Board of Education Meeting - 03/09/2026

001You want that? >> [laughter] >> Sure. All right. You got a motion to come out of executive session at 6:33? Angela. Second. Fran. Fran. All in favor? Aye. Opposed? 6-0, thank you. All right, we'll call to order the regular meeting of the Board of Ed of March 9th at 6:34 and we'll begin with the Pledge, please. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Okay. Uh just a couple of housekeeping items. Please note of the uh emergency exits on the side and behind you. There's no smoking anywhere on school property. And if you're planning to address the board, please sign in on the sheet provided. And this meeting is being streamed on

002our district YouTube page. So, we will begin with correspondence. Good evening. On March 12th, the middle school high school pop concert will take place at 7:00 p.m. Parent-teacher conferences are March 18th and 19th and I just want to encourage all parents to come out and meet with their teachers so they can um have a good understanding of their children's progress and how they can best support. UPK lottery takes place on Friday, March 20th at 10:00 a.m. and it will be held at East Coldenham. VC High School spring musical, which I'm very excited to go see, will happen on Friday, March 20th at 7:00 p.m., Saturday, March 21st at 2:00 and 7:00 p.m., and Sunday at March on March 22nd at 2:00 p.m. Please get your tickets. They are on sale. So, I'm sure it may

003be sold out. So, I would hurry up. Invitations have been received for Shrek Jr. The musical invitation for Bria. That is happening this Saturday at 2:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. Their graduation for EC is occurring on March 25th at 2:00 p.m. and their graduation for Montgomery Elementary School is taking place on March 26th at 1:30 p.m. Congratulations. Our modified JV and varsity girls basketball teams, along with the fans, were awarded the sportsmanship banner presented by the Orange County Basketball Officials Association. The basketball officials voted on the teams they felt best demonstrated the core qualities of sportsmanship, including respect, integrity, a positive attitude, fair play, and support for opponents and officials. This award is presented annually to the program that exemplifies exceptional sportsmanship throughout the season. Please give them a round of applause. >> [applause] >>

004Thank you. Okay. Uh I just have a couple things I want to carry over from the February 23rd meeting cuz it wasn't broadcast. So, uh just a couple notables. We did The board approved uh new tax exemptions for our seniors, which is good for them. And we also approved a new contract for Ms. Avila. And um Ms. Avila will be presenting at Capital Region BOCES later this week. So, that's exciting news as well. So, okay. Uh we're going to move on to our student presentation. Very excited to have the high school with us. Good evening, everyone. Uh right last week you were calling almost a snow day. Today it's 75°. Crazy weather. Uh good evening. I'm not going to say much. This is all about our students and our FCCLA program. Um with us tonight

005is Ms. Jamie Rywalt, who's one of our family consumer science teachers at the high school. Um she's going to present our esteemed students. Um I'm not going to steal her thunder, but you will be very impressed. Um if they look familiar to you, they've got a little bit of press. Uh they were in the they were in the uh I believe it's the Wallkill Times. Uh forgive me if I got that wrong because I'm not from up here, so I I I'm trying to get used to Orange County. Um but I am very proud of them as their principal, and I know they'll go a long way in life, but you'll be impressed as well. Ms. Rywalt. Good evening, members of the board, friends, family, colleagues, and guests. My name is Jamie Rywalt, and I

006am the high school FCCLA chapter advisor. Tonight, I have the pleasure of introducing two outstanding students, Isabella Sekulski and Rachel Grainger, who are representing our school through FCCLA, the Family, Career, and Community Leaders of America. They will be competing next week at a New York State STAR Event Conference. I'm very proud of the dedication, leadership, and hard work they have put into this project. At this time, please join me in welcoming Isabella and Rachel as they share a preview of their work with you this evening. >> [applause] >> Hello. My name's Isabella Sekulski. And my name is Rachel Grainger. We are sophomores at Valley Central High School who are both in FCCLA. FCCLA stands for Family, Career, and Community Leaders of America. It is the nation's number one career preparation and workforce readiness organization for

007students pursuing careers in education and training, hospitality and tourism, arts and design, personal finance, human services, and public service through family and consumer sciences. Being an FCCLA means to be a part of a national student-led organization focused on personal growth and leadership. In class, we focus on building real-world skills and developing a deeper knowledge in areas connected to family, careers, and community. These include leadership and teamwork, career exploration, financial literacy, community involvement, and healthy relationships and life skills. Throughout the year, we work on our STAR event, which we presented at states in mid-March. FCCLA STAR events are competitive, project-based activities where members demonstrate proficiency in leadership, career preparation, and family and consumer sciences skills. With over 40 categories, students compete individually or in teams at regional, state, and national levels by developing portfolios or presentations

008that address community or career issues. Some categories include, but are not limited to, career investigation, culinary arts, fashion construction, and sports nutrition. The rest are listed above. This year, Rachel and I are competing in the event public policy advocate. The purpose of this event is to identify a local, state, national, or global issue related to family and consumer sciences, research it, and actively advocate for policy change. Our title is Our project is titled Curious Connections. We spoke to different teachers throughout the school and came to the conclusion that overall, there's a lack of motivation from students. Through our research to try and combat this issue, we found a bill that has been drafted by New York State Representative Joseph Morelle. Although this bill has not been passed, it sparked our interest. The Developing and Advancing

009Innovative Learning Models Act wants to make a shift from traditional, rigid education models to more flexible and effective approaches. It also aims to address learning gaps and ensure students are college and career ready. Through our research, we decided that hands-on learning has major benefits in the classroom. It increases information retention rates up to 75% fostering deeper understanding through sensory engagement and boosting motivation. By actively creating, experimenting, and solving real-world problems, students develop critical thinking and social skills while building confidence and curiosity. To test this ourselves, we made a pre-test and a post-test for each class we worked with. Overall, our findings were very positive. The first class we went worked with was Mr. Kemp's life skills class. We worked with two groups of students at different ability levels. Together, we learned about how air makes

010things move. To do this, we built a plane with one group and a car with the other. Students loved the projects and had a 30% increase from their pre to post-test. This shows us that there was a greater understanding of the material after taking this hands-on approach. The second class we worked with was Mr. Gunther's living environment class. In this class, we helped the students extract DNA from strawberries. Before we did the lab, we had an in-class discussion where we learned about GMOs and runners. To do the lab, they worked in groups smashing, mixing, and extracting the DNA from strawberries. We put the DNA into a vial and looped a piece of string around it to make a necklace. Each student wore their necklace around the school. To test how much they learned from the

011discussion and the lab, we had some questions at the end and we saw 38% increase from the pre-test. All of the students loved this project. In Ms. Wedel's math class, we took concepts from topics they were learning to make an escape room. Their escape room was called the improper protocol. In these activities, they practiced converting mixed numbers to improper fractions and vice versa. We used blocks and cards to provide a hands-on aspect as well as pictures for a visual. With the help of Assemblyman Brian Maher and his team, we got to take a tour of the special education preschool Inspire. We learned that everything they do is hands-on. One of the teachers told us that through hands-on learning, community is built. We adapt lessons to fit each student's needs. We have found this is the

012best way to engage our students and set them up for success. Using our findings, we met with local assemblyman Brian Miller to talk about the editing of the previous bill drafted by Joseph Morali. Together we restructured the bill to create our own. We then reached out to many sources including Mid-Hudson News, VC Communications, and Wallkill Valley Times for community outreach and to spread our findings. We still plan on continuing to try and get this bill passed in hopes of bridging the gap we have seen with students across all levels. Our work showed that hands-on learning truly boosts engagement and understanding. We're committed to continuing our advocacy so more students can benefit from these meaningful innovative learning opportunities. Thank you for listening and enjoy your evening. >> [applause] >> Thank you. Any questions? No? All right.

013Thank you. Great job. All right. Uh we're going to move on to the consent agenda. I just want to call out one note to the student calendar. So right now on the calendar on the bottom there's snow makeup days and it has the days listed as May 27th, 28th, April 1st, April 2nd. It should actually be May 27th, 28th, April 2nd, April 1st. So it's just the order of the the makeup days. That's the only change to that. So just want to call that out. Okay. All right. Can I get a motion to approve? Fran, second? Angela. Angela. All in favor? Aye. Opposed? 6-0. Thank you. Next we'll move on to the student reports. So for school news, um our chapter of the National Honor Society reopened the school store after years of being closed.

014So it's now open to everyone during all lunch periods. Vox Humana and Valgris hosted their recent concert with many amazing performances. The Harlem Wizards will be stopping by and playing a basketball game against our VC staff and faculty. And then our Tri-M Honor Society is holding auditions for their upcoming variety show. For athletics this department, the boys and girls indoor track team competed over the break and broke many school records. The athletes are now on their way to state qualifier competitions. The boys swimming and diving competed in sections and ended with many strong performances. The boys and girls basketball team also have achieved many wins throughout their season and the boys are on to the playoffs. And the girls and boys wrestling teams are heading to states with multiple athletes competing on each side. All

015right, thank you. Next we'll move on to the superintendent of schools. It's been a busy month and a half and I was happy to attend a girls bake-off on the first day of our break. The girls basketball team have a bake-off every year and I was able to judge. The winner was a dessert that had Nutella in it and it was unanimously voted as number one. Over the course of the month, I attended the girls and boys basketball games that they had and had this year the the athletic director, Ms. Uelski, decided to have a warm welcome and send-off to those teams that were going to states. So, myself and other administrators and some staff members at the high school, each morning that we sent off our girls wrestling team, our boys wrestling team, and

016our our girls gymnastics team to states and actually our track team this morning, they was a nice send-off to all of them to just wish them luck and appreciate all of their hard work to get to that point. March 2nd and 3rd, I attended the Nisky conference. That is a conference for all superintendents across New York, and our commissioner attends, and the focus this year was on UPK and future UPK and the mandates that are coming down for UPK. Um, looking at math as an area of focus, and definitely the portrait of a graduate in New York aspires. I attended the the parent-teacher I'm sorry. The PTA Council Founders Night, and the Heffners were um identified as um honored, and they were all there including the little ones. It was really a nice night. And

017I attended an academic site visit at Walden this past Friday with one of our board members, and the job fair that was I'm going to allow um Mr. Tolentino to talk about that, so I won't steal his thunder, but we had a very good turnout this past Saturday. Thank you. All right. Next, we'll move on to the assistant superintendent for business. Thank you. I echo what was said about the job fair. Um, having a nice job again. It was um pretty exciting to see how many faces of people are excited to come to work at Ballston Spa Central two years in a row. Um, so I hope we can keep that event going. Um, an update. Uh, in the last board meeting, there was um some discussion on replacing curtains district-wide as part of the

018uh upcoming proposed capital project. We do have the cost on that. It's um 235,000 to replace the curtains, and the good news is that the rigging does not have to be replaced, so what we have is is sufficient. Um, so we will we will be bringing forward that um uh recommendation at the next board meeting. Also, regarding the five-year plan, that spreadsheet has been updated with the two projects um that have been recommended to move up um from an out year up into this year. Um, and then lastly, just to note, we have used four For days. Um, our calendar allots us three. The one day that we were closed due to snow was due to some state of emergencies. We do have to submit to the state for a waiver for that day. So,

019we have that paperwork in the process and going and we'll keep you updated if there's any changes. Of the stages that we had discussed, the renovations. So, Yes. Check Amazon. And that's total, not each. 235,000 total. Thank you. All right. Next, we'll move on to the Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources. Good evening, everyone. On tonight's agenda, we have recommended one paraprofessional for hire. On Saturday, we had our district's annual second annual job fair, which we held at Berea. We had about 130 people attend the fair and we believe many of them to be great candidates for filling some of our open positions next year. I want to send a huge thank you to our staff who helped run the event, including our building and district administrators, teachers from the middle school and high school, our

020central office staff, and student volunteers from the high high school's JROTC who did an amazing job in escorting all of the potential candidates around. So, thank you to them for showing up on a Saturday. This group came together to put on an incredible event and I am grateful for all of their hard work on Saturday. Thank you again to everyone. Thank you. Next, we'll move on to the Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction. I have a presentation for tonight. I brought my It's okay. >> I don't know if that was Okay. Bye-bye. I was whispering over there. I don't know if it was me or something. Uh good evening, everyone. Thank you for having me tonight. Tonight we're going to be going over curriculum and instruction budget initiatives for the 2026-2027 school year. Um Just

021as a reminder of our our Valley Central's vision and mission, at Valley Central we empower innovative, critical, and collaborative thinkers in a learning in a learning community where all feel celebrated and confident to lead choice-filled lives. And additionally, our mission at Valley Central is that we champion curiosity and set high expectations. Our mission is to empower every member to achieve at high levels and embrace the joy of continuous learning. I always like to start our presentations as well as my committee meetings with our vision and mission because it reminds us to help what where are we ground our work and what we build upon. Um so just as a reminder to everyone here tonight. Some continued initiatives for the curriculum and instruction department in academic and enrichment, we will be continuing our science 21 and

022PNW BOCES social studies curriculum and science at the elementary schools. Our STEM labs curriculum that are K-5 as well. Um we are up making updates and renovations as per capital project to our tech rooms at the middle school and so we're looking at some enhancements there. Our participation with BOCES in our model schools uh Odyssey of the Mind, school improvement, and mock trial will continue. Our DARE program at the elementary school, our work-based learning, and CTE programs. In addition to those CTE, we are looking to see how we can expand for in-house as per the the Board of Education request. Always looking at our opportunities for AP and dual enrollment, and of course our seal of by a and civic readiness. In regards to student life and support, we will be continuing our student our

023student governments, assemblies, ADAC, and our college and career support for all of our students. And for community and professional growth, of course, keeping our committee meetings at K5, 6-12, our DEI, professional learning, MTSS, and one of our newer ones, grading, which we're hoping to have some revisions to our grading policy this year. Family nights, which include our ELA and math and steam at the elementary schools, but also our family and community engagement nights that are happening at each one of our each one of our elementary schools, middle school, and high school. Um, they're about every other month at this point. Parent workshops, we've we've held a lot of parent workshops over the over the past few years. They happen at the element at the each building, but also district-wide, so things in regards to i-Ready,

024um, transitioning to sixth grade and ninth grade, and also prepare This year we would like to have some parent workshops regarding preparing for kindergarten, as well. Author days and differentiated professional development. And of course, always to evaluate, monitor, and manage our co-curricular and extracurricular opportunities for all of our students. So, I One is I I can't say enough that the future starts in our classrooms. And as much as we would like to sometimes be not would like to, but as much as we discuss AI and that it's part of all of our lives, we don't necessarily see the each and every purpose of it. I will I have no credit for creating this slide. Well, I have some credit, cuz I know how to prompt an AI. However, if many of you know, in Google

025Slides at this time, we can simply beautify our slides and make some updates. And so, part of it is that moving forward, we really need to be able to embrace the change that's coming to education one with portrait of a graduate and New York inspires plan. And so, I I set the stage of the future starts in our classroom because the future starts with our students. And we have to be prepared for that. And so, what next year as I highlight the things that are coming from this year and into next year, we've already started implementation of CKLA at the K5 level, which is aligned to science of reading. In addition, we've we implemented i-Ready at K8. So, shifting from NWEA MAP Growth to i-Ready, which had which is a learning management system in our

026diagnostic along with a personalized learning path for students to meet students where they are. And really identify opportunities to close the gap for our students. We revise our comprehensive MTSS plan this year and next year we'll be moving into transitioning into a new MTSS plan platform as proposed by CNI budget initiative. And we're continuing our grading committee our grading committee as well, um, which again, like I said earlier, is really looking at how are we identifying grading and our practices and aligning to what's to come. With that said, moving forward like um, like I mentioned in regards to MTSS, we are looking for a new platform. Some of the feedback that we received on the platform we have is that it's very cumbersome and how do we really embrace the technology that we have at

027our fingertips to be able to communicate how students are are being addressed and the interventions that are being used for our students not just at the elementary level, but what what does that look like through K-12? Um, we are we are looking to evaluate math curriculums as well. So, we started our our CKLA pilot 2 years ago and evaluated multiple literacy pilots before identifying CKLA. We will follow a similar process this year. So, this year Sorry, next year. This year we are really looking at identifying the evaluation tool. Once we've identified an and fine fine-tooth comb Sorry, I'm I need another cup of coffee, clearly. Um but once we go through our evaluation and make sure that we have the attributes and the look fors and a rubric for the curriculum that we would be

028identifying, next year we'll bring in some of the vendors to present to us to utilize that evaluation tool to make a determination on a pilot that will be similar to literacy where it will be through feedback and collaboration through the district to identify our next step. And of course, um certainly not least, we are looking to revamp a computer lab that's in the middle school and I've been working with the middle school and the departments there and the tech department to create a learning lab that would it bring music technology to another level at the middle school and also have an opportunity for the high school to use that, but also bring back our writing and math and math center as well. Um but in a very future-ready um room. As we move on to

029priority two, community belonging and VC pride, uh some highlights. We Last year we I was charged with really rebranding our VC 21 to our family and community engagement. Although I would like to see more participation and attendance at the meetings, we are getting more more than we have in the past. And by more, I'm going like from zero to like five. That's not enough. Um so, with that, we do send out an agenda and so um we will continue to do that and make sure that's on our website as well as through Parent Square and on uh social media and we'll continue with our parent workshops. Um The C&I will will work with along the facilities committee and the business department to support the redesign of those classrooms because because again, yes, the future starts

030in our classroom through instruction, but it also starts with the equipment and the furniture that we have in our classrooms because those have to prepare us as the tool and have and be used as the tools for the for instruction as well. And we will continue to update and revise the climate and culture survey based on the feedback that we get. So, before we used to use Panorama for the climate and culture survey, with that side, what we recognize is that it needs a little bit more customization and so each year we use that the feedback that we get to customize, how do we get deeper and how more specific to the feedback that we need to make informed decisions. In priority three, clear and transparent communication, this year I have been uh making sure

031that we review the the pages on our district website since we will be designing our district website and specifically for C&I, kind of removing some of the pages that don't make any sense or have inaccurate information and are updating along the way. I still am in the process of it, but um I look forward to a new redesign for our district website. We are We I'm happy to say that our I-Ready reports for families in K through in K through 8, we last in the beginning of the school year, we mailed them home and okay, that's great, but we were able to utilize Parent Square and by the end of this week, all parents will receive their secure document of family of family reports via Parent Square and that's something that we have not done

032before. Um so, just in regards to a next step for clear and transparent communication. And as always, looking at our handbooks and protocols to make sure that they are updated. Initiatives moving forward is always to increase the opportunities for students and families to be involved in committees and and be part of our family and community engagement meetings. And also the continuation of the redesign of the C and I website as part of the district website. Any questions or comments? Questions. Thank you very much. All of my slides have been beautified by AI. Just take no credit. No, most of them, not all of them. Thank you. Have a good night. We we knew. It's nice, though. >> [laughter] [clears throat] >> All right. Next, we're going to move on to the director of health, PE,

033and athletics. All right. Good evening, everyone. I first want to thank the Board of Education and the community for their patience in my presentation. I got delayed a couple times due to snow days and basketball games. So, thank you. >> [snorts] >> All right. District mission as it relates to health, physical education, and athletics. Goals are to empower students to lead a healthy active lives. By doing that, we want to promote physical and emotional well-being. Want to foster positive character and development. Encourage teamwork, respect, and responsibility. Provide opportunities for success. Offer high-quality physical education, health, and athletic experiences. Support lifelong wellness. Develop leadership, communication skills through sports and physical activity, uh cultivate a culture of wellness and sportsmanship, prepare students to excel academically, athletically, and socially, and engage the community, strengthen our school spirit and

034community involvement through athletics and our wellness programs. Our physical education programs are delivered by certified physical education health teachers. Uh they're grounded in our New York State learning standards, uh which were revised with a little bit of a delay due to COVID uh in 2020 and our Shape America national standards. In physical education, it includes general PE, adapted PE, and fitness, wellness, and mental health courses. Uh mental health course, we have one at the high school level. In our health education program, it's skill-based instruction. We emphasize decision-making, uh communication, refusal skills, and advocacy. Our core content areas include mental health, nutrition, substance prevention, sexual health, healthy relationships, and personal safety. We reinforce through counseling partnerships, community uh community agencies, and district wellness initiatives. This is just an overall outlook at our fall, winter, and spring

035athletic offerings. Uh this spring, I'm excited about our inaugural season of our modified flag football team. Um I'm looking forward to that. Valley Central is one of the school districts leading that initiative and going out um and starting a modified flag program. That'll be a huge uh development since we don't have a JV flag football program. Huge opportunity. We have a lot of kids excited about joining modified flag and building that program. >> [snorts] [clears throat] >> Department highlights, as far as priority one in evaluating student success and engagement. Our athletic and academic connections, we emphasize on classroom attendance, academic excellence, character development, and leadership skills that carry over into sports. Offering professional development to strengthen our K-12 alignment of physical education and curriculum. The impact strengthens relationship between athletics and academics. It has a

036direct and positive impact on student success. Priority two, community belonging and VC pride. We continue to strengthen a sense of belonging by expanding inclusive opportunities. Next fall we're looking to add unified physical education, foster community building across our athletic teams. >> [snorts] >> We're strengthening belonging through unified PE and cross community building, enhancing inclusion, improving school climate, increasing student engagement, and foster stronger peer relationships, leadership, and overall pride in being a Valley Central Viking. Priority three, clear transparent communication. I do weekly updates through Parent Square celebrating our team success, our academic achievements, and individual character highlights. Share professional standards being established through the development, design, implementation of interscholastic coaches handbook, athlete handbook, and parent handbook which I've been working on since I arrived here at Valley Central and is seconds away from being rolled out.

037We strengthen communication and it builds a positive connected school community. Creates unified foundation that strengthens the entire athletic program. Any questions? I just have one actually. How many schools are participating in the modified flag football? >> I there's seven right now. Yeah, seven have started. I'm pretty sure I know but can you clarify what unified physical education is? Yeah, so unified physical education is similar to unified sports in that we have students with disabilities with students that don't have disabilities in the same physical education class so that they work together. We modify the curriculum and do a lot of activities together with their peers in the building. Kind of bringing together our students. Plus it brings our students with disabilities now when they're in the hallway they connect with other kids. I think sometimes they

038feel kind of isolated and now this gives them a chance to build a strong community. It's good. Thank you. All right, next we'll move on to the director of special education. Good evening. Um thank you for having me. I am honored to be here. It's been 8 months and I'm very thankful and feel very much a part of the VC community. Uh thank you to the board president and the board, uh the superintendent and her team and the community. Um special education is wonderful and it's fun and excited so um I'll jump into it. Clicker? There you go. Thank you. So I'll start by jumping into LRE and what LRE is is a least restrictive environment. Um it's a guidance that we have from law and from some of the guidance for special ed and

039it tells us that we want our students in this piggybacks off of what Teresa just presented to be integrated. We want our students in the least restrictive environment integrated with general education peers as much as possible. That's not always possible for all students, but we want to make sure that that's always our first thought process and our first step. Depending on the nature and severity of a of a student's disability, they may need something that is more restrictive and we provide that as well. I'm going back. So within Valley Central we had have had that guide some of the programming that we have. Four of our elementary schools our schools provide integrated co-teaching services. That is where students are in a general education classroom and our special education teacher pushes into to provide special education

040supports. Students in that specific setting have an LRE of 80% or more meaning that 80% or more of that 80% of their day they are integrated with a general education population, which is the nature of LRE. There are also students who related service only who receive related services only. They are with their general education peers and pulled out for speech, OT, or any related services that helps them to helps to support them. Another layer of LRE is parrots. There are students who we want to keep integrated but need the support of an adult to really implement those supports and implement the IEP. We see that at all four of our elementary schools. At the middle school level we have the same programming. We also have our resource room where students are pulled out to work

041on building skills and foundational skills and supporting them to have access to the general education curriculum. At the high school as well we have that the same system. We've also layered on consultant teacher services that allow students to really students to take different courses but having the support of a of a special education teacher who's able to provide support directly to the student or indirectly by by helping the general education teacher implement and and support them. Now, with LRE, there are students who need something that's more restrictive. Across the district, we do have self-contained classes. Those are smaller classes, special education classes, where we have a special education teacher along with a para that supports the students in the in those classrooms. Um we have 812s. That is our autism program at Burrell only. We

042have 1211s in every building. Typically, students in those classrooms require a lot of intense academic needs have intense academic needs and require structure and routine to be successful in the in the school setting. That follows us through middle school and high school. Um you'll see the term NISA at the end of the middle school and high school programs. That just lets us know that those students are not on a traditional diploma path and they are alternatively assessed. Um one of the things that's guiding some of the work um in special ed, of course, is data. Um we look at data consistently to see the need, to see the shifts, and to see how we need to align our program to support them. Um a lot of people still refer to COVID and that is a

043thing, but we are continuing to see a tremendous amount of students and in the preschool setting who are classified. While we don't provide those supports as a district, we have to look at that data cuz those are the students that are coming to us. So, if you look at the trend from 2021 all the way till this year, you see that the number has almost doubled. Um that tells us we need to get ready. >> [laughter] >> There are lots of students coming in who have needs and we are working on shifting our continuum and shifting our supports to make sure that we're ready, to make sure that we're supporting them, and to make sure that they're successful and a part of the VC community. We also have students and in who have needs that

044are outside of the district. Um, the number in orange represent the students who are out of district. Um, it's been pretty consistent. We're at about 101 students this year. And the number in blue just identifies all the students who are classified. Um, this is taken directly from the board report that's presented by the special ed department monthly. The one from this year, the only caveat is that it's from as of last month cuz we don't have end of year data quite yet. Um, I just wanted to clarify because the way that we look at out of district data, um, within Valley Central is unique. Um, I think because we're presenting it to the board, we include some things that are not necessarily special education driven. So, out of district could be BOCES placements, students who

045are placed at O U BOCES or Rockland BOCES who have specialized needs that need to be in a special education program. Or it could be a private day program like Center for Discovery that is another level of support for students who would need program. And at the highest level, we do have residential students who are placed in a residential program, um, as a schools as a school support. What's also included in our data on that 101 are students who are parentally placed. That's not necessarily special ed driven. Those are parents who have decided to pay tuition for their children to attend private schools whether it be Catholic or some other kind of school that they have opted to to provide. We're not necessarily paying that tuition. However, if a student is classified, we do provide

046services for those students. Uh, CSE home, those are students who are truly medically fragile and not able to access education in a school setting. Um, it's usually a very small number and those students are home for various reasons. And home instruction pending placement is a number that we also keep track of. Those are students who need a more restrictive setting and we're in a process of getting that secured. So all those components are included in the 101. I say that because I want us to kind of look at three that's really important. That's the residential, BOCES, and private day. Those are the numbers that are truly driven by special ed, and you'll see that there's been a shift in those numbers consistently um in the past year. Residential placement, um it's a very small number.

047Um that's not something that we take lightly. The state has very heavy guidelines on when we're recommending that a student be placed out of their home and in a residential setting, but we went from three to four, and that is a jump. Um BOCES placements, those are programs that we talked about for students who require a specialized school. We went from 30 to 40. And our private day programs, those are a slightly more restrictive setting. We have bumped up from 22 to 23. Um the reason why I wanted to note that is back to the beginning of the slide. We are noting that many of our students are coming in with IEPs, and if we're not able to meet their needs in district, we have to look out. So some of the work that I

048would like to continue to do this year is compliance. Um that is not by choice. Special ed is always compliance driven. Um thankfully, Valley Central has always been has always met the annual state performance indicators. We're working on really ironing out our systems and procedures to ensure that we continue to do so and to ensure that we're transparent with the community and with the district. The other thing that we want to do is to review the data and align our continuum to the data. If I go back to the slide with our students who are coming in, there are 160 students who are classified currently in preschool. Uh that number is shifting. We do have kids who may be classified or are pending cla- are pending initial meetings. The other thing is that um many

049of those students are in program currently in preschool, and many of those students are coming in and may require a program. The programs that we're seeing that are in need that we're not able to meet are typically our autism programs and our behavior management programs. I'm out of breath. The slides are going quickly. Um, so we want to review that data and make sure that our continuum is aligned so that when these students come in our we have the placement in district if we're able to support them in the least restrictive environment. Um, we want to continue to provide high quality programs and services. So by creating the programs and by creating the profiles of these classes, we want to make sure that those students are getting the supports of any other student in Valley

050Central and that there are high expectations for those students. Um, we're continuing to have our ESY program for our students with those needs. And we and my lens as a special ed director is everything that we're doing at Valley Central, what does it look like for a student with an IEP? Um, I'm following behind a superintendent's lead and I'm taking her work and driving it and making sure that we are really reinforcing that for our students who are neuro-diverse, for our students who are needy, and our students who really require high level of support. Questions? >> I skipped that slide by mistake. That's I wanted to give you a chance to breathe. I'm working on that after this. Questions? Are you Is this trend in increase in pre-K seen throughout the region? So yeah, and

051you'll see I think someone mentioned that it may have been earlier that there have has been a lot to talk talking about supporting preschool. Um, that trend we started with COVID and everyone said it's the COVID babies. They're all coming out and we don't know what to do with them, but years after we're still seeing a burst of a need for preschool. Um there is a layer of the preschool not always being able to support our students. So, when we're getting them, they're not always getting the supports that they has have needed. So, that impacts and there's a domino effect on us. So, it would behoove us since at some point to look into that and figure that out, but we're not quite there yet. Thank you. Okay. Thank you. I had I just had

052one question in regards to >> [clears throat] >> um the increase for both placement in BOCES and private day. So, I know that the increase is coming from in 2025-2026. Does that happen at what that when that placement happens, that happening during the school year or is it happening at annual reviews? So, I think there's a mixture of both. Um I think that as and and these are numbers of students who are classified and um a lot of my team would tell you that September we're running around because we're identifying kids. We're getting kids who are coming in who did not have preschool services, who were not identified from pre- preschool who require a high level of need. So, during the school year yet there are students who are recommended outside of district. Um but

053I think to the best of our ability, noting that special ed is continuously shifting, using that data now to help us would be helpful. I will say that um of the kids that are coming in with programs, about 13 require an 812. And we do have a need for students who need a behavior program in that kindergarten, first grade, second grade cohort. But in regards to out of district placement, are we seeing that increase in anticipation the year before or a mix of year before and the same school year? I think it it would be a mix. I wasn't here previously to speak to that, but it should be Thank you. And just make sure the business department is building budget in for all these increases. >> [clears throat] >> All right, we'll move on

054to the professional learning committee. Thank you, by the way. >> [clears throat] >> That's me. Um the professional learning committee met on February 24th, and it was mostly a discussion um regarding um the the course approval process for teachers taking um courses toward their 100-hour requirement that they have to have 100 hours of professional development every 5 years. And then beyond that, um teachers can also apply to take courses to enrich their own classroom experience and also to elevate their pay on their on the pay scale according to the contract. So, there was a um a discussion um regarding the approval process for that um because new new things are being implemented, so approval is based on basically repetition of coursework or if the district already offers the professional um that professional area already. And

055that's it. Thank you very much. Next, we'll move on to community participation. Start with Bob. Okay. Fran? Angela? Uh yes, I attended the [clears throat] job fair on Saturday. It looked like a the flow was great. Um I believe there was lots for uh people that were interested. It was a great event. And also, I just want to thank the high school for um the students went to Disney and Universal. They had a great communication with the parents, and they had a great time. So, there was a little bit of a scare that Tuesday with the snow day, but it was a great time. Great. Diana? Um I attended the family and community engagement meeting in Montgomery, where we had the um Evalisa explained about the i-Ready results, which are really quite impressive. Um so,

056really great job with that. And I also attended the boys basketball championship game last week. That was a real nail bit real nail biter. We were on our the edge [snorts] of our seats the whole time. I think I had anxiety like I was you know from the Canada um USA game again. It >> [laughter] >> was Unfortunately, the game didn't turn out the way we had hoped, but the boys just left it all on that court and they really played their hearts out and we're just really proud of them. I was also at that game watching her be very anxiety ridden. Um it was a it was a great game. They it was neck and neck the whole time, so it was very exciting and they played great. Really proud of them. Um and

057I was also able to attend to attend uh the Acapella night. So, there were some groups from Cornwall, O'Neill, and then the Valkyries and Box Tones from VC. And it was awesome. I hope we do that every year. It was I had to drag one of my kids and he still by the end was like dancing and singing and loved it. So, it was it was really good. Great. All right, nothing for me. Uh we'll move on to public comment and Katie will read for us. Yes, I do. It's better than Joe, though. Yes. Ladies and gentlemen, we are about to begin our public comment portion of our meeting. We have public comment because it is important for us to hear concerns and issues from our community members. Please note that the board is here

058to listen and public comment is not designed to be a discussion. If needed, the board or designated staff member will research your concerns and get back to you accordingly. We want our school board meetings to serve as an example to our students, so I ask that we demonstrate mutual respect. We ask that speakers address their comments to the board directly and we will insist that all speakers and members of the audience maintain civility and respect on opposing views. The board reserves the right to shorten a speaker's time if that speaker violates the board's public comment rules. I also want to point out that under board policy, we do not entertain any comments or questions about specific school personnel or individual students by name or by implication. Please know, however, that we take personnel and student

059concerns very seriously. On these matters, we ask that you review our board policies and go through the appropriate administrative channels. The board will now entertain public comment for 30 minutes. Each individual speaker is allotted 4 minutes. Individual time limits will be enforced so that as many members of the public who wish to speak may be allowed to do so. Thank you very much. Our first speaker is Robert Saladin. >> [snorts] >> All right here. >> [clears throat and cough] >> Good evening, board and everybody else here. Uh, believe this is the second time I am addressing this board. I promise this time I come in peace. Um, I'm here I'm going to give you the why, or actually the what, and then I'm going to give you the why. So, the what is I'm here

060to ask you guys to bring uh an Article 78 legal action against the town, town board, and town assessor because they have taken actions that are denying you a starting point of $168,000 of tax revenue this year for the next 40 years, not accounting for increases in inflation and rates and so forth. The why is this? So, the government has many different project uh programs for development of housing and development and business and etc. where they give tax incentive, tax breaks, financial assistance, and whatever to developers, to municipalities, to whoever for some public good done with building, whether it's housing or development of business, etc. In the town, we recently had a apartment complex open on uh Hawkins Drive, 90 Hawkins Drive. It's referred to as the Hawkins Drive Apartments, I believe. And that's the

061property in question. Uh, full disclosure, I emailed a cursory look into this to the uh superintendent some weeks ago, very preliminary information about it. And I'm here to address the rest of you. Uh, one of you is very familiar with what I've said about this because you work there. But uh anyhow, that apartment complex, and it doesn't matter how we got there. I don't want to get into the weeds with the politics of who said what and how it became, but it's very simple. They've been given a tax assessment uh through a through a specific state tax code that is designed for something, but not that. Okay? That's just without getting into all the weeds. Essentially, they're using a tax code that's 48660. It's on all the documents. It's on all the tax records. It's

062in the county. It's in the town. It's everywhere. And that tax code is reserved for something called an HDFC to create housing uh for low-income purposes. HDFC is Housing Development Fund Corporation. It was developed in 1966 in New York City. Basically, it was to incentivize developers to take dilapidated, vacant, burnt-out properties that existed back then in New York City and develop them into low-income housing cooperatives, which is not common, I guess, anywhere outside of New York City, but it's basically you own an apartment, but you don't own the apartment. You own a percentage of the entire complex, but that's your apartment, and you own it. Uh that's the tax code. You look it up. Again, 48660, New York State. And that's what you'll find. And when I saw that this property was assigned that tax

063code, and I looked it up, and that's what I saw about the HDFC, I said, "It can't be They can't be this brazen. They can't just openly assign this tax code to this property because this is just too obvious. Like, it can't I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I This much paperwork, many, many hours with my team later, um I've addressed the town board several times over the last two or three months about this directly. That's part of the research. They gave no good answers as far as to why this property was given that tax break. And then the town ultimately issued them a pilot, which the town is not allowed it it a pilot. It's not within their

064purview. They don't have the proper legislation behind them to issue a pilot directly. So, what they can do apparently with a very thin margin of legitimacy is if there was a tax break given to somebody, they could administer that tax break through a pilot, if that makes any sense. But, they can't just decide to issue a pilot. That's what the IDA is for, county level and town level. Um So, you guys, I'm not asking you, I'm not begging you, I'm not pleading with you, I'm imploring you. You have to bring this action against them. It's for the next 40 years. I'm sorry. It's for the next 40 years, which is not a joke. There's There's generations of kids who aren't even born yet that are going to go through school without 80 apartments paying a

065dime in taxes to the school district. It's ridiculous. It's anywhere from ridiculous to unlawful to illegal to improper to whichever adjective fits. I'm not a lawyer, but I work with them every day, lawyers. And every stress test I've done in regards to what I've concluded about this issue says they're wrong. Everything. Um I am asking you guys to set up at least a meeting between your attorney, I assume the school board has an attorney, the superintendent, and at least one or two members of the board, and I will come present you with the details. I'm not going to give you a bill, either, okay? I have a middle school daughter. So, this is not anything personal, it's not anything political, it's just what's right and wrong. There's right and wrong, and there's just wrong, and

066this is just wrong. The town has no business telling a developer he doesn't have to pay any taxes to the school or anybody, well, not anybody else, but to the school for the next 40 years. Not when that apartment complex, by the way, it's not defined, it's not part of any government program, it's not participating in any government mandates of any sort, despite what things have been said publicly over the last few years. That apartment, by their own admission, by their own documents, is a market-rate apartment building. It's nothing else. It's like your next if they built another apartment building down the street that someone's just renting for profit. That's what it is. Period. It's nothing different. It doesn't participate in any sort of philanthropy, any sort of public program that deserved or is entitled

067to any kind of break that they got. Essentially, what they did was now I'll wrap up with this, and if you have any questions, I'll gladly answer them. But the the property was uh developed last year, finished, and it was assessed. It's got a fair market value of just under $12 million, $11.9 million. I have the papers here if you guys want a copy. It was assessed, like everybody else, at a percentage of that at the equalization rate of like, I think, 37 or 40% the town has, at 4.443 or 4.433 million. Essentially, just under 4 and 1/2 million. They were given by the assessor, and who had the assessor do this, but using code tax code 48660, they were given a rebate on their assessment of 4,193,000, leaving their assessment at 240,000. That's the

068facts. There's no argument. There's no way around it. That's what they did. Now, the program does allow for that. So, just to go back to what the program is, so, it tells a developer, if you develop this property for the purpose of low-income housing and co-ops, you will only pay taxes on what you bought. The land value, the dilapidated building value, the improvement, which is the example of the apartment building, will be exempted from the assessment. That's the program. This building, nor the ownership type, qualifies for that program. There's no other way to say it. It's that simple. >> [snorts] >> I don't want to get into the speculation of why it was done. We could go to the bar and discuss that if you want, but uh that would be just speculation. You guys

069have to sue them, bring an Article 78 action, and demand that they pay their school taxes and all the rest, but you guys your interest is the school taxes. And again, it's as simple as they received a tax rebate that they're not entitled to. There's two qualifications to entitle to entitle yourself to that tax break, that assessment rebate, and that is you're an HDFC, which is a Housing Development Fund Corporation, which by the way they created one weeks after the pilot, just to take change ownership, which they haven't done yet, but that's irrelevant because that's just a cover. If you look that up a year from now, it's oh, it's an HDFC and you move on. No. And it's not the property is not a low-income housing co-op. It's a market-rate apartment building, period. Okay?

070Um that's it. That's about it, but I really ask you guys to take a meeting with your attorney. If you'd like me to come there and present to you guys all the papers, we could sit down informally, and you could see and your attorney could assess whether or not there's a case. I'm telling you there it's every I've been doing this for months looking into it. I had no idea what an HDFC was, what 486-C was. None. Okay? So, you guys need to do that. These kids deserve their money. This year they're not going to pay 168,000 unless you take action. Over the course of 40 years they're not going to pay millions. Okay. Thank you. Okay, thank you. Any questions? No, thank you. Okay. Uh next is Jennifer Mojica. Hello. Uh good evening, and

071thank you for allowing me to speak tonight. I'm here because I'm a parent of a winter athlete, and what happened to the class of 2026 winter athletes should never happen again. No student should ever be forced to choose between two once-in-a-lifetime senior experiences because of avoidable scheduling decision. My family moved to this district in 2008. We left our hometown of Beacon because we believe the district would put students first. We believe our children would have an opportunity to build their own legacy. Tonight, I'm here because that belief was tested. This is now the second time winter athletes had to had to face the same impossible choice, attend the senior class trip to Disney with their classmates or stay behind and compete in sectional playoffs in bas- for basketball. For these athletes, sectionals are not just

072another game on a schedule. They represent months, sometimes years of dedication. Early mornings before school, late practices after everyone else has gone home, playing through injuries, sacrificing time with family and friends, committing themselves fully to something bigger than themselves, their team. And this year, that team achieved something extraordinary. For the second time in 26 years, they secured home court advantage during sectionals. That is a historic accomplishment for the school and for this program. Yet, despite that incredible achievement, several seniors, including the captain and some starters, had to walk away from the court during the most important stretch of their season because their senior class trip was scheduled directly in the middle of sectional play. Last year, we saw the same conflict. One of the two seniors delayed his arrival to that trip after playing in

073the semi-final game. His family paid additional money just so he could experience both milestones. That should have been when that mo- that should have been the moment the problem was fixed. Instead, this year it happened again and on a larger scale. There were 11 seniors on that basketball team. Five of them went to the senior trip. The sectional game was scheduled on Thursday, right in the middle of the trip. Those students were forced to make a heartbreaking decision, celebrate their senior year with their classmates or stand beside the teammates they had battled with all season long. Winter track athletes athletes face a similar conflict with state championships scheduled during the first week of March. Once again, students were forced to choose between celebrating their final year of high school and competing at the highest level

074of their of their sport. This conflict was avoidable. Why were these dates chosen knowing the winter sports post season schedule? Why were there no Why was there no collaboration with athletic director, winter coaches, or other stakeholders before these dates were finalized? Why were Why were students placed in a position where they had to carry the weight of that decision? Because make no mistake, there there was a weight. There was guilt. Students who attended the trip felt that they were abandoning their team. Students who stayed behind missed a once-in-a-lifetime experience with their classmates. Either way, they lost something they can never get back. As a former athlete and as someone whose husband was inducted into the Beacon High School Hall of Fame, our family understands the significance of these moments. When a team wins sectionals, it

075becomes part of school history. A banner hangs in the gym. A plaque carries their names. Years from now, people will still walk into that gym and remember that team. Those are moments that define the legacy. And these athletes deserve the chance to pursue that legacy without being forced to choose between their team and their classmates. The class of 2026 began their journey in the district during the 2013 budget cuts when resources were already limited. It is heartbreaking that their senior year is ending with another decision that placed unnecessary stress and disappointment on students who simply wanted to experience something their final year had to offer. Tonight, my request is simple. Please learn from this mistake. Future winter athletes should never be placed in this position again. With thoughtful planning and collaboration, this conflict can easily

076be avoided. Our students give everything to represent this district with pride, dedication, and heart. The least we can do is make sure the decisions made by adults never forces them to choose between two moments they have worked their entire lives to experience. Because when we truly put students first, we make sure they never have to choose. I have um something from one of the students who posted on the basketball team on his social media. And a coach from a neighboring district responded to his story and said, "Bro, Disney World? Tell me the rumors ain't true. VC doing y'all dirty with the senior trip schedule." So, I ask again that this never happens again because watching my son he had a fabulous time as stated by the board. They had a fabulous assignment and he doesn't

077regret going to the trip. But, it was really hard when he had to talk about the fact that he was not able to participate in that game. Yes, they lost. I watched it on the live stream. They watched it while they were in Disney. It was disappointing and it was a very difficult decision. And I don't regret paying for that trip and it's a fabulous experience because many students, many districts don't provide that senior trip like this. He's never going to forget it. But, just really, really think heavily on when you schedule this trip so this does not happen again. Thank you. Thank you. Okay. Uh we're going to move on to old business. We have a budget presentation. >> Okay. So, um fortunately, a lot of this information has already been covered tonight. So,

078we'll be able to breeze um right through it. So, tonight we are going to look at um uh instructional and student programs at a high level and as uh we come back at the next board meeting with the superintendent's recommended budget, as always, it'll be in a much more detail and we can go through it a little bit more thoroughly. Um Ms. Mojica did a great job covering our mission, uh vision, and priorities. So, we can skip this slide um for tonight. We'll move right into the agenda. So, I have some follow-up from our prior presentation. We're going to look at curriculum and instruction, special education, uh as well as related services with that tonight. And then we'll move into the instructional section of our budget. Um follow-up from the last meeting. So, there was

079a question on this slide from the technology budget overview on the salaries and wages and that was going down. So, um I did mention it was because of the budgeted salary and the replacement of a new technology director, which was true. Also, in that line last year, we had budgeted for some technology summer help, um which it is still our hope to be able to do that this year, but as we go through the budget process, um that has not been included yet. So, that's what led um to that slight decrease in the salaries and wages. And then there was also a question on the contractual services and supplies line, um that that uh number to the right had a three instead of a two. That was a typo. I am sorry. So, um we

080have corrected that and brought it forward. Since then, uh we also at the last meeting, we had presented a transportation budget overview. I have made some changes uh in this area of the budget as well. Um first, uh we did bump up the fuel and supplies slightly. Uh we had reduced that um going into next year, but uh given the recent events uh in the Middle East, we have decided to protect ourselves, and we added uh a little bit of money's back into that area of the budget. We also reallocated some money's out. I had uh perhaps been a little overzealous on a few routes that I was I thought could easily be collapsed going next year going into next year with the hopes of helping to offset that uh transportation increase that we are

081seeing. Um so, I have had the bump um them up a little bit and allow us some more time to see if we can um hopefully um collapse some routes to offset this cost, but I'm not able to do so yet, so I've come back to represent these numbers. Next, uh moving into the curriculum and instruction area of the budget, Ms. Mojica did a great job giving an overview of her department, so we can go through this relatively quickly. Uh this information will be posted on the district's website um for everybody to see. Um and if as always, if you do have any questions, please uh do not hesitate to reach out. Um the staffing for curriculum and instruction, we also look at data and testing as part of this area of the budget. Uh

082there is one assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction, director of data and testing, and then there's uh secretarial staff. No changes in staffing is presented um at this time. Um looking at a uh budget overview, so on this slide, you'll see the salaries, the instructional salaries, non-instructional salaries, supplies, and contractual. So, on here, you will notice the contractual services area of this budget um is going down slightly next year, and that is because um last year when we built the budget, we put the CKLA program in the curriculum development area of the budget. We are moving that over into the instructional area of the budget um for this year, so even though it is showing a decrease in this section, uh it will be accounted in the overall picture. Good news is that the price

083has come down pretty substantially from what we had in place this year going forward next year, which is which is a good thing. Next, Ms. Rollins did a great job covering the special education area of the budget. This also looks at related services as well. So, the staffing structure for special education program leadership, as you know, director of special education with clerical support, and we have the special education teachers. We have a teacher of the deaf. We have a teacher of the visually impaired. We have a testing teacher. We have speech pathologists and therapists, occupational therapists, physical therapists. We also have social emotional support specialist as well as many wonderful special education paraprofessionals. On the related services side of things, we have a director of pupil personnel services, a 504 committee chair, registered nurses, LPNs,

084school psychologist, student assistance counselors, behavioral assistance counselors. I do apologize if I missed any titles. These is a very broad departments that cover a lot of very important services for our students. Moving into the budget overview, so a few notes here. So, you'll see that we've at this point been able to hold our salaries and wages relatively flat. A couple reasons for that. So, you remember when we developed the budget last year, we were budgeting for a one-on-one nurse anticipating an incoming kindergartner with a student need. We ended up not needing that nurse. So, therefore, we are not budgeting it for it at this time. We had also budgeted for an additional special education position last year that um when we got into the summer and before the start of the school year, we realized

085that we actually did not need that position. So, we are not budgeting that going forward. Um at the beginning of the school year, there was a resignation uh special ed position that was um not filled. Um so, we are have some reduction through re- uh we call it reduction through attrition. Um so, that position is not being budgeted for. And then also this year, we do have a number of right retirees. So, we are we are seeing a bit of breakage in that area um with obviously the retirees going out and incoming uh replacement salaries being a bit lower. One other note is there was a high school special education position um that was not uh I believe it was a resignation last year, not filled, and was reallocated out to serve as the 504

086chair. Uh equipment line staying flat and um as Ms. Rawlings was talking about with our expenses and in BOCES and out of district placements, that is the area where we are budgeting um an increase next year due to anticipated needs. This is always an area of the budget where we don't have a lot of firm information at this time. So, there are years where we're uh a lot closer than others. There's years where we we we budget an amount and we spend more and there's years when we budget an amount and spend less. Um I will be having some more conversations with Ms. Rawlings over the next week um but before we present the recommended budget um but this area uh would see a uh slight increase next year from 6.6 million to 7.3 million.

087Uh also under contractual services, this area of the budget covers things such as uh settlements when there's disagreements on services. Um also when we have to contract out for things like PT services, sign language resources, um uh certain things like independent uh education evaluations, IEEs, that all gets paid out of that contractual services line. Now, moving forward into the high school, middle school, and elementary programs, this is uh the large majority of our budget, and uh these programs do cover uh elementary classroom instruction, middle and high school instruction, literacy mathematics programs, science and social studies, uh electives, career and technical education, that is budgeted out of this uh area of the budget as well, AIS support services, guidance services. This there's just what there's way too many positions to list as part of that. So,

088I tried to keep this presentation this year as high-level uh as possible, but as we said before, teachers, all teachers uh K to 12, this would be on the general ed side of things as well, specialty areas um such as art, music, library. Uh student support is budgeted here, guidance counselors, attendance teachers, as well as librarians and school media specialists, uh as well as paraprofessionals. Quick look at enrollment projection. At this point, I think we hit on this a little bit uh in January, um but overall at this point, no additional general education uh sections are projected at the elementary level. Uh a reallocation a little bit, you can see, I believe, uh fourth grade um district-wide, we do need an additional two sections, but we're able to offset that um from reductions in some

089other areas. On the secondary side of things, um this just um very high level, um, this just looks at our current enrollment per grade and the center column, it moves it forward and, uh, the 271 would be the incoming fifth graders for next year. So, total enrollment, you know, essentially flat going just down slightly is what is projected at this point in time. So, now the instructional budget overview, again, very high level, um, one thing there is there was also a position in this area of the budget, a PE position, um, that was a resignation back in the beginning of the school year, uh, that was not filled and also a significant number of retirements this year, um, so that breakage is, uh, allowing us to be able to keep this area of the budget

090um, relatively, uh, low is an increase, um, not typically these lines year to year do you see about a 4% increase because of, um, the contractual obligations with staff and then the annual, uh, average increase. The, um, the equipment line, you'll remember last year we had bumped that up, uh, significantly to cover district-wide furniture. There's we recognized the need to improve our classroom furniture, uh, district-wide, so there's a uh, approximate 500 allocation 500,000 dollar allocation in this year's budget. We are expecting to continue that going forward. On the contractual services, uh, including C-Tech, this is the area where CKLA would be will be moved to this year and that is where it will live going forward. Um, one note is that the C-Tech, um, lines are in here. Um, you may say, well, how much

091does a C-Tech spot cost? It's about 13,000 uh, dollars, I believe and in that 2025 actual we had budgeted for 130 spots and there was nine spots that were not filled um throughout the year. >> [snorts] >> Again, it doesn't does not always come out to lack of interest here. It's just lack of availability at BOCES for those students, but that um in 2025 nine nine spots were not filled. Some uh lines you'll see increases when um we come forward uh next year is our substitute line. Um next year, I'm sorry, at the next board meeting. Our substitute line where uh we are going to increase that line. I think we have done a very good job of hiring subs and they're being uh utilized, so we're increasing that line about $100,000. And that brings

092us to the closing. So, our next meeting would be March 3rd, which um will be the the superintendent's proposed budget uh in more detail. We look forward to having those conversations with you as well. Uh April 13th uh it's our anticipation that the board will adopt the fiscal year 2027 budget uh on April 20th nominating petitions are due to the district clerk. More uh more on that when I sit down. May 11th is the budget hearing and May 19th is the budget vote. Any questions? Questions? Yep. I have a couple. Okay. Can you go back to slide 11 and [snorts] um Which slide was it? Okay, well, slide 11 on mine cuz I realized that there was some other Just tell me the title. Related services staffing section? Okay. So, is there a way to

093to break that down in terms of um all of the all of the schools to show how many people are in each school? Can we get that information? I believe if if the board is interested in that information >> counselors, behavior. I'm just curious to know I know that we've been working to create, you know, a balance in each of the schools. I just haven't seen a snapshot of that in a bit. Well, we have Well, we got the org chart at the beginning of the year, but you're talking about specific departments. Right, like school psychologists, student assistant counselors, behavior assistant counselors. I'm just wanting to see if that's on the org chart. I mean, I can look at the org chart if that's available. >> I don't have the org chart. Org chart doesn't

094go to that level of detail cuz I think the the numbers might change also. So, so you're you're asking for an org chart for that specific organization. >> Yeah, just to kind of see what the breakdown is for all of the schools. Okay. We'll We'll put it to a vote. Bobby, are you interested in that? To determine the number of To get an org chart specific to this >> building? >> Yeah. >> [snorts] >> Um start down there. Okay. Dan? Yeah. Katie? No. Dan? No. No. I'm not I don't need it either, so. Okay. Okay. All right. Okay, my next question is you had a slide up there that is not was not in the package. I think it was the secondary um school. >> we um added those slides today. I'm sorry. That was

095the enrollment projections for secondary. Correct. Okay, is that >> So, yeah, as I said, this is based off of the enrollment reports that the that the board receives kind of an effort to show the public um and it'll be on the website as well, but it it essentially takes our current enrollment, which as you can see, sixth grade is current 319, um rolls it down. So, 2027, you'll see that uh enrollment goes to seventh grade. We bring in the incoming fifth graders to give you an overall picture of what we're looking at at the secondary level. Okay. And then on the instructional budget overview, Mhm. does that take into consideration any projections about increases if I believe isn't the contract up this year? So, there would be a new contract in place if all goes

096well. Right. So, we obviously have to um budget a projection for next year. So, that would be included. >> Well, right now you have it flat. Correct. Okay. So, that will be coming. Is that what you're saying? Like, this is not this is just >> Yes. So, this is a draft at this point, but I can tell you that a projected increase is is part of this budget. As you're seeing it today. Any other questions? I I have a budget {slash} special ed question. So, you said it's hard to you know, forecast and project because it could go up or low. With With the number of kids coming in, you mentioned that they don't aren't identified with IEPs. So, do we at kindergarten screening, do we have any bubble like that we would identify those

097students that might so that so that we can get ahead like so we're not waiting until September when they show up at the door. Like, do we have it Is that part of our screening so that we can try? Me again. Yes, we do have kindergarten screeners. Um we have students come in and they're screened. Um that's part of what we do as a district. It's part of how we identify students, but kindergarten is not mandatory, neither is pre-K. So, there are students that slipped through the crack and there are students who aren't identified early. Do you want to mention CPSE also to try help them understand that how we get a number >> [snorts] >> of how many students become classified and you know, their needs? So, with CPSE students and the classification process

098for CPSE and CSE is different. Um students can be classified as CPSE, but not meet criteria for CSE. So, that's all also a part of something that we think about going forward. Um they may not meet criteria going into kindergarten, but as they get into our classrooms that are more rigorous and a big shift from play-based learning, we see that needs pop up. So, that is something that we also have to keep in mind as we identify learners that require special education services. Thank you. Any other questions? No. Just to give you a little understanding, so there are our budget line where we budget those special education costs and BOCES. So, last year, fiscal year 2025, we had budgeted 3.4 million. And it's And it's not a number that we just pull out of a

099hat. It does involve discussions and projections. We ended up spending only 2.6 million dollars out of that code. So, we were off by about 700,000 dollars. Um and just to take you back, um fiscal year 2024, our special education private line, so this is where we budget for those students that are going out of district, uh we had budgeted 2 million dollars, 2 million 7,000 dollars um when we set the budget, and we ended up spending 2.6 million dollars that year. So, it's it's just variability. Um we do the best we can, and but we are going to um be showing an increase in this area of the budget next year kind of to support what was presented um when uh Ms. Rollins presented her information earlier. So. Okay. Thank you. Yep. Brad needs to

100polish his crystal ball. Yeah. Okay. Can you tell us So, we're going to we're going to go on to new business, and I'll give Brad a chance to sit back down. And we're going to do a couple walk-on items first though. Um so, new business walk-on, we do have a request for an overnight trip for approval of Odyssey of the Minds. So, I will take a motion to approve the overnight trip. I move. Diana second. Katie all in favor. Aye. Opposed? 6-0. Okay, thank you. All right. So, another another walk-on thing I want to talk about is um you know, we talked about the curtains a little bit, but we never said we were adding it or not adding it. So, can is it can we still put curtains in this budget if we want

101to? The capital project budget? >> Yes. Okay. Okay. Okay. So, I think but we have to talk about it cuz we never voted on that. So, I'd like to open it up first to for discussion on the curtains now that we have a dollar amount and then after discussion we can we can decide if we want to add it to that project. Okay. So, I I just have a Go ahead. I just have a question. So, if the curtains are going to be part of the capital project, do you want to vote on the whole capital project next when we at our next meeting cuz that's when we're voting on the capital project? Right, but you need to know I would think you need to know if you're putting curtains in there. Um some feedback

102would be good, yes. Okay. All right, so Yeah. I think we would recommend that we do it. Well Well, we you need to know if you don't you need to know if you if you're putting them in there or not, right? Or no? Or that would be you want to wait till All right, we'll have discussion for now since we have a dollar amount and then we'll go from there. Okay. So, I have a question on the curtains. So, I don't know how old they are, but have we ever washed them? I mean I don't know. Did we look into that? I mean, we washed we had the auditorium we had all the chairs steamed, they looked great. Before I spend $230,000, I think we should throw them in the washing machine or hire Have

103we have we got a price to have somebody come in and clean our curtains? We'd have to follow up. I I don't know. >> We we'd have to look into that process. I don't know if the washing machine turns them from green to the but we could do that >> have to vote on if that's something that the the board wants to ask? Should I get Should we ask the board to vote on whether or not we want them to go back and look for a price for washing first? >> know if we voted we didn't vote for the price on the curtains. We did vote we did ask them to look for the price on the curtains. Yes, we will. So so so just again for discussion I'm just I'm just curious have we

104ever got an estimate? Go ahead Bob. Well, just do they all need to be replaced? Are are there any that are good that we can just, you know, clean or like I think they're all pretty old, right? >> Yes. But they're not they're not falling apart, are they? We want to have a future-ready district and we feel that at this point we are looking at the curtains. We want it to look presentable. We want to have BC pride and of all of our buildings and in all of our places. What's that thing where they put the guy the hologram is how they do it. You can hologram the guy. >> that we're going to be putting these curtains on the stages that are already being having worked on to them in this capital project. So

105it's a full facelift more or less. Yes. Say that again. What did you say? Full facelift. All of the stages. Full facelift. Okay. Okay. [laughter] All right, let me Let me do it this way. So they they all need to be replaced or are there some of them that can I I guess they're all pretty old and to do a facelift they'd want to replace all of them. Aren't they just like put them on or like do [snorts] the parts need to be like do we know how to Yeah, so that was the conversation last time is whether or not the rigging which my understanding is what they hang on had to be replaced and the answer was no, the rigging is adequate. It's we'd just be replacing the curtains. Okay. All right, so then

106any other questions for discussion? I mean is there any other option other than replaceable? Okay, so so is there other option to replacing all of them? So, do we know what the condition are of some versus the others? Or do Or do we think that they just all need to be replaced? I believe [snorts] it's time that they all be replaced. They're very expensive. The advantage to doing it through a capital project is it would generate aid back on those um versus if just a general fund replacement uh you know, we're going to go replace curtains for $40,000, we're not going to get aid, so. Okay. All right. I'm not saying I'm opposed to it. I'm just asking if anybody threw a Tide Pod at them and see what happens. Right? So So, okay. So,

107let it Let's put it up for vote. Is anybody else interested in seeing if there's options of having them professionally cleaned as opposed to replacing them? Bobby, are you interested in that? I'm interested in that, sure. Okay. Fran? Diana? Uh Andrew? No. Katie? No. Diana? Okay, it's a no. So, okay, so there's there's your answer. Okay. A no to what? No, we're not doing curtains or not No, no she's not looking into another >> professional cleaning. No pods. No Tide Pods. No Tide Pods. All right. It's curtains It's curtains for you, Betsy. Oh, you People are too young. Okay. Uh Brad, we're going to move on to you for the review of board candidate seat, please. Okay. Wait, don't we don't we actually have to agree to include it in the capital budget? Isn't that

108what we were originally discussing? Yes, next [snorts] meeting is the capital project. Okay. So, we are going to review information on Board of Educate Board of Education candidates. So, this year we will elect two members to the Board of Education as follows. Two members for three-year terms commencing July 1st, 2026 and expiring June 30th, 2029. Um the qualifications for memberships on a school board, you must be able to read and write. You must be a qualified voter of the district, um a citizen of the United States at least 18 years of age or older. You must be and have been a resident, uh but you do not need to be a taxpayer of the district for a continuous and uninterrupted period of at least 1 year immediately prior to the election. May not have been

109removed from any school district office within the preceding year. May not reside with another member of the same school board as a member of the same family. You may not be a current employee of the district. You may not simultaneously hold another incompatible public office. Uh in regards to school board member nominations, all nominees run at large, which means each nominee is eligible for every vacancy rather than only for a specific seat, and nominating petitions do not state a specific seat. Nominating petitions are available at the administration office, 944 State Route 17K. The 2026 nominating petitions must be signed by at least 25 qualified district voters, and a qualified voter is a citizen of the United States at least 18 years of old and a resident of the school district for at least 30 days

110immediately prior to the election at which he or she seeks to vote. Nominating petitions must be filed with the district clerk no later than 5:00 p.m. Monday, April 20th, 2026. And um these applications are available here at the district office if anybody um would like one, please contact the district clerk, Ms. Colon. All right. Very good. Thank you. Okay, so that brings us to the end of our agenda. Um the board is going back into executive session to talk about the performance of a particular employee. We will not take any action after we come out of executive session. So, at this point at 8:05, I'll take a motion to go into executive session. Katie. Katie, second. Diana. Diana, all in favor? All right. Opposed? 6-0. Thank you very much.