001Good evening everyone and welcome to the 27th annual Student Union's Board of Education Committee Canvas forum. My name is Leo Walland and I'm the 2024 2025 president of the Lancaster High School Student Union. The purpose of tonight's program is to allow for each candidate running for a trustee of the Lancaster School District Board of Education the opportunity to express his or her personal opinion in response to questions being submitted by members of the Lancaster School District voting committee. As you entered the auditorium tonight, several student union represents are not here. Sorry. Um there are three candidates running for three positions on the Lancaster Board of Education. Board members are elected at large and will serve a three-year term from July 1st, 2025 to June 30th, 2028. I will now introduce each candidate based on the
002order that they are listed on the ballot by reading a short biography. Will each candidate please stand as I introduce you and then we will begin the question and answer session. Our first candidate is Melissa Payne Smith. Melissa Payne is excited to announce her candidacy for the Lancaster School Board. As someone who has spent nearly her entire life in this community, it feels natural for her to take this next step in the service of the district that she has shaped her. She is proud to be a graduate of the Lancaster Central School District and the experiences she had as a student here played a huge role in shaping her career path. Her husband Josh is also a Lancaster graduate and together they made the intentional choice to raise their family in this district because of
003the strong foundation and lasting impact their education provided. After graduating from the University of Buffalo with a degree in anthropology and archaeology, Mrs. Payne Smith earned her MS in education from Kenishious University. She spent her past 21 years teaching in the Penrook Central School District where she is certified in biology and chemistry and has taught seventh and eighth grade science along with region's chemistry. She has also served as the science department chairperson for seven years and has been honored to be selected as the New York State master teacher. Throughout her career, Mrs. Smith has taken on leadership roles in mentoring new educators, designing curriculum and facilitating professional development. These experiences have deepened her understanding of what effective student centered education looks like and how important it is to support both students and educators in meaningful
004ways. As a parent, Mrs. Payne Smith has a personal stake in the in the continued success of our schools. Her son Braden is currently a freshman at Lancaster High School and her daughter Emma is in seventh grade at Lancaster Middle School. She has seen firsthand the dedication of our teachers and the incredible range of opportunities available to students across grade levels. If elected to the school board, Mrs. Payne Smith will be will bring a balanced perspective as both an educator and as a parent. She's committed to maintaining high academic expectations, creating safe and engaging classrooms that encourage curiosity and connection, and making careful, transparent decisions about how we use district resources to support the needs of our students and staff. Mrs. Payne Smith would be honored to represent our community on the Lancaster School Board.
005She truly believes in what this district stands for, the people who make it special, and all that we can achieve. Thank you, Mrs. Payne Smith. Our next candidate is John Tailro. John Telerico, I'm so sorry. Mr. Telerico has been a resident of the Lancaster School District for 15 years and a member of the board of education for the past six years. As the parent of a Lancaster student, Mr. Telerico has enjoyed being involved in the multitude of programs such as volunteering for the PTO events and attending district concerts, performances, and presentations. He enjoys all the opportunities the district offers to all of its students and seeing how things are run at the ground level. As a local business owner, Mr. Telerinko has valuable knowledge of what it takes to make an organization run and how
006leadership impacts the members of the group as a whole. During his tenure on the school board, he has used this professional knowledge to help guide decisions and be an active in the planning and and budgeting process each year. He has held positions on the healthc care committee, audit committee, school safety committee, and held voting delegate rights for the New York State School Boards Association. Most recently, he has served as the vice president of this of the board. Each role has given Mr. Telerico insight into how to better serve the district and community. Regarding his candidacy for reelection, Mr. Telerico wants to continue the work we've done in the past six years driving this district forward into the future. From the major capital projects the community has rallied behind to continuing the excellent educational, artistic, and
007athletic programs the students and parents in this district have grown accustomed to. Mr. Terrio has been married for 15 years to his wife Jennifer, an educator herself, first as a teacher in the Buffalo public schools and now as a professional development specialist at Boseis. Together they have one daughter currently in fifth grade at William Street. His role as a parent in the district gives him a personal stake in the success of the school system and a deep understanding of the needs and concerns of the Lancaster families. He values the strong relationships he has built with teachers, parents, and students, and takes great pride in being an active and approachable member of the school community. Thank you, Mr. Telerico. Our next candidate is Jonathan Van Norwick. Mr. Van Nortwick is excited to be running for the
008Lancaster School Board. He's currently a project manager at Rich Products where he utilizes his expertise in strategic planning and leadership to drive successful projects and in innovatives. Mr. Van Dortwick holds a degree in marketing from the University of Maryland and MBA from the University of Buffalo which have provided him with the knowledge and skills necessary to excel in his career. Beyond his professional life, Mr. Van Nortwick has a passion for sports and music. These interests have been in integral parts of his of my of his life. This year, he has the privilege of coaching youth travel baseball, which allows him to combine his love for sports and his dedication to mentoring and supporting young athletes. Mr. Van Nortwick is also a proud family man. His wife Sarah is an elementary school teacher which has provided
009him with familiarity with our education system. They both grew up in Lancaster and are graduates of Lancaster High School. So they have a vested interest in the district and chose to raise their family here. The Van Norwicks have two wonderful daughters, Olivia, a freshman at Lancaster High School and Avery, a seventh grader at Lancaster Middle School. Their support and encouragement have been invaluable to him and they inspire him every day to make a positive impact in our community. As a candidate for the school board, Mr. Van Nortwick aims to bring an unbiased perspective and genuine interest in the well-being of students to the Lancaster Central School District. His goal as the school board member are simply yet profound. To listen to the needs and concerns of students, parents, and educators, and to advocate for policies
010and decisions that will best serve the educational community. He is committed to being an approachable and responsive ear and voice, ensuring that the interests of the students remain at the forefront of all decisions. With his diverse background, dedication and volunteerism, and clear vision for the future, Mr. Van Nort is poised to be an effective and impactful member of the Lancaster School Board. Thank you, Mr. Van Nortwick. At this time, does anyone in the audience have any questions that they'd like to ask the candidates? Yes, ma'am. If you could just stand please and state your name and address. My name is Jennif. And this is my question for the new members. What are you most looking forward to as a new member of the board? Well, a microphone. We'll do that again. Hi, Jennifer 204 Central
011Lab. So, my question is for the new members. What are you most looking forward to as part of joining the or like what are you most looking forward to when you join the school board? All right. Can you hear me? Um, yeah. I'm just looking forward to being a part of the district and the team and the process and kind of continuing all the great things that have already been started here. Um, as I, as you heard, my children are getting older, so I've definitely seen the progression of their education and the impact it's had. And I'm excited about the future. I'm excited about the capital project and there's just a lot of great things. So, I just kind of want to give back to the community that I feel like, you know, did a
012lot for me and I'm excited to be part of that process. I knew I should first. Um, I mean, I I am Lancaster. I grew up here. Um, and now my girls are are growing up here and as Melissa said, as they're starting to get older, they're getting into a lot of the same things that I was in when I was their age. and it's excited me to learn more about the district. Um, learn more about how the school system works, how the school how the school board works, and um, I'm just excited to work with I've seen a lot of great people as come through the all of the schools my girls have gone through, and I'm just excited to work with everybody, um, and just help the school district get better. at this
013time. Does anybody else have another question? Okay. Um we have some prepared questions that we're going to ask um our candidates. So our my first question that I have is what experiences do you remember from your kindergarten through 12th grade education and how will these experiences affect your performance on the board of education? Um if we could have Mrs. Payne go first that would be great. All right. Well, this is a pretty easy one. Um I mean I can go back to remembering when I was in fifth grade. Um, we learned how to write uh business letters to like celebrities um to get recipes for a cookbook that we put together so that we could sell the cookbook to raise funds to go on a field trip to the Toronto Zoo. So like that is
014probably one of like the earliest memories I have of just loving being at school and just loving you know I was at Central Avenue at the time which is in the middle anymore but um and then like doing leadership class with Mr. Tinda being a part of um all the activities at the school the pep assemblies Mr. Lancaster. Um, I traveled to France and Italy with my French teacher. Um, that was incredible. Um, I was a part of musicals, the music program. I made so many friends. Um, DEA competitions. Um, obviously I loved all my science teachers or my science classes and many of them I still have contact with today, which is part of why I became a science teacher. Um, you know, sports, I was a cheerleader, um, going to the games. So,
015I guess it's pretty easy for me to say that I have a lot of memories um from my K through2 education, which is part of why I'm a teacher and why I want to be on the board. Thank you. Um we'll hear from Mr. Taller Rico next. So, I actually attended a different school. I didn't grow up in Lancaster. Been here uh for about 15 years now. But um what I really remember from my educational experiences um just the the different groups and whatnot that I was a part of. So I was uh I was on a bunch of different sports teams. I did the musicals. Um I was involved with um FBA, which is similar to to DECA. It's a Future Business Leaders of America. Um and really all the things I learned about
016being part of a team. um learning to compromise, learning to take other people's feedback. Um I feel like uh here at Lancaster there is a there's a a a niche for everybody to fit into. If you can't find your people here at Lancaster with all of the different clubs and the organizations and sports teams that we offer, um I I truly feel like you're just not looking hard enough. there's a place for every uh every student to feel welcome and accepted and have those experiences that will eventually come back to you in your adult life. So, it's something I I always appreciate it and I think of fondly when I go back through school and I I get very excited to see the things that are offered to the kids here because I know that
017it'll serve them in their adult life later on. Thank you. And we'll hear from Mr. Van Norwick. Um, I thought a little bit about this today. Wonder if a question like this would get answered. It's a lot of the the easy stuff that you think of, spirit weeks, school dances, clubs, sports. Um, a lot of people probably don't know, Mr. Scar was actually my basketball coach. Uh, when I was here, um, but, uh, concerts, uh, concert choir trips, just field trips in general. Um, those are, you know, the big things that you always remember. But I just also remember loving all of my teachers that I had from kindergarten up through high school. and just what a profound effect a lot of them had on my lives and now I'm seeing my daughters the same
018way. So um just as far as how it'll affect my performance on the board just you know wanting to see a lot of those things that I experienced continue to be offered so the kids now can experience them and just making sure that we have you know the best possible teachers in the district because you know again they make such a difference for me and my girls and I know for everybody. So, um I just want to make sure that we keep that that high bar for this district. Thank you all. Um my next question is in your estimation, what is the biggest challenge that faces the Lancaster School District? If elected, how do you plan to solve this challenge? Um we'll start with Mr. Taylor Rico. So thinking about this question um kind of
019thinking about my experience on school board over the last six years the biggest challenges that generally we face are kind of the unknowns. So it's things that we don't have direct control over. Um new laws that go into effect um new uh you know educational criteria that comes down the pipeline that we don't have control over. Um and it's you know like a very very quick example is the uh you know electric buses that are coming in the next couple years. The mandate from the state that's something that we have no control over which is a challenge financially for the district. And the way you get around those type of things is making sure that the people in the school district are in the right places. So you have the right leaders in the right
020places that are seeing the things coming down the pike that we're planning for those things. nothing is uh you know when they are a surprise we understand how to kind of get through them as a team. Um so that would be the number one thing I would say is just the unknown things that were out of our control. Other than that, it's for me it's just making sure that as a community we you know we pull together and everybody's pushing the same uh pushing in the same direction and keeping the main thing which is the kids in the district making sure that the kids in the district are taken care of that you know we do whatever we can to provide a good budget for the kids that programs are still the same. We have
021uh exceptional teachers to teach um and year after year the continuity continues. So, um, those are those are my my main things that I think of whenever I think of challenges for the district. Thank you. Um, and next we will hear from Mr. Van Norwick. Um, one of the biggest things I think is just continuing to raise the bar for the opportunities that are presented as a school here. One of the things I'm starting to realize as a parent, even though my daughter's only a freshman, she's incredibly driven towards her future and already knowing what she wants to do and what school she wants to target. So, as we look at schools, you I start to realize and maybe I didn't quite realize how crazy it's gotten, but how competitive the next step of education
022has become um at the college level. So, the opportunities that Lancaster provides these kids are so valuable. But I think the biggest challenge is continuing to make sure that we're giving the kids the opportunities to be the best version of themselves um to present the best version to the next level to make sure that they can um you know grow up and be whatever they want to be. And I think uh one of the biggest things I was surprised about coming up here is learning about themies here which I think are great and awesome. And so just what are those um what are the next things right to to come up with that are going to just make these kids even better even more marketable. Um, and then just making sure from a challenge perspective,
023again I mentioned before, um, that when we need new teachers to come on board that we're getting the best candidates out there and making sure that we're competitive to bring the best educators into the district to again make sure that the kids are getting the best experience that they can. All right, thank you. And next we'll hear from Mrs. Stain Smith. Yeah, the the one um challenge that comes to mind is definitely something that's not just the challenge here, but it's everywhere, and that's the teacher shortage. Um I know that's very difficult right now to first of all, there's a lot of young adults that are not going into education. So, we want to encourage them to go into education, but also just, you know, the pool of candidates is not significant. It's difficult to
024find teachers to fill positions. So that's um you know I guess a way that we could try to help with that is just to obviously make sure that we are supporting our teachers here in this district making sure they have the resources they need um and that they're they're being supported um by everyone and then hopefully um you know it will get around that is such a great place to work and that people who are looking for jobs and education want to be here and want to to come and work here at this fantastic Thank you. Um, next question. What is your stance on mental health awareness in Lancaster and how would you take extra steps to improve the social emotional education for Lancaster students? We'll start with Mr. Van Nortwick. Um, yeah, I think
025mental health awareness is definitely a critical aspect of supporting our students, the overall well-being and academic success. It's such a big topic now that you hear everywhere, especially with social media and whatnot. So, um I think it's very important. I don't I know it's starting to be talked about more. I still don't necessarily think it's talked about enough. Um I think it's just important to foster a school environment where students um feel safe and supported. Um you know, I think if we prioritize, we can help the students thrive in and out of the classroom. Um, but I just think it's something that there just needs to be an outlet for kids to be able to talk. And I don't know that there always um is an outlet. And again, not being on the board yet,
026really knowing what programs we have at the school, I just think um it's a really important aspect of helping kids get through their day, get through their year. Um and you know, sometimes people are struggling and we don't know about it. And I think having an outlet for um students to be able to talk and feel again uh involved, included um is something that's important for every student to have. Thank you. Next, we'll hear from Mrs. King Smith. So, yeah, I um look forward to, you know, once being a part of the board, you know, learning maybe more about how the district is trying to to, you know, deal with this issue. Um, definitely as a as a middle school teacher, I see this a lot. Um, and I think that, you know, I totally
027agree with what Mr. Garrick said about just making sure that, you know, the schools are an environment that are welcoming where all students feel safe. Um, obviously, you know, having teachers that, you know, develop relationships with students, um, because it's always helpful. you know, a teacher might not connect with every single student, but there's usually one particular teacher um that maybe a student might, you know, have a connection with, maybe have a common interest with, and they feel comfortable with that teacher. So, making sure that there are, you know, there are people that they have in the school, um that they can reach out to if they need it. Um I already know that there are there are things happening in the district at the schools. Um, so I kind of look forward to learning
028more about that and helping to support programs and get, you know, stakeholders and kids and and if there are things that they think, you know, need to be added or programs supported. Thank you. And Mr. Talerico. So when I kind of when I think of mental health as a whole, uh especially for students right now, I kind of think back to when I was in school, there um for the lack of a better word, you could kind of go home and turn off at the end of the day. But now, just like there's a 24-hour news cycle, there's kind of a 24-hour social media cycle. Even though you leave and go home from school, kids are still all connected. They're connected to their friends. are connected to kind of the situations that are still happening
029at the building and they go on well into um so it's tough mentally it can be tough for students and I think it kind of starts with having trusted teachers in the building. I think our teachers do a great job of uh making connections like Miss Biff just said, making connections with students, um being people who kids can come to if they're having issues. And on the flip side, I know that over the last couple years, we have added um school psychologists as well as additional social workers to the school um in order to kind of mediate some of the issues that have come along. Um, so in general, um, I'm I'm very supportive of it. I've supported every budget that's included an additional, um, school counselor or psychologist to make sure that kids get
030the resources that they need, um, when they need it. Thank you. Um, next question. Is there a particular issue that motivates you to serve on the school board? We'll start with Mr. Terrio. I don't know if there's a a particular specific issue that motivates me to to run again or motivated me over the last 6 years. I'd say overarching it's the want to continue the good things that the district has done. like any district, there's uh there's issues, there's things to fix, but overwhelmingly from what I've seen, especially comparing it to, you know, my experience in when I was in school, um Lancaster is a great district. Uh I've had a bunch of friends and family move into the district and just speak volumes about how great the teachers are, how great the staff is,
031how great uh the programs are here. Um so I wouldn't say that it's like one specific thing that drives me to do it. It's really just making sure that the students in the district get a great education, have the ability, have the resources to do uh the things that they love, and kind of find a passion so that when they get out into the real world, um the kind of the basis that they built here at Lancaster helps them at the next step, whether that's college, whether that's entering the workforce, whether that's joining the military. um when you know everybody in this building when you look back at your your educational journey there were certain periods of time that have shaped you or given you some sort of basis of your adulthood. So that's the
032kind of thing that I I like to think of is that I'm helping these I'm helping the school give students all the resources they need in order to be productive members of society later in life. Thank you Mr. Norwick. Um, no real issues that I that I have that I want want me to um to come in and run for the school board. For me, it's just wanting to be part of the school community, wanting to learn and just again help with all the great things the school district's been doing. I want to be part of that and help it continue to happen. And um I've had no issues through watching my girls go through. So, it's not, "Oh, I saw this and got to go and help and try to fix this." I just
033want to continue to be part of all the great things that are happening. And Mrs. Pan Smith, yeah, I agree with what both of these that both of them said. Sorry. Um, I just think that um like obviously like I wouldn't have gone into education if I didn't care about kids. Um, so that's a huge motivator for me. And you know basically the same thing that you know I'm proud to be a graduate of this district. I am you know happy and it's important to me that my children you know we that we live here and my children go to this district. Um, and it's just a way that I feel like maybe I can give back and and be part of this this team to support the school district and you know all the
034things that it's going to do and and you know just as education changes and grows and just being part of that process and I look forward to learning more about it and you know just helping in any way that I can. Next question. List and explain three reasons why you're running as a candidate for the board of education. We'll start with Mrs. Bane Smith. Um so yeah, pretty much the same. Um I want to do, you know, what's best for the students here, my friends, my family, the community. That's important to me. Um you know, I feel as though this is a way for me to give back and be involved um in this district. Um, and I feel I am excited about maybe bringing, you know, the view of an educator that's currently working
035in the field. Um, I think, you know, maybe I'll have some things that I can bring to the board just from that perspective. Um, that might be, you know, helpful when it comes to, you know, policies and decision making. Thank you. And next, Mr. Talo. Uh first I would probably say um it's a lot of the same points that I've already made tonight, but the first thing is making sure that the kids have all the resources that they need and uh different options to find their passion and um get a good education. Second, it's making sure that the teachers feel supported um that the teachers have what they need in order to make number one possible. Um and then I would say uh the third thing is there's really no better feeling than being part
036of a community. It's nice to um it's nice to to be somewhere and actually be involved. Um understand that you know you might be a small part of the solution but um it's it's nice to get involved and be part of the community and and see things get pushed forward in a positive direction. Thank you. And Mr. be in Norwick. Um, some people may remember this, but my dad was actually on the school board when I was younger. Um, and that's one of the reasons I wanted to get into it, he just had such fond memories and stories from when he served on the school board. It was such an enriching experience for him and that was something I wanted to experience. And then kind of piggy back off of that, when he was on
037the school board and as I grew up, he told me I should be a teacher, which I obviously did not go in that direction and sometimes I wish I had. Um, and so this is an opportunity for me to kind of at least get into the school district in some way, shape, or form. Uh, which is exciting for me. And and then third is what what I already mentioned is just I'm excited to be part of um the team that gets to, you know, help guide the school district and what they're going to offer the opportunities they're going to offer our kids as they grow up. And I think that's um that's an exciting thing to be part of. Thank you. Do you support the proposed 2025 2026 school budget? And please explain your answer.
038We'll start with Mr. Vanick. Um I you know coming into this kind of new and not being privy to all of the the details of the budget uh I did see the the overarching budget and you know when I look at it as long as we're continuing to um provide all the great services that we currently do today and you know anything new new that we need to provide moving forward I've always said that anytime any budget vote has come up I'm all for providing our students anything and everything they need to succeed. So, um, having said that, yes, I I support the budget and making sure that we're giving the kids everything they need. And next, Mrs. P Smith. Um, yes, I also support the budget. Um again I don't know you know super
039detailed parts of it but you know overall resources you know facilities staff students like those are all things that are important and anything that is going to help you know all the areas of the school district is is important and I support fully um because that's going to help everybody do the best job that they can to make sure that all of our students can be successful. And Mr. Terrigo, I I do support this year's budget. Um, surprise surprise. Um, but um, so I do support this year's budget. Um, it maintains the programs and it maintains staffing levels. Um, which is great. Um, you know, at a time where some other districts are um, laying people off, um, we're we're not in that position, fortunately. Um, so um, I do support I do support this
040budget. Um, and I think it gives the resources um, and the continues the opportunities for kids. Thank you. Do you support the push for students to actively take part in AP classes at an earlier age? Please explain your answers. We will start with Mrs. Payne Smith. Um I think that there are ways that schools can provide opportunities for all types of students. So I think that this is a great way that they can the school is providing this option for students who want to follow that path in their education who want to take you know enriched classes who want to take APs um and that is their path. Um, so I think that, you know, I believe in having, you know, high standards and challenging students, but I also understand that that's not necessarily the
041path for all students. Um, but our district also provides a lot of other options for students who that might might not necessarily be their path. Um, we have like, you know, the hardness program, OC's, all these other opportunities for students who might not be on that VP track. So, um, you know, I would say I love that it's an option and available. So, um, I do support that, but I'm realistically understanding that it might not be, you know, for everyone. But I love also that the district provides, they paid for their first two, gives that option, first two APs, which is incredible that I think that's really awesome for students who want to take advantage of that. So, I love that it makes it accessible to all students. Thank you. Um, next, Mr. Tyler Rigo.
042Um, I think it's great that we offer the programs um at an earlier age. Um, I do echo what Miss Payne Smith says uh said though in that um it's not every child's track. So, if I I I am glad that we offer them. I'm glad that we challenge kids and we um we have that opportunity for kids to be challenged if they do, you know, if they do choose to do so. Um but if it's uh again, you know, I when I was in school, I was not in on the AP track. So, I'm glad in high school had other options for me to to go into. Um so, I I think it's a a great option. I think that um having them available is excellent, especially for kids who want to challenge themselves.
043it helps them later on, especially with college applications. Um, but again, it's about making sure that each kid is kind of taken care of individually if that's not the path that they're on. And Mr. Van Norwick, I think um I echo a lot of uh what both of them said. Also, you know, I think it's um it's good to encourage students to take the AP classes earlier. Um but as they mentioned, provided they're ready for the rigor and challenges um these courses entail. They're tough. I was in AP classes when I was in high school, and um I thought it was a great um it helped me prepare for for college. Um but like they said, it's not for everybody. So, I think it's crucial that they have access to the necessary resources and guidance
044um and support support systems to succeed in those classes. Um if they want to take the challenge, that's that's great. Um but this, like I said, it's not for everybody, but I do um love that it's available. So, the way the question was worded is we should we push for students to do it? I don't know. We should necessarily push, but some some kids um some kids don't know that they want to be challenged, I feel like. Um, and when you do challenge them, you push them to a level they don't know they can reach. So, I do think it's important to find what that level is for every student. Um, and and I just love that every level is available for students here to whatever level they want to reach. Thank you. And at
045this time, we'll begin to close our form with each candidate having a one minute closing statement. We will begin with Mrs. speak Smith. Um yeah, I just want to thank you for this opportunity and thank the student council. Um yeah, I am excited um to potentially be a part of this team and this board. Um like I said earlier, I look forward to all the amazing things that are happening in this district and that are going to happen in the future. Um, and I just really look forward to being able to support the teachers, the staff, the students, and be that connection between the community and the school district. Um, like I said, I'm a proud Lancaster graduate. I've had lots of happy memories in all of all these buildings. Um, so I'm just excited
046to get to work and be a part of the team. Thank you, Mrs. Payson. And next we will have Mr. Terrio. Um, so first of all, I just want to thank everybody for coming tonight. Um, thank you, Leah, for uh for doing a great job asking the questions. Um, I'm just I'm very excited to u you know, continue the work that we've been doing over the last 6 years. Um that that I've been on the school board. So, uh I would greatly appreciate everybody coming out and and voting for the three of us. Um on May 20th, please vote for the budget. It's important. Um, and you know, I look forward to being an accessible member of the school board um, for years to come. So, thank you very much for everybody for coming. Thank
047you so much for your support. Thank you, Mr. Terico. And finally, we have Mr. Vandor. Yeah, I just want to thank everybody for coming. Also, thank you, Leah. You did a great job um, asking these questions, making me sweat up here a little bit. Um, but it's it's just exciting. It's an exciting time for me. Um, I think it's it's an exciting time for the district. Uh, and I'm just really happy to have this opportunity. Thank everybody for coming. Um, and just looking forward to helping the school district um, continue to take steps forward. Um, looking forward to establishing better relationships with the other school board members and hopefully a lot of the administrators and teachers in the district. Um, looking forward to work with uh, Dr. hopeful given the opportunity and just really looking
048forward to um having a bigger part of this great school community. Thank you, Mr. Van Norway. On behalf of Lancaster High School Student Union, I would like to thank the candidates and the attendees for their interest in our schools and their future. Our our hope is that this evening's forum was informative and helpful. Good luck to all the candidates and please remember to vote on Tuesday, May 20th, right here in the Lancaster High School job and gym from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. This concludes our program and the board of education meeting will begin momentarily.