001Since it is now 6 p.m., I will now call web Valley Central School District's October Board meeting of education um to order. Would you please stand for the pledge of allegiance to the flag [Music] to the flag of the United States of America and to the stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all Number three, district's vision. As a reminder to all of why we are here, I will now be reading our vision statement at each and every meeting. The vision of the Bokeb Central School District is to become the best rural school in New York State. We will accomplish our vision by providing exceptional opportunities to all learners and preparing them to set and reach their future goals by embedding our core values into their student experience. Roll call. Mrs.
002Bzile, would you please take the roll call for attendance? >> Tom Brad >> here. >> Paige Potter >> here. >> Paul Benton. >> Darlene Hooper >> here. >> Sarah Coleman >> here. Deb Spalding >> here, >> Jason Wells, Satie Burgess >> here. >> Okay, attendees, if you haven't done so already, would you please sign in so we have an accurate attendance record? The sign-in sheet is located on the table by the entrance. Thank you for your cooperation. Introduction of new employees. Um, Dr. Meyer, would you do do us the honor, please? >> Yes. Thank you. So, uh, typically at one of our early, uh, meetings in September or October, we'll invite all of our new hires or those with position changes. And if you're here, if you please just stand up, give us a little
003wave, few minutes to tell us about yourself. Uh, yeah, ju just stand up, a little wave, and uh, and then you can take a seat. Uh, first we have Sean Stra, our director of student support services. Ginger Finny, the secretary to the director of student support services. Levi Williams, our prek4 teacher. Skyler Lel, our special education prek. [Applause] Zach Nicholas, physical education teacher. [Applause] Jack Wright, social studies teacher. Caitlyn Quinn, math teacher. [Applause] Amanda Jones, English teacher. [Applause] Alicia Carropo, band director. Muriel Kerr, chorus. [Applause] Eric Holland is our new cleaner. Angel Mitchell, our food service help. [Applause] Tiona Ner, our teacher aid, and Michelle Koig is our maintenance person, bus driver. And then we have a few position changes that uh I'll just mention the people I see here. If I missed anyone, feel
004free to give me a wave. Uh we of course have Bridget Elise as your clerk and Markeel Miller as the school and career counselor. [Applause] And I think that's everything. >> Oh yes. No, no, no. Yeah. >> And Okay. And as teaching assistant, right? >> Brandon Roselli. >> Yeah. Brandon Roselli as the teaching assistant. Um >> and you were teaching teacher aid last year. one this year. >> Okay. All right. I would have failed that noise. >> Okay. will take about 15 minutes to have a little reception for our new employees so we can get up and mingle and after 10 minutes I will state that we have five minutes left and we'll reconvene the meeting and have executive session after that. Okay, >> thank you everyone. It was so nice to meet all of
005the new people and we are going to continue our meeting with number seven, executive session. Specifically, the board anticipates entering into executive session to discuss number six, the medical, financial, credit, or employment history of a particular person or persons. and B number eight to discuss the proposed acquisition, sale or lease of real property or the proposed acquisition, excuse me, but only when the publicity would substantially affect the value of these things. Do I have a motion to enter into executive session to dis to discuss items 7A and B? >> MOT second, Tom. Thank you. Any discussions? Okay. All in favor? >> I opposed. Any abstensions? Okay. Motion passes. And Dr. Meyer, how long do you anticipate? >> I would say this that I am hoping for 30 to 45 minutes. I am anticipating an hour
006as as that is what we have been doing. >> But I'm I'm hoping for less than that. >> Okay. Well, we'll be with you as soon as possible. Thank you. >> Okay. Do I have a motion to reconvene to open session? >> A motion. >> Thank you, Paige. Second. >> A second. Thank you, De. All in favor? >> I opposed. >> Oh, I'm sorry. >> All in favor? Let's do it again. >> I opposed. Any extensions? All right. Motion passes to reconvene. Number eight, ex officio student school board member report. We're honored tonight to have our student representative, Satie Burgess, give us a presentation on behalf of the student body. Thank you, Satie, for your willingness to provide us with this information. Go ahead, S. >> Um, thank you all so much for giving students
007the opportunity to share what school is like for us. Already, it's been a positive start to the new academic year, and I'm excited to see what other opportunities the rest of the school year will bring. To start, one of the biggest changes this year is the new yonder pouches we're using to store our phones during school hours. I've personally noticed a big difference in participation and engagement in classes. Overall, this makes for a much a much better school environment for everyone involved. Um, last week we had spirit week followed by a pep rally, homecoming parade, and dance. These activities tend to have a lot of participation and really bring the student body together. Um, over the past month, we've also had lots of opportunities to explore college options. We had the chance to visit Sunni
008Platsburg's college fair and Sunni Canton's college exploration day, among other activities. These are very exciting opportunities for us to get to learn more about paths we can take after graduation. Along with college visits, we've also had the opportunity to join the peer mentoring program where high school students um offer mentoring to middle schoolers. We recently completed a training with Brilliant Pathways focused on how to be a successful mentor. We're now waiting to get matched up with mentees in middle school. Um in September, 6th, 8th, and 10th graders will visit Camp Dudley to participate in the annual Dudley days activities. These usually involve several team building exercises, which most of my classmates really enjoy um and have a good time. All in all, it's been a great start to the school year, and I think we're
009looking forward to future activities and opportunities as we go into fall winter. Thank you. >> Thank you. [Applause] >> Thank you again to say what an excellent job you did. We're very excited that all of these wonderful things are happening here at Boe Valley and we're looking forward to you sharing more information in the future. Okay. Thank you, Saber. Number nine, approval of the agenda. A. Approve the adoption of the agenda. B. Approve the minutes of the September 11th, 2025 board meeting as presented. Do I have a motion to approve 9A and B? >> A motion. >> Deep. Thank you. Second. >> I'll second. >> Thank you, Tom. Any discussion? All in favor? >> I. Opposed? Any abstensions? Okay. Motion 9A and B are approved. Number 10, public comment. Our agenda offers two public comment
010sections. Opinions and ideas and concerns that are offered by the public will be considered and taken under advisement. We have set aside 15minute period giving the audience time to share their thoughts with us. Please raise your hand to be acknowledged by the president. When called upon, please identify yourself and give your address, limiting your comments to three minutes. I request that if you wish to make a comment, you please use the microphone that is located in the middle of the room. Now, I apologize that not all the attendees had an opportunity to express their comments at the last meeting, but it is necessary for us to adhere to the 15minute time limit in order to devote the required amount of time to the rest of our board business. Mrs. Spalding has volunteered to be the
011timekeeper and she has notified me and will continue to do so when our 15 minutes have elapsed. So, Vice President Spalding, would you please start when the speakers? >> Okay. All right. Do we have anyone who'd like to speak? Yes. Go ahead. >> Could you use the speaker the microphone, >> please? Just so everyone can hear. I'm Josh Kumzac. I'm from Westport. Um, I just want to know that if we don't use the 15 minutes in the first section, can those minutes be added to the end? I feel like there's usually more to say or ask at the end of the meeting than at the beginning. >> Okay. Thank you. Thank you for taking that into consideration. Go ahead. >> Megan Ostroski Roads. Okay. So, I want to first thank the board members who speak
012in support of student centric decisions. The dynamic appears contentious from this point of view. So, I cannot imagine what executive sessions look like. Your commitment is deeply appreciated. Now, it is exhausting when many of us come prepared with questions and reliable data and observe derailed meetings, including board members use of AI as a legal resource and repetitive rhetoric regarding the contingency plan to combine Lake View and Mountain View as is. This is only a display of the lack of faith in the success of any proposal the board can unanimously support. Where is the board momentum? Is the board not running out of time to advertise options for the upcoming vote? Will there be more than one referendum to select? I will not stop repeating my words and those of my fellow community members that the
013board cannot present a clear plan outlining what cramming elementary classrooms into Mountain View would look like. Per the presentation at September board meeting with the dis displacement of current administrative offices. There are only five available classrooms at Mountain View. So theoretically one classroom for kindergarten, first, second, third, fourth, there's five. So 24 to 30 students in a room per NIST enrollment data. That leads no dedicated classroom for fifth grade students. Special education services, three-year-old Head Start, four-year-old Head Start. Again, Head Start that AAP program is everything for this community. Um, you know, families can work. Uh, it's great for students early development. I have children in this district. My own child is in a class fewer than 15 and desperately struggling to focus. Uh that's what that's with a strong educator and a low student
014teacher ratio. Now imagine 24 to 30 students in a room. How is that setting students up for success? You cannot just split rooms or build walls and hopes works. And I said mandate specific square footage per student. We will the public will be get an architect's plan and outline renovation costs showing how this contingency plan will be achieved. The college course I adjunct caps enrollment at 20 adults adults who are supposed to be self-directed learners. Why are we asking 5 to 11 year olds to perform better under worse conditions? Mountain View alone has about 61 I think students that was mentioned uh who need separate testing accommodations which is already a scheduling nightmare. I'm asking the board proof of that there will be no cuts to district specials intervention services, giving our graduates an advantage
015for early level entry- level jobs and competitive college programs. I hope each of you ask yourself if you will be proud of your legacy serving on the board, losing a 90% discount to secure secure much better than broken toilets, 30-year-old carpets covering asbestous flooring, and ancient boilers. Issues will need fixing regardless so we pay higher taxes later and have less to show for it. Please remember that a capital project is an investment in our community. Strong school districts help protect property values, attract young families, and support local jobs. Let us end this division. We need the board to have a united plan. Help those of us attending these meetings grasp your perspective with transparent plans and reliable data. Thank you. Thank you. [Applause] >> Thank you. Is there anyone else who would like to speak?
016Yes. Heather Wells, Westport, New York. So, I want to urge this board to fully support the facilities plan and make our capital project move our capital project forward. Our school is the heartbeat of this community. It is what attracts young families, sustains local businesses, and gives our towns life year round. When we elect board members who are focused on personal agendas and only keeping short-term fiscal savings, we risk losing sight of what really matters. Strong schools, safe buildings, and quality programs for our kids. If we neglect that, we will become what so many small towns have. Beautiful places filled with summer homes, but no families left to fill our classrooms. Investing in our schools isn't just an expense. It's a commitment to the future of our community. Let's have the courage and the conscience to
017move forward and make decisions that keep this district strong for generations. So, I'm asking everyone here, especially the audience, call your friends, call your neighbors, call your acquaintances, get them involved. Because if we don't stand up now, we're at real risk of losing this district and everything that makes our towns feel alive. [Applause] Would you like to speak? Yes, go ahead. >> Sure. Robert Westport, New York. And I just have a question. I see that um under old business, the future of the facilities discussion is being postponed. I'm just wondering why that is. If it's that we are still waiting to hear from state ed, that's one thing. If there is any other reason that is not okay to [Applause] you will learn the that information shortly. Okay. Anyone else would like to speak? Okay.
018Well, we'll continue on then with our meeting number 11, financials. A approve the following financial reports. Do I have a motion to approve items 11 A 1 through six? >> I'll make a motion. >> Thank you, Jason. Second. >> I'll second. >> Okay. Thank you, Paige. Any discussion? >> Yep. I I just had one one question. One of the one of the warrants had uh um it was about $11,000 for ice time. Dr. Meer, I don't know if that that's something you can explain. It looked like it was more of a substantial repair or maintenance type item. >> Uh, yes. Uh, I miss M Mr. Rice, our director of facilities, is here. And if he doesn't mind, I uh would prefer that he answer this question, please. And thank you. >> I just assume you're
019going to want me to stand over here so everybody can hear me. >> Excellent. The $11,000 warrant ice time is to replace the compressors and the compressed gas that run our walk-in cooler right now and currently has a leak and it has a gas that is no longer available. So, we have to replace the compressors. That $11,000 secures the equipment. The equipment is actually on grounds. It's down in our area and we're going to be replacing those compressors over the Christmas break. >> Thank you very much. >> Thank you. Any other discussion? Okay. Uh, all in favor? >> I opposed. Any abstensions? Motion 11A 1-6 is approved. Number 12, CSE, CPSE, and 504 recommendations. Um, a accept and approve the committee on preschool special education, committee on special education, and committee on 504 plan recommendations
020as presented. Do I have a motion to approve the CSE, CPSE, and 504 recommendations as listed in 12A? >> Motion. >> Thank you, Paige. A second. >> Second. >> Thank you, Jason. Any discussion on this? Okay. All in favor? I >> I opposed. No extensions. Motion to approve. 12A passes. Number 13. Action items. Consent agenda. Upon review of proposals received, the board of education will appoint one of the following firms to serve the school attorney for 202526 school year. the uh the ed the law firm that we have decided on is Gersio and Gersio LLP. So, do I have a motion to appoint Gersio and Gersio as our law firm for the 2526 school year? >> A motion. >> Thank you, Deb. Second. >> Thank you, Tom. Any discussion? All in favor? I I opposed
021abstensions. Motion 13A, the appointment of Versio and Gerscio law firm is approved. Number 13, action items, consent agenda. Okay. B. Okay, we are continuing with that because B was broken up. We did vote on A separately. So now I need a motion to approve the items and 13 B through H. Do I have a motion? >> Motion. >> Thank you. Second. >> Second. >> Thank you, Jason. Any discussion on these B through H? >> Yep. I had a couple. >> Okay. >> Um the uh D and E, the combining of teams. Just wanted to say that's that's awesome. I I I think everyone on the board probably agrees. I have no idea. I have no idea how the how the the teacher staff, the athletic director are are able to identify those opportunities, but outstanding
022job and and it's it's really cool when we have uh students interested in sports that we can't provide here um to to have those agreements. So, that's great. Uh and then on B, uh accepting donation from the people of theater. Again, another that's that's great. We very much appreciate uh any organizations that that help the school district. Um were there any specific stipulations with that, Dr. Meyer, or the the use of those? I'll probably have the same question on really any donations. I I'm I'm not sure that there are any uh specific uh stipulations, but we are using that um to uh help with the sort of the the personnel behind the backpack program. Uh we talked a little bit about that last month. Um and that's what that's what that's being used for. >>
023Great. Okay. >> Thank you. The depot Theater. I I don't have any other discussion myself on these. >> Okay. Thank you, Mr. Walsh. Um, I think everyone agrees that those are great opportunities for our children. All right. Anyone else have a discussion? >> I if I could speak to H. >> Sure. Um, so I I do want to take a moment to talk about um H the uh um board of directors uh for the um CWW Health Insurance Consortium. Um I just want to take a minute and just give a little bit of background on this. Uh so all of the districts in our Boseies belong to the same health insurance consortium. All the superintendents of those districts along with a handful of other individuals serve as the board of directors for that consortium. And
024this action here is about I'm going to say give or take 10 years in the making. So this this has taken a while. Uh those of you that were uh employed anywhere in the region during that time about 10 years ago, maybe 12 years ago now, uh you might remember that there was there was a mid-year health insurance cost increase because the consortium literally ran out of money. Um so because of that and in an effort to ensure that it never happens again, um there were a lot of safeguards put into place all moving towards this. Uh so um this is a really great uh you know um long-term vision that that was had for the consortium and it really should uh just help with the long-term financial stability of the consortium. So it's a
025really really great move on the part of uh of the folks behind the scenes of the consortium and think it will be really good for all the members in in that consortium. So right now it will have no effect on the current members. >> The so my understanding um is that similarly to when um you know if uh if um like a health insurance company buys out another health insurance company where a new card is issued. That should be the inconvenience there is that when this does go through the members uh that this affects will get a new health insurance card. And while that can be slightly inconvenient, that's the way health insurance works a lot of times. But other than that, that should really be the only uh the only change. >> Okay, great.
026So now we any other discussion? We'll go ahead and vote. Um all in favor >> I opposed abstensions. Motion 13B through H has been approved. Number 14, personnel consent agenda. Approve the appointment of the following substitutes as listed in the current substitute rate. Um, and we have A through J6. So, do I have a motion for 14? A through J 13, actually. >> Yes. 13. Do I have a motion for items 14 A through J13? Motion. Okay. Thank you, Paige. Second. >> Second. >> Thank you, Jason. Any discussion on these? >> I just have like a question and maybe maybe Lee can answer this one. The family literacy and men, what is that? So that's the grant we received from the Aderind Foundation, the generous acts fund for $10,000. 5,000 went for the bookshelves in
027the community and 5,000 is for literacy and math nights. >> That would be down the elementary. >> Correct. Yes. >> How many do you plan to have or >> four literacy nights for math nights? >> Okay. Any other questions? All right. Do we have a motion for items 14 through J 13? >> Okay. All right. Now we need to go. All in favor? >> I opposed. >> Any abstensions? Motion accepted. All right. Number 15, policy committee update. Mr. Welch, I believe that you're going to provide us with an update. >> Sure. So we uh I think it was Tuesday the policy committee met was about an hour hour and a half. Um the the we started uh upon Dr. Meyer's recommendation which made sense to the committee and we started at the 1000s. Um goal
028being to to try to get get through a third of those uh a a year. Um there's quite a few quite a few policy sections. Um, so we went through the 1000s. I think we got pretty deep into the 2000s and then we had some specific policies that were requested that we discussed as well. And uh, you know, some of the notes some of the notes I had to to share with the group just as we worked through the policies um, and that Dr. Meyer also had. Let's see. 12 1220. I don't think we had any any concerns or any issues there to look into. Um 1510 I believe that's the uh the board of education meetings policy. There there were a couple things we discussed in that. One being one being the code of
029conduct as referenced and uh had some questions around uh the wording code of conduct versus uh parent stu student handbook and and I think we were going to circle back to that and and try to get some some better language there. Um, we also talked we also looked at the public comment section, which I think we're going to have a discussion later about the public public comment and how how we may be able to improve that for the public to to to feel more included and and heard. Um, but it was pretty restrictive the policy. So, whatever comes out of our discussions, it's actually probably more restrictive than I think we're currently operating with public comment. Um, so whatever comes out of our discussions, we'll need to update the policy. I'm sure uh we got
030into the two those were those were the bylaws and we got into the internal operations ones a little bit. Uh, another one we discussed was the board the board of education evaluation process and and the the issues with the timeline of that that that the board has had in the past being you know it kind of sit sits along with the same timeline as as the superintendent's evaluation um which is a very very busy time of the year and we don't think we were giving it as much as much attention as it deserved. Um, so we talked about that a little bit and and uh we we initially, you know, the three three committee members and and Dr. Meerville starting that process earlier even though the board hasn't been together for a whole for a
031whole uh school year starting that process in November kind of releasing the survey submitting submitting the survey and and reviewing it um to to self to to evaluate ourselves and get get feedback from the superintendent and others um we'll be less constrained and we think we can we can help try and improve improve improve our board operations. So, that was that was discussed as well. Um, and you know, a number of my number of minor things with with follow-ups that Dr. Meyer was going to take for us. >> Okay. >> Anything I anything I missed? >> Sarah or Deb? Sarah and Deb were more participants than I was probably. >> All right. Sarah or Deb, do you have anything you want to add to that? >> Y. >> Great. All right. Well, thank you, Jason.
032Appreciate that. We'll look forward to your next update. Number 16, administrator director report, Mountain View Principal, Elaine Dixon Cross. Go ahead, Elaine. Thank you. Good evening, everyone. Good evening. Um, we just wrapped up five weeks. It's hard to believe that's here already. Um, our progress reports will go out. We've completed our first round of I Ready assessments. We've completed the ASVAB. The students will review the results tomorrow, giving them directions and ideas for college, military, or career choices. Uh students have been offered PSATs. Those will be held on October 22nd. We also offer an SAT prep class as an elective that students can sign up for. Um, our state test scores are still embargoed, but overall our proficiency has improved 3 through eight. Um, we can dive further into those once they're not embargoed anymore.
033Um, but parent reports will go home next week for our I Ready assessments and the state test parent reports will go home as soon as they're not embargoed. Um Zie commented eloquently on our Dudley Day spirit week homecoming and our peer mentoring with training from Brilliant Pathways. Um students were able to attend field trips at to the Sunni Platsburg State College Fair. We celebrated we collaborated with Crown Point for the college and career fair on October 3rd. And yesterday students attended a trip to Sunni Canton where they um actively participated in hands-on classes with a variety of different um topics from computer graphics to um criminal justice. Uh we've successfully completed all of our fire drills, our pre- December 31st fire drills. The weather was great for those, so that was nice. Our emergency evacuation
034drill is scheduled for tomorrow. Um, and of course, sadly, we have to have lockdown drills, and those are scheduled for the near future. Um, I'd like to give a shout out to Mrs. Fielder, who is presenting this weekend at the 130th annual Science Teacher Association of New York State conference in Syracuse. Um, and because she presents, she attends for free. So, great job, Mrs. Fielder. Tonight, we celebrated our seniors at Dudley. Um, I still don't know what the score of the game was. It was tied in overtime. If anyone knows, please let me know. Um, and then please join us on October 14th as we celebrate our senior girls for senior night. Um, so that is a wrap for me, but I think that I will just give my Oasis update since that is coming
035up. And then I can just let everyone know our second fiveweek session begins on Tuesday. The first five weeks went great with lots of great opportunities. Our walking club had a couple of students complete complete the Champlain Bridge 5K in September. Our M mountain biking club attended the UCI Union Cyclist International World Series of Mountain Biking event on October 3rd, which is pretty spectacular. And um upcoming on October 25th, we have Albany Medical Career Day where students will be invited to go to Albany Medical Center. >> That's it. Done. Thank you. Thank you very much. >> Sounds like there are a lot of very exciting things happening and we appreciate your efforts. >> Thank you. >> Okay. Number 17, board discussion. Old business future of our facility discussion postponement. Okay, Mrs. Broadick, this is for
036you. After listening to the comments and concerns of many community members and of our student representative, thank you Satie for participating. I believe it is in the be district's best interest to postpone our discussion of the future of the facilities until after we hear back from state ed regarding our building proposal. after having although having a plan B is always a good idea, we certainly do not want our discussion to have a negative impact upon any future proposition brought to the public for approval. We the board of education do support the recommendations of the facilities committee and we are hoping for positive news from state ed regarding their proposal. We do listen and thoughtfully consider all of the comments and concerns that are brought to us and we thank you for your willingness to actively
037be a part of the decision-making pro process for our school. Board members, are you all in agreement with the postponement? >> Very much. >> Okay. >> Great. Okay. Sadie, are you pleased with that decision as well? Well, it's you should be very proud that your input helped in making that decision. New business. Um, agenda revisions. As stated at the beginning of our meeting, we will be including our vision statement after the pledge of allegiance as a reminder to all of us that we should be devoting our time and efforts toward the shared vision of Boet Valley. Does anyone on the board have any comments regarding the inclusion of the vision statement? This actually was suggested to us. Mrs. Stalling and I participated in a virtual leadership training session and this is one thing that they
038were me they recommended during the session. So any comments from other board members? Are you in agreement with that? Okay. And number two, uh, public comment procedure. I would like to suggest that the policy committee consider making some changes to the public comment sections of our meeting. Uh, now please let me clarify that I am not requesting that these changes be done now during the board meeting since I know as well as the rest of the board knows that policy cannot be changed during the regular meeting. These procedures need certain procedures do need to be followed. I am suggesting that the policy committee consider having a signup sheet available for those who wish to comment for both comment sections as has been done in the past at Westport Central School and at Elizabeth Town Lewis
039Central School many years ago. This will ensure that the people are selected fairly and objectively and eliminate any fear of discrimination by the board president when calling upon people. I'd like to also suggest that the first public comment session be for 15 minutes and allow the public to address anything that is related directly to the board agenda. Each speaker will be allowed three minutes each as usual but only provide comments related to the agenda items. The second comment section however will also be for 15 approximately 15 minutes during this session. The speakers will be able to express comments or concerns regarding any topic as long as it adheres to our board policy of not discussing individuals or individual positions and follows our code of conduct. Since it is toward the end of the meeting, we
040could then be more flexible with our time allotment. This procedure for the inclusion of the public comments was suggested by the New York State School Board's Association as a way to ensure that the public has an opportunity to voice their opinions and concerns fully while still allowing the board to proceed with their business at the beginning of the meeting in a timely manner. Fellow board members, how do you feel about these suggestions? And once again, these are suggestions that came from our leadership training through the New York State School Boards Association. And these would be presented. Hopefully the policy committee could um discuss these during your sessions. >> Anyone feel? I know like we looked through the policy the other day and what is supposed to happen during public comment and I think it's very
041very strict in our policy. This would actually bring it up a little bit later. >> Agreed. >> Would we also potentially allow for not signing up and still being able to auto make a comment, you know, during public comment. That's that'd be my only >> I will say if if there was time allotted I I would be okay with that. Absolutely. I mean just being being open open discussion on this. One of the issues I think we we had this board previous boards many boards is sometimes the me you know in those in those in the free-for-all public comment someone will make a comment and then there will be an opposing view and and naturally everyone want everyone wants >> everyone has what they feel is certainly and a lot of times they are valid
042valid points. So then they'll res kind of respond to that another public comment and back and forth and back and forth. And I think that's a little bit of the concern there. You know, we could we could do that. There's a 15 there's a 15 there's a 15minute uh cut off in that in that section. Would we you mentioned you mentioned um being more flexible on the second public comment. Um the the one the one request that was brought up by Josh would we would we want to commit to that and say okay if there's 10 minutes left in the first public comment we'll add that to the second >> right if people did yeah I think that would be reasonable >> you agree Tom you okay >> I'm pretty >> yeah I would like
043to hear what the public thinks about that since they're the ones making the comments I'd like to care what they think about signing up. So the next public comment they can comment public comment >> you can make a comment about that. >> Yes, sure. >> Uh so um I love that there are so many members of the public here but believe it or not uh you know years ago if we had like three or four people show up to a meeting and be like what is happening right now? you know, so um so I love the engagement, but uh the reason that we're having this conversation is that back in those days, everyone really had a chance to speak. And right now, if the board president asked for public comment, all of you raised your
044hands, we would struggle to know what exactly the procedure was and what we should be doing. So, I just wanted to give that that little perspective on why we're having the conversation, but I I do like the idea of hearing from the public as well. Well, we're very happy that the public is taking such an active role in participating in in board meetings. That's that's a good thing. Okay. But we do have business that we need to get through as well. So, we want to drop, you know, try to solve both problems um of being able to solve uh get through all of our business, our board business, but also allow you the opportunity to speak. So you'll be discussing that in uh policy meetings, correct? >> Okay. And then the last one um committee
045updates. A I would like to suggest that our agenda include regular brief updates from our various committees. Um we heard from the policy committee tonight, but I also would like to hear from the joint study committee, the youth commission committee, the facilities committee when it is reactivated. Um, thank you Jason for providing us with the policy update tonight. But it kind of seems pointless uh to me personally to have members participate in these committees if they're not given an opportunity to share the information that they receive during their meetings, committee meetings, um, if they're not allowed to report that back to the entire board. So I think it would be advantageous for us to have regular monthly updates from all the committee members. Um I don't believe that would require a change in policy Dr.
046Meyer. Okay. So um does everyone on board agree that that would be a positive thing to have updates from the committees? Yes. Okay. Very good. Um, I'd also like to suggest that we include a student update, um, which will be provided by our student representative, Satie Burgess. Um, this would allow her as a representative to share student happenings or special events and advise the board of any concerns brought to her by the student body. Thank you, Satie, for um, agreeing to participate um, with a student update. Do you have any questions, Satie? >> Not right now. I think I'll work with student council or there may be student council members that also want to help present. >> Okay. And that would be okay, right, Dr. >> We we're looking forward to that. Thank you. >>
047Uh does any board member have any comments or concerns or any discussion? I do and I should have I I did not think to ask to add this to new business before before the meeting, but um the announcement the announcement that Upwardbound Sunni Platsburg um recently put out. I I would just like to make a comment on that, I guess, and and maybe even a suggestion. Um, but I I believe it was the federal um this yeah the federal uh Department of Education that announced cutting the funding for Upwardbound. Um I don't know about the other board members. I feel like that's that's a that's a great program. I personally participated in it and and I know a lot of students in the region have and I think it I think it really helps develop
048develop um young young folks to to be prepared to uh to move on to college if if that's something that they desire um or other things in life. And um I guess I bring it up because it might be good for us as a board to to consider writing a letter. I was just going to suggest >> the Department of Education. >> Okay, for a motion. >> Good idea. I'll make a motion for the board to put a letter together in support of upper bound for the Department of Education. >> A second. >> Okay. Thank you, D. Um, any other further discussion? All in favor? Hi. >> Hi. >> Did you write that? >> I would write it for you. Sure. >> Absolutely. Absolutely. And you can give me the um address of where that
049>> Okay. All right. All in favor? We already did that and so I guess it's approved. We will do that. Um, so it looks like the board agrees to all the changes to the agenda that were proposed and the updates for the uh appointed committees. The policy committee has agreed to consider and discuss the proposed changes at their next meeting. And since new business is just a discussion se section, there's no need for any other formal voting to occur at this time. Okay. Number 18, superintendent update. a superintendent report. Go ahead, Dr. Meyer. >> Thank you. >> Okay, so uh first I'll talk about the grants and because the principles are here, I'm going to see if there's anything you'd like to say about these. >> They're all uh submitted and either approved or pending
050approval. So that's just that time of the year. >> Thank you. So our uh capital project update uh so this is some relatively exciting news in the hurry up and wait stage that we are in with uh state ed that the architect has submitted um some information got uh something back from state ed requesting additional information and they're expecting to resubmit as soon as as early as tomorrow, maybe next week. Um, and if that timeline states, if that timeline holds, then we believe it'll be one to two weeks before we hear back from state ed. And um that preliminary approval is much earlier than we originally anticipated. So again, if that timeline holds, we could be um looking at a capital project vote in as early as February, which is again way earlier than than
051I thought uh we'd be looking at. So that's exciting. So uh if you look at the the last part there, if we get approval in November, we can push for February vote assuming that the seeker submission um to the regulatory agencies and financing schedules are completed. uh the MCA that's maximum cost allowance established and preliminary construction estimate is completed and then the seeker and bond resolutions adopted by the board and that would um so this is coming from the architect uh saying a special January meeting I believe that our regular meeting would allow for that but we might need a special meeting to ensure we're the 45 days um prior to the vote in any case this is months ahead of of the schedule that I thought we'd be looking at. So, all of those
052things, all of those bullets, those shouldn't uh shouldn't be major hurdles. We should be able to get all of those accomplished. So, we we remain hopeful. Um and I will continue to update the board and the public as we get more information. And as a reminder of what this uh project looked like, so it was adding between 16 and 18 classrooms uh off the back of the building. And if you remember, there were a few iterations of what that could have looked like. Um the really the the three options. Uh if you remember, um one was uh kind of a twostory option off the back. The other was um uh included like a really long hallway. Um, I don't know if you remember that that that picture. Uh, so the architects having a little bit
053more time to uh to get into it. This is the option that uh seemed to make the most sense and was the best use of the space. Um, and as a reminder, so the existing campus here is uh just under 96,000 square ft. That pink area, the addition would be an addition of 22,000 square ft. And again, um, in that area, uh, we're looking at, um, two sections of, uh, preK, kindergarten, first, second, third, fourth, fifth, and that does and then some special ed sections in there as well. um that does make use of um tying in the sixth grade uh in kind of in the current location the sixth grade is in which is the white classrooms the four white classrooms that are clumped together. They're back in that area now. So we continue
054to use that and so it's all kind of tied together uh in one area and we eliminate that really long hallway and also a second floor uh in this and I try to make it a little bit bigger. on on this. So again, so really, you know, mostly we're looking at classrooms. Um a couple uh exterior doors. Uh but that's that's um generally what it looks like. As the architect submissions become more detailed, those will be shared with you. Uh but that's what we're looking at right now. >> It looks like it might it might provide a really nice, safe, and and controlled outdoor environment in the center there, too. >> Yes. outdoor outdoor education spaces. >> That's where the science education center is. >> Yeah. So, um again, as we get more information, that
055will all be shared with you. Um so, also included in the October report, um October 1st, uh in New York State, that's day. That's where we get our official enrollment. Um and uh this is some pretty exciting news where uh we we're up 11 students um as of beds day. That's 2.7%. And we picked up another couple students this week. So the reason the beds day number uh is a little bit bigger is that that's that's what's reported every year to the state. But in the bottom corner, as of 108, so that's this week, we're up a total of 14 students on last year. That's three and a half%. So, I will likely uh push back a little bit against people who are saying that we have declining enrollment because if you look over the
056last couple years um we've held held strong at that 400 number and um you know 2.7 3 and a half% that's pretty reasonable uh pretty reasonable growth there. So um that's exciting news for us. Also, you have uh in your packets the board development timetable. Those of you that have been on the boards before, um this is very similar document to what you've seen in the past. Really talks a breakdown of of monthto monthth what the board can expect to see. uh when we really start getting into details um with the budget uh really starts in January with some preliminary meetings um uh excuse me December with preliminary meetings January we start meeting with the departments and the administrators and um as we get into late January and early February that's where we hear from
057the governor about what the executive budget is going to look like and then uh the state budget uh is due April 1st financially. Um and uh you know as such uh we we do rely heavily on um uh the state funding for about half of our budget. So we do keep a close eye on those numbers uh as those are released. Um but uh in terms of our budget um we've done pretty well over the last few years and uh plan to continue to do so. So I believe for that document I do need um some action. So can you go ahead with that please? >> Do I have a motion to approve the fiscal year 202627 budget development timetable as presented in 18A1. Do I have a motion? >> I'll make a motion. >>
058Thank you Jason. Second. >> Second. >> Thank you Tom. Um any discussion? Okay. All in favor? >> I any opposed? Any abstensions? Okay. Motion 18A1 is approved. Number 19, public comment. Our agenda offers two public comment sections. Opinions, ideas, and concerns that are offered by the public will be considered and taken into under advisement. We have set aside 15inut period giving the audience time to share their thoughts with us. Please raise your hand once again to be acknowledged by the board president. When called upon, please identify yourself and give your address limiting your comments to three minutes. As stated previously, please limit your comments to one per person unless time permits for more to occur. Also, please use the microphone provided. Yes, go ahead. Hello, my name is Jason Seagle. Live in Essex, New York.
059Uh, Andrew, what was the score? What happened in the time? Oh, final 00. Uh, I want to commend the young people that are here, pending students that we have here. Uh it shows a lot of courage to come and engage like this in public discourse. Uh Satie, you're doing a great job. Um so I have been a teacher here for 20 years and I've been in education for 28 and my wife Kristen and I um had we decided to raise our kids here in the aderondex in the north country and our kids had the benefit of coming through this district and coming through the great communities that we have here. So I I really encourage the board to give that hope to the young families that are in our schools now that are attending our
060meeting tonight to have a wonderful place to live uh where they can raise kids in a wonderful district with a supportive community. So I want to kind of reiterate the hope that I want from this board to make that happen for the future generations. Um, I have so many more years of education left and I'm still vibrant and eager to work with kids. It's the joy of being in the woods with little ones or doing some physics with the older ones. Uh, we have a unique setting here. Um, and I don't want you to squander this opportunity to make it great for the future generations. I want to thank the administration that we have for getting it to this point. Uh, Dr. Meyer, Mr. Dixon Cross, and Mr. Kyler. Um, you support teachers and that's
061an important thing and I want to be supported by the board for what we do with our kids and I want to be supported by the community uh to make this a united effort to make this place great. So, please uh please do that. Thank you. [Applause] Is there anyone else who would like to make a comment? >> Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't see you. Go ahead. >> My name is Andrew Denton, uh, current resport. Um, I like to thank personally the board of education for writing a letter uh from upperbound because as a current upperbound student here at Bucket Valley, it means a lot to that the board of education is showing like effort into our education like that. Um, currently I've had 15 students come up to me and ask me like, "Hey,
062what's going on? How about this and that?" And I told them like, "Well, the program's ending." and they're all bumped because they are all applying this year to be an upperbound student. Um, so yeah, I'd like to say thank you to the board. >> Thank you. >> Anyone else like to comment? Yes. Oh, yeah. >> Kristen Fagelics New York. I'm a teacher here. I don't know if this is the appropriate time, but I actually was going to give a shout out to Andrew who was interviewed um about the upper bound closing and it's just I'm a proud teacher, so I wanted to recognize him. >> Good. >> Thank you again, Andrew. Go ahead. [Music] Hello, my name is Alyssa Carol. I'm a resident of Westport. Uh I just wanted some consideration from you all about
063the public comment section. I completely respect the idea that there needs to be order. Um my question is simply if there's going to be very clear rules on when and how to do the sign up uh and whether or not you can sign up later in the meeting in order to react to what has happened in the meeting. So I just want you all to consider that. We guarantee you that that will be clear to the public once it is decided after the policy committee meets. Okay. Thank you for that question. Is there anyone else? >> Yes. Go ahead. >> Ryan Hathaway Lewis New York. Um, I had a a community member ask about the status of tax reduction for uh disabled veterans. I just wanted to uh put that out to you folks and
064uh hopefully you consider that for them and get back to the community on your decision. Thank you. >> Okay. Thank you very much. Yes, that is something that we need to discuss. Thank you. Anyone else? No. Okay. If not. Okay, we can wait if you anyone else have anything. All right, we'll continue on with number 20 since there aren't any more comments. Executive session specifically, the board anticipates entering into executive session for the following reason. A number six to discuss the medical, financial, credit or employment history of a particular person or persons. B number eight to discuss the proposed acquisition, sale or lease of real property or the proposed acquisition, sale or exchange of securities, but only when publicity would substantially affect the value of these things. Do I have a motion to go into
065executive session? >> A motion. >> Okay. Thank you, Paige. Second. >> A second. >> Thank you, Deb. Um, any discussion? All in favor? I >> I opposed. Any abstensions? Okay. Motion uh to go into executive session passes. Um will there be any action? >> Uh so definitely no action coming out of executive session. However, uh we do I requested conversation about um changing the date of the December board meeting. >> Oh, right. >> So um I would just alert the public that that might change. we will likely have a conversation via email. Um, so it might change to earlier that week or it might remain same based on the results of that. So just all right, thank you. You free to stay if you'd like or you're free to go home and enjoy the rest
066of the evening. Thank you for coming. Thank you.