're going to our next presentation, which is our student presentation on our campus digital science. So, I'll turn it over again to our
012interim superintendent, Mr. Carlo. >> So, um, I'm going to ask the group to come forward. Those of you who are presenting, thank you. So, you can come up to the podium while I'm giving a little bit of an overview of of this group. So, beginning of this school year, actually over the summer had a conversation with Principal K. talked about I would like to start these student circles um with the the students student government um and she said you know what Mr. call it's a great idea and we started in September and they probably thought I was out of my mind was here in walks the sky and we're going to do an icebreaker to get to to know one another and I will tell you in the number of months that we have come
013together every uh every month and talked about issues and student voice that's why they're here tonight this issue came up was a discussion um that I first had with the building principal and then student council and then they ran with it so this is all about them this is about student voice. It's about collaboration. It's about working together, about putting a presentation together, putting a pitch together. And they're here tonight to present to you a little bit of the history and the why behind um they like you to think about uh making an investment in the digital sign for Pauling High School. So, I leave it up to the group. I guess Lucas, you're going to step up first. Thank you. >> Good evening. My name is Lucas Walsh and on behalf of the Pauling
014High School student council, we would like to welcome welcome you to our presentation entitled improving communication and community in our school which is our proposal for a digital sign. Today I am joined by >> Jessica Selma >> Anthony Benadetto >> Caleb Pendalfo. So uh to start us off uh the overview and the purpose. So today, the student council proposes to the board of education to aid the student council in funding a $35,000 digital electronic sign. This sign will be located at the high school and middle school campus entrance, which is by the 2012 cross country uh state championship. There is a lot of history with senior classes. We'll touch on that. And there are substantial benefits for improving safety, communication, and the community for the Pauling Central School District. So, so far the past uh
01510 years or so, senior classes have raised $75,515 put towards >> Did what did I say? >> Did I say 70? $17,515 which has been already put towards the sign and we're asking the board to fund the remaining $17,46. So, the history that we have for this sign is senior classes since 2017 have put money. These senior classes include both of my brothers, Nathan and Joshua Pendalfo from uh the 2022 classes of 2022 and classes of 2024, including Jessica Sis Lima's brother and sister brother and sister. So, these this is a legacy idea that has been going on since 2017. This represents a culmination of multiple generations of students who share the same goal as the student council does today. The senior class wished and still wishes today for a permanent and longlasting senior gift
016that will impact the polling community that is functional, that is practical, and for future students, staff, and community members. So, I'm going to give hand it off to my friend Lucas Walsh for the proof of concept. So just to quickly touch on some of the data regarding digital signage, uh this comes from IV video, which is an audio and video technology company. What they found in studying a lot of these digital signs is that repeated exposure rates tend to improve long-term retention. That recall rates when asking about information from these signs soarses when viewing digital information. That 71% of consumers say digital signage s stands out more compared to traditional non-digital counterparts. and that digital signage as a whole tends to capture significantly more attention than static displays. >> We have three goals with this
017digital electronic sign. Communication, community, and safety. By communication, the existing district communication methods are useful, but they sometimes fail to reach the whole district, leaving many unaware about events and opportunities existing in our community. by by existing district communication methods. I'm referring to social media pages and emails which rely on active engagement which are only moderately effective. To tackle this problem, this year the student council has launched a student square initiative at the high school where student council members went to classrooms went to this went to classrooms in our high school and walked students through how to sign up for student square through a series of steps. This has this has tackled this problem. But this can also be reinforced with the digital sign which create a constant unavoidable communication method and is also respons
018can also be important for emergency reminders specifically like schedule changes, notices and event reminders. Now for community, this sign will strengthen the already tight-knit polling community we have and reinforce district identity and pride. It can celebrate student achievement as in athletics as we just seen today, arts, clubs, community events, college decisions, and more. Students will feel gratified and appreciated that knowing their hard work will be seen and celebrated by our community as the sign will be seen by family members, students, staff and community members on a daily basis. Now for safety, the digital sign provides an instant ability to display weather important information like weather notices and safety notices reminding students and staff and community members to dress appropriately for the weather and our licensed community members to drive safely. It reinforces school policies as
019it can also display safety protocols, anti-bullying guidelines, health reminders, and fire drill procedures, keeping safety a top priority in our district. It can also be used as the directory for visiting schools who are coming to our school for sporting events and other events taking place in our campus. >> Sorry. Now, we're going to get into the technical proposal behind the sign. At this time, we do not have the quote printed out for you, but it will be faxed in the future. And a lot of the information is going to be touched on in this presentation. The two images that you see in front of you come from the quote that I'm going to talk about, but we also have examples from neighboring school districts just as an idea of what we're looking to replicate with
020this proposal. So the proposed design comes from Empire Digital Signs. Our wonderful director of facilities, Mr. Green, received this quote. The exact specifications include that the sign is roughly 4x6 ft. It has a high brightness and highly rated outdoor LED. It has an integrated cabinet below the display which can be used to display permanent information that is not digital. It also comes with cloud-based software that can be uh operated and instantly uploaded from all around the district. At this at this point, it'll be located on school grounds, but this is ultimately up to the discretion of the buildings and grounds crew. And we're going to get into some of the specifics behind uh why the sign the sign is likely unable to go on Route 22 in Reservoir Road. In terms of the vendor versus
021vendor versus district responsibilities in the installation and maintenance of the sign, the vendor so empire the vendor Empire digital signs is responsible for the manufacturing installation setup and lifetime software access of the sign. And the district responsibilities in installation are just that they have electrical service with two dedicated 20 amp 240 volt circuits and that they get permits permits and zoning approval. And this is all very standard for permanent digital signs like this. As Caleb touched on earlier, the student contribution to date is $17,515. So, the remaining balance that is requested from the budget is $17,46, bringing the total estimated project cost to $34,921.38. This cost includes all of the signed hardware and the display, software, connectivity, concrete footing, installation, configuration, and activation of electrical components, and training for staff use. The long-term investment value
022of this cost include that the LED lifespan is is significant. These LED signs are designed for long-term outdoor use and they're very efficient when talking about electrical consumption. And the software and connectivity included uh are are there for lifetime use. So district does not have to pay any recurring funds for software subscriptions or anything like that. >> Thank you, Lucas. Uh and now we'd like to just touch upon a couple of the concerns that came up among the student council uh during our extensive process of researching and trying to create this presentation for you guys. Uh so to begin uh like Lucas Lucas touched upon was the location of the sign. So, as you guys can see in the examples on the previous couple of slides, uh schools such as Caramel, Spack and Kill, and
023Arlington, their digital signs are located on very highly trafficked uh roads such as uh Route 55, Route 22, and Spack and Road. Um because of department transportation issues, our sign is going to be prevented from being located on Route 22 and it's rather going to be have to placed on Reservoir Road. So, this was a concern because not everyone in the community is going to be able to use Reservoir Road. um and it's not going to be as effective as if it was placed on Route 22. Uh next, uh a concern that came up was who will pay the yearly maintenance fees and the electrical bills needed to keep the sign functioning. Uh and finally, who will be operating the content of the sign? Uh so this means will this be a paid position? Is
024this going to be a teacher? Uh is this going to be a club? Basically, what position is responsible for the information going on the sign? Uh so in conclusion, we respectfully request that the board of education supports and approves funding in this year's proposed budget to cover the remaining costs of the digital sign and future cost so that this long-standing senior gift can be completed. I'd like to thank the board for listening to this presentation and I'd like to thank Mr. D. Carlo for helping us uh take initiative to bring this idea to the board. And now we'd like to open it up to any questions the board may have for us and the student council. Thank you guys. Anybody want to start with a question for the group? >> I have a I have
025a quick one and then turn over Michael. Um, what is something you learned doing this that you said, "Wow, a sign is a little more complicated than I thought it was and maybe something that you didn't expect, but you know, was something you really took out of this entire experience?" >> That's a that's an excellent question. I think we all had a lot of those moments throughout this process and I'm sure Mr. Duller could tell you too from the beginning of the year to now all of the work that went into developing the presentation and meeting with the different people who helped make this possible. I think for me one of the things though was I'm sure this is another question is why are we presenting this right now and why why is this presentation
026coming at a moment like this and we looked into it a little bit. So if 10 years ago in 2017 when uh the idea for this sign was when the idea was initially brought up, the cost of a sign like this is far less than it is right now. And that cost is only going to continue to increase in the future. So look, the best time to get a sign like this would have been yesterday, but the second best time is right now. And that's why we're asking you today. So, uh, so I think I think that was a big, uh, a big moment for all of us and and just, uh, honoring the legacy of these senior classes before us and, uh, making sure that we're doing all that we can and we're doing
027it right now. >> Thank you. >> I just had a question. The, uh, the slide that's up on the screen right here says, um, actually it was the slide before that said, uh, DOT issue prevents us from putting it on Route 22. But do you all have any more information as to why? Like what the specific reason was that it wouldn't be able to be placed on Route 22? Like what the DOT restriction was? >> Yeah, that's a great question. That's that's that was honestly the that's been the biggest issue with all of this and that's something that um we've tried to look into and obviously is going to be continued to be looked into throughout this process. I believe right now though the the issue is that uh the school does not own the
028land that's on the corner of Reservoir and Route 22. And so that land has to be approved by the Department of of Transportation. And rarely do they give that kind of approval for things that are non-DOT or um non-DOT affiliated groups that are looking to have permanent uh structures built there. >> Thank you. Just to follow up on that point, um there may be I mean if if the group is still looking into it, it could be a function of the time that is allocated to do related communications versus um you know private or or different types is um I think Do I drive up on 22 and Dover High School has their sign right on 22. It may be that they also own that land and so that may be easy enough, but it
029would be obviously a great benefit to the rest of the community to have that sign somewhere on that 22 um corridor. Um, and I wonder if maybe there's more exploration that could be done because clearly you've done a ton of work and I want to just take a moment to commend you. A good time to have commended you on this would have been yesterday. The second best time is right now. And so I want to take the time to do that because this is a very impressive communication uh that you've all put together. Um so yeah, I'll turn it over to anybody else. >> So the the other issue with the DOT is because it's a major thoroughare and the way that people drive and the the the way that it would lead to people
030not paying attention and the like on the thoroughare. Uh Gary looked into it. It's not plausible. We looked into it. It's so it's it's a combination of both. It's not our property plus distraction and the the manner in which the roadway runs and the the the speed in which people travel on the road is problematic as a followup to that. So, thank you for that additional context. So, there are future costs associated. I don't know if there's insurance uh implications in case anything happens, you know, with that sign. Um but you know manning it you know and and sure that it is properly updated and have we looked at maybe I know that we have manual sign down by the elementary school and I that wouldn't be a better place to swap this out and
031put this asset there. Would it serve its purpose better in that location versus here? Just as a thought, right? Just to add, so I know you all talked um and articulated the money that's been raised over the last, you know, someone said 10 years or so. So, how how did you all just because I'm looking at the presentation, it's great. How did you all come to the conclusion or like what were the things that you all considered and you came up with the sign like were there other things that you all kind of wanted to do and you took a vote and you Yeah, that's a that's a great question. Um, so the beginning of the school year, it became apparent to us that there was an account uh with about $18,000. Um, and its
032original intent from the past I think nine years because it began in 2017 um was the senior class initiative left Pauling and they wanted to have a digital sign be built. So they asked um the past four years, so freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior um in that current year that were in the building that when they're seniors to donate the leftover money that they have um and put it into this account and then hopefully by the time the freshman were seniors, they would have enough money to buy the sign. Um unfortunately that did not work out. So from 2017 to now, every year except for two years have donated. The two years had not donated were 2022 and 2023. the reasons for that we are uh unknown. Um so that was another question that came
033up at our meeting. Um so that is kind of the background and then to your point about uh what came up with other ideas. Um what happened was we had an internal student council poll through a Google form um with two options. There was option A use the $18,000 that we have about um and give it to the board of ed and ask them to cover the remaining cost for the sign. or option B, keep the $18,000 and ask the board of ed to uh fulfill the entire $34,000 um payment. And then that $18,000, you may ask, that we have now left over uh could be used for something like a senior trip or anything that would benefit the students and the kids of the Pauling High School. Um does that answer your question? It
034>> does. Okay, it does. Thank you. >> Thank you so much. So the only other thing that >> I'm sorry this one >> just to add I know you said that how we kind of came to this like whole thing with the meetings with Mr. Daller that we've been having at monthly we've kind of tackled the bigger issue of how communication is handled in our school which is why we've done things like the student square initiative and this was also a part of that kind of goal we've had as a student council this year. >> Thank you. So with with that being under understood, I guess the only other thing that I wanted to add is so when I think about maybe I'm wrong, but I'd look for input from everybody here, but when I
035think about money raised by the the student council, I think more about spending that money on um student experiences. And I understand you all have very well articulated that the sign would do much for the town in terms of communicating, you know, school events and everything like that. So, I think the the notion of a sign is fantastic. A digital sign, it's a great idea. But I think the money that you all have raised through student council, you're being very generous by offering to fund 50% of a digital sign, but something like that, especially if it's going to be installed on a on a campus or something. I think like something like that is more uh about like the taxpayer base rather than like improving like facilities and grounds rather than really doing anything for
036student experiences. So I don't know if we maybe could have some more discussion on that but in other words what I'm and I'm and I just but you know the kids you know as the with the presentation they put together they could have come here and asked for us to fund the whole thing you know and then use the money that they have towards you know student experiences and stuff like that rather than spending that money on something to better the school property itself. But that doesn't discount anything that you all did. I'm just trying to figure out what the best way to pay for it is. >> Yeah. for years. If you look at some of the schools, they have the old I hate to tell you they look like headstones, right, that some
037of them have, and you'll see in the bottom donated by the class of whatever. So, this has been going on for years that schools, you know, senior classes have been donating. The the issue that we need to be careful of, right, is we're recognizing these incredible group of seniors now. We can't forget the purpose back in 2017 of them wanting a sign, right? We have to be cognizant of there are graduating classes that go back nine years thinking that this money was going towards that. So we just have to make sure that we're cognizant of that. >> Yeah, absolutely. I'm not and I'm not suggesting that we don't do the sign at all. I'm just trying to think of if that's you know like the student raised money like student experience versus something that's going
038to improve like the facilities and grounds. So what you would have to then think of and it's a conversation is and you know if the board decided to take the whole amount of money and do it on its own you'd then have to look at working with this senior class and others to do something that's reflective of that money that would be something that the district as a whole would also benefit from not a specific class. Does that make sense? Yeah. >> Yeah. So this is money that's been raised by previous classes. I mean, yeah. I mean, I I I think it's an interesting, you know, it's an interesting angle. Um, and certainly student experiences obviously >> um are enriching overall, but then I think it would have to be something that is for like
039the entire student body if it were to move in that direction. But I do think that since this was started for that express purpose, you know, I I think that in order to honor, you know, the students that started the initiative, you know, I commend you for for having the, you know, the uh integrity to, you know, to see it through >> and that was like communicated every every year that this was going towards the sign or Okay. So, it was the that class of 17 put it together and then it was kind of a buildup of that. Okay, I understand. >> Uh to add on to uh using money for student experience, there's a lot of like guidelines around like field trips and like senior trips that it makes it very complicated to like
040have those kind of field trips. Like I know that last year with Miss Fontana, we talked a lot on the um SAS or like SAS council about field trips and it's very hard to have like non um educational field trips that would be that student experience and it takes a lot of like planning and organizing and we'd have to like it'd be a lot of work and we also want to like like honor the previous senior classes. So with the student experience, we did like we did like Anthony with the Google form. We thought about it and we talked about as like student council and we thought that this initiative would be a better approach to using that money. >> I want to thank you all for your presentation. Um one thing that came to
041my mind and you know like Mr. D. Carlo said, I work in a school. I see all the senior classes every year leave some kind of gift, right? And maybe you think about sort of what Mr. Germaine is alluding to that instead of doing that finding a way to use all of your funds, you know, for your experience. But just thinking, you know, after seeing this, maybe the current seniors, think about if you have funds left and if you're thinking about something like this, maybe it's something that happens right now, right? As opposed to setting up a fund that then other classes have to contribute to. It put, you know, it it as you pointed out, right, it the cost got more expensive every year. It puts everyone in a tough spot. Um, so just
042something to think about as you guys move forward if you're doing a senior gift. If you're not, again, like Mr. Germaine was talking about maybe thinking about how to make the use of the money um for an experience or something for you guys. But um you know just something that came to my mind was I'm sure you learned a lot from this. So >> yes, we definitely did. Um and I like to just touch upon that a little bit. Um so in regards to the original intent of the the account, the original intent was the four years from as I said before the freshman, sophomore, juniors, and seniors. So, in my mind, I kind of see that as after that class of I can't do the math in my head that quick, but after the
043freshman become seniors, I would think that the grades after that are not required to put their money in the account and it should be up to them. However, it has not been like that. And um the concern as I stated before was last year's class, the class of 2025 was had no option. They had to put all their money left over into this account. However, the class of 2022 and 2023 did not. they had an option. They were able to not put their money in the account. So the the confusion between each grade um because of the nine year ago this started, it's it's very hard. So, um, to your point, I think the best option would be if the 50/50, uh, proposal that we're coming to you guys today with is not what we're
044going forward with, then you take the four years of the juniors, the seniors, the freshman, and the sophomores class that this original initiative was taken for, and all of the money after that, after the four years is then taken out, and that's for the student council to decide what to use upon. Because as Jessica stated before, this whole field trip thing um and as talking with Miss Fontana, it's very hard and a lot of the high schoolers in the high school now have not had a senior trip. There's been no DC trip. There's been no Six Flag trip. There's a lot of trips that these students have missed out on. And this large sum of money can be a great way to bring that back for these students. >> I'm not sure that I follow.
045Um I think you know I'm I'm kind of following the intent but the way that the money flows like there is money that was collected previously and then there's the current four years right but the money that imagine you're seniors now so the money that's been acred over the past four years actually partially belong to classes that have already graduated as well. And so for only the seniors to benefit from, you know, from the proceeds of, you know, of those or or the funds that are available. I'm not sure if I'm following. >> No, I I'm sorry. I miss I I think I mis represent. I don't think the seniors should just be the ones to benefit. I think the entire high school should benefit. Um the student council who's here is actually made up
046of the freshman's, the sophomores, the juniors, and the seniors. So it would be up to them. So that'd be uh whatever sum of money we take out would benefit the entire high school as a whole, the whole student body, not just any grade. >> So, but when you guys came here, you guys already voted and this is the actual proposal that we're >> Yes. 66% of the council voted for this option. Yes. >> So, thank you. Thank you for clarifying. Okay. >> I just had a quick question. I I love this idea. I love this proposal. Um did Mr. green. Talk about like what would be around the sign? You know what I mean? Like is there going to be um like some of those pictures had like um brick or and is that part
047of the cost or do we not know yet? >> Um I think in the quote uh oh it's the other way. My fault. Um in the quote we see the the setting up that whole the bricks the the environment around it is all included in the quote. the ups the Empire digital like signs are going to provide all of that and with the sign. So, >> thank you. >> Yeah, that go back to the picture. There's the pictures that that is that is the envision that they will provide for us. >> Yeah, those are the two options. Is the digital real estate the same in both? Oh, I apologize, Mr. >> Is the digital real estate the same size in both cuz like on this side >> it's just the way that it's been. just
048said it's >> yeah I think the uh the photograph is a little bit distorting but the the size of the sign so the the actual display size of >> 4'2 in x 6'4 in remains the same in in both of the >> proposed images that you see there that would just be something that would need to be resolved when the time comes is whether it's being laid on that brick foundation or we have the two brick pillars on the side of the sign. >> Thank you. Just wanted to say thank you for presenting. You guys did an amazing job. Um I know it's been one I just want to bring up the issue because it's been brought up about the senior class trip. I know that there's been some concerns about that. So that's something
049else we could as a board talk through Mr. Dardo through your, you know, student organization about doing something there. if it's something we have to work on maybe policywise or whatever to make sure that the seniors have an experience like that, we're definitely in well, speak for myself, I'm in favor of that. Um, but as far as the sign goes, I I appreciate the fact that you're respecting former classes, too, and their intent to to uh move forward with the side, and that's what the money was intended for. So, I'm in favor of it, if I'm allowed to say that. Anybody else? >> Thank you guys so much. You have anything else to say before? >> I want to thank the board for allowing us to come here to present and to our fellow student
050council members who came to watch this presentation and sit here in support of us. Thank you all >> from us now. Is this going to come back for discussion? Is this going to be something you're going to put in your budget? what'll wind up happening as a result of some of the the questions from the board and some of the we I'll be meeting with them in a couple of weeks. So, we'll kind of review kind of reflect and then we'll come back to you with some of those questions and those responses that we have. Um I can tell you that I and I know that Miss Henza's not here, but um it is in the budget for next year. So, that's an important piece. Uh at now I think it's discussion from the board
051hearing what you know has been said tonight on on how we want to move forward um you know with uh next steps >> the the requested amount the 1780. >> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. >> And again I listen those of you in the audience those of you sitting here this is the quality of what you know the students are about here at Pauling High School. just absolutely incredible. I mean, if you walked in here and you didn't know they were, you know, student council, you would think they were pitching from a company. The time and energy that went into it and the dedication doesn't happen overnight and their commitment is speaks really, really highly of who they are. Um, I want to congratulate them and I also want to congratulate your parents because of their dedication.
052You know, you get up there and you do this and you know, you have parents who are are constantly supporting you and and always behind you. So also to your parents, congratulations. So thank you. Over to you, Mr. President. >> All right. And to echo that, thank you guys so much. Well done. And uh Lucas, that statement was I mean that is so true. I cannot my roof 10. Forget about it. Uh so that's that's that wisdom coming from, you know, one of our that's just great. All right. Um we're supposed to have another presentation this evening, but um we are pivoting a little bit as a result of incoming weather and trying to um just kind of shorten this meeting for everybody's safety traveling home. So our instructional budget planning 2627 preliminary presentation will
053be at the next board meeting on February 24th along with another budget related presentation. So definitely a longer night there, but a lot of good stuff going on. Uh item number eight is our administrative reports. Again, those are all attached to the agendas. Um, please take a look. There's amazing updates from a lot of our admin team from transportation, food service, facilities and grounds, principles. Definitely a lot of great information there uh to take a look at. And that brings us to item number nine, which is our agenda order. And I'll turn it over to our district clerk, Mrs. Stephanie Gordon. >> Thank you. Um, so in addition to what is on our agenda, the consent agenda, we do have some um amendments. uh amended start date for bus driver. Uh amended leave for English
054teacher as well as the replacement start date. Uh FML leave revision for elementary school principal. Um and in addition, we did have um an added agreement for code one training solutions to authorize polling central school district as a training site for the American Heart Association. That's it. >> Thank you so much. So, I'll read before getting to the resolution. Items with an asterk are items the superintendent recommends for the consent agenda. If any board member wishes to remove an item from the consent agenda, please do so at this time. A consent agenda is one vote which approves all asterct items which have not been previously removed. So, with that said, resolve to approve the following additions, deletions/changes, and order of the agenda as presented. I will make a motion. May I have a second, Michelle?
055And all in favor? >> I and that's unanimous. Okay, there we go to item number 10, which is visitors comments. Agenda items only three minutes per person. Nothing there. Um, all right. That leads us to item 11, which is our board remarks. Would any board member like to make uh remarks this evening? just had an opportunity to um volunteer at the book fair at the middle school and just had a great experience. I know how hard the uh ETSA worked on that and uh just it was it was great just to be in the schools and see the environment of our students just in general and it was impressive just how friendly our students are, our staff and it was just a great opportunity to be in the schools and I'm thankful I was able
056to volunteer. So, I appreciate everyone's hard work with that. And I I do want to put a plug for uh literacy night. I understand we need some more volunteers to uh set up some games and um so if anybody's interested, that'd be great. I'm volunteering, but I was going to do a game, but I don't think that would be the best thing for a youngster. So, I'm going to be there in spirit helping out, but if anybody else would be interested, I just want to put a plug for that. And I believe it's the look at my count. Is it 19th? >> 19th. Anybody else like to make some comments this evening? >> All right. So, with that said, we'll go to item number 12, which is our board vice president comments. So, we'll turn
057over to Dr. Walsh. >> Good evening. I will try to be quick. Um, in sports news, obviously our big news was having a sectional uh wrestling champ, but we've also had a lot of other great performances from our team. Uh, the boys basketball team held their last regular season home game of the season last Thursday. They had their senior night a few weeks ago, and they also hosted our winter sports recognition where all uh modified JV and varsity sports teams were recognized and honored at halftime. The boys basketball team is away on Friday and then they'll be looking for sectional play after that. Um, I believe hockeyy's having their senior night this Sunday at their home game at Trinity Pauling at 4:30. They had a really exciting game last night. Uh, when I left, I
058think they were down by two, but I guess they came back to tie it up, so that was exciting. And again, they will certainly be looking towards sectional play. Um the indoor track team had a great day at the Northern County Champs last week with um first place winners in the 3200 and the 1000, a second place winner in the long jump and 1500 and a third place winner in the mile as well as many PRs. They have their class C champs this Sunday and then hopefully uh some of the athletes will make it to state qualls the following week. The ski team sent several skiers up to Hunter today for their sectionals and we look forward to hearing about that. Modified and JB sports are wrapping up, but they still are on the calendar,
059so please check if you can swing by. They love to have spectators. Um, I mentioned the winter sports celebration last week. Thank you to the Tiger Club and the PTSA for their support of that. Spring sports are going to be here before you know it. I know that there's um physicals available this Friday if anybody needs them in the middle school and high school nurses office. If you're new to sports, you do need an up-to-date physical within the year. So, if your child doesn't have one, you can reach out to the school nurse to arrange that. There has been lots going on in the schools. Um, since we met last, the high school hosted the annual talent show. That's a fundraiser for our sophomore and junior classes. Many of the officers who were here tonight.
060Um, and they use that to help pay for their prom. And anybody who's done any event planning lately knows how much that cost. Um, it was a really great event. And what I really noticed was that it was studentrun from the MC's to the set to the I mean, the lighting was amazing. That was all students. They were up in the sound booth. They were doing the backstage work. There was certainly teachers who were working very hard behind the scenes. Mrs. Mallaloy, Miss Krisby. Um, but it was a really nice night. So, beyond just our talented students, we have a lot of students that put in a lot of work. Um, they also recently had a mental health assembly. At the middle school, they've been able to have the opportunity to do some sledding, which
061is a popular PE event. That doesn't always happen depending on the weather. Um, like Mr. Tucci said, the PTSA had the book fair today and tomorrow. sent uh I believe nine total students to the all county junior high band and chorus concert. Two vocalists and seven band members. Um tomorrow night they are hosting their annual science fair. A great night to come out and see the fifth through eighth graders projects and they are judged by our high school uh science research students at the elementary school. As Mr. Tucci also mentioned, literacy night is next week. It's a great event put on the by the PTA. It sounds like they need volunteers. Um, for anybody that isn't aware, report cards came out. They are all online. You can find them on your parent portal account. That's
062new for the elementary school. So, if anybody has trouble logging in, emails have gone out and you can reach out for that. Um, and otherwise, have a great week. >> Thank you so much, Dr. Walsh. So, that leads us to item 13, lucky 13, which is our uh superintendent's comments. Turn over, Mr. Carlo. Yeah, I I think um I I said a lot tonight and again um thank um students for a great presentation. Just a a quick little reminder that um tonight the board will be adopting 2627 school district calendar. I'll be sending something home to the community by the end of this week so you have a better understanding of what the calendar will look like so you can plan accordingly um for next year. Uh just a footnote um just because other districts
063may do an early dismissal doesn't mean automatically polling is going to do one. Um today there are a lot of phone calls that came in. Well, you know, this district is doing it, this district is not. Listen, at the end of the day, I spend a lot of time looking at the radar. I I I try to make a decision on experience of doing this for 40 years. Sometimes you get it right, sometimes you get it wrong. In this case today, we did. We were able to be in school, able to do what we had to do. There was just one event down all the way down in southern Westchester uh hockey game at Palm that we wanted to make sure that we had to move only because they could be coming home late. But
064just a footnote because believe it or not, we have a couple of weeks left in February um and then March can be absolutely crazy. Don't forget next week there is no school on Monday um and Tuesday of next week and um um our athletic director Mr. Belaluchcci and myself are going to start our process of having meetings with coaches first then parents then student athletes with regards to looking at section one and section 9 options moving forward. It was a charge that the board had given us to do and we're going to start that process. So, please parents look out for those of you who are um athletic parents and that'll be modified all the way on up. We want your input. We'll be getting input from our our student athletes and in the later
065in the spring we'll be putting a presentation forward to you, the board and also the public. That is my report for tonight, Mr. President. Thank you. >> Thank you so much. So, that brings us to item 14, which is our uh consent agenda. So, uh, resolve that the board of education approves all asterct items as the consent agenda. I'll make a motion for that. May I have a second? Liz and all in favor? I >> I. And that's unanimous. Brings us to 15, which is our minutes. Uh, be resolved that the board of education approve the minutes of the following meeting. This is the business meeting from Tuesday, January 20th, 2026. And I'll make a motion to approve those minutes. And may I have a second, Dr. Welsh? And all in favor? >> I. And
066that's unanimous. Okay. So then we go to flip. I think we're all the way to unfinished business, which is item 20. Was there any unfinished business that we started to talk about? And I have any unfinished business there? I think we're set. So leads us to 21, as Mr. Carl said, which is adopting the 2026 2027 calendar. Um, so I'll read that. Um, be resolved that the board of education approve the 2026 2027 school calendar. I'll make a motion for that. Is may I have a second, Mr. Or? And all in favor? >> I. And that's unanimous. All right. And that leads us to our second visitors comments pertain to the district. I imagine there are none. There are none. And lastly, that leads us to our board president comments. I'm going to go really
067quick. Uh let everybody know we had a Dr. Walsh and I got to meet with our community liaison. This is a group that um has kind of been in hibernation or so for a little while. And we had the opportunity to meet with the representative from the library, the town supervisor, the deputy supervisor, uh the village mayor um along with our district team and we were able to have some really good conversations related to just how we can open lines of communication and how we can not only um you know, how we could support one another. So that was good to get that up and running. One of the uh things that came from that, we actually have a follow-up meeting this Thursday with the new rec director in the town um the president of
068the chamber of commerce and a representative from the library to talk about uh community literacy program or the community literacy initiative um that I'm super excited about. So hopefully we have some more information with that on our next board meeting. Uh so in addition to the community leaison meeting and meeting that will happen this Thursday. Another thing that happened last week was stone soup. That was another incredibly successful night. My kids were thrilled. A lot of the students that were here were part of uh a couple of the different um programs that were offered and uh again it was another successful night. I don't know what our official number was, but I know that there were a ton of people there. It was busy. The kids were having fun. Um it was it's always one
069of the top things on the calendar that I know my kids definitely look forward to every year and you could tell that a lot of students of all ages enjoyed a lot of that they had to offer. So, uh Stone Soup was another great success. And in addition to that, um I'll have a superintendent search update, a significant one at our next meeting. Um and beyond that, that is all that I have this evening. So with that said, um we can make a motion to adjourn the meeting. So resolve that the board of education adjourn this meeting. The time is >> 7:58. Perfect. I'll make a motion. May I have a second? Dr. Walsh. And all in favor? I. And have a good night, everybody.