001Good evening. The call to order the Board of Education meeting for the Pittsford Central School District. If you will please rise and join us for the Pledge of Allegiance. May I have a motion for approval of the agenda? Thank you, Renee. Second, Robin. Any questions or changes? Hearing none, all in favor? Agenda is approved. All right. First up, we have Dr. Simoni from Barker Road Middle School for a principal report. >> All right. Good evening, everyone. Um I'm Jason Simoni. I'm the proud principal at Barker Road Middle School. And my pleasure and honor to be here tonight to um give you a little insight into what we are doing this year, what we did this year at Barker Road. Um so, just a little bit of background. Um uh I believe you all know this,
002but Barker Road, we have uh just over 700 students, um 130 staff, and two district-based programs. Our feeder schools are Park Road, Thornell Road, and Mendon Center. Um our students uh are amazing, and I am so, so proud to have uh nearly completed my first full year at Barker Road. Um so, I'm going to give you a little bit of insight into some of the initiatives that we had for this year. Um a lot of this was based on somewhat limited uh input just because it was my first real full year. But these were the goals that we had going into this year. Some of this came from feedback I got from the staff and at the end of my first couple of months. I also gathered input from our ILT and and other teacher
003leaders. But the two key areas that we worked on this year surrounded student culture and behaviors. So thinking about those two areas and they're woven into most of what we did throughout the year. We revisited this at every faculty meeting. We talked about it at every ILT and really thinking about ways that we as a school community could come together and work on each of those different initiatives within those two big pieces. So building core memories, making a difference in the lives of others and establishing traditions worked to support our culture. And then within behavior, so thinking about our student behaviors, being really explicit in our instruction, using instruction sorry, using data to drive that instruction and then thinking about from an MTSS framework how we are as a school using some of the tier
004one supports that we are starting to roll out through our MTSS initiatives. So I'm going to go through some of these. I'll give you a little bit of insight into what we did at Barker Road this year. So within our culture, so promoting our culture, we start with looking at some of the core memories. We know that middle school is a is a you know, a foundational part of our students educational journey. We know that our students are really learning who they are going to be and where they're going in life. And we as a former middle school teacher, I know that my content was really really important. But our students don't always remember the content that they learn in their classes. Uh they're more likely to remember some of those experiences that they had
005maybe in school, but a lot of times outside of school. So we tried to really be purposeful in building some of those core memories this school year. Um for example, our eighth grade class went to Mendon Ponds Park as a whole class, took some of the geology that they're learning about in their science classes and put it into action where they learned about kettles and eskers and kames and erratics out in the wild. Um our students got to visit the um auditorium theater and they took the play Wicked which they read in one of their classes and then got to actually experience it in real life um developing some of those um skills that you need as a adult out in public learning how to buy things from the concession stand, uh to interact with
006other students out in public, and also enjoy a really good show. Our seventh grade students got to visit Finance Park. So Junior Achievement Finance Park um is a uh organization that helps students learn personal finance. Um it's located within the old Kodak Park building and our students got to become adults for a day. Uh they're given a life scenario, they learn how to budget, they learn how to save, they learn how to invest um all within the means that they're given. Uh they walk away from not just this experience, but the whole unit and the learning that we do in school with a better understanding of personal finance, which is something that New York State now um is requiring that all middle school students walk away with. So we were a little bit ahead here
007at Barker Road and we are looking to continue that as we go into the future. Um and one other huge core memory, um something that I got to experience for the first time this year, uh, was our, uh, unified basketball game. Um, we had many members of our students, um, and our staff come together and support, um, our unified team as they participated in front of hundreds of audience members. Um, a great night, um, and something that I walked away with, uh, feeling really good about our our whole school community. The next, uh, part of, um, yeah, what I want to share with you is how we make a difference in the lives of others. We know that this is a part of what we do here in Pittsford. Um, it is a part of
008our mission and it's something that we do weave into all the things that we do at Barker Road. Um, we do want our students to grow in their empathy. We do want our students to look and see how they can help others and how it makes them feel when they do so. And so, this is something that, um, I'm really proud of our student body, how we came together to support others. A couple of examples that we did this year, uh, we had our canned food drive and Barker Road was, uh, tasked with bringing in canned meat. Uh, this was something that when it was given to us, our students were like, "Huh, canned meat? This is interesting." And so, we started to bring it in and it started coming in and I said, "You
009know what? Let's see if we can get to a thousand cans of meat." And our students did, um, and so as a result, I wore a Grinch costume for a few days, um, which they thought was pretty cool. Uh, another opportunity for us to give back to our community and make a difference in the lives of others was during our first Jar Wars, uh, fundraiser at Barker Road. Um, our students did a, uh, it's mostly a coin raising fundraiser, um, and as a school community, um, we raised, uh, just over $3,000, um, in mostly nickels, dimes, pennies, and quarters. Um, all of that money is being donated to 1330 Cancer Connect, uh, which is a local organization that, uh, supports, uh, young teens and adolescents who are, um, diagnosed with cancer. So, um, our students
010were, um, really proud of themselves. Our seventh grade group ended up winning Jar Wars, um, so there was a a little competition to it. So, I think they enjoyed that. Uh, it was pretty tight, neck and neck between our first our seventh and our sixth grade classes. And as a result, our seventh grade students got to slime, uh, Mr. Vidor and myself, um, which was also pretty fun and gross. Um, All right. Um, in addition, uh, to, you know, making a difference in the lives of others, one of the things that I have been really proud of is our school coming up with some new traditions. When we think about what our students will remember, um, as they go on to high school and and later in life, it's some of those big school traditions
011and how they got to be a part of it. Um, one easy one that we did this year was we have the Barker Road Middle School Spirit Rock. Um, if you look outside of, uh, our door, you'll see a rock, a big boulder that was unearthed during our capital, uh, construction project. That rock was graciously moved to the front of the school and now our students are going to be able to paint that rock, um, each month with different themes. Um, some other, uh, you know, traditions that we're starting at Barker Road are, uh, a walk-a-thon where our students are encouraged to walk and get in some good steps. Um, and the Barker Road Viking Cup, um, which is actually coming up next week. So, next Tuesday, we're going to have the first ever uh,
012Barker Road Viking Cup. There is a cup. It's giant. It's in my office right now. And the class that wins is going to get to decorate the cup with their team colors, and that will become the tradition year over year. There'll be inflatables. There'll be different activities that the students are going to have to do, both mental and physical, in order to win the cup. So, and have some fun while doing so on our last day of school. All right. Now, as middle school people, we also have to think about our students' behaviors. We know that academics are always number one, and our students do very well at Barker Road academically. Tonight, I'm really not going to touch too much on that part of it. I'm really going to talk a little bit about some
013of the other stuff that we do. So, thinking about our students and their behaviors, one of the things that makes me proud as the building leader is that we are all responsible for helping our students grow and develop and learn. And that includes not just what we teach, but how students interact with each other. And so, the things that we model as the adults are important for our students to see. One of the things that we try to do in all of our decisions is use data. So, we are not just making or taking a guess at what we think we need to work on. We're actually using either it's behavioral referral data, or attendance data, or perhaps grade data. So, we're using data to help drive our decisions. Our ILT looks at that data
014and then uses that to really help make informed decisions about how we are going to better support our students. We We then take that data and create lessons to explicitly teach these behavior expectations. We use consistent language, whether it's through the Barker Road learning behaviors, where we are Barker to the core, and now we are transitioning over to using language within Habits of Mind. I'm very excited as we move towards using some of the habits because our students are going to be coming to us from the elementary schools with some of that language already in their vernacular, and we will be able to then build on it. So, I'm really excited to see where we're going in the future using that consistent language. This year, what we did was we sat down with our ILT.
015We talked about some of the things that we were seeing. We looked at the data, and then we put together some grade level behavior assemblies where we brought students in. We talked about to them about some of the things that we were noticing and the things that we could grow in. Teachers then worked in their classrooms during enrichment periods to try to support students and teach explicit lessons about some of these items. We looked at attendance data and noticed that we were seeing some students arriving late to class, maybe not coming prepared. And so, what we did was we looked at our bell schedule. We adjusted our bells. We actually added a bell to the end of the period. So, now that So, now our students know when the the bell the period ends. And
016what we noticed was a large decrease in the number of students in the hallways between those transitions. And then as a staff, we really do focus on how we can better support our students. We know that it this is not one person doing this work. It's all of us. And so, as a staff, we come together and talk about the things that we can do better to better support our students. All right. And then finally, what we do as a staff is look to see how do we better support our students all around to support their their social emotional learning. One of the big things that we tried this year, Um, and so far it's been pretty successful um is recess. It's playing. Um, I know it's a kind of a a small thing when
017you think about it, um, but we have seen a lot of success with adding in a few minutes of unstructured play time for our students. Um, we're doing it during our lunch periods. Our lunch periods are about 30 minutes and within middle school, most middle school students can finish their food in about 7 minutes. And so they typically had about 23 minutes of kind of, you know, unstructured time where um, you know, sometimes they weren't always the best behaved or decisions were made that weren't great. Um, and so what we said was, "Why don't we take that time and see what we could do with it?" And so, um, this year, almost every single day we've given our students the um, opportunity to go outside and play. Um, and it is optional for students. They
018do not need to go, but what we found is that most of our students are taking advantage of that time. Um, they come out and they play and it's been amazing to watch. As as um, you know, someone who's been there almost every day watching them, um, seeing their growth just as individuals uh, during this time alone is amazing to watch. And the feedback that we've gotten from um, the students, their parents and the teachers has all been very positive. Uh, they're coming to class more prepared to learn. Um, they get some of that energy out that they need to get out. Um, and they're learning to play together. And I'm going to go into a little bit of kind of the research on that. Um, if you've read The Anxious Generation, um, you'll know
019that there's a part uh, within that that book where the author, uh, Jonathan Haidt, argues that um, unstructured play, that ability for students to interact without adults structuring their time, um, is something that really does benefit our students. And so giving our students, even though it's just a small window of time each day, a little bit of freedom. Um where they do these things, where they learn to cooperate and they problem solve um in a, you know, it's a it's a still safe space. We're there, we're we're we're watching them, but we're not telling them what to do each day. Um we have seen some pretty amazing results. Um I I I'll share this. Um our seventh and eighth grade students in the first couple of weeks that this, I really wasn't sure that it
020was working. Because we'd go outside and they didn't necessarily always know what to do. Like I think they were looking to the adults as far as like, "What should we be doing right now? Like what are we allowed to do?" And we gave them some playground balls and some really basic equipment and they they did okay. Um but over time they developed some kind of basic rules where this is how we interact. Um this is how we play these games. Let's make up some different things. Um we've got a lot of construction going on. So our space where we play is relatively limited. Um and if you saw them today, even as just, you know, today, where they have created, um you know, expectations and rules all on their own without the adults telling them
021what to do, where they are taking turns, where they are sharing the the materials, where they are being respectful towards each other, where they are solving their own problems and not coming to the adults to say, "Hey, like that person's not playing fair." Um where they are doing it themselves is so awesome to watch. So, um I know it's a small thing, it's recess, and it's middle school, but it's been something that I'm really proud of our students um handling it well and and having a little bit of fun at the same time. All right. And and there they are. Look at them, just having fun. Um all right. The last part of this presentation, I'll try to go relatively quickly, um is just a little bit about the the project that we have at
022Barker Road. So, um I do want to acknowledge that uh the campus construction team who has been um a partner to us uh throughout this project has been um really, really responsive and flexible and supportive throughout the project. Um there is a lot of work happening at Barker Road, um but the academic part of school has always come first for this team. And when we are in the middle of testing, when we are noticing that, you know, that it's too distracting or disruptive to this learning environment, the team has been very responsive and shifted work schedules and moved things around to the best of their ability. Uh so, we've been able to really still do school um in the middle of some some major renovations. Um this year, we've done all these things, and this
023is just phase one. Uh so, the work at Barker Road is uh really broken down into four different phases. Um phase one and phase two are two of the biggest. So, we're currently in phase one, and I'll go through some of this right now, and then I'll share where we're going with phase two. Um so, if you remember the pool at Barker Road uh on the left, uh that is now our eating space. So, we are currently eating in the MPR, uh our multi-purpose room. Um that will eventually become our uh second gym type space um once we are done with the project, uh once we're able to move back into our uh commons. Um our technology rooms were the small gym. So, we are we were uh in a small gym, and now uh
024we have two large technology rooms that are almost ready to go. Um we also uh saw a lot of change with our uh tennis courts. So, the tennis tennis courts were really not usable. Um the the ground was cracked. Um Um, it really wasn't a space that we could safely use at all. Um, and we are now going to um, have a track and field D zone. Um, it's going to include two long jump pits, um, a high jump area, and uh, hurdle lanes. So, um, that space is almost done and it should be finished by the end of uh, the summer. Um, our kitchen and serving area um, are in what was the Nordic uh, locker room. So, on the left you can see the Nordic locker room. Um, that area was demolished and
025now we have uh, a brand new kitchen and serving area. Um, that will also be ready to go for this coming school year. Uh, a large group instruction room, which was a component of the small gym. Our new band room, um, which is uh, also scheduled to be open in uh, August. Our expanded orchestra due to the uh, large size of our orchestra ensembles, um, we did some changes within that room to open it up and provide more learning space for our students. Uh, we have a new computer lab, um, which is also just about finished now. And a new loading dock right outside of the kitchen, um, which will help service um, our new kitchen and cafeteria. And we are expecting to see a large increase in the number of meals that our kitchen
026and cafeteria are going to be serving next year. Um, so having that loading dock easily accessible will uh, will help support that. As we look ahead to next school year, um, we are going to see some pretty large changes um, in the front part of the school. Um, our school counselor and mental health offices are being updated. Um, we'll have some updated main offices, new nurses offices, AIS classrooms, and then finally expanded and updated commons uh, where our students will eat. So, we've got a lot going on at Barker Road. Um it's been a phenomenal first year for me. I thank you all for your support of all things that we do. Um and I welcome you to either ask questions um or stop in and visit us anytime. Thank you. >> Thank you, Jason.
027Do we have any questions for Jason before we let him go? Yeah, Emily. >> I love that you're offering recess for the middle schoolers. That's amazing. I was just curious, do you know are there any other middle schools in the county that are offering recess? >> Yeah. >> Our school does. >> You do? That's so great. Yeah. >> Yeah. >> It's awesome. >> Yeah. >> That's awesome. I just love it. Thank you. >> Thank you and thank the staff for uh the nice visit we had when we got to tour the building and um just a lot of amazing things uh going on at Barker and um you know, thank you for your first year. That was That was a great year. >> Thank you. Thank you. Very proud to be a part of this
028district. So, thank you all. >> Jason, I just have to say I am I can't say enough about your leadership and the positive impact that you've had at Barker Road. Your energy and your vision for learning and safety uh at Barker Road is phenomenal and taking the time to get to know staff to really understand the culture and then really hit the ground running this year. Uh what people don't see in that is um when when you say you take kids out every day, that means Jason is in a snow suit with a shovel. He is shoveling and salting. He is out in a rain suit uh taking kids out when it is misting. Um and uh I've heard you describe it and I believe you uh that it is the best part of your
029day, which says an awful lot about you. And uh we're we're really glad you're here. You're in exactly the right place and we're really really grateful for everything you do every day. >> Thank you, Shana. That means a lot. Thank you very much. >> All right. Next on our agenda this evening, we have our athletic director, Patrick Irving. >> Superintendent Ketterlinus, President Casey, members of the Board of Education, thank you for your time tonight. Excited to give an update about the 25-26 athletic season. Highlight a little bit of what's coming next year. Obviously, ask questions as I'm going through. Please feel free to interrupt me and then ask questions at the end as well. Just to give a very brief agenda of what I'll discuss. I'll talk a little bit about the athletic office, um,
030some of our staff there, our participation numbers, which we're very, um, uh, proud of. I'll talk budget, what makes up our budget, what the budget looks like for next year, um, how we use the bid process to create that budget, some updates on our operations, um, some exciting things that we're doing in athletics, and then, um, uh, I'll a little bit of, uh, recognition, some celebrations, talk a little bit about homecoming week, and then a look to '26 and '27. So, briefly, a quick shout-out to uh, Carrie Gibson and Diane Herath, who work in our athletic office. They are unbelievable. To be honest with you, this is it's hard to believe it. This is the end of my third year here in Pittsford. It's really flown. Um, working with Carrie and Diane, we are I'm
031comfortable to say that we are working, um, at our peak right now. We we work very collaboratively together. We laugh a lot. We struggle a lot through through issues as well, but but we do it as a team and and they're fantastic and really hitting our stride together. So, I wanted to give a shout out to them and then our building athletic coordinators, Charlie Webster, Dylan Bronson, Jason Burness, and Carrie Thompson. To say they're invaluable would be an understatement. This job would be impossible without them. And I'll talk a little bit about our programming to give you a better sense, but the amount of work that they're doing on a daily basis just from the operations of our games and contests and events, they're absolutely invaluable. So, big shout out to them as well. To
032give you an overview of participation, we have over 3,000 student athletes rostered on all of our teams. We have 127 teams and I'll do a little comparison around the county to give you an idea of how that matches up with like-size school districts. We have over 214 We have 214 coaches, all board certified. I like to say athletic offices are like mini very mini business offices, Terry, but also HR offices. We are constantly in a a state of hiring and and and opening POs and and going through bid processes for everything that we're we're ordering and renting, especially with 214 coaches. We like to stay ahead. We're in the season that we're in. We're scheduling for the next season and then we're hiring for the third one and that just continues. Seasons end, seasons begin,
033and we just keep doing it over and over again. So, we're constantly in those three phases. We had over 1,800 athletic contests, which is a lot, home and away athletic contests around Monroe County, all over the state, even out of state with some of our travel too. So, a lot of contests that are constantly happening. Data that we we keep track of, 35% of our student athletes are two-sport student athletes. Many of our students only play one sport or specialize in a sport where they're playing 10, 11, 12 months in a given sport. We don't disparage that, Um, we do celebrate our multi-sport student athletes. We we uh we promote our student athletes that are participating in multiple sports. Um, we really lean into the data that supports um playing multiple sports, learning from different
034coaches, participating with different students, um opening those social networks with those other students. We really like to support that. And 20% which is which is actually a big number uh are three-sport student athletes. Uh so, we're really proud of that. And I wanted to give a shout-out to the transportation department. We have 1,055 bus trips uh to get our kids from place to place. Um, we we talk to the transportation department it feels like all day long. So, just from a management standpoint, when if we have, say, 10 away contests going on in a day, confirming it, reconfirming it, um late-minute changes, uh wrong pick-up spot, uh we talk to them all day long, communicate with our coaches. And uh a big shout shout-out to them for for their support for what we do. So,
035127 teams. Uh I know this is a little bit hard to read, but I'll I'll I'll just uh speak to it a little bit. We're that top bar there. Um, 127 teams. How that compares to like-size school districts in Monroe County. I didn't name the districts there. I'll tell you offline if you want to know who A through F are. Um, but uh we are we provide more athletic teams than like-size school districts in Monroe County. The only exception to that is one school district that has a similar multiple high school model to us and and truly just has more more students than us. Uh that's that school district F. But if you look at A through E, um it ranges between 76 and 108. And again, we offer 127. So, we're providing our students
036in like-size school districts more opportunities to participate in athletics. Our budget. Our budget is made up of four parts. It's our 500 budget code, uh which is our supplies. Think uh game balls, uniforms, nets, basketballs, soccer balls, hockey pucks. It's those tangible hard goods. It's the things that we get off of our the BOCES bid list and the Pittsburgh bid list. It is the request that our coaches are making when we're going through the budget development process with the business office. Another large part of our our our budget is our contracted services. That's not an exhaustive list, but I'll just highlight a handful of them. Our athletic training services is the contract we have with Rochester Regional Health which we just re-upped for another 2 years. Our strength and conditioning program through Lattimore strength and
037conditioning is another large contract that we have in service we provide our students. The maintenance of our scoreboards and the audio systems, reconditioning of our helmets, rental of facilities, all of our contests don't just happen at our school or at other districts when it comes to our unified bowling when we're at AMF Lanes or the ice hockey rink at Tim Hortons. The county parks that we rent for cross country and skiing, the mountains that we rent for Alpine and Nordic, golf courses, gymnastics facility, indoor tennis we occasionally use in March when it's uh 20° and snowing outside for the boys season. These are some of the facilities that that we use year in and year out. Other services include our live streaming which is growing, ambulance services that we use at home football games and
038other needed contests, officials which obviously is continuing to grow. Think of a 1,800 contests, there's a lot of officials that we pay as well, too, which I'll highlight in a moment. Our turf maintenance and then our dues and championships when it comes to Monroe County Section 5 and NYSPHSAA contests which fortunately we've we continue to have successful seasons. We are in a lot of those late season contests and with that comes travel and contests and and and budgetary need as well, too. We like to call those good problems. Uh and then my two our 200 budget code. These are our large items. Uh think soccer, lacrosse goals, things that we are constantly updating, maintaining, and then cycling out the old and bringing in the new. Uh think track and field equipment. Uh pole vault pits,
039high jump mats, uh standards, hurdles. Um those are our large items that we we purchase out of our 200 budget code. Treadmills, exercise equipment. And then last our our coaching stipends and our uh game supervisor stipends. Questions on that? I'll go into some specifi- specifics here. This This really outlines how much are is it are in those budget codes going into next school year. Um you'll see in in total with coaching stipends, it's at $2.8 million. I just like I'd love to tell anybody who will listen, um we are less than 2% of the school budget. Um we are at 1.57 uh of the 26-27 school budget, and we provide services for 3,000 student athletes. Um with over 200 coaches on 127 teams. We are constantly in motion and um uh we're proud to be
040what we like to think is a is a great resource for student athletes, our coaches, and our community. Um just wanted to highlight, and again, this is not exhaustive either, the some of our philanthropic events. Um we talk about our core values, how athletics really uh speak to um uh our core values and our mission here in Pittsford. Uh this is a growing list, too. Um the Rainbow Classic, for instance, we had our largest donation to Golisano this year outside of the year we returned from COVID when we had a significant donation. This was our largest in 25 years. We're really proud of that. Uh we're proud of the the crowd and um love working with the U of R for that event. But there's as you all know, there's so many people that um
041that help support that. Not only our student athletes and coaches, but the booster clubs and so many local businesses that help donate it and make sure that they goes off without a hitch. Pink the Rink with with ice hockey. Uh they're really growing as well, too. This is another a fantastic event that raises money for Breast Cancer Coalition of Rochester. Um that event continues to grow. That's another really great event uh that we put on every year. Um the newest one that we've just started 2 years ago in honor of a a a local athletic director who passed with ALS is the Strike Out ALS baseball and softball games that both Sutherland and Mendon has participated in the last 3 years. And uh this past year we raised over $12,000 to help fight ALS here
042in Rochester, and proud that our baseball softball programs um have helped there as well. Um and the last two I just like to recognize with our newest program, girls flag football. Uh they partnered with Victor this year um in helping with autism awareness. Uh started raising money. It's not as large as as the other ones I mentioned, but we've already started talking about how we're going to increase that that that donation uh in the future. That game is coming to Pittsford next year. We'll continue to rotate it with Victor and and just um bring awareness and use athletics as as as I said as an extension of the classroom and really help the larger community. And right now we're planning Dig Pink during homecoming week with girls volleyball. Uh again, raising money for the Breast
043Cancer Coalition of Rochester, which which we're really excited about. All right, some updates with athletic operations. Um we're we're very proud a couple years ago we started um uh paying our game supervisors through WinCap. Uh the first department to do that. Um I we remember piloting and we got a a ton of support with the business office um and and figuring that out. Uh we're paying our our game uh game workers faster uh than than prior. Um and and that's been a real success. Um, additionally to that, we piloted this past spring with Arbiter Pay, um, uh, to pay our officials digitally. Uh, often times officials were getting a paper copy voucher, they were signing it, giving it to the coach. Coaches were handing it in the next day, maybe later that week, hopefully not
0443 months down the road, hopefully there wasn't yesterday's breakfast and maybe some rain from that game on that as well, too, trying to read, um, social security numbers and an address and a name. Uh, we really wanted to take that out of it. Um, what's really great here is that service, uh, provides all of the officials that we work with with their 1099s. It takes it out of the business office. It's been fabulous. We're going to continue it. Um, obviously it's a cost ratable service that we already use with our scheduling software, um, and our officials are really happy cuz the next morning I can pay as soon as we verify everyone, we can pay them immediately. It's almost like a Venmo account. They they see it immediately. And then lastly, you might be asking
045why is there a van up there? So, uh, myself and a couple coaches, again, working with the business office, um, and their constant support, we were looking for ways to better serve our students that couldn't get bussing services. Um, and a really good example is in the spring our golf team, which typically have to get out at 2:00, maybe 2:30 when we can't get a bus cuz the afternoon bus runs, are are bringing home our students. Uh, so we were heavily relying on families and students to get them to the golf course. Um, myself and a few coaches secured our CDLCs and our golf coaches are bringing our kids in a van. Uh, it's been great. Uh, we've gotten a great response from our our families. Uh, we have more coaches taking their exams this
046summer. Uh, we're hoping to continue to offer that, uh, for programs that, um, can fit in this and and get to events that otherwise we can't offer through our regular, uh, transportation department. So, cheers to those coaches for going through that cuz, uh, it is not an easy process uh, to get your CDL. I just I know this is not my slide. I know you recognize this. I just wanted to share that I get so much positive feedback from this slide when I'm standing in the rain for instance like Jason does during recess at games. Parents want to talk about upcoming votes and what it looks like especially as it pertains to athletics. So just wanted to say thank you to Shayna to the board for their leadership, their forethought down the road as as
047possible projects that can come forward. There's a lot of people excited about what Pittsford can look like in the future. A little more shameless plugging here. I just wanted to share this past year we embarked almost a year ago a little over a year ago on what is called a QPA the quality program assessment through the National Athletic Directors Association. And I'm proud to say that we're the first school district in New York State to earn this honor. That's my me with luckily I'm not in the exact same suit. That's me with the executive director of the National Association that rather large man is an ex-NFL player who's the current president. And that's a photo we took. It was a 10-month audit of our athletics department and from I don't have it all here but
048they assess all of our operations and as I said very proud to that we're the first in New York State to earn this. I am actually working with other districts to help promote them to do this as well and you'll see there's photos of me when we got our banners that'll be in both high schools with some students just to recognize that honor. This was something I went through with a cohort of ADs from around the the the country but I met regularly with our office staff with our nurses with with coaches with student athletes, so we could provide artifacts to meet all of the criteria. And I'm happy to share that if you really want to a deep dive in what that looks like, but it really it really highlights the great things that
049we're that we we've done for years here in Pittsburgh and some of the updates that we've had here as of late. Um Other other additions we've add, this came out of some strategic planning from last summer. We wanted to make our help make our athletic events our practices as safe as possible and we wanted to really empower our student athletes to be part of that. So all this past school year 25 26 we've been certifying a representative from every varsity roster to get their Red Cross CPR first aid and AED cert, which is good for 2 years. It's the same certification that our coaches have. So for this past year we've had obviously our coach which is part of their required New York State coaching certification, but also a student rep on on every field.
050And just yesterday it's started to grow as our trainer because we have three trainers here in district who are teacher coaches that we we got certified little over a year ago. We started training our JV students in anticipation of next fall. So our hope is to maybe get down to the modified level starting next school year and have all three levels where we have students who can be responsive and really at the end of the day yes they'll be certified in in in in Red Cross with CPR first aid and AED, but we really want really want to empower students to know that they can react, they can respond and they can help if say their coach is having a medical emergency. Know what to do and how to get an AED if their coach
051isn't isn't available. We're not expecting those students to be EMTs, but we want them to know that they can have a positive impact in case of emergency. And even and they're away from games and practices when they're just in their personal life with their families, um they can really be a leader in the space as well, too. So, we're excited to expand to our JVs. And then, uh a quick glimpse at um next year, um we have already um I it's not featured here. I'll talk about homecoming week in a second, but we're getting ready to start registration um for the fall next year. Uh it'll open uh July 20th. Um I I will have emails going out uh to families for rising 7th through 12th graders and and their families to get them registered.
052It'll be here quickly. Uh and as we get into the fall, uh homecoming week, which will be uh September 28th to that Saturday, October 3rd. Uh the highlight I wanted to really share here with you all as I've I've been meeting with an ad hoc group uh made up of these stakeholders to really talk about the future of homecoming week. Um something we we've really wanted to expand upon is how can we make homecoming week really a district-wide event? Um w- while we recognize the great things that we're doing in our buildings already, but bring all of our students together more frequently, especially during that week, even though we're playing each other that week a lot. Barker and Calkins and Sutherland and Menden, which we love doing. Um uh but have some combined events. Um
053and and some of the things that we've been discussing is really pivoting from the um parade on Saturday morning and providing a lead-up event to the homecoming football game Friday night uh before the the Hall of Fame ceremony, where after school, after the pep rallies that day, uh a food truck rodeo, which really will be encouraged K-12 district-wide uh on Sutherland's campus. Uh it'll bring more people to that to that game, to that event. Um and and I think it'll really set the stage for future iterations of that where it can grow even more. Um, that committee we've discussed trying to bring clubs and and other other organizations, even community groups that might not always be featured, um, and and have a presence at this game. Uh, so not only are they attending games and
054and and and helping cheer on uh, a game, uh, they feel more included in a larger event. Uh, so we're really excited about that and really excited about the homecoming dance um, as an example of uh, a combined event. Uh, we plan to offer Saturday, um, a homecoming dance at Minden that will be available to uh, all high school Minden and Sutherland students, which the students on this committee are very excited about. Um, I know the homecoming dances happening really book end of homecoming week last week were success and we think that we can really leverage that success to a a combined one. Um, and uh, so people don't have to buy two dresses or two suits or anything. We can all just dance together. Uh, so the students in in our committee are really
055excited about that and and we're um, excited to get that off the ground and um, and something I learned early on in my athletic career if there's a dance on a Saturday night, just make sure the games on that day are done by about noon cuz there's hair appointments, there's a lot of things people got to get to. I learned that early on. So, um, we are going to we're going to have a few games that Saturday morning, um, but we're going to get those over with early so that the our students can really get ready for that that ending event homecoming week. And then lastly, just want to thank all of you. Uh, thank our district staff, our administrators, coaches, our student athletes, families, boosters, um, our youth organizations who we work with very
056closely, uh, the athletic staff, our parks and rec department who we talk to regularly, uh, the Pittsford Ed Foundation has been very supportive uh, lately and our booster clubs. There's there's so many people to thank um, to get to have all these events go off, Uh, uh, with the success that we have. Takes a lot of people and, um, I'm I'm honored to work with them day in and day out, so thank you. Happy to take any questions people have. >> [clears throat] >> Thank you, Patrick. Do we have any questions for Patrick? No? Thank you, Patrick, for everything you and your office do. Really is amazing. Um, I really I love the stat that you shared. I mean, you know, there's more than 50% of the students are participating in athletics and, um, you're
057doing all that with less than the budget, so it's really high impact for, you know, um, what you have to work with. So, thank you very much. Appreciate everything you do. >> Thank you, Patrick, for your leadership and I would just mention that in addition to all of this organization between budget and organization of fields and games and uniforms and all of those pieces, um, in your visibility at all of these different events, um, your ability to promote student leadership and an equitable mindset among teams and keeping that big picture has been really amazing. I I know I've learned a lot from working with you and, uh, your what you've brought in in terms of sports psychology with our athletes has been significant as well. So, bringing in mental health staff, um, school social workers
058to be able to come in, work with teams, um, circling them up, making sure that they're really strong together mentally, building their resilience, handling issues on teams before they get really big, uh, restoring things when things don't go well, um, it's really made a big difference for our athletes and I know our coaches are taking a lot of advantage of that, um, now that they have access to it. So, thank you for bringing that to our athletics. >> All right, next on the agenda we have Board of Education report. It's hard to believe that we're, uh, done with Monroe County School Boards Association for the, uh, yep. I'm going to actually go back up to approval of the minutes for May 12th, 2026. Please have a motion. Dave? Kim? Any questions or comments? All in
059favor? Motion carries. Thank you. And also, may I have a motion for approval of the June 2nd, 2026 special meeting from those that were able to make it. Thank you, Emily. Sarah. Any questions or comments? All in favor? Motion carries. Thank you. Now, uh Board of Education report. Um Monroe County School Boards Association has done for the summer. Though, next meetings won't be uh until August and September. Board Leadership meeting will be September 23rd. The Executive Committee meeting will meet October 7th. Information Exchange will be September 9th. District Operations Committee will meet September 16th. Legislative Committee will meet September 2nd. And the Steering Committee will meet on August 5th. And now, we'll turn it over to uh Menard for our student member board report. It's hard to believe the last one of the year. >>
060I know. It's actually really insane. Time flew by really fast. Um for this last one, we have actually a lot on the agenda. Today was a really busy day as it was the last day of school. Um we had our senior bash, which is where we had like an inflatable like obstacle course and a slip and slide and so much food and music um from like fifth period to the end of the day, which was really fun. Um we have Back to the Future Day on Thursday, which I know a lot of elementary schools are super excited for, where all the seniors will get to go back and go to their um elementary school classrooms and see all their teachers from before. So, that's really fun. Um we also have grad rehearsal on the same
061day, and then we have senior sunset, where we'll close off the year just like we started it with senior sunrise. And also, the seniors will be painting over the parking spots at Sutherland to make more space for the juniors who who going to paint their spots for this year as well. Um Regents have been happening at Sutherland and for a lot of freshmen, it's their first time taking them. So, um that's been that's been going really well. Uh and for AP classes, uh we've kind of had a good break of like 1 month of not doing too much and not doing too little. Um seniors have their senior inquiry projects where we got to obviously choose a topic that we're really passionate about and then present it to the class. And so, that's been going
062really well. It's really interesting to hear what everyone has been researching and like and see what people's interests are. So, that's really cool. Um student council executive student council has been um uh the new vote voting is done and the new people are chosen. And same with our graduation speaker. Um we have our grad speaker now. Um her name's Callie Reader. She's she's also part of exec student council for seniors. So, that's really exciting. And graduation is this Saturday. So, yeah, really exciting. >> It's great. Thank you so much and thank you as always. You've provided us with a lot of great updates throughout the year. >> [clears throat] >> Dates to remember, schools closed for Juneteenth on June 19th. On June 20th, we have Mendon High School graduation and Sutherland High School graduation. All
063Mendon [clears throat] will be at 10:00 a.m. and Sutherland will be at 2:00 p.m. Both are at the RIT Gordon Field House. July 14th is the Board of Education Summer Workshop. July um >> [clears throat] >> July 14th is also our next regularly scheduled board meeting and the summer workshop will continue on the 15th. >> [clears throat] >> May I have a motion for acceptance of the record of March 5th, 2026 capital project referendum vote. >> So moved. >> Thank you, Renee. Robin. Any questions or comments? All in favor? Motion carries. May I have a motion for acceptance of the record >> [clears throat] >> of the May 19th, 2026 annual budget vote in school board election. >> So moved. >> Thank you, Sarah. Kim, any questions or comments? Hearing none, all in favor? Motion
064carries. Financial report, Terry. >> Thanks, Jeff. Um All right, tonight on the agenda we have 11 items for the finance agenda. Uh first as always is for your consideration is the acceptance of the treasurer's report. Um we received the unpaid taxes from Monroe County, uh completing our collection of taxes for the year. That's the only significant item in the general fund. Uh the school lunch fund continues to grow and grow, and they've brought on additional staff, and the revenue continues to increase, and that's that's mostly offsetting one another as we continue to grow there and prepare to bring on the secondary schools uh next year as well. So, that's all going smoothly. Um those are the significant items on treasurer's report. >> Thank you. May I have a motion for approval acceptance of the treasurer's
065report for April 30th, 2026. >> So moved. >> Thank you, Kim. Emily, any questions or comments? Hearing none, all in favor? Motion carries. >> Uh second tonight for your consideration in connection with the capital vote that was conducted in March and passed uh, a bond resolution approving $42.2 million authorization authorization of serial bonds in the future in connection with that project. >> Thank you. And this vote item will require a roll call vote. So, when I call your name at the time of the vote, if you could please just say yes or no. But first we need a motion for a resolution to authorize issuance of the $42.2 million serial bonds. Thank you, Robin. Renee? Dave Burke? >> Yes. >> Kim Hulse? >> Yes. >> Emily Kay? >> Yes. >> Sarah Plucio? >> Yes. >>
066Renee Sanchez Casacos? >> Yes. >> Robin Scott? >> Yes. >> And Jeff Casey? Yes. Motion carried. I'll second, Jeff. >> I didn't I didn't know if I want to make sure. Um Third item for tonight for your consideration is approval of maximum amounts to to be deposited in the reserve funds as a result of the year-end uh, audit and finances of the district. Um We anticipate approximately about $7.1 million in excess funds at the end of the year to strategically be placed in reserves for future obligations that the district might have. Uh, on the tax resolution you can see the maximum amounts summarized at the end. >> Thank you. May I have a motion to approve the resolution to approve maximum amounts to reserve funds, fund balance management, and reserve recommendations. Thank you, Dave. >>
067Second. >> Sarah, any questions or comments? >> One question. >> Sure. >> Terry, I'm sorry. What percentage of the overall budget does that 7.1 million represent? Roughly. Sorry. >> That's okay. Uh I think I have it right here. Very very small, actually. Um less I'm trying to do the math in my head. Um about 2% maybe. >> Thank you. >> Little less than. >> Any other questions or comments? Hearing none, all in favor? Motion carries. Uh fourth tonight for your consideration is the approval of the risk assessment report uh conducted by Witham uh accounting firm for our internal audit risk assessment for the upcoming year. >> Thank you. May I have a motion to approve the resolution to approve risk assessment and internal audit plan. >> I'll move. >> Thank you, Renee. >> Robin. >>
068Any questions or comments? Hearing none, all in favor? Motion carries. Fifth tonight for your consideration is a resolution to approve an incentive for military veterans to serve as school bus drivers for an incentive to uh decline district health insurance for a uh monetary um trade-off of declining that health insurance as an option. >> Thank you. May I have a motion to approve the resolution to approve incentive for military veterans to serve as school bus drivers. Thank you, Kim. Emily, any questions or comments? Hearing none, all in favor? Motion [snorts] carries. >> Number six tonight, uh for your consideration is a resolution to declare vehicles as surplus. Um most of the vehicles on here are buses along with that uh goes along with our bus replacement plan as we uh just approved purchase of new buses.
069This will be uh the older buses coming off the schedule along with one driver's ed uh car that is being disposed of. >> You may have a motion to approve the resolution to just declare vehicles as surplus. >> So moved. >> Thank you, sir. >> Second. >> Dave, any questions or comments? Hearing none, all in favor? Motion carries. >> Uh number seven for your your consideration consideration tonight is a resolution resolution to declare food surplus equipment um for disposal as the program continues to grow as I just mentioned. Um they're purchasing new equipment and that's that uh goes along with the capital project at some of the schools and works with the new layout of uh needing to serve more students in a more efficient way. We have to kind of turn that equipment over.
070>> Thank you. You may have a motion to approve the resolution to declare food service equipment as surplus. >> So moved. >> Thank you, Renee. >> Second. >> Kim, any questions or comments? Hearing none, all in favor? Motion carries. >> Uh number eight for your consideration tonight is a resolution for an an analysis done on the tax certiorari reserve. >> [clears throat] >> Excuse me. Um each year we do uh an analysis. Uh our treasurer, Rachel Smith back there, does a great job of um looking at potential reduction of assessments on certain properties and ongoing cases and we kind of come up with an estimate and um positively that amount is going to go down. So, this is a resolution to reduce that reserve down to appropriated uh appropriate possible outstanding cases. >> Thank you.
071May I have a motion to approve the reduction of the tax certiorari reserve? >> So moved. >> Thank you, sir. Robin, any questions or comments? Hearing none, all in favor? Motion carries. >> Next for your consideration uh is a resolution or s- excuse me. Uh it's it's an acceptance of an RFP for district insurance. Uh we went out for proposals this year. We received back from NYSIR, uh New York's uh school insurance reciprocal, and Utica National. And um we have been with NYSIR for many years now and we uh we being a committee of the purchasing agent, the district clerk, myself, and assistant superintendent for business, uh listened to interviews that took about an hour and a half from each uh each company. We analyzed the pros and the cons of each uh company, the
072deductibles on different amounts, vehicles, and whatnot, uh crime coverage, and when it came down to it, uh one proposal was $95,000 less than the other one, which would be Utica National, and this would be an acceptance of switching insurance companies come July 1st. >> Okay. And that was for comparable coverage, Terry, with the >> Yes. Um of course they weren't exactly the same, so we went down and um made a made a decision that the actual coverage was pretty comparable. >> Okay. >> I mean some differences, but >> Sure. Okay. May have a motion to approve the district insurance proposals. You, Emily? Dave, any questions or comments? Hearing none, all in favor? Motion carries. >> Uh number 10 for your consideration tonight is a resolution approving the capital construction project change orders approved by the
073superintendent uh since the last board meeting. Uh that were less than $35,000. >> May have a motion to approve the resolution approving capital construction project change orders. Thank you, Robin. Sarah, any questions or comments regarding the change orders? Hearing none, all in favor? Motion carries. >> And there is a list of bids on your consent agenda for tonight. >> Thank you, Terry. >> [clears throat] >> Human resources report, Mr. Clark. >> Thank you and good evening. Uh first for your consideration is the professional staff report. Um we are in the thick of our hiring season, so please bear with me. We have one certificated staff change in status from probationary to tenure, one administrator appointment, 14 certificated staff appointments, one regular substitute to probationary appointment, we have one part-time to probationary appointment, one full-time to
074part-time certificated staff appointment, two building substitute appointments, one administrator resignation for retirement, one administrator resignation, three certificated staff resignations, three school-related professional resignations, one school nurse resignation. We have teacher and paraprofessional per diem substitutes for your approval and fall coaching salaries as well. Thank you. May I have a motion to approve the >> professional staff report. >> Someone? >> Thank you, Sarah. >> Thank you. >> Kim, any questions or comments? Hearing none, all in favor? Motion carries. >> Thank you. And next for your consideration is the support staff report. We have three clerical appointments, three clerical resignations, one clerical resignation revised retirement date, two transportation appointments, one transportation resignation, one transportation resignation for retirement, seven custodial maintenance appointments, two custodial maintenance resignations, one custodial maintenance termination, four food service appointments and two food service resignations.
075Thank you. May I have a motion to approve the support staff report? >> Someone. >> Thank you, Renee. >> Second. >> Dave, any questions or comments? Hearing none, all in favor? Motion carries. >> Thank you very much. And next for your consideration is the food services agreement. We have a three-year agreement and um this will help support our hiring and retention as we continue to grow the free the federal free breakfast and lunch program. Um I'd like to thank uh Mike Vespi, Scott Colville, Terry for their their work with the financials as well as Elaine and Christina. Um a lot of thoughtfulness and in order to bolster the staff and um get that department with the staffing that it needs. And we think this agreement will really help support that. Thank you. May I have
076a motion to approve the food services contract. >> So moved. >> Thank you, Robin. >> I'm in. >> Renee, any questions or comments? Hearing none, all in favor? Motion carries. >> Thank you. And last, we have memorandums of agreement on the consent agenda. >> Thank you. Special education report, Ms. Woods. >> Good evening. On the consent agenda tonight is the second reading um and requested approval of the special education district plan, as well as committee on special education and preschool special education recommendations. >> Thank you. >> Superintendent's report. >> Thank you. There is a need for an executive session tonight to discuss the employment of a particular individual. >> May I have a motion to approve the call for executive session? >> So moved. >> Thank you, Sarah. Kim? All in favor? Motion carries. Thank
077you. >> Thank you. Uh as you know, we're shared there's been so much excitement over these last few weeks. I know I've sent you pictures and videos of all sorts of things that are going on in our schools to celebrate the end of the year. Everyone from kindergarten to our seniors who are getting a lot of love these last couple weeks. Um every the flag days, the field days, um field trips, the outdoor learning, um senior breakfasts and bashes, and yearbooks being handed out, and uh of course you mentioned back to back to the future coming up at the end of this week and with our culminating event on Saturday at graduation. Um so, just wanted to give a huge shout-out to our staff, our building administrators, our teachers, and our PTSA for just supporting
078such a phenomenal end of the year. And uh it's it takes a lot, especially last week in the heat. Uh so, we're happy for the cooler temperatures, but um it's been it's been a really exciting time. There's a lot of joy out there, um and looking forward to uh the start of summer in just a couple weeks. So, I thought I would just give you an overview of some of the areas we've discussed this year. Um I wanted to just touch on the capital projects and give uh an additional update. Jason did a great job explaining some of the updates at Barker Road, and I know we're able to walk through that space last week as well during the visit. Um Thorndike Road, which you visited a few weeks or a few months ago, is
079substantially complete. Everyone's moved into their spaces. Um Allen Creek, which we visited as well, is close to substantial completion and will be turning over this summer at the um mental health spaces that you were able to visit. We have uh a mini project starting at Jeff Road with some abatement and a small cafeteria project that are going to start right as uh students exit at the end of the month. And um we're turning over, as Jason said, uh getting ready to turn over tech classrooms and then moving on to the next phase where we'll be moving uh Jason and counseling and health office staff uh next winter out um to be able to start um that space. One of the things, just a reminder at Barker Road, is we will have an electric shutdown for
080the entire facility, and that will start at 5:00 p.m. on the 26th, that last day for staff. So, there will be no electricity, no staff other than construction management staff here from 5:00 p.m. They'll work through the weekend, and then that Monday and Tuesday um there will be no electricity either. So, um the goal is to be back on um after June 30th. So, just more updates will be coming in case anything happens that extends that, but we have plans for staff to work offsite um and we'll actually be practicing some of our uh emergency preparedness for our business office to be able to work um offsite at at different locations. Um Mendon High School is on track. I know we were able to to view that earlier. If you've driven by, you've seen roofers
081on site. Uh drywall is starting. The tennis courts are starting. It was supposed to be today. So, uh tennis courts are starting very soon and will be taking us through the fall. Uh the athletic entrance at Mendon, over where that wall of fame is, and the uh gym areas, all of that flooring's being redone. That should be complete by August 21st, uh when we start athletics for the fall. And I know we didn't get into the counseling suite, but it looks amazing. They've moved that so quickly. So, I know our counselors will be upset to be moved out of the very warm gym and back into their offices, um but we're looking to be able to turn that over this summer. And then the stadium, the toilet rooms that are at the stadium at Mendon
082have just been painted, and that should also be ready for fall sports. So, by August 21st, um everything there should be ready to go. And just to express what what Jason did as well, that the team at Campus Construction and SEI Design um throughout these projects, we've given feedback, um we've asked to back off on some things, we've made some changes along the way, and they have kept us on budget and on time while taking our feedback uh and making sure that we have spaces that are prepared and ready for learning when we're um ready to turn them over. So, uh we can't say enough about those teams. And the 2026 project that was just approved, we just went through what we call that page turn process. So, we went through all of the kind
083of high-level drawings and plans. It's really exciting things like roofing and uh poured roofing and slab roofing and grease traps, uh RPZs, uh re- really exciting stuff, and a beautiful playground at Allen Creek School. So, um we're getting into that drawing and design phase of the process um before things start to go for state approval and out to bid. Um along with that, um that runs separate to this project, is the energy performance contract that we've talked a lot about. We saw the beautiful solar panels over at Mendon Center. Uh we are on track at all of our schools, so LED lighting um amongst other uh projects will be completed at all of our schools. Um every school is complete except for Sutherland High School and Jefferson Road, and they'll be completed within the coming
084weeks. Um we did receive feedback around the lighting as it's been changed. Um so, some staff comments initially, um those have faded over time. I think as people have gotten used to the new lights. They're definitely cooler. It's a whiter, bluer light that appears brighter. Uh but just a few things for the board to be aware of. Um we've had over 13,000 lighting fixtures across the district, and those were all reviewed um and analyzed as part of this project. So, depending on what type of light it was, what kind of casing it has, what kind of ceiling it's in, um an appropriate LED replacement or retrofit kit was uh chosen for that space. Um and all of those have to balance um the energy savings, the cost. Um they are not the least expensive light,
085but they're the ones that are the most appropriate for the space. Um nearly half of the new lighting that's been installed have dimmer switches, which means half do not have dimmer switches. Um so, there's there's code that comes um from New York State, especially around schools. Um so, we have to make sure that we're adhering to the current code and um that we have proper illumination standards. Um so, actually the fluorescent lights that were taken out were 4,100 K in terms of their temperature, their brightness. Um the LED bulbs are actually 4,000 K, so they're actually not as bright as the fluorescent bulbs, but they do feel brighter. Um fluorescent bulbs actually dim quicker. So, the bulbs that are coming out are not at their brightest, and the LED bulbs that are going in are
086at their full brightness, and they will dim less uh over time as the fluorescent bulbs did. So, I I think as people have gotten used to that, we've we've heard less about it, but certainly we're you know, listening to feedback over time and as we get back into school in the fall, you know, if if we need to make adjustments or add dimmer switches, you know, we're we're certainly open to looking at options for that. But we've learned a lot about lighting in the process. >> [gasps] >> Um another area that we talked about, I think it was actually my first board meeting was around our programs and our relationship with the Jewish Federation and we've received you know, feedback on all sides as you know, we've met with families on all sides. Some of
087them are here this evening. So wanted to share with the board where we've kind of ended up with that. So our conversations with the Jewish Federation have been really productive. They're willing to adapt, want the programs to meet the needs of the school and our community members, but are willing to be you know, flexible with how they look. So as you know, we put some things in place immediately upon hearing some concerns, some additional oversight in the classrooms trying to get a better understanding of what what the visits entailed, looking at all of the the curriculum and any of the uh resources that were handed out are already vetted through the Federation and through our teachers, but we also looked at those at a district level. And then as we met throughout the year, we
088decided that it might make more sense to have these programs be opt in instead of opt out for our students. So right now they were just in classrooms where students volunteered to have visitors come in, which meant that every student who was in that classroom, if if their families weren't interested in them having that experience, they would have to opt out of that classroom setting for that time period. So now what we're going to do is remove that element and have any of those activities happen at times that are outside of regular uh school learning sessions. So it could be before school, could be during lunch or recess, could be after school. Um but those would be times that families would get clear information about what the activities are. Uh we'd like them to be
089related to the strengths and skills and uh desires of the visitors who are coming. So some of them have special interests or things they've been trained in um that might be more exciting for them to be able to share with our students. Um so once we know more about who the visitors will be and what their schedules will be, they visit many um area schools. So once we know what that is, then we'll have a better idea of exactly where the visits will be and when they will occur. But our families will be able to select if they want their students to participate in any of those opportunities. Um and they won't have to opt out of any part of their regular school day in order to participate. And that's kind of our next step.
090Um so we'll again gather more feedback as we're adapting, continue to work with families, continue to work with the federation, and make continued adjustments as as needed. Let us all pause and see if there's any questions on that piece. Okay. Um the last thing I wanted to mention is just again our strategic planning. Thank you for those who were able to come to the community input day. It was really rewarding and gratifying to see how many families um were willing to come and spend hours on a Saturday um to be able to look at uh potential goals for the district for the next few years. There were a lot of young families. So a huge thank you to our Interact Club for providing child care. We had some real little ones there. They earned every
091minute of that community service. I see Sora out there. >> [laughter] >> I think I told you I would sign for double hours if uh if needed. Um so it was great to be able to see just our community to come together and a lot of the feedback I heard was um from community members who said, "I didn't realize there were so many different viewpoints." So, um, you know, you have your own things that you come in thinking, "This is the most important thing for me, for my family, for my children." And just the understanding that every other person has, you know, a a different mindset or or something else that they're really interested in seeing, too. So, just grateful to be somewhere where we have families who are so engaged and dedicated in um,
092in our schools. And thank you again to Campus Construction and to our PTSA for our breakfast that day and our amazing t-shirts. And we're looking forward to taking that work, all of the data from our data disaggregation process, our survey, our focus groups, and our feedback that day and from our district planning team and bring it to our leadership retreat, which will take place over those two days that Jeff mentioned in July. And then our goal is to roll out a complete strategic plan this fall. Um, so we'll have a lot of work to do this summer in terms of creating tasks and uh, metrics and uh, better understanding of how we'll know when we're moving toward meeting our goals. And so with that, this is our our final meeting of the school year, which
093has come very quickly. Um, just a a few thank yous. Um, Terry Hassler, thank you for all the work you've done this year. Um, there's been a lot of transition in the business office and your support not just here at the board table, but um, with the business office has been huge and uh, we couldn't have done it without you. So, thank you for all of your work. Um, wanted to recognize Kim Hulls, our board member, for all of your dedication over the years. Um, we've just really appreciated having your mind and your heart around the board table. So, thank you for all that that you've done. Uh, Elizabeth Woods, our amazing director of special education, um, at your last meeting, just um, want to thank you for everything personally and professionally that you've taught
094me over the years. And um, we wish you health and time with your family and a very long um, joyful retirement. And to Manar who's left, um, but maybe she can watch this. Uh, she's done an amazing job as one of our first student board members and paving the way for those who are going to come behind her. Sora, thank you for being here um, and I just couldn't have thought of someone who uh, would do a better job and be a better role model and help teach all of us what uh, what our student board members could bring to us. So, um, thank you to Manar. And that concludes my report. >> Shana. >> Is there a motion to approve the consent agenda? >> For approval of the consent agenda, please. >> So moved.
095>> Robin. Kim. All in favor. Motion carries. Thank you. Is there any old business? Sure. >> All right, this might be a really bad idea, but I have tissues. Okay, and I wrote it down cuz I'm not going to be able to get through it. But, I just wanted to say it's truly been an honor to serve on the Pittsburgh School Board and to have been surrounded by staff who are talented beyond words, who have passion for educating all kids, and who lead the district with their hearts. Our central office team, administrators, teachers, and support staff go above and beyond for our kids every single day, and I feel lucky to have gotten to know so many of you over the years. Shana, I'm for your leadership. You have hit the ground running this year
096and I am so excited to see what you do in the future. Um, each member around this table has been a true inspiration and you give so much of yourselves for our district every day. I appreciate each and every one of you um, in the time we've spent together over the past 3 years. I think what I'm going to miss most is the school visits. Um, from spending time in each school, getting to know the teachers and staff, but getting to see the gym floors and the boiler rooms and robotics in English classrooms and student artwork on the walls and an axolotl in a science classroom and a school therapy dog and watching kids build structures and then get to test them on earthquake plates. I mean, these are the things that I'm going to
097cherish and miss the most. Um, hearing all of our student accomplishments during Pittsburgh Pride, watching Unified Biscuit Basketball games, cheering for our students, listening to holiday carols during candlelight night. There are so many meaningful moments um, and I've loved serving alongside each and every one of you. Um, I know Sorry. I know each of you has a superpower and I'm going to I have cards for all of you this weekend. Um, and those powers come together and make an unstoppable dream team and these three years have been an absolute privilege for me and I'm grateful for our thoughtful discussions and our ability to laugh often together and I just thank you all for your dedication to our district and thank you for your friendship and support this year. THANK YOU. >> [applause] >> OKAY. WELL,
098THAT WAS GREAT. THANK YOU, KIM. UM, SO I'LL also take some time to acknowledge a few people around the table. Um, Kim Hulse, first, thank you for your dedication and service on the board and even before the board, everything you did for the district prior to that through PTSA and otherwise. Um, you put so many hours into this district. Um, you're so talented. Uh, you're just you're a fantastic board member and friend and we're we're going to miss you uh, around the board table, but we know you're still here in town and um, so thank you for everything. Elizabeth Woods, on behalf of the Board of Education, we wish you a happy retirement. Um you are incredibly talented. You have one of the hardest jobs in the district, um hands down. And um you know,
099it's a very personal um experience for the families that that work with your office, and you've done an amazing job. And uh we cannot thank you enough. And so, on behalf of the board and the families in in Pittsford, thank you for all you've done. >> [snorts] >> Uh we had a little something for uh Menard, who is a senior this year. Um Menard and Masuda were both our first student board members. Unfortunately, neither of them are here right now, but for those of you who don't know, uh we told them at the beginning that we know they're incredibly busy students, and they have a lot going on. So, anytime they need to step away from the table, they should just do so. And um that's what they did tonight. And uh but they've been
100incredible [snorts] um first time student board members. It was new for us, it was new for them. Um so, we're going to collect feedback from them to, you know, see what we can do better in the future with our student board members. Um they did a great job providing us with updates of everything going on at Sutherland and Mendon. And we have uh flowers for both of them for their service this year. And uh we also got Menard a uh from the board a gift card to the Cornell bookstore, because that's where she'll be going in the fall. Um So, uh Masuda will be back uh next year and do another year on the board. So, we thank them both for for their service as well this year. Is there any new business before anyone?
101Okay, hearing none, we'll move go to the public comment portion of our business meeting tonight. Uh we received one comment from a community member Meredith Graham who will not be in attendance but shared concerns around uh some of the new LED lighting which um Shaina discussed in her report this evening and our next uh public comment if Ala Ashour would please come to the podium if you >> All right. Hi. Good evening. Took me so long to actually go over my my fear of this to stand right here and I prepared something different before uh Mrs. Katay actually shared with us. I was about to talk about the Chanhassen program and being vulnerable and talking about my family experience and the trauma that we had and my son coming back from the school having um
102IDF soldier in his classroom terrified. But you saved me all of this and I don't have to go over it since it's going to it's going to be um not in the school time or in the classroom. This is really a relief and thank you so much. I really appreciate it. Uh I was holding off not using my uh personal experience with my kids. But uh a co-worker actually encouraged me and she said, "You're a great mom." And remember you always will speak up for your children and that's what we always all in the district as parents and as an educators that will have to speak up for our children until they will be able to be a young adult able to actually advocate for themselves. Just want to thank you so much and um
103uh I'm not going to go over what I wrote and thank you so much for everybody that trying so hard to make our schools um a safe place for our kids. Uh, they feel belonged, doesn't matter where is their background and their accent, the way they look, the way they dress, the way they act. This is really, um, impact the whole student body. It's not only my children or my my colleague children. They impact everybody and impact the in community even it's a small dose or a big dose. And I know politics it's really, uh, messy and we don't like to talk about it, but it's like the minimum that we could get our kids not to be involved until they get the maturity to understand it is way bigger than what it appears is.
104Uh, that would save us some time to educate them about everything and they will have them the ability to take their own judgment with whatever it's happening around them or what's in their future will be. So, thank you so much. >> Thank you for your comment. Uh, you said you were nervous, but you did a great job. You did not have seemed nervous at all. So. >> [laughter] [snorts] >> And with that we'll, uh, end our business meeting this evening with a motion for an adjournment, please. >> Second. >> All in favor? We are adjourned. Thank you, everyone.