001To the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Thank you. I would like to entertain a motion to approve the agenda with additions to the HR report. Second. Thank you. All in favor of post. Thank you so much. Next, we would like to um ask Principal Richard Obano to please come forward from our Menon Center Elementary School. All [Applause] right, this is a good group because no one claps. That was a warmer. This is amazing. Great start. That was a warmer welcome than I expected. Thank you guys very much. Good evening everyone. I'm Rich Albano. I'm the principal at Men and Center. Um so I I wanted to start by by thanking the board, thanking central office
002team um for all your support at Men and Center. Um, thanking Jess Leanne, our assistant principal, for making a seamless entry into her first year as assistant principal at Men Center and the transition from Southerntherland High School. We're lucky to have her. Um, it's been really remarkable the relationships in just a short year she's made with students and families and and staff. Um, thanks. Uh also of course thank you to our dedicated staff at Men and Center and to our um our families, our parents and our students who make Men and Center such a special place. U we began our school year focusing on uh Men and Center's culture. Um we're lucky um Miss Heather Clayton left us in a really good place. So we're just continuing to kind of reinforce where we've been. Um,
003we celebrated our strengths and really focused our conversations around gratitude. Um, recognizing our foundation of staff safety, trust, and belonging, and focusing on a community of collaboration. As we kicked off the school year, we established three mantras to help us guide our beliefs and our values. um focusing on what's best for kids, supporting our colleagues, and also having fun. We recognized early that when adults enter the building and they're in a good place and um they can be prepared for kids, then we're creating a welcoming and affirming environment for all our children. Uh we reference these norms throughout the these I should say these mantras throughout the year. um during group meetings like our instructional leadership team um during smaller group meetings like our committee we also use these three mantras as a foundation to
004build norms for um for meetings about students for meetings about structure in the building and it's always helped this year guide us and stay focused on these important priorities in building our school community for students, staff and families. amilies. We recognize that our traditional our traditions are are critical. Um, a couple that we're really proud of. Um, number one, our welcome back picnic that happens in September that could not happen without all of the hard work from our PTSA. Um, is amazing this year. I think we had over a thousand students, parents, and staff there at the picnic back in our green space. And it's a wonderful time for everyone to get back to Men and Center and get ready for the school year. Um, another that we're really always proud of is our international
005day. International day happens every other year at Men and Center. We just celebrated it in March. And this is really a big deal for our community because um we're proud of how culturally diverse we are. Um, one particular part of the event that I'll share is we do um almost like a museum walk of um tables set up around the building where countries or cultures are represented. This year we had over 25 tables representing cultures or countries from those 25 different locations manned by parents or families or grandparents so that our kids could walk around the building, meet those individuals, learn about the different cultures and countries around the world represented at Men and Center. Um uh a new one that was a lot of fun, no pun intended this year was our MCE Stride
006and Shine fun run. Um this is um was a wonderful PTSA fundraiser that we did during the school day. Um kids were able to get outside, get a run in, get some exercise, have some fun. If I go back, we really leaned into the fun factor. You can see on the right here, our second grade team surprised everyone by showing up in animal inflatables and doing a couple laps in their inflatables. So, they had a great time with that. Um, next I'd like to um to talk about the work we did this year around strengthening our culture through clear purpose around three key areas. The first being our social emotional learning. Um we were looking at um our daily routines um that foster connections and habits and encourage thoughtfulness and create a welcoming and firming
007environment in school. Some of those routines that we've established and we worked to um to even improve this year um are our morning meetings. Um this is where from kindergarten through fifth grade you could see in a classroom kids sitting together in a circle um sharing a greeting um using each other's names, sharing news or something that's important to them in their life and also just um building foundational skills like taking turns. Um we rely on um facilitating restorative meetings between children in order to solve conflict and um help them work through issues that they might have. Also really great programs like our kindergarten and first grade buddies um which gives both our youngest and oldest kids a chance to connect with other students in the building. And this year we really um did work
008with our um with our fifth grade safeties, not only to be present during arrival and dismissal, but also to give them some prompts to greet children, have a smile on their face, and really help build that welcoming feeling um from students to other students. Um the next key area is our care and support for all learners. Um we're proud to be a hub for um ENL instruction for elementary schools at uh in Pittsford schools along with Ellen Creek Elementary. Um this year we had I think eight students that came to us not speaking any English and it's amazing to see the progress that they made this year. Um I always get a kick out of a few of them that walk by and say, "Hello, Mr. Albano." And I'm not sure how much else there's
009they they've learned besides that, but they love that and they feel confident and they love to share that they're learning English at school. Um, of course, our support of students in special education. Um we're working um we worked this year to have meetings with teachers, our data team meetings in order to look at performance of children that might need a little bit extra help in academic intervention services and also to support our students that participate and benefit from instructional challenge. Um the next key area is academic growth and um exploration in um in ELA. So, um, this area is, um, really been driven this year by work that our district did in our ELA program review and recognizing some of the areas that were really important for our students to make progress in ELA growth.
010Um, particularly in K2, um, we're embracing science of reading best practices and routines. A couple examples are, um, our foundations routine, which helps kids develop their phonics skills. um and also our heardy routine for our youngest learners which focuses on uh phonmic awareness, letter name identification, things like that. Then our our our students transition um to third grade through fifth grade where they moved away from learning to read um and more of a for focus on um reading for meaning. So reading for information and most importantly we find um reading for the love of literature. A great example of that is just recently in the last month our fifth grade team introduced a new program um they call Battle of the Books is seen here where again with the partnership of PTSA and funding they've
011been reading novels for the last three weeks um some children read one novel some children read six novels and then the culminating activity started today where they were put into mixed group teams and were able to compete in a in a supportive way to answer questions about the books that they've been reading. And it was amazing to see them um engaged in reading, engaged in literature, and really be excited about what they're learning and um the books that they're being experienc that they're experiencing at school. Um and also in math. Um so we spent this year supporting our recommendations from our recent math grouping uh grouping practices. Um particularly looking at varying instructional groups as often as possible. So that means making sure that children have an opportunity to work in partnerships with other children
012that um have different learning styles and are learning um that they have different strengths in in mathematics. Um we've been building um and practicing essential math conceptual skills through both direct instruction with teachers but also student centered partnerships um visible active workspaces around the classroom. So you wouldn't be surprised to be in Menace Center and see what I call the great big whiteboards in a class and partnerships at whiteboards working on um on math problems and in many cases engaging performance tasks that are multi-step and really pushing their thinking. Um, with that, I'll I'll wrap up by jumping back um back to the beginning of the year um where we celebrated in September our welcome back assembly with all of our students. Our message and vision this year was we care. Um like in the
013past um we've got a grade level grade level representing every one of the colors. So all of those people that you see are students or adults wearing their grade level colors to form to form our message we care. Um it was meant to connect and focus on caring and friendship at Men and Center. Um also connected to um a book that we all shared and talked about um the circles all around us. We know that our students come to us with circles of caring including their family. They get to Men and Center and create circles of caring with friends and their classes and then eventually um we hope that it's a circle of caring for the whole Men and Center community. That's all I have. Thank you. Thank you so much, Principal Adam. We want
014you to know we want you to know that we appreciated the building tour, but the best part part is always to interact with the staff and see the smiles and friendly faces. So, thank you and to see the work that the kids are doing. We got to go into one of the classroom and that's that was very exciting. It was great to host everyone. Thank you. Okay, if I could just share, we have principles that are here and they did not get applause at the beginning. at the end. I don't want you to think this is the norm, but this audience is amazing. So, well, Rich, I've been at Men Center for eight years, but this is my first year as principal, so I guess that's what I get. Happy for you. Okay, thank you
015everyone. Appreciate it. Thank you. Next, we will have board action three approval of three approvals of minutes. So the first one will be from May 12, 2025, a special meeting with one abstension, Renee. So may I have a motion? Thank you. All in favor and a post. Thank you. The next minutes are from May 13, 2025. You have a motion to accept those. Thank you. All in favor? None. None opposed. Thank you. And the third meeting was a special meeting and we have a an extension from Renee, but may I have a motion to approve those? Thank you. All in favor? Thank you. So for board of education reports, we have we have none. Um our work is complete at this point and um we get to begin again July 1, but for now um
016so we'll move right to our dates to remember June. Yes. Okay. Oh, I'm so sorry. Okay. We have a a report from audit oversight committee. our chair Renee Kazakus. So, this will be very brief. Um, I know that you're going to cover much of what we actually talked about at the meeting, but we did meet on 528. Um, we had our annual meeting with uh Mr. Zuber. He is our external auditor for the district to discuss the purpose of the audit and any changes and new information that could potentially be on the horizon, which again is in our packet. Uh we also had a presentation from Sedara to discuss the security gap assessment. The district did well and is continuing to work on areas identified as potentially at risk. Jenny, the claims auditor, presented her
017report, and everything continues to look very good on that end. And Rachel, our district treasurer, gave an update on reserves and our balances in anticipation of the fund balance and reserve recommendations that are being presented tonight. And that is all that I have. And I'd also like to say that was my last meeting on audit oversight because my my term is up and I just wanted to thank you guys for that opportunity to be able to learn so much about the budget and the audits and how things work internally. Um and I'm looking forward to see who takes over next. Thanks. Thank you so much Renee for your service and she se served several terms. We appreciate that. Dates to remember um June 19th our schools are closed for Junth. June 21. What an exciting
018time. Southerntherland High School graduation, 10 o'clock at RIT and Menon High School graduation, 2 o'clock at RIT. On June 8th, we have our summer workshop from 8 to 3. Um, by a show of hands, may I see who can attend? Thank you. Thank you. And also June 8th is our next regularly scheduled board meeting at 5:00 pm. And on se um June July 9, I'm sorry, is summer workshop again from 8 to noon. Next, may I have a motion to accept the record of May 2025 budget vote and school board election? Thank you. All in favor? None opposed. Thank you. And we thank you to our we we have many thanks to our community for that budget vote and school board election results. Next, we have a motion to accept the approval of the superintendent
019contract. Thank you. All in favor? None oppose. Thank you so much. And now we will have a financial report from Mr. Terry Hassler. Hello. Good evening uh board of education, district leadership community. Um start off with uh the acceptance of the uh treasures report for April 30th, 2025. Um the only major um item of note is to we received the uh final amount of taxes from Monroe County unpaid taxes. That's pretty much the only item um that's of material worth mentioning um for your consideration for acceptance. Thank you. So we will have 11 items for your consideration and action and we will begin with the acceptance of the treasurer's report from April 30, 2025. Thank you. All in favor? None oppose. Thank you. The next um action for your consideration is the Transpo Bus Services
020LLC contract ESY 2025 that you reviewed in your packets. You have a motion to accept that. Thank you. All in favor? Thank you. None opposed. The next action is our 2025 2026 food service budget and prices. Thank you. All in favor? Yes. Yes. I just wanted to make sure that approving this budget won't have any um ramifications. It won't restrict our ability to switch into the national lunch program uh for the 2526 school year should we so choose. No. Thank you. Thank you. Now, all in favor? Okay. None opposed. Thank you. Next, may I have a motion to accept the fund balance management and reserve recommendations? Are there questions? Hearing none. All in favor? Thank you. Next for your consideration is budget trans transfer request out of district special ed placements. Second questions hearing none.
021All in favor. Thank you. Next action is um budget transfer request for technology. Thank you. Any questions? Okay. Hearing none. All in favor? Thank you. Next for your consideration um reduction of teachers retirement reserve. We have a motion to accept that. Okay. Are there questions? Hearing none. All in favor? Thank you. Next is an auction of buses resolution. Thank you. Questions? All in favor? Thank you. Next we have the declaration of surplus equipment from food service. Thank you. Any questions about that? Okay. Hearing none. All in favor? Thank you. Next we have a motion. May we have a motion to entertain um the declaration of obsolete equipment athletics. Thank you. Any questions? Okay, hearing none. All in favor? And finally, um, may I have a motion to accept the intermunicipal agreement between Monroe County and
022PCSD for intermunicipal grant funding agreement food waste pilot program resolution. Okay, any questions? Yes. Sorry, I've got a question on this one. This will be a roll call. Oh, okay. Um, question. So, I just noticed uh in the contract that it says um we anticipate having less food waste because we don't participate in the national program. So, I just wanted to make sure that if we do choose to participate in the national program, that won't jeopardize this contract for composting. And conversely, this composting contract won't restrict our ability to uh participate in the national program if we choose. Timing is everything. Uh so the we applied for the grant thinking that um well knowing that we wanted to target at least one elementary school for um uh composting specifically. So uh we weren't expecting to
023get approved for it because we never get approved for grants and we were approved. Uh so when we submitted for that we did that in good faith and regardless there's going to be waste if we're in one program versus the other. So, um I think um ethically and and by the letter of of of our signature and the intent, uh we're fine. Thank you. So, again, this will be a roll call vote and we will start with um our um President-elect Casey. Vice President Palio. Yes. Member Burke, yes. Member K, yes. Member Huels, member Kazakos, and member Scott. President Scott. Be consistent. Thank you. And our bids a bid awards will be on the consent agenda. And we will move to our human resources report. Mr. Clark, thank you very much. Uh first for your
024consideration is the professional staff report. We have 11 certificated staff appointments, five regular substitute to probationary appointments, two school related professional appointments. We have one administrator resignation for retirement, two certificated staff resignations, and three school related professional resignations. Thank you. May I have a motion to accept the professional staff report? Are there questions? Hearing none, all in favor? Thank you, Mr. Uh, next for your consideration, we have the support staff report. We have two clerical appointments, four clerical resignations, two clerical resignations for retirement, three transportation appointments, four custodial maintenance appointments, one custodial maintenance resignation for retirement, two food service appointments, and one food service resignation. Thank you. May I have a motion to accept the support staff report? Second. Thank you. Okay. Are there questions hearing? None. All in favor? And so I would like
025to um begin with um an announcement and it is with gratitude and somnity that our entire Pittsford school's board of education announced the retirement of Superintendent Michael Piro after 30 years of service. Superintendent Mike Piro is a compassionate leader who has steadfastly championed our district's mission, values, and vision throughout his tenure. We thank him for his skilled leadership and unwavering dedication to the students and staff of Pittsver schools. His last official day as superintendent will be December 1, 2025. He has agreed to stay on through January as deputy superintendent to assist with the transition and oversee the business office while our assistant superintendent for business is on medical leave. Please join me in giving Mike the first standing ovation in recognition of his service to our school district. I love this crowd. Whatever you want.
026We can skip public comment. Just say it. Thank you, Robin. Thank you, Mike. We appreciate you so much. We didn't vote on that one. Yes, we did. So next, um it is with impending excitement that our entire board of education share the next announcement with a preface as it relates to process. The board of education is responsible for selecting, hiring, and reviewing our community's superintendent of schools. Once Superintendent Piro communicated his intent to retire, our board of education began educating itself with the Monroe County School Boards Association professional development and event entitled Superintendent Search and Contract Negotiations. And our president of MISPA is here with us tonight. She's a former president of our school board, Amy Thomas. Thank you. Thank you for that opportunity for our learning. And so that was presented by Maro Bosey's
027one and Bosey's two district superintendent at that time, Joan Antoni and Dan White in April 2024. We followed up with further consultation last summer and decided upon an internal candidate who was later interviewed and observed in action throughout the year. And I should add an S to that. With that, we present to you the next superintendent of Pittsver Schools, fortified with experience, institutional knowledge, and ready to collaborate. That person is Shaina Kataya. Thank you. I have more to say. So, experience. Miss Kataya began her career with our district in 2003 as a social studies teacher at Barker Road Middle School. She later became assistant principal at Brighton's 12 Corners Middle School before returning to Pittsver in 2014 as principal of Barker Road Middle School, a position she held until 2021. Institutional knowledge. In 2021, Kataya
028was appointed director of student services and you all know that this is a catchall position. and she gets touch points with so many people in our school district, so many units, you know, students, staff. But anyway, um she over formerly she oversees areas of health and safety counseling, nursing services, registration, enrollment records, and social emotional support programs, just to name a few. prepared to collaborate. She holds a bachelor's of arts in history and secondary education from Nazareth University and a master's in educational leadership from St. John Fiser University. She also earned certifications in school district administration from Sunni Brockport and human resources management from Cornell University. Most recently, she participated in the future superintendent academy 2023 2024 and Harvard University's civic leadership in the superintendency program in 2024. I think she's ready. Okay. Finally, she
029will officially assume the role on December 1. And our board, our entire board is confident that Miss Kataya is someone we know and trust to lead the district, uphold its values, and continue putting students first. So, thank you again. And um we Oh, yes. And we will be voting. Well, thank you. I have to contain my excitement, but um we will be voting on our next superintendent. Thank you, President Scott. So, um for your consideration is the appointment of the new superintendent of schools. Thank you. May I have a motion to accept? Thank you. All in favor? and oppos. Thank you so much. And finally for your consideration is the approval of the new superintendent contract. Thank you. May I have a motion to accept approval of that? Thank you. All in favor? The eyes
030have that. Thank you. Thank you. Okay, moving on. We will now have our special education report from Miss Woods. Good evening. The Committee on Special Education and Preschool Special Education recommendations are on the consent agenda. Thank you. Next, we will have our superintendent's report. Mr. Piro, thank you, Robin. Uh there is not a need for an executive session uh this evening. Wanted to give special thank yous. Um three of them in particular. one for a donation of a new buddy and art circular outdoor bench uh valued at $2,100 and four steel soccer goals with nets, another $2,600 from Allen Creek PTSA to Allen Creek Elementary School. Thank you, Alen Creek and PTSA. We have a donation of $4,388 that came from our school foundation uh that is used to pay uh the stipens for advisors
031uh for our talent program um which is to grow our own um teachers uh from within. uh as well as our edu bridge program which is um our uh connections with um partnerships uh between uh the Jewish foundation um and with uh Modí and in Israel. And then third uh donation of $8,000 from PTSA for the all popular Gaga Pit uh to be placed at Jeff Road. It's about time uh elementary school. So, thank you PTSA for all your donations. Uh, we do have um typically I don't um do any kind of uh formal presentation, but we have um several policies uh and and things happening at the state level. So, I'm going to leave my seat and come on up to the front. So the board of I want to thank the board of
032education uh for all their work with different policies and procedures that have come from the the state. Uh one is um our responsibility starting July 1 to have created a process and then to have selected uh students to be on our board of education and I'll talk about that in a minute. Uh second, which has been a big deal, is uh the governor just passed in in the May budget um a distraction-free school environment, which means um essentially that's no cell phones in schools across the state. The third, uh the governor passed in her budget uh um policies around heat mitigation. And then um fourth uh she also passed the concept of all schools public schools in United in New York State to offer universal free meals. So I just want to give a a
033two two slide overview of each of these. Uh so we starting July 1 will have an exeicio student board members um sitting at the table with us. Uh the rules are as follows. Um they are not allowed to vote. uh they are not allowed to attend executive sessions or things where things have to be really confidential and like you are not allowed to receive compensation uh and they will serve on our board for one year and then we had to think through how they were going to be uh selected to to serve on the board of education. So we brought it back to the buildings uh principles established a selection committee and nominated either a junior or a senior to serve for that one-year period. that nominated student must be then approved through each building's
034instructional leadership team once selected. So, right now we have um both members selected. Uh but I really don't feel comfortable sharing that at this time because some students haven't been informed that they weren't selected that wanted to be on. So, we want to make sure we get to all the students first. The students that were selected for Med and Sutherland um they will receive uh an email introduction from the board of education next kind of a get to know you back and forth with some questions. Uh they will then attend a summer training on being a board member from Monroe County School Boards Association. And part of them being on our school boards means that they will um be responsible for logging in like our board does for agendas in advance. Uh and then at
035every meeting they will uh provide insights and highlights um around Southerntherland and around Mend. At that point uh they can decide if they want to stay for the duration of the board meeting or if if they um want to leave. We do understand how busy students are and we're trying to maximize uh the amount of students that were eligible for this. So they may stay for every board meeting or they may leave after their report. So that is um the first uh we spent a board retreat or two figuring this out. So we're in good shape for for that. The distraction-free environment the board obviously we've spent um a few retreats on this. And what the government governor shared is that um all schools across New York State are not allowed to have internet enabled
036devices. Um, we also in our policy added any messaging devices to to go with the um intent of of the the governor's law. So, for example, students may be able to message each other through things that you don't need the internet for. And so, we added added that line. Um, if we want a distraction-free environment, then we wanted a distraction-free environment. Um, there's great detail into what an entire day means. You may have heard bell to bell, but specifically that means that cell phones are off um and or on airplane mode the entire day, including lunch, study hall, and passing time. Uh they um should not have access to their phones. So, at the secondary level, phones will be stored in their school locker. Uh at the elementary level, we have a little bit of
037work to still do, but we're thinking that um there'll probably be somewhere housed in the classroom. Uh we also had to figure out and we'll be um a little bit more specific in our regulations, a way for parents to get a hold of students and students to get a hold of their parents or guardians. Uh at the same time, uh there's also um areas of um where students can have uh phones on them, specifically if it's on their um IEP um or if it's on uh 504 or if there's medical considerations. Uh and then we also will be adding in our regulations that um if there's a case-byase basis um there's something unusual that we're not thinking about where a student needs the phone on them uh that a building um administrator can approve that.
038Uh and then we also um share in the policy uh what violations will be and we all agreed that this needs to be really progressive in nature especially our our first year. So thinking about if a student has their phone out or is texting or or doing um anything with their phone during the day, uh we would look at the start as warnings. Um then we would probably involve u parents after that. If it happens again, we're going to take your phones away too. Um if it happens again after that, we'll look at probably detentions or um progressive right all the way to the extreme which would be an inschool suspension. uh students will not be suspended out of school for multiple violations. So those things will be a little bit more concrete and they'll
039be placed in our code of conduct. As far as feedback on the policy, it's really interesting. The governor pretty much laid out everything that needed that we needed to adhere to. Um but we did work with our parent advisory council starting in the fall in anticipation of this. Um our special education parent council provided a lot of amazing feedback. Uh we had about um close to 100 parents uh attend our power hour uh to provide feedback. Uh we spent our administrative meetings and our PDLT uh and we've also met with teacher leaders uh and um my student advisory council provided amazing uh feedback uh to the to the policy. Um, so the policy is what it kind it specifies what you can and can't do. The regulations get into the day-to-day operations of what we
040mean by the policy. So, um, we will roll out the regulations or we'll work on the regulations more specifically in our summer retreat when we have teacher leaders, parent leaders, um, board of education. Uh, and that will be on day two. Uh, so for example, how clear can we be with violations? Um what do we do if um um around um uh how to decide if a special uh dispensation should be given for someone to have a phone? What does that look like? Uh social supports are things we're going to need to talk about at our retreat. This is a big deal. Um having um uh phones away from students after being connected non-stop all the time, that's going to be habit breaking. um or addiction breaking. Uh so we need to be prepared for
041that. Our high school students do not use their lockers. Um right now uh and so getting accustomed to walking in school, putting your phone in the locker. Um if you we have an open campus, so if you leave for lunch, you go to your locker, take it out, you can go to lunch and have your phone, but when you come back in the building, it's going back in the locker. Um and then we have other areas that we need to figure out um as far as distractions. what do we do with uh the AirPods, uh games, videos, um etc. But I think the biggest thing is we're we're going to need to find a way to assess how the policy is working out. Are there areas that we need to um change in the policy,
042um revise regulations, etc. And then again, um we have the progressive discipline piece. So, uh thank you to the board for your time with that. Thank you for everyone that's provided feedback. Um we've had quite a bit. Uh the next policy is heat mitigation. Uh so the governor passed uh in her um in her budget uh that schools must have a policy when schools get a certain u to a certain temperature. So uh what she shared was 82 degrees is the magic number. So in classrooms um if the classroom itself uh is 82 degrees um these are the things um that we need to be prepared to do um turning off over things to lower the temperature or to not have it rise um common sense things pulling down the shades uh we have emailed
043all staff to make sure that there is accessibility to fans in the classroom um opening windows uh working with our HVAC turning off unused electronics providing water brakes Excuse me. And then the second part is what happens if your classroom gets to 88 degrees, which is pretty warm. Uh, and the policy um has language in there where you'll see where practical u practicable. So the district will remove students and staff from that area um where we can uh the superintendent or designate may direct principles to have people leave that classroom. So for example, I think of third floor at Southerntherland. um you know what happens if a a classroom is at 88 degrees there. Uh so looking for um cooler spaces within the the school building for that class to go to and also we
044now have consideration for closing school in the event we can't cool a classroom down and it becomes a health and safety concern. So that is another policy that the board has worked on. Uh and then we have the universal free meals which isn't a policy but it was in the governor's budget. Uh so the governor's budget was signed into law May 9th. um which says that schools can provide free breakfast and free lunch uh K through 12 uh should you decide to enroll in the program. The frustration a little bit which isn't surprising um and I don't mean that uh in disrespect at all, but when the budget passes in May um then you're not going to get your first guidance until a little bit later. So on June 5th, we received our first guidance
045um which talked about some of the logistics, which means that our free and reduced lunch forms still need to be completed um regardless if you are um uh um buying the the the the lunch or breakfast or not. Um we have to outwardly uh encourage families to apply based on their income. And then three times a year, uh, we must submit to the state regarding how we're doing relative to participation. A lot of this really is about how much money is the federal government going to kick in versus the state government. And um, so what the governor has asked schools to do is to reach out and encourage those forms to be submitted um, and and all of that stuff. We had follow-up questions from the June 5th guidance. Um we had questions like can
046we participate incrementally by grade level? Can we start later in the year? Um and uh we start answers are starting to trickle in on those. Uh and the answers are yes and yes um is is what we've heard so far. Our second guidance is coming tomorrow. And then there's this deadline to apply by July 29th. Um and I have to thank um Elaine I believe is here right? I have to thank Elena for this. she's our food service director sitting in the back. Um she took the proactive stance of uh submitting for universal free meals uh for all nine of our buildings. And so what we have found out is we can submit um to go into the universal free meals right now and at any point we can enter or at any point we
047can rescend. So that July 29th date now becomes moot for us uh because we will um uh have met that deadline and we'll we'll meet that deadline by next week I think. Um and that gives us a lot of a lot of uh flexibility now. Uh some of our concerns that we have um are I think all school districts have is the financial sustainability relative to how much the state um can actually fund um throughout this and then what's going to happen with the federal government if they decide on um any cuts midway or at the beginning. Um things that we just need to figure out. But the bottom line with this is that our pledge is to make meals as nutritious and delicious as possible regardless of of where we are. So if we
048join the program, that's one issue. And then you have another issue which is quality, quantity um of of food, nutrition of food, etc. So, what we're excited to do and and I have to thank Elena so much for being so um open-minded and and gracious about um her desire to continuously improve in this area. So, I would just share with everyone that's that's here speaking and everyone here that's that's written to the board, thank you for your feedback. Um knowing that um we want to um and we are taking it very very seriously. Uh so currently what we're doing uh we are sending our applications to join for all nine of our schools. Um our plan is to survey the community. Um so what we want to make sure of is that we're doing um
049whichever direction we go u we want to make sure the comm the community is behind us. And so if um the community is very favorable around the universal free meals great that's that that's uh significant for us. We also recognize that in order to do better um we probably I think you heard Rich uh talk about a curriculum review. Um I think we need to do something similar relative to food service. So pulling together um parent reps, student reps, um admin um possibly a consultant um that can visit our cafeterias um visit Elena, see where the food's prepped, see what our menu looks like, provide ideas for different and more exciting um food. Um look at our pros and cons and and do better in in in every sense of the word. So like anything
050we do, there's always areas for continuous improvement. Um, so we want this to be collaborative. We want to make the right decision. Um, we want to um um do what's right for our our students and our community. So, we're going to be reaching out um in very short order um relative to people's thoughts around food service and specifically um what are people's thoughts about um entering the the universal free meals. To be very candid, it's hard to say no, right, to um something that's free for all students. So, I that that I'm expecting and hoping um that that people really reply to the survey. So, we'll be sending something out to say look for a survey. Um and then the survey will go out, then there will be a reminder about the survey and so
051we really can get a sense of um where does the community um uh sit with all of this. So, if we decide to participate in the universal program, some of our logistics that we're going to have to contend with are things like our staffing needs. How many more people are we going to have to hire? Um thinking that we're going to have more people um purchase or not purchasing but um receiving food during the day. Um we are probably going to have to look at our food service lines. Uh and then because right now our food service lines are designed to feed x amount of students uh during a 20-minute lunch period at the elementary school versus what would the extra traffic look like in those lines? And then does that mean we're going to
052have to look at schedules in any way? Uh we're going to uh look at menus and what the ordering looks like. And then we have to look at timing and pacing. So that essentially means uh timing means when would we be prepared for this? So is it possible for us to start the program um in September uh for example with our K through five students but maybe need a little bit more time for the secondary school students and jump in. Um you name the date. uh December, January. Um and so those are the the types of things that we we need to review and be and be prepared for. So with that um we have more. If we do not decide to participate in the universal program um we uh then um we'll shift our
053gears to how do we make what we do better. And so what that means is um we would obviously continue our free and reduced lunch program for students who um socioeconomically meet that criteria. Uh and then have that same committee uh regardless then look at working with our food service on menu and offerings and um and then how do we communicate better and educate our community better and our students better what they can and can't have and what's what are the schedules look like? what's the nutritional value? Um, and then, you know, continuously strive for improvement in this area. So, um, thank you, uh, for all of your work relative to policy and helping unpack a lot of what we're we're working through in a short amount of time. So, with that, I would open
054it up for any questions for the board. Let me just make sure I don't have another slide. Well, I do, but not around this. Any qu any other questions? as far as ordering and purchasing regardless of which way. Yes. Okay. Yeah. And there's different um uh different pros and cons to that being in the program and out of the program. Are there any restrictions from the state or the federal level? So you're that's a good question, Rene. So what we um we met this morning. Uh and it was very interesting trying to word a survey to get the results of to try to target the questions we really wanted answers to. And um and then we got to a point saying but people are are answering these questions without having background knowledge. So Elena has
055been wonderful to say she will do a one page um if we're in the program, here's what to expect. If we're not in the program, here's what to expect. Uh and so that will we're going to ask people to read that first and then answer the survey next. And I think a lot of those questions would be would be answered there. Regardless of where we go, we will be looking for volunteers. Um so we'll be working through PTSA uh for parent volunteers. Uh we'll be working with our principles um for probably an elementary level, secondary level. Uh and then as far as students as well um and and and um other staff members. Okay. So just I'm I'm almost done. Uh congratulations Shaya. Um I uh had no idea this was happening. Uh, I I
056don't know where my retirement came from, but Robin, thank you for the very kind words. But Shane, I just want to say to you, congratulations for this well-earned and welldeserved appointment. Um, your elite level of leadership has been seen at both the principal level at Barker Road and throughout your tenure at the district level in student services. your institutional knowledge, uh, your pedigogy as a leader, and your student- centered approach to all problems and possibilities will serve this community well. Uh, Pittsver is fortunate, um, for your willingness to serve at the highest level. Um, after 30 something years, um, I could not think of, uh, someone to come in and do a better job. So, congratulations, So, this is really I promise um uh thank yous to Dr. Kimmer. Uh Dr. Kimmer is retiring uh
057this year. Uh and Jeeoff, you've been instrumental in so much of our successes as a district. You are the person that does things behind the scenes so things can operate smoothly. Uh during CO, um we would not have survived without you. Uh you were up every morning sending out surveys uh before a lot of people woke up. Um you assisted with distribution of tests. You submitted all of our county and state reports. You did the stuff that no one wanted to do and you never complained about it. Uh you led um our enrollment boundary study uh and execution of that based on your phenomenal year 1, year five, and year 10 projections on our enrollment. Um you've also enhanced our district significantly both in the form of personal safety relative to professional data um and
058um physical safety uh with a lot of your ingenuity thinking around our communication systems in our building, our intruder locks, our badges, our vestibules, all which were cutting edge at the end at the at the um at the time and and still are. Uh so Jeeoff, very sincere thank you for all you've done from on behalf of me. um personally and professionally, you've been amazing to work with. Thank you. And President Scott, I want to thank you for two years of steadfast leadership as the president of our board of education. I want to thank you for navigating controversial and at times political hot topics. Uh for being present at nearly every function and for your deep care for our student, staff, and the community. Uh it's amazing. Uh when I mention something about a student
059to Robin, uh she will um remember it and then she'll text me two weeks later or when we talk on the phone, she'll say, "How did it work out with this student?" So your care and your passion for kids um is is why one of the reasons you're a remarkable leader. Also under your leadership we have seen two budgets pass at record levels. Uh never before have we gone backtoback years at 80% approval which I believe is a reflection of all your contributions. So thank you for all you do. And that concludes the superintendent report. Thank you. Thank you so much. Next, may I have a motion to accept the consent agenda? Second. Okay. Thank you. Okay. All in favor. Thank you. The eyes have that. Thank you. So, is there any old business? Okay.
060Any new business? I have just something really quick uh just to add to all of our celebrations. Um behalf of the board, we are very excited to welcome Shaina to the new role starting in December. And we have just a small gift we wanted to give to you. If I could when I started in 2013, I never received Things have already changed. Goodbye, Mike. Hello, Shaya. We love you, Mike. You're not leaving yet, Mike. So, next we have um public comment. And I'd like to begin with uh uh good evening. And our entire board of education received eight public comments regarding the school lunch program. Um, you may be aware that the final site platform that supports public comment input experienced a glitch and repairs in progress. Please know that we apologize for that and
061appreciate your patience. Um, for those who are not physically present, thank you. We receive and hear your comments as we move forward. For those who are in the building, please come forward as I call your name. And we will begin with Lori Englesby. Yes. Thank you, Lori. There's a button on the mic. I got to turn it. Thank you. Thanks. Uh, good evening everyone. Um, I'm here tonight on behalf of many families in our district who are deeply concerned about the cons current state of our lunch program. Some of these concerned parents work within our schools and have chosen not to speak publicly, fearing repercussions if they disclose what they witness daily. Over the past couple of months, multiple sources have provided clear documentation showing that the district has failed to uphold the promises made
062when we opted out of the National School Lunch Program. I've compiled this evidence into an accessible and sharable document so that every Pittsford family can see what our children are offered. The evidence shows that our families are paying 50% more than most neighboring districts. Yet, our children are receiving unbalanced meals that do not meet Pittsver's own minimal nutritional standards. Every day, high school students are served vegetable portions that fall short, almost always less than the required 8 ounces. Fruit cups are underfilled. Meals that are supposed to include meat often don't. The quality and quantity of food simply do not meet our children's needs. In 2013, the issue is food waste. In 2025, our students are feeling hungry. In response, they're buying unhealthy add-ons such as donuts, chips, and cookies, which are prominently displayed at eye
063level near the checkout. This not only undermines their health but also encourages poor eating habits and substantially increases costs for our families. These concerns from parents are not new. But without clear enforcable standards, families have been powerless to bring about meaningful change. We face a critical deadline. If we do not rejoin the national school lunch program by July 29th, I guess um Pittsford families will be excluded from the free breakfast and lunch benefits New York is offering to all students next year. For years, our families have borne the burden of higher priced lunches and we missed out on free meals during COVID years. Why should we lose millions of dollars each year to sustain a local program that has failed to deliver? Other nearby districts, Fairport, HFL, and Webster are part of the national program
064and have addressed the very issues that once led us to opt out. They serve nutritious, visually, sorry, visually appealing meals using ingredients from local farms or school gardens. HFL allows students to self-s serve vegetables, salads, eliminating unnecessary plastic, and ensuring no child leaves hungry. Fairport runs a composting program and uses it to teach students about sustainability. They've even created educational videos to show students what a lunch includes and how to minimize the waste. They've turned lunch into a learning opportunity. If those districts can thrive under the national program, so can we. Enrolling in the NSLP is a chance to save millions of dollars and ensure our students receive the nutritionally balanced meals they deserve. I urge Pittsford families to review the evidence we've provided and when the time comes, vote to opt back into the
065national lunch program. Thank you, Miss Englesby. Next, we will have um Ethan Englesby please come forward. Is it okay? Uh, hello everybody. My name is Ethan and I'm a Mendon High School student. I'm here to talk to you about several things I find disappointing about our lunch program. When I started school in Pittsburgh, lunches were served on washable, reusable trays. Now, each student that buys lunch wastes about four plastic cups each day. I did some math and if only half of our Pittsford students bought lunch and used four cups per day, this adds up to over two million cups going into the landfill each year. That makes me sad. It goes against everything they teach us in school about reduce, reuse, and recycle. We should do better. In addition, we are served pancakes and waffles
066warmed up in plastic wrappers. This is not what I would expect in our district. It is unhealthy to eat to heat food and plastics. In health class, they tell us to fill our plate half full of colorful fruits and vegetables, which is impossible with the portions of veggies that are currently being offered. The inconsistency between the signage and what lunch workers tell us has created confusion among us students. When this effort began, I asked my friends what they thought a lunch consisted of. and none of them really knew. Nearly every day I selected the baby carrot cup. They only contain five baby carrots. That is not what a proper portion for a 17-year-old boy should be. I found out recently that's not even close to the one cup serving that the district says is the
067minimum per day. At HFL, under the national program, their students self serve as many carrots or salad as they want without all those cups. I took photographic evidence of our lunches and measured the scoop sides served at men high school. The majority of the sides were half a cup. Some of them were a quarter of a cup. And only once did I ever get served one whole cup of green beans. These portions are part of the reason why I spent hundreds of dollars on extras this year. Money my parents could have spent on other things. I have one year left in this district, but my brothers have six more. It would be great if we could get free lunches that were properly sized so he wouldn't all be so hungry. Thank you. [Applause] Thank you
068very much, Ethan. Next, I would like to ask Caris no um Tanya Frink to come forward. No, Chrissy Jones. Hi. Hello. Um, so I'm here to advocate for better school lunches for our Pittsver students. Pittsver's current school lunch program is both expensive and disappointing. We were told that operating a self-supporting department would allow for more flexibility to provide well-balanced and nutritional food offerings from local sources, but instead we pay a significant amount of money for our kids to have access to small main meals and limited side options that aren't clearly defined or communicated. Many families choose to pack their lunches to ensure healthier options. And so the program runs by pushing numerous sugary extras on the kids who buy. Because of this self- sustaining approach, for example, our elementary schools provide the following alle cart
069snacks on a rotating basis. Regular ice cream bars and popsicles, premium ice cream, big chocolate chip cookies and brownie cookies, chips, giant donuts with glaze and sprinkles or powdered sugar, rice krispie treats, fruit roll-ups, and chocolate chip muffins. These aren't part of a healthy lunch, and yet they're highly accessible and of course tempting to younger children who often eat them first during the short lunch period. and then throw away their mains, their fruit, or their vegetables. Each family is in charge of placing restrictions on their kids' meals, but kids shouldn't have access to this many unhealthy options in the first place. I see so much room for improvement um starting with opting in to the national school lunch program before the deadline to take advantage of the New York State's universal school meals program like
070our neighboring districts of Fairport, HFL, Penfield, Victor, Brighton, and Webster, etc. I would really like to be on your committee. Um, that was an add-on, but I have researched 29 school districts across the state with similar median household incomes and percentages of persons below the poverty line and about 88% of them are currently enrolled in the NSLP. I have poured over their websites and menus to compare meal quality, v variety, and price. Many districts provide online nutritional content or allergen information per item and they offer halal or co kosher food items. I have seen schools that highlight local foods and they celebrate local vendors. Schools that have enrolled in sustainability and composting initiatives, schools that have provided online menus with pictures and opportunities to rate the items. and schools who have taken extra effort to
071clearly communicate healthy options, item requirements, and how to avoid food waste. We need to significantly improve the quality and nutrition, quantity, cost, transparency, communication, and sustainability aspects of Pittsburgh school lunch program. So many other New York State school districts are doing it better, and I think we can, too. Thank you. Would Carrie Masha please come forward? Carrie, she's not here. Okay. And finally, we will have Carara Aipovich. Okay. Well, that concludes our public comment. A couple things are are necessary, I think, when when you look for a um path of least resistance for positive change. And I, you know, one is um parents and students uh taking the time to come in and write and be thoughtful um relative to changes that they want to see. And I can't thank you all enough who came
072in and were um this is what public comment should be. You were respectful. you came with your data, you came with passion, um and you came with your opinion, and you came with an idea that you'd like to see at the end. So, thank you. Um the other part is we have our food service director, Elena, in the back. Um Elena, can you just stand up and wave real quick? Um I want to thank Elena because it takes someone really brave and a desire to to really continuously improve to to stay here and be open um to listening to uh to feedback. This is Elena's second year here. Um, and I shared with Elena that she didn't have to come tonight that um, uh, if she had anything else on her calendar to do it.
073Um, and I would I would relay um, what was shared to to her and she said, "No, I want to be here because I want to hear what um, what the concerns are." I'm really comfortable and confident that this is an issue that we're going to get better. Um, and there's not a better person than Elena um, who has the drive and the creativity to do that. I did hear um a couple times the uh concern about the July 29th date. I I hope that's like out of your minds right now. Uh so um again, without me asking Elena to do this, um she has done her research. She's met with the state once or twice already. Um and so um she is doing a lot of paperwork for each of the nine schools to
074have that approved, have them submitted by next week. So the July 29th doesn't matter. Um, I will reiterate the work that we have to do. Um, uh, which I think is important if we want to do this well. Um, we need to make sure we do our diligence. Uh so in short order, we'll be reaching out to our wonderful PTSA presidents and our PDA unit presidents, our PDTA and um principles around student reps, and we're going to um pull a a a committee together um that can really help us not only now, but uh continue to drive improvement um uh within uh this concept of of meals and and universal lunch. The other thing just just to do our diligence, obviously we have to send out a survey. um really want to make sure that
075we are getting uh the whole community's voice uh involved. Uh and then um I I would rely on um our committee work to to look at uh along with our conversations with the state and and what it is we need or don't need uh in order to to make um improvements whether it's entering the program um in full, in part, breakfast, lunch, both. Uh but we do um I do have concerns right now of it's this isn't going to be flipping a switch and tomorrow we're we're all in. We are going to have to look at um hiring u which is is is an obstacle but not impossible. Um and in our serving lines and and all unintended consequences. So we're all in um we want we want um the same thing you do. You
076know we want our kids to have a nutritious uh and delicious uh lunch for all. So thank you for for coming out tonight. Thank you, Superintendent Pero. And now, may I have a motion for adjournment? Thank you. All in favor? The eyes have it. Thank you so much.