001I I need a motion to come out of uh executive session. >> Second. >> All in favor? >> Then I need a motion to adjourn the special meeting. >> All in favor? >> Okay. Meeting adjourned. I'd like to welcome everybody to the regular meeting of the board of education city school district. Um I'd like everyone to stand and we can say the pledge of allegiance. >> I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisibley andice for all. >> Can the clerk call the role, please? Jason Cooper >> here. >> Mr. Donald excuse. Mr. Joseph J >> here. >> Mrs. Tamil >> here. >> Mr. Braden >> here. >> Mrs. Danielle is on her way. Mr. James Paul >> here.
002>> Okay, we have a quorum. Um, I'm going to, um, change up the agenda a little bit and, uh, ask for the kids to come in to, uh, demonstrate music in our schools. Welcome. Uh, okay. Cool. Hello. Uh, my name is Mr. Andrew Clifford. I am the orchestra director uh at multiple elementary schools. And this is orchestra student. Her name is Razia Co. She is a fifth grader. has been performing for about one and a half round up two years of orchestra on violin. She has shown immense independence in her own personal studies of the instrument and has undertaken learning a solo earlier than usually planned per the curriculum and she has done an excellent job with that. This will be her third performance of this. She performed it for Columbus' music on our schools
003month concert in March. The solo is called Country Dance and we hope you enjoy. Heat. Heat. That was really fabulous. I have to tell you. First of all, all those really hard notes on on your uh music sheet there with 16 and all that stuff. Really? And you it was in the G-cliff, right? See, I know a little bit about music, you know. As a matter of fact, I wanted to play the violin, but they wouldn't let me cuz I I I could never make it work, right? So, I had to play the recorder and then I I played the saxophone, believe it or not. So, you really impressed me tonight. So, let's give her another round OF >> Thank you, Mr. Clifford. Appreciate it. >> Don't Mr. Clifford. We should probably have a a
004picture with her and >> with the superintendent >> and and you Nope. >> You're in it. >> All right. Mom, get a picture. >> Get a picture. Next time, I'm I'm going to go out of order again and I'm going to call on our student representative to give her a report. Thank you. March 24th, Proctor High School pops concert was a smash. CTE has conducted its National Honor Society induction at Boseies. International night was a success. Dances featuring Dominican Republic, Somali, and other cultures were performed. The event celebrated diversity and highlighted the richness of our students diverse ethnic backgrounds. Six members of the Proctor speech and debate team have qualified for the national championships in Washington DC after a season of incredible dedication and stellar performances. Congratulations to Juma B, Joe Nuitt, Michael Wright, Julia
005Win, Nick Niang, and Raha Nar. Update on seniors. There will be a Udica Police Department UPD versus seniors de basketball tournament on April 24th at 6 p.m. in the main gym. Upcoming senior activities include a senior sunset, senior spirit week with senior day events, a senior walkthrough, their elementary or middle school, and a senior picnic. The seniors in the National Honor Society are going on their New York City trip on this April 17th. Scheduling has been dynamic recently, so we plan to schedule another meeting with the middle schools in May. We will host leadership activities to foster students leadership skills and better prepare them for high school and the student council experience. Our mascot has been announced, Red the Raider. The custommade Red the Raider is currently in production. Almost 800 votes were casted and
006a red fox with a pirate eye patch came up on top. Keep an eye for Red. March 31st will celebrate Raider winners. Perfect attendance, high honor role, principal's list in perfect attendance. Thank you. >> Thank Does anybody have any questions? >> Yeah. So, really quick, I'm gonna put you on the spot because I heard some really great personal news that I was wondering if you wanted to share with all of us. >> Yes, sure. So, I got into Georgetown for government. >> That's awesome. Congratulations. >> Thank you. >> Very good. And as always, if you you're welcome to stay, but if you have things to do or your homework, for example, you're you can leave if you'd like. You'd be excused. >> Do you know what you'll major in? >> Yeah. Government. >> Oh, okay.
007You'll be right back with us. >> Thank you. >> That's great. Congratulations. And thank you. One second. Looking for the my resolutions. We're going to do our uh the memoriam section of uh our meeting. So, I'm requesting that the board approve the following resolution for an Katherine Facilio. The board of education of the Udica City School District records with sorrow the passing of former employee Anne Katherine Pascilio. Mrs. Pacilia was employed with the Udica City School District for 39 years and worked as a teacher. Mrs. Pacilio was a beloved elementary teacher for nearly four decades. She loved teaching art, music, reading and writing. She was strict and serious and determined as she was kind and caring and funny. Her devotion to lifelong learning has left a lasting impact on our countless children and families. Resolved
008that the board of education expressed its sincere sympathy to the family of Mrs. Basilio and that this resolution be saved upon the record of the district. Get a motion. >> Second. All in favor? >> And the resolution passes. >> I'm requesting an authorization to approve the following resolution for Doris Dolores Fraetta Manganelli. The board of education of the Yuca City School District records with sorrow the passing of former employee Dolores Fetta Manganelli. Mrs. Manganelli was employed with the Udica City School District for 33 years and worked as a teacher. Most memorable for her teaching at John F. Hughes Elementary School. She supervised numerous student teachers and was heavily dedicated to her profession. Throughout her time at Hughes, she shaped countless futures and her impact will never be forgotten. Resolved that the board of education expresses
009its sincere sympathy to the family of Mrs. Manganelli and that the resolution be saved upon the records of the district. We need a motion. >> All in favor? >> Resolution passes. Authorization is requested the board of education to approve the following resolution for Lewis F. Leaport known to most of us as Louisaport. The board of education of the Yuca City School District records with sorrow the passing of former employee Louie F. Leaport. For 31 years, Mr. Leaport was employed with the Udica City School District and worked as head custodian at Albany Elementary School. Throughout his career, Mr. Leaport Louie dedicated himself to the community he loved so deeply. He was the backbone of the building, a true jack of all trades who could fix anything and was always the first to jump in and help
010with any project, big or small. Louie took immense pride in ensuring that the school was a clean and safe and welcoming place for every student and staff member who walked through its doors. Resolved that the board of education expressed its sincere sympathy to the family of Mr. Leaport and that the this resolution be saved upon the records of the district. Need a motion. >> Second. All in favor? >> Resolution passes. Authoriz authorization is requested of the board of education to approve the following resolution. The board of education of the Udica City School District records with sorrow the passing of former employee Magnolia Jean Bear Davis. Mrs. Davis was employed with the Udica City School District for 20 years and worked as a teacher. Mrs. Davis had a passion for teaching. She was Udica's first black
011head start teacher. She later became a respected elementary teacher in the Udica City School District. She's remembered by many adults who attributed their success to the exemplary education and guidance she provided as a teacher. She worked in the Udica City School District and volunteered after retirement until the age of 70. Resolved that the board of education express its sincere sympathy to the family of Mrs. Dealma and that this resolution be saved upon the records of the district. Need a motion. >> Second. All in favor? >> Resolution passes. Authorization is requested the board of education to approve the following resolution. The board of education of the Udica City School District records with sorrow the passing of former employee Mary F. Martell Dealama. Mrs. Dealama was employed with the Udica City School District for 32 years and
012worked as an elementary teacher and math facilitator. Mrs. Deama worked at various schools throughout her career, but most notably at Jones Elementary School before retiring. She inspired many students and cherished the friendship she formed formed with fellow educators. Resolved that the board of education express its sincere sympathy to the family of Mrs. the Palma and that this resolution be saved upon the records of the district. Need a motion. >> Move it. >> Second. All in favor? And the resolution passes. We have a woman's history video. >> Say again. Yeah, we should do a moment of silence for everyone. I'm sorry. We'll take a moment of silence for our uh deceased former employees. So, we have a Women's History Month video. Women's History Month, a time to celebrate the achievements and accomplishments of women everywhere. Throughout
013our schools, they lead, support, and guide, creating spaces where every student feels seen and valued. They are our teachers, administrators, counselors, coaches, and role models. This Women's History Month, we celebrate the women in our schools who lead with passion and purpose. To all the women of the Udica City School District, thank you. Thank you for the difference you make. Thank you for leading by example. Thank you for inspiring the next generation. Thank you for supporting each other. >> Working in Udica schools is a privilege. Uh there's a wide range of students with abilities and backgrounds and it enables me to really use a lot of skills to hone in on how to best support them, support their parents through the process of special education and see what we can do to help support them in
014the future as well. >> Working with kids, my goal is to do something that it will be useful for their kids. I like to teach kids uh be independent especially with first second grade. I like to learn some things every day. Um I make it as a positive thing for me. Um it makes me feel good uh to see all the children being happy because it makes me happy. It makes my day. >> Udica United every student every day. Very nice. Okay, up next we're going to do public comment. Our first commenter, Joe, we got to dial the phone. I'm going to try to do it myself. Okay, there's the number. Matt, >> yeah, >> it's Joea. Hang on one second, would you? I got to read something. >> Y >> So, please state your
015name and address. Three minute limit. The public comment portion of the board of education meeting is designed to give members of the public the opportunity to address the board related to school district operations. Each speaker shall be allotted three minutes to speak to the total time of public comment not to exceed 30 minutes per board meeting. The board will not permit in public session discussions involving individual or district personnel or students. Persons wishing to discuss matters involving individual district personnel or students should present their comments and their concerns to the superintendent of schools during regular business hours. All speakers are to conduct themselves in a civil manner. Public outburst, criticisms, and other distractions from the speaker's presentation will not be permitted. Individuals who caused disruptions with the board meeting via the meeting will be asked
016to leave. It is not the practice of the board to respond during the meeting to questions posed or comments made by speakers. Therefore, while the board will certainly take any questions or comments you may might have under advisement, we will not be responding tonight with any questions you have. Okay, hearing that, state your name and address for the record. >> Name is American citizen and I live in Udica. No, you have to give your your real name. >> I do I do not. This is a uh public forum. I do not I can remain anonymous. And my name is American. You already said my name. >> Point of order. >> Yes. >> Can I get my time start yet? >> Yes. >> Gentlemen is out of compliance with the order. >> We have we have
017a rule that you have to state your name. Can you state your name, please? Your the rules don't vi the rule your rules violate my my rights. >> They do not >> violate your rights. >> I'd like my three minutes started now. >> No, your three minutes are continuing. They started 30 40 seconds ago. >> Go ahead. >> This will be all over the table. We need the students rates of real attendance and the graduation rates. We need to know what the issues are with food, adequate choices, portions, why is there spoiled food? Why is there nine people resigning from the food department? Who is conspiring against someone's first amendment rights violating someone's first amendment and fourth amendment's right first and fourth amendment rights? Why is there three civil rights violations filed against a certain
018particular individual? Who used my child's education as a joke with excessive suspensions? What are the results from New York State investigations FWA 2025360 and FWA 2025361? Why are these foils really taking so long? What's up with a coordinated report for school school safety within this within the city? Who made false statements to the UPD that resulted in my house being raided? How is it proper to be using the UPD for this for these types of things for exposure? Why is honesty so hard for you all? Where is the accountability for the lack of compliance in Title 6, section 504 or the ADA? Parents deserve transparency and accountability. Do people here think it's a joke to have a parents civil rights violated over first amendment rights using the UPD and my child's education as a silencing
019tool? Who were the officers that just left my house for a phone call from Dr. suspense for extortion. This is crazy talk. Crazy talk. No wonder why no one wants to work for the Udica School District when you have a superintendent that does things like this that gets paid 300,000 plus benefits a year. No one. He violated the rules. We terminated the phone call. Okay. Up next, Howard Potter. Howard Potter, 11:38 Hilton A. Good evening, Dr. Spence and members of the board. I am concerned about report S208 in the superintendence report. The retroactive approval of 2,688 CSE, CPSE, and section 504 meetings covering nine full months from June 2025 through March 13, 2026. State law requires the board to arrange for these special education services in a timely manner, usually within 60 uh school days.
020Dr. Spence as superintendent. Can you explain, please explain why this massive backlog was allowed to grow so large, especially when classrooms are already chronically understaffed and the union has repeatedly raised concerns about case loads and support staff? What concrete steps are you and the administration taking right now to prevent this from happening again so that every child receives the services their IEP or 504 plan requires on time? Moving on to the CTE, I came up with an idea and it may be something you guys are already doing. I don't know, but it's my understanding that during regular school hours or school year, we have roughly about 17 to 20 plus kids in a class per program. Um, is there any thoughts or planning to open this up year round during the summertime? So, kids that
021don't get to utilize those programs during normal school time will have access to them during the summer to gain credits. Um, it would also be something where we could create night classes for adults since we're going to have shortages with electricians, plumbers, you name it. Um, to kind of maximize the use of this space. When when we increased the bridge program from 20 to 30 students last year after parents addressed the concerns, we had about 40 students that actually wanted to do the bridge program, which is an amazing program. I took it myself, but only 30 were able to. Can we look into bumping that number up to 40 or more this year? It'll help with the cut cost for college for them and it lowers the senior class uh classroom sizes. How's this year's
022budget addressing the 67% graduation rate, the 110 seniors who did not graduate and why? the fact that we had our dropout rate increased to 17% which is 121 seniors which means out of 713 kids roughly 482 graduated which is 2/3 enough kids to fill one elementary building last year I questioned the general funds for our budget since it's 92% or since the budget is 92% dependent on state and federal grants and your bud and your budget talks are all around grant funding but when I was bringing up funding we did not acquire I was interrupted several times and my points were discounted. So, are we going to explain to the public why in this school year we have not been approved for up to 8 million in normal grants we normally receive each year? And
023why would this not help the general budget? Violence and safety are two our most most important concerns. So, where in the budget is this addressed to ensure staff not only have basic training, but further training before they enter a school building to protect students, staff, and themselves? Thank you. Thanks for sharing. >> Okay. Announcements and reports, PTO, PCA, chair decision making committees, student councils, CSC chairs, title one, ETA Oops, I have my microphone off. I apologize. >> Is this one on? >> Yes. >> Good evening everyone. I'm Kristen Joy and I'm the vice president of special education for the UTA. Tonight, I am proud to share the commitment to our community efforts over the past month or so. On February 28th, members from the UTA and retired Udica Teachers Association volunteered their time with Sleep
024and heavenly peace. We came together to build beds for children in need of a bed and a safe place to sleep. Their motto is no kid sleeps on the floor in our town and it was a wonderful experience. On March 7th, there was an open house at the Cinderella and Prince Charming closet. A hundred students were helped with picking out suits and dresses for upcoming formals. We help students from RFA, Tilton School, and Sequoite. We would like to thank the Udica City School District administration, the board of ed, and our custodial staff at Proctor High School for their help and support. We also want to thank Ava Tulos, Pickers, Bella Brides, the Udica Police Department, and all the other community members who have donated to us. On March 8th, several several members from the UTA
025attended the Fix Tier 6 statewide rally at MVP Arena in Albany. 15,000 public employees attended to push for improved retirement benefits for tier six. On March 11th, 50 staff members from all 13 buildings had the opportunity to meet with Congressman John Manion during our UTA building representative meeting. The UTA and SEIU discussed a wide range of critical items impacting our teachers and staff. On March 14th, the UTA and retired Udica Teachers Association were thrilled to see the smiles on kids' faces as we handed out over 950 books along the route for the St. Patrick's Day parade. We would like to thank Niset for their generous donation of the books. I also wanted to throw in here um that we are going to have our second annual Raider rally um for our special education students which
026is an adaptive event for um on May 28th. We don't have specific times but it's around 10. There's two different sections. Um May 28th and it'll be at JFK. Again, regarding libraries in the middle schools, our current system is counterproductive. We have our certified librarians teaching library skills in fax classes which is like a home and careers class while the actual libraries are now going to be run as a duty by teachers who are unable to utilize the check-in and checkout system. This is an inefficient use of specialized staff and adds an impossible burden to teachers who are already covering extra classes throughout the day. We need to return the librarians to the library and find a better way to embed the 1/4 credit hours into the existing curriculum. I am also here to share
027the reality of our current special education programs, especially so in secondary. We are currently facing a minimum of 11 vacant special education teaching positions in our secondary schools. This is not just a staffing challenge. It represents an unsustainable weight placed on our remaining staff. Because of these vacancies, our secondary teachers are constantly being asked to cover additional classes and students, all while managing their own heavy workloads. To put this into perspective, many of our teachers are now responsible for writing 25 IEPs each. Every one of those documents takes a minimum of at least two to three hours to of intensive work to complete it effectively. That's roughly 75 hours of paperwork on top of active instruction and coverage they are providing for the 11 vacancies. Our par educators are also working tirelessly to bridge those
028gaps while withstanding burnout at their level as well. When a system is understaffed to this degree, the foundational support our students deserve begins to deteriorate. The shortage of teaching assistance remains an issue, which prompted the UTA to file a state special education complaint. These classrooms require full staffing levels to function safely and effectively. Beyond the sheer volume of work acro of work across the district, we must address the increasing frequency of safety concerns and workplace violence. Our educators are encountering physical and verbal aggression that requires immediate administrative administrative intervention. Too often we see disciplinary incidents go unressed. Yet our members report these safety concerns and they are frequently told it is a classroom management issue. It is deeply demoralizing to be buried under a massive amount of work and being asked to cover constantly only
029to be told that the safety issues you face are the result of your own performance. Finally, we need to address the disconnect between policy and reality. We are currently operating under a district goal to reduce suspension rates, but given the level of violence and disruption we are seeing in our schools, the priority should be the complete opposite. A goal to lower numbers on paper should never come at the expense of staff and student safety. I'm asking the board of education to prioritize these 11 positions and to conduct a transpar transparent review of our disciplinary protocols. If you compare a writeup to our code of conduct in most buildings, you will see that it is most certainly not being followed to any degree. When a few individuals are allowed to disrupt the many without meaningful consequence,
030the message we send is that chaos is negotiable, and it shouldn't be. We recognize that the administration is balancing a difficult set of mandates and student needs. We are here to be part of the solution. Whether that means participating in task forces, communicating these needs to the community, or simply supporting the difficult decisions that must be made to keep our hallways safe. The UTA workplace climate survey is currently open and out to the membership. Results will be compiled and sent to the superintendent, the board of education, and the membership. The Committee on Academic Excellence will review the results to develop recommendations. We believe their oversight will help turn member feedback into a strategic plan that benefits the district. We need to create a culture where teachers are empowered to lead, administrators are supported in their
031enforcement, and every student knows exactly what is expected of them. As always, we express our gratitude and thank all of our membership for their continued hard work and dedication. Thank you for your time. >> Thank you. UAA UTC Teamsters Local 182 local 200 SEIU. >> Hello, my name is Christina Sutter. I'm TA chair of the SEIU union and it's been four full months since my election to this post and I'm honored to be here. We as a team believe open and honest communication is vital as newly elected representatives. We are navigating our way through this process in spite of hitting a few bumps along the road. We as a whole have been silent for too long which has severely decreased the overall morale in the workplace. We have been greeted and given a seat at
032the table and we and Jod are thankful to admin for that. We are having constructive and collaborative conversations trying to come up with solutions to the issues that have existed now for far too long. Um, an example of that would be our underst staffing concerns. We all reiterate the same. Although we are anxious for solutions to be implemented, we are reminded that this takes time. Personally for me, I am learning that this requires patience and perseverance. I don't lack the perseverance, but I definitely am working on the patience. As a member of this union leadership, I want to applaud all of the Udica City School District TAs, security, food service, and transportation employees for their neverending dedication, hard work, team effort exhibited daily to positively affect the overall well-being of our students. We cannot forget
033to show grateful appreciation to all of our teachers. Their unwavering support help us navigate through every single day, good or bad. We all make a great team if we all remember to work together and support each other. From all the employees in each building, to the admin, to the superintendent, to all of the board members to the board of education president. We must remember our students are our number one priority. Thank you. >> Thank you. Uh Mohawk Valley Buildings and Trades. Okay. You want to recess? All right. We're going to take a fivem minute recess. gave us back in. >> No, we're not. >> Okay. Um, up next will be Dr. Spence to do a final budget overview. as soon as he's ready to go. >> Thank you. Good evening, everyone. So, again, in the
034budget season, we've been um committed to speaking to the budget at every different phase of process, you know, program, capital, really going through all of our expenditures and what we believe our total spending plan will be for the 26 27 year. Most of this information, all of this information at this point the board has seen, we have presented. This is also posted on the district website and we want to do a highlevel overview as we're getting to the final number for the uh budget. Again, with everything that we we do, it's it's rooted in continuous improvement. And I really focus on this one out over here. But we really focus on uh continuous improvement because we understand that this process of urban education, we don't have a magic wand. we don't purport to have one
035each day, each year, we want to be better by addressing the systemic issues that inherent to urban education as well as factors that impact the market. So each year we want to be better and we work to get better by focusing on that particular uh part of our mission vision which is continuous improvement not only for our students but for an urban education or urban uh institution with the complexity of needs such as the uh the uh uh Udica City School District. Um and that again is done on varying levels. There's the state level advocacy. We talked about some of the issues with um staffing shortages and such and we really want to advocate to make sure that we are increasing the pool and I thank the UTA for their advocacy regarding tier 6 as
036we identified as an impediment to the labor market. But all these things are interrelated which is why we focus on continuous improvement for issues that are systemic and inherent in nature. again tied you know our mission to our vision all of which is consistent with the portrait of the graduate thank the board for their work because they're ahead of their time in ensuring this so we already have alignment there and then again we talked about our instructional goals which has guided our activity as a district because one of the things that we recognize is that if we as an organization do not adjust we will continue to produce the same outcomes over and over. So as an organization through strategic resource allocation with this budget, we are intentionally thinking about nuance ways in which we
037can educate our students to make sure that they are able to make themselves uh take advantage of full opportunities especially when we're dealing with uh very structurally inherent and systemic issues especially dealing with children and such. So we aligned these goals because we want to be rooted in continuous improvement. We want to be rooted in measuring that improvement and growth over time as we are working to support the district. And this is also important because it helps us direct our resources for the budget. Now again, we'll we we where we left off before, we talked about the summer regression prevention opportunities, the expansion of the Raiders extended day learning, our career technical education expansion, our district-wide techn technology replacement plan, and then professional development across the organization. These markers I look at as levers for
038the organization. For an organization, we have to think about what levers do we have at our disposal that can help us enhance the quality of learning but also enhance our student outcomes. So, we really are here to discuss this summer regression prevention opportunity which is really based on how do we create opportunities during the summer because we understand from wide bodies of research that there's a lot of learning loss in the summertime. We also did the same uh same with our Raiders extended day programming. We know that there are differing opportunities dependent on our students and and the resources that they have at their disposal at home. So, we've created opportunities for our students to engage in continued learning with the district in a very structured environment. The benefit of these investments is that when
039we look at a cohort, for example, the cohort that has experienced the Raiders extended date program, we believe it is our theory of action that we believe that they will have marketked improvement as they go through high school because this will be the first cohort that has really been able to do school from early in the morning all the way down to uh at 6:00 when the program ends. So, we're looking to see how do our students um enter secondary more prepared as they move through the high school. It's these early and preventative measures and investments in our students that allow them to really gain the content, knowledge, and skills necessary to traverse through the educational pipeline. what we know from from science, but what we know from what we looked at from our own
040district's data is that as students continue to move through the pipeline, we start to see those gaps that came in early on exacerbate. So, this is the focal point of our budget beyond the programming that's rolled over because we're not Joe, I see you. I got it. I'm on it, Joe. >> No, no, no. I I wanted to ask you a question. >> Yeah. So, >> you know, when you talk about the the the RED program, >> Yep. >> what are the metrics that we're using to evaluate whether or not the investment that we made >> is reaping any shortterm >> rewards. >> And then, you know, that was from last year. We did it from when to when last year? >> Uh I want to say February to >> So we did February to
041to June. June. Okay. So were we able to, you know, what did we measure, you know, what what what were the results? And then we started in November >> this year. And >> I'm I'm assuming that the reason why we generally start in November is because it takes us a while with all the bus routes we have to like get those locked in, I'm assuming. and then you know get everybody identified who's going to participate but have we been measuring those metrics on a month-to-month basis like what what is it that we would you know we're going to see when you produce the information on that >> so I want to do two things so we started in November one that was a logistical challenge the program transitioned from something that was creative developed in-house
042and we transitioned to I can so that was kind of the delay with the November start in regards to the metrics we're looking at attendance we're looking at grapoint average. We track I Ready scores, but the sophistication of analysis that I would like to get to as a district. Um, and we're not there yet is really looking at that longitudinal growth based on students who have received or participated in X treatment, for example, the RED program, and how does that variable impact them over their time in the district. That level of analysis, we are not there yet. um I would like to enhance him and it's not um a knock on us. Education is descriptive statistics. We look at a bar graph. We look at how many people went, you know, uh how many twos,
043how many fours. The real analysis is an inferential statistics, which is what you're talking about. Regression analysis. Can we predict later success based on this particular variable, which in this case would be participation in red program? How does that contribute to later success? that level of sophistication analysis we don't have the capacity to do that yet. So in the immediate we're looking at the things like attendance and we're looking at grade point average but to the extent to which we can control specifically for the intervention of the red program that requires a higher level of sophistication. >> Okay. So when when you say I forgot what the term you use but basically said we're not ready to be able to is it is it because we don't have the computer programs is because we don't
044have the data what what is it that we need to be in a position >> so to do that level of analysis we would have to uh purchase the computer software we would have to then have a statistician on inhouse that can take that group take all of their variables gender you know race class all of those things participation in the red program build the database and then you would run the statistics based on those variables and you'd be able to predict. >> So why wouldn't we invest in that now? because I'm I'm I I I would assume that we could not only use the stat statistician >> on with regard to the red program, but I'm sure there's other things that we do that the statistic like a real deep dive into our statistics
045which would assist everybody right in because we're always sitting here talking about all these different complex problems and then you're saying that there's formulas that can address and things like that. So, why wouldn't we put as part of our budget now a a statistics department to be able to study all those things? And and again, we might have it. We might have it already, but I I I just would like to know because it it seems to me like, you know, you're always talking about data driven, data driven, data driven, but like >> but we need somebody to prod whose only job is to produce or quantify the data that other people are generating, right? And then somebody interprets it. I have one colleague I believe that's in um in Virginia in the school system
046where they they've adopted that model. I haven't seen that widely, but that would be be something I would like to, you know, strategically get to. Our first priority for this year, we were looking to add the just strengthen the building level supports by adding the assistant principles, but we would like to get there. I was thinking more so for next year, but it's definitely something that we can consider. we have time, you know, but that's a that's a good body of of work. >> Even if we contract it out for at least on a on a temp, you know, on a >> we may be able to don't I was going to say don't quote me, but it's being recorded, so you got to quote me. >> We we may be able to um look
047with work with the MOI. I know that they have um some capacity there. There's some I I have to investigate that and look at that, but it's definitely something to do that level of analysis. That's really what we need to be to be able to look at the impact. But what I do know, um, >> but we have a very complex school district in terms of, you know, our makeup. So I I would have to think based on your expertise, right? Cuz you're >> an expert in all that stuff. >> Wouldn't we want to get that information so that everybody can, you know, at least see it? And I mean, obviously, we're going to >> So there's a couple. So I kind of look at this and liken to us. We're kind of on the
048on the foundational part of it, which is really just building the program, getting it to be logistically sound, increasing the demand, getting it to run so we so that we also know that's sustainable. And then I would like to get there. The reason why I caution from that is because we've we've cut no positions in the budget. So I just want to be clear, there's been no positions cut and we've expanded positions. Yeah. So we were trying not to be too aggressive because we were trying to stay within that 7% revenue increase. So, that was one of the other challenges why we're really trying to um make sure that's sustainable. But I do think when we think long-term and strategic, those are all the right questions. It's really about the district's infrastructure to add that.
049That's a whole another department like institutional research >> essentially what you find in college. >> So, very good. >> Can I turn to the summer program? Um, at the last meeting I asked the breakdown of the spending that was grant money >> and the breakdown of new programming. Do we have those >> numbers? Mr. Fouchy, can you speak to that? >> Sure. So, the STEM program that was run the last year or two was grant funded. So, we're running a couple of different um STEM programs in the report that I submitted. Only one of those is grant funded this year to the amount of approximately $9,000. So, okay, I think slightly different question then. So, f of the $500,000, you know, there's the $9,000 from that grant. Is there any other amount of money from
050the 500,000 that's being used or that would be dedicated towards continuing programming that already exists rather than expanding programming >> and the proposed summer prevention regression prevention opportunities? No. However, we took a look at all of the monies that we have to operate summer programming. So there is grantf funded programming for extended learning time that the high school run academic credit recovery a nth grade transition program regions review out of and then that program is also extended learning time through grant funding. We have a two-eek summer school for students who qualify based on academic performance um at each of the elementary schools and the two middle schools over the summer. But those are all provided for funded by other lines of the budget outside of the 500,000 that's being >> all through grant monies through
051federal. >> That's all through. Yes. >> So it's really it's just nine of the 500,000. It's just $9,000 that's going towards continuing programming rather than expanding program. >> Yes. $9,000 that we do not have to expend,000. >> So in the $491,000 that remains excluding food and transportation, how many students total are we expecting to serve during that summer program? And how long is that program supposed to last? We're looking to service 750 students through that program. a thousand total if you if you include the academic credit recovery nth grade transition program and regions review that >> that's a two-eek program though right >> the summermies for summer regression those are that's a four-week program >> that's a four-week program >> and the STEM programs which are part of that that's a four-week program >> can
052you just repeat that student number again >> so a thousand total >> thousand total >> but we're pulling out the 250 students who are going to be serviced at the high school through extended learning time funding. >> So those are high school students or 250 we're putting. >> Correct. >> Okay. So there's 700. Now you're saying that there's >> 500 students for $500,000. >> For $500,000. 750 students. >> Okay. >> There's another 250 at the high school that we're using extended learning >> federal funding for. right through extended learning time. And then there will also be students at the elementary and middle school level who will have learning opportunities through the extended learning. >> And how many weeks And how many weeks would this program be? >> This particular one program. How many? >> Four
053weeks. >> $500,000. Four weeks. >> So 750 kids. >> Correct. And we have all the summer projects going on, all the the capital projects. >> Yes. >> So Mike and I consulted about which buildings could be used for this programming based on the construction schedule >> and what is what what does that look like? >> So Proctor is available uh two elementary schools and Donovan Middle School. So there's a high school component that will be run at Proctor, >> but that's already for the 250 kids that we're excluding. >> Correct. That you have. >> So that that take that out. We're not putting anybody. We're not putting elementary or middle school kids. So >> And at Proctor, >> the middle school Well, the STEM programs are elementary and middle school kids and high school kids
054who will be using the CTE wing. So all of the STEM programming, elementary, middle, high school is being done in the CTE wings. We're utilizing those spaces. >> How many students are contemplated to be doing the CTE or SLT STEM program? >> I have to add it up really quick. >> No, I didn't see it. So >> there's approximately 160 kids who will be participating in the STEM program. >> Okay. So 250 for the high school, 160 at the STEM program which is covered by grants, >> right? >> Correct. >> Okay. Okay. So, that takes it down from 750 to um five 590, right? 590. >> Sure. Okay. Yeah. Okay. And then and then how many >> So the rest of those students, the middle school program is being operated at Donovan and the elementary
055school program is being split between General Herkimer and Columbus. Okay. So, we have we're we're talking about three schools involved, correct? >> Correct. >> And then you're still do we do we have some idea as to what the cost of transportation is going to be for the 590 out of 10,000 students? >> Sure. So, the breakdown is the cost of instructors, security, clerical, staff, nurses, one $132,543. The meals there is no cost. Transportation 264,600. >> How is there no cost for the meals? >> I'll defer to Mike. >> So they're going to they're going to be run through our summer program as a site a closed site. >> Okay. supplies 25,000 for a total of which gives us a cushion in the event that we have to bring on a teacher assistant or teacher assistance
056for spe special education students depending on the enrollment which students enroll into the program. What do the bus routes look like? We don't know. We won't have any idea. So it's >> won't no idea until the kids enroll. Well, um I mean what could it do? We have some wild guess as to what our exposure is. >> So we can only estimate the the cost that Steve provided that I gave him. We can only estimate the number of kids and the number of buses. It could expand on because >> give me a range. >> So how many So was I just give you an example. If it's 65 kids, we need two buses and that bus Assume you got 590 kids. >> That's what the number it's a 240 something,000. >> 64,000. >> That's just
057based upon >> the number of kids. >> $264,000 for >> For the busing >> that cost could go up depending on the range of the routes. >> Well, my point is what could it go up to in >> could probably be a third more. So that would be how much? Four three 400,000 >> probably. No pro for the busing it could range from 50 to another 100,000. >> We're talking 300 to 350,000 >> depending on the routes how wide they are. >> Okay. And so here here's my here's my question. >> Just did you want to say something? >> We're trying we're trying to figure out where you're going. Well, first of all, I want to get the questions answered, number one. And number two, tell me why the expenditure of this these funds at
058a summer program wouldn't would be better than taking these funds and having certified teachers. um teach enrichment to all of our kids by subject matter that are juniors and seniors in order to elevate our um graduation rate. >> So, so we contract with Thanks. So, we contract with we contract with Boseies to run a summer school program for 1,200 of our kids. That's that's part of the remediation for students who have fallen behind >> for regions prep. >> No, those are that's a summer school program for kids who did not pass classes. Right. I understand what you're saying, but my point is why not do the investment during the school year for our juniors and seniors to upgrade our graduation rate and even even more importantly help them to learn better. >> Correct. So we
059have >> because you might do that investment for a junior or and then >> you're absolutely correct. So, the high school has a credit recovery program for students who have did not pass a course. As long as they have the seat time, it's allowable for them to take that class over through credit recovery. A student takes an assessment at the beginning of that course and they they are um they're tested out of any subject matter in that course that they already passed. >> But, Mr. Fel, that's assuming that's assuming a failure. Okay. I'm saying to avoid credit recovery, to avoid um you know to enhance the ability to learn and teaching the kids that are junior I mean I'd love to do it for everybody but teaching the kids that are juniors and seniors and
060spending that money to enhance them because they're going to be graduating and leaving into either the the working world or going to college hopefully. Um, and so I'm saying tell me why that wouldn't be a and I'm just asking tell me why that wouldn't be more because we have a responsibility to raise the graduation rate and help those kids who right now are not succeeding. >> Hey Mr. Fouch, let me let me interject here. If if you look at the strategy, the district has made a concerted effort to invest in the elementary education and really start targeting the students through the pipeline. So by the time they get to high school, that those gaps have not exacerbated. We know definitively that kids, especially poor kids, lose ground in the summer. You can put in all
061the work during the year, but if they're not being engaged and and and being challenged in the summer, we have learning loss. I understand what you're saying and that's a that's a long-term investment. Okay. I'm just saying we have a short Hang on. We have a shortterm investment. I'm going to say shortterm because it's for juniors and seniors and then we have the long-term investment. And my question is >> it would be and again maybe I just was a weird kid but like I took reading courses during the summer. I went and took voluntary summer school. There were a lot of things I did to prep to get ready to go to the next level. Here's my question. Tell me why it's necessary to play baseball like or kick a ball around, you know, as
062as a primary um activity rather than everybody sitting in the classroom actually getting enriched. Because you see, I have my issue is I don't want to have summer camps. I want to have summer education. Okay? voluntary summer education to prop you up. So the question, you know, because what I'm what I'm worried about is the recreational activity portion of it where and and again, it's just maybe it's my observation, but like there's a lot of things you can do during the summer. the the question is are are we willing to like educate during the summer? And I know there's different definitions, but like reading, writing, and uh arithmetic and science if necessary during the summer. Okay. Like so to move the kids ahead. >> Joe, we speaking the same language. Yes. Are you sure? Yes,
063Joe. Okay. Yes, Joe. Exactly how I'm feeling. Yes. The point is to do it the same way we did with the RED program. There's an enrichment aspect of it and then there's the draw to get the kids in. And let me also just say this too about kids. Whether they're in an academic traditional academic setting, anytime they're in a school setting, they are learning. We are teaching them social emotionally. We are teaching them values, how to handle conflict because we want them to hit their ground ready by the time they transition in that September. >> I understand that. But you see, again, I I guess my question would be if it were a if it were a coffee cup, how much was going to be education education and how much of it it was going
064to be activities and socio emotional learning? cuz I'm thinking more, you know, I'd like to have, you know, 7/8 of the cup filled with education and 1/8 of the cup with the other cuz we spend $16 million during the year on socio uh social emotional hearing. >> Yep. >> Okay. >> 10. >> Okay, Joe, once again, we we're in alignment. Uh Mr. Fouchy, can you speak to our intent on providing the enrichment for core subject areas? Sure. So, the summer program has some of that built in, but I agree with you, Joe. A lot of the focus we we are going to accomplish that, but as the chief academic person of the school district, we also have unfortunately too many kids who aren't performing at grade level. And when you have a finite amount of
065resources, you have to target those resources to make sure that we are addressing those kids. We also have a 21st century program at the secondary schools that does a lot of that enrichment for those kids through um through the business training institute. We have 50 I'm sorry 80 clubs K12 where those students can get enrichment activities after school as well. So we're trying to do it all with a finite pool of resources. I understand but we have a bucket of money right now. Okay. And the stuff that you're talking about doesn't sound to me like what we're going to be doing in like proposed to be doing during the summer is more on the ed more on the you know I don't know how to the learning side like the the the actual like book
066stuff versus like running around playing tag and and kickball. I I I I mean my thing is I don't want to spend that money. I don't want to spend the money on kickball and tag. I want people sitting at desks doing work. >> So, I submitted a report on the summer program and we're looking at focusing on STEM, which is science, technology, engineering, and math. From the feedback that we received at the last board meeting, performing arts, visual arts, music, >> character, leadership, and character development where we can attack the comportment of some of our students who need that help. So you will get learning and socioeotional learning is sometimes just as important as academic learning. What when we're talking about trying to reduce suspension rates, improve attendance? So we're trying to accomplish all of
067that. >> I understand that. But here's my Hang on one second. I I I here's my question. Do we get to pick where the kids go or do they get to pick where the kids go? Cuz to me, I think we evaluate a kid's record and say, "Yeah, I know you want to do this, but based on everything we've evaluated, here's where you're going if you want to come." That's what I say. >> I'll give you an example. At the secondary level, we will be choosing the students who attend some of thesemies based on what we need to achieve for those kids. >> Okay. Can I ask one question? >> Sure. >> Thank you. >> Can I have a question? >> Okay. based off of last year, what how's the structure different for this summer?
068So last year there was obviously the um STEM camps are now moved to Proctor versus the elementary schools. When we talk about the athletic camps, is it just happening 9 to 12 with an enrichment piece or are they like they were last year and sporadic at various buildings? So, the summer athletic camps are totally separate from this and Mr. Ambuso is putting that together. As of right now, it resembles the summer camps we ran the last. >> So, this doesn't have kickball and tag in it. >> The one that he's talking about? >> No, not to my knowledge. The program you're proposing, you're saying that all the fun stuff that Danielle thinks is important, that's going to be somewhere else. the stuff that I'm asking for, the stuff that I'm asking for is the actual
069education portion of it. So that's my question. Is that going to be is this going to be education >> and I'm using the word talking about school books improvement? I don't know what word you want to use. If someone wants to help me out, great. Or is this going to be fun time? I I my my issue is we want people to learn, improve, give them a better opportunity to succeed in school, which will improve behavior because they will not be sitting in a class feeling less than because they cannot read. >> All of all of the above. So there might be some fun in a couple of the camps, but it's mostly academically oriented. And again, we're running a summer school program for 1,200 kids. the total academic academic credit recovery for students at
070the high school 200 of those kids regions review extended learning enrichment though this is an this is I'm I'm looking at what we're saying is we're we're doing both >> can I take this in a different angle because I I want to touch on a theme that you brought up which is resource allocation and so I look at the numbers here $132,000 essentially in programming $264,000 in transportation you're double your programming and transportation costs. And listen, I understand transportation is expensive. I I guess what I'm getting caught up on and I don't know that I can overcome is would it not be a better use of the economy of this district of the resource allocation to target these intervention programs instead? I understand the science of falling behind during the summer. agree philosophically on all
071that from a practicality would it not be worth dedicating I understand you're going to have a little bit more transportation and after school busing it's not going to be in my knowledge correct me if I'm wrong the same sort of jump is creating it whole cloth during the summer so you could get double close to triple maybe the amount of programming if you were to implement some of these intervention programs during the school year after school or before school instead of doing it over the summer. In the long term, 100% philosophically, I believe that we need to do these summer targets. I get it. I'm on board with that. In the short term, wouldn't the resources be better allocated during the school year? >> I' I'd say I'd say um I I'd have to disagree
072because in in the summertime, that gap puts us behind. And you know, I remember being an 11th grade English teacher and the kids coming to me grade levels below, grade levels below. And so if you look at those gaps from early elementary and whatever happens there, they just grow in the summer. It just exacerbates it. >> Well, what about those 11th grade students that have to work or have to do something in the summer? Because let's face it, it's short. It's a season. They're they may be playing a sport. Several of our students are working students at the high school level. To me this creates an inequity because if you're if you can't get there regard remove transportation I'm just saying in general you work at the corner store you know you work at the
073parks the youth program whatever it may be you have now you are now choosing between them working to provide for whatever for whatever they need or putting their education when they've already put 10 months in. So my concern with while I'm all for the academics just like Brandon said and I know I push summer programming more than anybody I do feel like it creates an inequity because these programs are not necessarily or the design of the program necessarily isn't available during the school year. I know there's clubs and resources but if we're going to I mean I look at the targeted reading teachers some buildings have one one and a half two. To me, if our students can't read on grade level, we should be increasing those areas. I also think we should be looking
074at the software and the program that we use for students when it comes to reading. Something's not I don't want to say like really not working because I know a lot of effort is going into them. But my concern is we're going to create this program for four weeks for students that 100% can get there, can attend, don't have anything else going on in the summer versus somebody who, you know, is at school every day. I would argue that those kids, they wouldn't be able to go during the summer if it was or if they're if they have to work. The work is the impediment. That's the that that's the the the the issue because that that means that they can't attend after school and we're also saying that they wouldn't be able to attend
075during the summer if that's that's what the the impediment is. >> But I'm just saying like we don't every student isn't sent home with a Chromebook. there. That's a huge issue that I believe we have in the district when it comes to missing assignments or or homework and taking things home. Targeted reading teachers, the ratio is crazy to me for the percentage of amount of students that we have that are considered um proficient there. >> How much do we have in our budget for targeted uh reading teachers? >> That was maintained at 500,000. However, there was also a request for additional reading teachers to help some of the reading. there's a as facility like I just think that a lot of these funds can be spread across the 13 buildings and reach more students my
076opinion I love the summer pro I am like all for summer enrichment summer programs my concern is eliminating 500,000 from the budget and not putting it back in for the academic school year >> and and I also say we are James we are investing and it's not like we're abandoning the school day when we say we want to make a strategic investment by providing our building principles with support that gives them the ability to really hone in on tier one instruction, really provide that feedback to teachers and help. >> But it goes back to the libraries. I'm sorry. You know how I feel about the libraries and and students being able to access books and and sign them out and then we're pulling to librarians to cover classrooms. So, it's like we can't we can't
077see a program like this and consider it equitable when we have inequity within the September through June where we're supposed to be providing these resources. >> So, before Mr. Fouchy addresses the um the district's response to the libraries, I' I'd also say that that's the result of a labor shortage, not a a budgetary impact. It's not that we didn't we're not budgeting for that. We're we talking about not having to be able to find a person, but we've made a response. Mr. Felchure, if you would at least uh speak to our responsive plans for that. >> So, the libraries are open now. Uh the issue we have at the middle schools is we're required to provide um a unit of study and library research information skills to every seventh and eighth grader and it has
078to be done in a certain way under the commissioner's regulations. >> Some neighboring districts provide it during English or social studies. Have would that not be a >> you can >> option for us? So, I'm not going to I'm not going to um >> what I will say is we also have to do it in the spirit of the commissioner's regulations. >> Okay? >> You can embed it, but that can't be the primary way that you're doing it. Um it's really they're supposed to be taught library and information skills. And per the commissioner's regulations, the way they recommend doing it is in tandem with another teacher or other teachers. And several years ago when we found that students were not getting the unit of study in library information skills, we married it to home and
079careers because you have a quarter quarter credit requirement for library information skills and three quarters of a credit for home and careers in the seventh grade. So it was married that way because that way every kid could get it in their schedule and we would meet the requirement. In eighth grade, we are embedding it. Otherwise, the li because we're embedding it in eighth grade. Yes, I'll say that. >> So, the library >> that's not necessarily the best way that you should be doing it per the regulations. >> When you say the >> librarying the cost of the teacher that's supplementing time now to take time out of their day to go cover the library, are they given a certain percentage? Are they given a stipen? Are they given money to cover that cost? >> So,
080we had a discussion in our last labor management meeting. It's being assigned as an addition as a non-instructional duty which is part of a teacher's regular schedule. So it's we're running it as a >> any additional fun. >> It's a non-instructional duty. So it's not an additional assignment. >> So it's a study hall in the library so that the library is open and kids can come down and utilize the library. >> But they can't sign a book out. >> The middle schools have their own procedures for students to sign books out and the library media specialist is responsible for that. Okay, just so I can better understand, I'm a teacher and I have my schedule. At what point am I covering the library? Am I giving up a prep? Like, how is that? >> No,
081it's an noninstructional duty assignment. You're we're per contract there. Every teacher gets one non-instructional duty assignment, two planning periods, a lunch, and five classes. >> Before you go too much farther, hang on. where you go too much farther, it really you're starting to border on uh >> an executive session discussion. Okay. So, >> talk about >> Well, yeah. So, anyway, maybe you should change this program to Joe's summer boot camp for reading and writing and arithmetic. >> This is what I will say. I will say the organization is very good at being innovative. So much so that we've been invited to NISBA for the uh in October 22nd to present on the innovation that this district has uh done and we're spearheading so many things. So my ask and what I submit to the board
082is you know we will if the board funds this we will get it done. It'll be a pilot. We'll look at the design and we will make it work and if there's adjustments that need to be made we'll make those. So that's that's my ask of our our instructional philos philosophy. We talked about this internally as administrators. We looked at this and we believe that this will best augment those students abilities entering school so that we see a reduction in um uh behaviors and as well as you know um the level of remediation that we need to invest in that the reality is you going to spend the money either way. You're going to spend the money on an added security. You're going to spend the money in remediation for target assistance teachers. The money
083will be spent to address the money. So yeah, >> and the budget's not being adopted today. So we'll have further discussions about this, but >> we do wear two hats here at this table. >> As far as all of our decision- making is always in the first instance centered around what is best for students. Second, we also wear a duty to the public fisk and we have to make sure that money is being spent in the most efficient way possible. And I think that here those priorities probably do align and that whatever is going to be best for students is also going to be the most efficient way to spend that money to give the most opportunities for students. So we'll have those discussions before the budget is finally adopted. >> Couldn't couldn't agree more.
084>> Cool. >> Okay. Anything else? >> Y know I love these discussions we move on. >> Okay. >> Again another great discussion. All love these discussions with you all. >> Okay. All right. So again, this is our um this is just a pie chart of our proposed budget from 2627. You really see the core bulk of the budget is the programming that you know uh really um benefits our students the most. Again, just because I understand things get out there. We're not cutting any positions. Let me say it again. We're not cutting any positions. There's no position. There's no attendance teachers being that's not happening. I know the rumor mill goes sometimes. I'm the season, but we're expanding programs and we are also looking to expand um uh personnel in critical areas to support student
085learning. So again, this is just our three-part budget. You see the administrative function program. We've presented on all of these different areas. Here's a budget summary. You know, that totals, you know, our adopted uh budget from last year and it compares it to what we're proposing for the board to adopt. And again, these are the different propositions that we will have on the ballot that we're recommending, but for the most part, um, we look forward to continued conversation. And again, I really appreciate these conversations because we're trying to figure out the best way to support our students. So, thank you. And that's it for me, unless there's any other questions. Okay. >> Oh, I just had one. So, how much of the uh >> what's that total we have right now? 310 million. >> How
086much of that is uh federal funds? >> This does not include federal funds. >> Oh, our this budget doesn't >> federal funds don't apply to this budget. >> No, the public doesn't vote on the federal funds. >> Oh, okay. Good. Good. Okay. I just wanted to clarify that because I was getting confused. >> Thanks. >> All right. No problem. Thank you all for good conversation. You too. >> Okay. Mr. President, I make a motion to go into executive session to discuss the employment history of particular people and legal matters. You need a second. >> Second. >> All in favor? >> We're going into executive session.