001All right, good evening everybody. All the gates are closed at 2:00 p.m. 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. Here. Subject 1.4 The exits are located on my left and to the right All right, subject 2.1, approval of board agenda. Can I please get a motion that after review of the board of education, approve the agenda as presented and or amended? Mike? Ian? Any discussions? All in favor? Uh motion passes 4-0. 4-0, sorry. 4-0. Um Subject 3.1 Can I please get a motion to accept the minutes of the March 16th, 2026 business meeting? Mike? Kevin? Any discussion? All in favor? All right, motion passes 4-0. >> [snorts] >> Subject 3.2, can
002I please get a motion to accept the minutes of the April 6th, 2026 business meeting? Mike? Kevin? Any discussion? All in favor? Motion passes 4-0. Subject 4.1, comments and presentations. I'll hand it over to Superintendent Hedden. Good evening, thank you. Uh we have several slides um on for this to review for items that are on tonight's agenda uh that tonight the board heard of. The facilities committee has two change orders, one two change orders, one is for the locker room ceiling, to make a small adjustment in there in order to be able to access the the EAC units. Um and then there is a credit change order because the floor transitions weren't done, so that's actually a credit back to the capital project. Additionally, there's a contract with CPL to do pre-referendum work as we
003begin to write that up for the next capital project. On tonight's agenda, we have received the on vote who is up for tenure and has been a English language learning teacher. Uh we will be officially celebrating her at the tenure and retirement celebration later on in May or in June, uh but she is on tonight's agenda because her tenure date is actually sometime in the next week. So, that's our greater review tonight. Congratulations, Ms. Yonke. Uh and then also on the agenda tonight is to amend the 25-26 calendar to reduce some giveback days and to adjust the last week of school. On it, the changes would be to now have a Friday and a Monday weekend as well added. And then in June, the new last day of school will be the 5th of June
004as opposed to the 26th. We return the 23rd and 24th into half days of school. So, that's on the agenda for board review This time, I'd like to invite Scott Sullivan, our business official, up. Good evening. to do a presentation on the 26-27 budget, which is the uh on tonight's agenda for adoption as well. Thank you for having me tonight to present on the 26-27 budget recommendation. Just one sec. Can you hear? Yeah, turn it on. Mic turn on? They're working now? They're working now. Scott Sullivan, school business manager. Um I'm here tonight to present the 26-27 budget recommendation. Let's start first with the budget development process. Um there there have been several meetings and workshops over the course of the last few months. Um with it being my first time through this process, I
005think the overall interactions have been constructive and informative. The basis for this budget was a rollover budget for 25-26, but as the process evolved, I found myself taking a deeper look at the existing budget to reduce unnecessary variances wherever possible. The next step in this process is to adopt adopt the 26-27 budget tonight. Some things to be determined on the expenditure side, um there's going to be contract negotiations upcoming for bus drivers and administrators, so those costs coming in are unknown. Um we did our best to estimate what they would look like in next year's budget. Uh on the revenue side, the legislative state aid runs are still not fully enacted. There's been multiple budget extenders issued. Um similar to last year, we're approving this school budget before the state finalizes theirs and before we
006actually know our final state aid allocations. Looking at 26-27 uh budgeted expenditures, there's several specific additions uh that needed to be added to the 26-27 budget. Uh line items like special education service costs, special education uh student transportation, increase enrollments to C-Tech programs, uh additional costs for flood insurance premiums, vehicle purchases for 26-27 approved pre-rebate uh fee schedule. There were no vehicle purchases in the budget last year. We're looking to purchase one large and two smaller vehicles. Uh funding for small capital project as well as an increase to the special aid fund transfer for increased summer school costs. All of these specific additions add up to just over 1.6 million dollars and make up the majority of our budget budget increases for next year. Um just to review, you'll notice what everything that uh Mr.
007Sullivan just presented on is very much contractual increases, special education increases, um and that is what it is. Bus purchases, things needed to fund the district, and costs that are mandatory in nature. Um we are not looking to change anything internally in terms of adding staffing or anything. Um we have really good, strong K-8 regular program. Uh we have uh here a summary of each grade level, kindergarten through 8th grade, how many students total are in the grade level, and how many students are in each homeroom within that grade level. Um and then over to the right, you'll see that the definition of small class size for each of the different grade level bands, and you'll see that our homeroom classes either meet or are lower than the definition of small class size for each
008of these grade bands. Um in 8th grade, there is one small exception, and that is because in some classes, they are split into three For some subjects, they're split into three groups, and some subjects they're split into two groups. Um and that's a function of the schedule um and having one teacher for two for both grade levels in those areas there. Um as well as just number of students and enrollment needs. Monitoring our expenditures by categories, we can see uh most of the increase for next year in two large areas are instruction and pupil transportation, as well as undistributed, which includes employee benefits, uh debt service, and transfer to other funds. Most of these increases tie back to the previous slide of specific uh increases. Overall, the proposed budget for 26-27 would have a total
009of 32,746,080. That's an increase over the prior budget of 1,765,665. That is a 5.7% increase over prior year. Um the previous year budget to budget uh was 6.13% increase. Moving forward to the revenues side, um we're typically monitoring revenues and fund balances throughout the year. Um of course, the one unknown as we mentioned was the legislative state aid runs. We're hopeful that the final one will come in a little bit more than the executive projected. Um and of course, that would help offset our use of reserves next year. We're looking at an increase to the tax levy. Uh interest earnings also typically come in higher than budgeted, um but but we budget lower just for the volatility of interest rates are unpredictable. Opening fund balance is used savings to supplement the tax levy. And then
010also in the budget next year, we're going to be utilizing reserves to balance the budget. We're looking at using the repair and capital reserve, capital reserve that is earmarked just for bus purchases, uh liquidation of a partial of the tax cert reserve to align that more with the actual tax cert values that you received in the last five years, and then liquidating the insurance reserve, replacing that with an annual fund search premium policy. Now looking at the revenues by categories, we see our projected increase in state aid that we're hopeful will go up a little bit. Uh the necessary increase in the tax levy Fund balance appropriation is one large decrease. Uh those were one-time funds that we had in fund balance above the 4% people limit that we used to balance the budget in
01125-26. We will not have that funding going forward, so then we need to make up that balance with these reserves. That will put our district back in compliance with New York State real property tax law 1318. We'll be back in compliance at the 4% balance. Uh interest and other revenue are relatively flat compared to everything else. Um but on the revenue side, the net gets up proposed budget to meet appropriations of the 32,746,080. I just want to add that it's incredibly difficult to develop a budget without state aid. State aid is a huge portion of our budget and not that the deadline for that is April 1st, I believe. It's April 1st. They bumped to May 5th, I believe. They extended it. And as of right now, I believe the extension The extension runs to
012Thursday. So, I mean last year, I think the final numbers came out the first week in May. And you know, hopefully that doesn't happen. Of course, we're always hoping that doesn't happen, but there's a precedent that it gets pushed back further. Um but anything added in state aid, anything above and beyond the 8.661 that is projected would be would lower the up would be able to lower it the other numbers. We would have to pull less from the reserves. Um less from other aid. With respect to the tax levy over the last few years, um our budget has increased at a higher rate than our tax levy. This graph shows the widening gap in recent years. In an effort to close some of that gap, the district is looking to increase the tax levy by
013$194,873 for the 26-27 budget. That projected tax levy increase will get us to the proposed levy um needed to balance the budget in the amount of $19,266,146. For the average The average household, that means an increase per year of about $252 or just over $21 a month. The final tax rate increase per household will be determined by assessment rolls and equalization rates finalized by the assessing authorities. Um so, again, I just want to just take a minute and say thank you to Scott and to the board for your efforts over the past 6 months in developing this budget. I know that you worked really hard to limit the impact on taxpayers. Um and a budget and year-to-year increase of $252, I know is something that you worked really hard to get to. So, thank you
014for that and for your efforts and your hard work. The next steps for the budget process need to include a public hearing. Um May 19th is the budget vote and election at the elementary Green Lake Elementary School 11:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Um with the Board of Education meeting later that evening. Are there any questions from the board at this time on the budget? Again, I know you guys have been working really hard and putting in the details for uh 5 6 months now, so Thank you, Mr. Scott. All right. Thank you very much. Thank you. This time we have administrative reports. Principal Ring from the elementary school is going to come up and fill us in on what's been happening at the elementary school. Good evening, members of the Board of Education, administrators, and
015the community. It's my pleasure to share some highlights from the past several weeks at our elementary school. The school has been filled with positive energy, student celebrations, meaningful opportunities that continue to strengthen our school culture and student well-being. Recently, you can see it on the board, we've had our PBIS assembly to recognize and celebrate students who continue to wow their teachers and teaching assistants through positive choices, kindness, responsibility, and leadership. Congratulations to the students who demonstrated outstanding behavior even when no one is watching. In addition, students have been excited to shop and redeem their hard-earned Bear Bucks in the Bear Den. This positive reinforcement system continues to motivate students while promoting a respectful and supportive school environment. We celebrated Proud to Be a Green Lake Knight, although that seems like forever ago, but we celebrated
016that a spirit day of student school pride and community. Our hallways were decorated with shamrocks, and students and staff proudly wore Green Lake attire as we celebrated what makes our school community so special. Classes participated in Breathing Is My Superpower, an in-class program that was created by Miss Courtney Senaha, one of our substitute teachers, to help children learn strategies to calm their bodies and regulate their emotions through breathing exercises. Supporting students' social-emotional wellness remains our priority, and we are thankful to provide that experience that builds lifelong regulation skills. Just today, she stopped by to let us know that two students told her they practiced some of their breathing techniques when they were I think they got hurt on the playground, and they did a calming breathing technique and some really long, deep breathing. So, that
017was really great. Um but I do extend my sincere appreciation to the PTSA for organizing and running this year's book fair. This event is always a favorite among students and myself. Um and it continues to foster excitement and enthusiasm for reading. This year, um our entire school participated in walking to the to the community garden to plant peas. Last year was just two three grade levels. This year we took the whole school. So, if you like peas, there is well over 200 pea plants growing in the garden. So, soon they'll be ready to pick, and the students were excited to contribute to the garden and all are really looking forward to returning to check on the growing peas. NYS ELA testing went smoothly for our third grade students. They were focused, prepared, and did an
018excellent job. And we know they're putting that same effort to the upcoming math assessments on May 6th and 7th. Thank you to the teachers who prepared them so well. Our teachers have been busy engaging student engaging in student progress meetings and grade level team meetings. Through thoughtful collaboration and data analysis, they continue to refine their instruction and ensure that every student receives support and challenge the challenges they need to grow. I'd like to take a moment to recognize that tomorrow is Administrative Professionals Day. So, thank you to all our administrative assistants, but especially to Miss Rose and Miss Stephanie Stephanie who help keep our elementary school organized, safe, welcoming, and running smoothly each day. Um looking ahead, later this week we're celebrating another traditional Arbor Day with our kindergarten students and their families, a cherished
019elementary school tradition. Next week we welcome families from our new UPK um at Green Lake Elementary School and the kindergarten orientation as we begin preparing our youngest learners for their next step in their educational journey. Soon we will celebrate Teacher Appreciation Week beginning May 4th to recognize the incredible dedication, care, and hard work of our faculty and staff each day. In addition to celebrating National School Nurses Day. And we I'd like to tell you to get ready to root, root, root for our elementary students as they take the stage in this year's elementary school musical, It's a Hit. That's the name of it, It's a Hit. On May 14th, it's sure to be a wonderful performance filled with talent, excitement, and school spirit. A huge thank you to Adam and Emily Friedman for putting this
020together. I cannot wait. I thought [clears throat] last year was my favorite, but I've been peeking, and I think this year is going to be my favorite. Thank you for your continued support of Green Lake Elementary School. Thank you, Kelly. Principal West from the middle school. Okay, good evening, everyone. Some of our recent events are pictured up on the screen. On the uh left side, we have photos from our ski club trip to Belleayre. Um that trip took place on March 24th. It was our final trip of the year for the ski club. Uh the conditions I heard were fantastic even though it's late March. And I'd like to take an opportunity just to thank uh Mr. Pinelli and Miss Rodney for all of their work uh with our ski club throughout the year. Also
021highlighted on the screen are uh photos from our NJHS induction ceremony that took place last week. Um you can see all of those members on the top photo. Um That was a great night for our family and our students to come out and be celebrated for uh their academic success as well as their commitment to our school and to our community. It's a special group of students, and it is a fantastic night to uh have that opportunity to celebrate them. Also, I'd like to thank Mrs. Chapman and Miss Novak for all of their work in not only for just setting up that night, which a lot goes into, but also for their ongoing um work throughout the year for NJHS. They do a lot of different things within our community. So, we appreciate their efforts
022as well. Some of you have their photos on the right. At the bottom right is a photo from the publishing party for Ms. Burke's class, which took place last Friday. That's an opportunity for Ms. Burke's students to They They first work on their their writing, and then they have the opportunity to present it to their classmates and to some guests including myself that were there. So, again, thank you Ms. Burke for her work in preparing them for that. Some students were shy, and she was able to coach them along, but everybody did a fantastic job that day. And then a final photo up on the top is the trophy from Mr. Huggins' Pi Day challenge, which took place. This is our 12th annual Mr. Huggins' Pi Day contest. That's Diego Carbonetti holding the trophy, who
023he won with 76 consecutive digits this year. Although we we formally recognize the top five place winners, I would like to congratulate all the students that participated because they did a fantastic job. Remember in and to see them kind of go through the process. Sometimes it wasn't They go on a roll from there. It It's an exciting time for the students and all the students that are watching and those that are participating really enjoy that each year during their lunch period. So, again, thank you Mr. Huggins. Other recent or upcoming events, tomorrow is Earth Day. We have a few events that will be celebrating that. Ms. Stanis is working with her class to do some poetry writing that will take place outside outside of our school with chalk to celebrate Earth Day. And also Ms.
024Greenberg and the peer leadership club have They have a bunch of things on the agenda including what you see behind me. That's just a starting point. They have several things to celebrate Earth Day tomorrow and then throughout the week. Also, Pi Day science test will be taking place this Thursday. Friday marks the end of the third quarter. So, we will be finalizing grades next week and will be posted and mailed to families on Monday the 4th. And then next week we're heading out on the 8th grade trip to Washington D.C. On Wednesday through Friday, I'll be attending with our 7th grade students, and I will bring back pictures for our P&I meeting to share out as well as that from our annual music trip, which will be taking place this year. Our students Our band
025and chorus students will be going to compete, and then we'll be headed to Dorney Park this year for some fun afterwards. So, again, we'll try to get some great pictures of that to share as well. And then finally, our math test day will be taking place on May 6th and May 7th. That is it. Thank you. Thank you. I'd like to put the blessing. This is Mr. Carbonetti crossing. Good evening. Thank you for the opportunity to speak this evening. As discussed at last month's Board of Education meeting, our March Superintendent's Conference Day focused on the theme of teaching in the age of AI, artificial intelligence. It was a valuable professional development developmental opportunity that served two important purposes. It provided staff with an introduction to or an opportunity to further develop their understanding of AI
026and its impact on education, while also offering those interested in going a step further the introductory coursework towards earning an artificial intelligence micro-credential. The micro-credential includes continuing learning that deepens understanding of AI and its instructional application. As a result of this PD, 13 staff members are now participating in the Arnt >> [clears throat] >> G&R Inclusive Group is continuing their work down at the elementary school in order to strengthen instructional practices that support all learners. Current areas of focus include differentiated instruction, tier one classroom interventions, and effective co-teaching models such as station teaching, flip-flop teaching, parallel teaching, and team teaching. This training and PD will conclude in May for this school year. As Ms. Ring and Mr. Gillespie mentioned, we are in the midst of our spring assessment season. Grades 3 through 8 ELA assessment
027was completed last week. This Thursday, the grades 5 and 8 science assessment will take place, and grades 3 through 8 math assessment is scheduled for May 6th and May 7th. The New York State English as a Second Language Assessment Test for our English Language Learners, the testing begins on April 28th. This assessment measures students' English language proficiency and helps determine English language services for the upcoming 2026-2027 school year. In June, eligible students will participate in the Algebra and the Living Environment Regents Examinations. In the area of world languages, we are piloting the AAPPL, which is the Assessment of Performance on Proficiency in Language Spanish Proficiency Assessment with our grade eight honor Spanish students. This is a web-based assessment that supports alignment with expectations at both of our receiving high schools. All other grade eight students
028will take the Spanish Checkpoint A Regents Exam as they have done in the past. Thank you for your support, and have a good evening. Thank you. Thank you. I have the district report for this. Thank you. All right. Board member report. I can go over my report. On May 9th, there will be a special screening of a football documentary. It's a very exciting thing for Warwick High School. The Warwick football team in 1984 was a dream team. A professional has created a documentary about the season, and there are tickets on sale. Um You need to contact athletic director Surico via email or phone. Tickets are limited. They're having a special screening on May 9th. So, if anybody's interested in that, please reach out to Mr. Surico. Just to update you on the Memorial Day break
029for Warwick High School students, May 22nd, there's a Superintendent's Conference Day. So, students will not be in school. Students have off for the holiday on May 25th and May 26th on that Monday and Tuesday. Regents schedules are posted online. So, check the schedule online to see when your student will be taking their Regents. It goes by what class your student is in and not a particular grade. If you have any questions about your child's Regents, you can always reach out to any teachers or your child's guidance counselor. And that's all for Warwick. Thank you. Andy, do you have anything for Chester? Not much for most of their stuff I have not been able to post on their calendar obviously. But they do have the Regents coming up same day and same deal. It's going to
030be this Friday. That's it. Okay. Thank you. Anything anything from this board? I don't have anything from Minisink. As everyone is waiting on the state. The one that's supposed to be out earlier this year. Um it's looking like it might be a little more if everything holds the way it's looking. Again, it's an election year, and that's not uncommon. Um we'll see. We're hopeful. I don't think we're going to be out any money, which is a positive. But looking forward, there It's going to be different next year. So, schools are bracing. Minisink starting to advocate for the money that we're going to need. And you know, that's that's something to watch next year. As we begin to budget season. As far as Oxford, I wasn't able to attend the meeting last Wednesday due to prior
031obligations. Actually, it didn't really [clears throat] pertain to our school district anyway. It had representations their student representation and board members attend. Obviously, we don't have that. It's a requirement now in New York State that all districts have a student representation if they have high school students. We obviously don't have high school, so we don't have a representation. So, I didn't attend that, but they are having a meeting on Monday. It's going to be very geared towards AI and what it's going to bring to education. So, I'm very interested in looking forward to attending. I will have a report next month. Okay. Thanks, Mark. Anyone here from the Facilities Committee? Um Uh just what Superintendent added and said before in our report. There's some things that um talked about in our last meeting that are
032not on tonight's agenda. Anything from the Audit Committee? Nothing new to report. Budget Committee? No. Right. We just voted. about that on the agenda. Um Policy Committee? Okay. Um do we have anyone here from the um PTSA? PTSA Liaison? The Village of Greenwood Lake Liaison? Hi. We did not have an update for today. Okay, thank you. Um Nothing from the Board of Trustees. You already did that. Okay. All right, very good. Moving on. Um you know, of course comments from the Board. Um subject 6.1 Privilege of the Floor. So, before we do that, I just need to read this friendly reminder of public comment at meetings. Public expression at meetings shall be encouraged and the following guidelines are intended to promote an orderly procedure for public comment participation. The public will be given the opportunity
033to address the Board regarding items of interest and concern during the Privilege of the Floor section of each monthly regular Board meeting. Anyone wishing to be heard must sign in on the public comment form prior to the start of the business meeting or before speaking. Speakers will be asked to state their name before addressing their question or statement to the Board. Speakers may be limited to 3 minutes each in their comment or questions. Speakers are to have the right to speak without interruption and are to address the President of the Comments regarding specific personal personnel will be ruled out of order and referred to the Superintendent. Speakers will not be recognized for a second time until all who wish to speak have been given an opportunity. The Board may suspend Privilege of the Floor if
034it is determined that continued discussion on a particular topic will prevent the Board from completing its scheduled business or if one of the above guidelines were not adhered to and continued participation is deemed to be disruptive. Thank you. Okay. Hello. Yeah. Okay. Right. Hello. Yeah. New York Yeah, you got it. Okay. Hi, my name is Maureen Gilsenan. I'm a fifth grade teacher and I'm also the Union co-president. Um I'm here tonight to talk about the Seneca Falls tuition rate um that we're currently paying to our high schools. For the past 10 years, we have negotiated the tuition rate with each high school. As many people in this room know that we cut ties with Tuxedo High School because of the outrageous Seneca Falls rate that was set. Here we are 10 years later and a
035signed contract again using the Seneca Falls formula. I'm here tonight to ask you, how did we get into this situation again? If this situation is not going to burden our district financially, why don't we discuss this tuition together as a team so we have a better understanding of what the projection and the life of our district here as Greenwood Lake will be. When we're paying upwards of 1.8 million dollars and more in tuition to two high schools, how long do you see us standing as a Greenwood Lake School District? I've asked this question at least five different times, different ways. I've asked the Board of Education to meet with me. Um I don't understand why you don't. This is very simple for the people here. As the Union President, all of the members, all of
036your faculty and staff have a right to know that. How can we sustain if we as a district are paying 1.8 million dollars more in tuition every year? Can you answer that? Do you know how we're going to sustain that? At the end of this current contract, are we going to negotiate with the intention to lower the rates or are we going to be stuck paying Seneca Falls? When will you know that? I don't want to buy into the rumors, so I'm asking you. The rumors out there are that many districts or other districts have contacted us um and asked for us to be to be considered as an educational choice. Is that true? If so, what is our response? In our opinion as a Greenwood Lake School teachers, faculty, and staff, fiscally responsible contract
037should be our top priority. Raising taxes for the community is not the answer, particularly at a time when the village has found itself in a position in which they were forced to raise community taxes. Currently, we find ourselves in a position where we are replacing an administrator. With the current Assistant Superintendent leaving, isn't this the perfect time to save money instead of adding to the spending? I want to be really honest. We are a district of 400 students. 400. There is no other school district in any surrounding county that has this level of top administration. No school anywhere. Is it needed? Do we need another Assistant Superintendent? Currently, our Chairperson for the Committee on Special Ed, who holds a TOSA position, has been told that there are not going to be any opportunity for her
038to advance to a Director position. I'm asking all of you, why not? To our knowledge, the previous CSE Chairperson was told that an administrative degree was necessary for the position as it is a common practice in all surrounding districts. The current TOSA assumed the same and has worked diligently to obtain her administrative degree in order to assume the position. Are you, the Board of Education, honestly going to keep one of, if not the most important departments in our district, under the leadership of someone with a TOSA title? This department makes decisions that are some of the most important decisions made in a school district, preventing legal violations, issues ensuring federal funding, writing grants, billing the county, having knowledge of educational law, etc. Not to mention the Director of Special Education can be held legally liable
039in many circumstances. Are we asking a TOSA to assume this responsibility? If the requirements were changed and the CSE Chairperson in surrounding districts are administrators, why would we not promote our Chairperson to administrator? Her responsibilities are that of an administrator. She makes decisions about the learning programs of our special education students. She oversees our special education department. She mentors and advises the special educators and support services. She oversees preschool special education population and makes decisions regarding their learning as well. Should her expertise, her experience, and her continued leadership not be rewarded? Should she continue to not be on the level playing field with other CSE Chairs? Our opinion, this is an easy fix. Give her her title she deserves, the one she has diligently worked for, the one no other surrounding school district anywhere would
040not have. Thank you. >> [applause] >> Good evening. Is this working? Um I'm Lori Sanford. I am the co-president of the GLTA as well as a kindergarten special ed teacher. Um I'm here tonight to talk about another topic that we have tried to discuss and resolve with the district over and over, which is the lack of subs provided for RTI. RTI or Response to Intervention is a state-mandated program. It targets and provides small group intervention and instruction for students struggling academically. It is the district's position that when RTI teachers are absent, these students should simply just stay in their homerooms and not receive services that day. Classroom teachers are expected to pivot with little notice and abandon the plans that they had made for the children who remained for Tier 1 and Tier 2 services
041to accommodate these students staying behind because there's not a sub provided. What the district is not considering, however, is that when these students go to RTI, their classroom teachers are diligently working with the remaining students on their Tier 1 and Tier 2 goals and interventions. Providing substitutes for RTI would allow the classroom teams to continue, would allow RTI students to continue their intervention services, work on important goals, reinforce skills, and would help avoid disruption to the intervention block where RTI occurs. The purpose of RTI is to fill gaps, reinforce academic skills, and help students reach goals and grade level benchmarks. This program only works with consistent implementation. Providing subs is a vital part in making that happen. In addition, teachers who teach Project Lead the Way in the elementary school are also directed not to
042get a sub when absent. Project Lead the Way is the only science curriculum in elementary school grades K through 3. When the teacher is out, the students do not receive science instruction. Considering that New York State fifth grade science test is based on content grades 3 through 5 and the 3 through 5 learning standards, wouldn't it behoove the district to make it a priority to cover these classes when a teacher is out? When teachers are absent, it is the district's responsibility to provide subs in all areas mentioned to ensure minimal disruption of routine and the continuation of learning for all these students. We keep revisiting this concern with the district because having subs for these positions is best practice for students. In fact, the union feels so strongly about this issue, it's currently pending arbitration.
043Please consider listening to the teachers [clears throat] who are the experts in the classroom and who are respectfully asking to be supported in this way. Thank you. >> [applause] >> My name is Erin Candan and I'm a fourth grade teacher. What I'm speaking about tonight is extremely important. And it's my hope that you members of the board will respect and seriously consider these statements As classroom teachers, we feel the most important decision to be made for next year is that grade levels be separated into three sections. While you might feel that a grade level of 40 students fits into two sections, this year's fourth grade and second grade are perfect examples of why two sections do not always work. Fourth grade teachers, along with the union presidents, have been asking you to consider separating these
044children into three sections sections since September. The current fourth grade has gone from three sections from kindergarten, two sections in first grade, and then placed into three sections for their second grade year due to the high number of academic and behavioral needs. They were then placed back into two sections for third and fourth grade. Why? Were the students' academic and behavioral needs met? No, I can tell you first hand they are not and they weren't. The academic needs and behavioral concerns with these grade levels have been an issue throughout the year. The academic needs alone require creative structuring of classes. The behaviors are interfering with the learning environment for the entire class. You must take the negative behaviors into account when deciding how many sections you are making per grade level. Please talk to your
045educators. This model is not working. We are asking that moving forward after these students are separated into three sections. We are the ones in the classrooms. What might look good on paper does not always translate to a good idea in real life. We have the teachers. Why not put them in the classrooms? Thank you. >> [applause] >> Good evening. My name is Kim Hearn. My name is Beth Buckley. I'm a speech and language therapist in the district and I'm the secretary for the elementary teachers' union. Um I'd like to discuss to this evening with you the development of a realistic reading program. Many of us sitting here as um children were separated into three groups, a high group for reading, a middle group, and a low group in elementary school. The students in the low
046class were given given the focused attention and structured study that they need. The students in the middle program demonstrated solid growth in reading and there was opportunity for the higher students to soar, to be challenged. Our highest students are bored in the classroom. How is that if they are structured? We'd like to cite a current study completed by Vanderbilt University professor Douglas Fuchs, 50 years of special education research were in analyzed resulting in challenges to the inclusion model, having children with IEPs in classrooms with typically developing students. They found that quote separate intensive instruction is often necessary for better academic outcomes. The researchers wanted to be clear that inclusion can work, but the evidence for where students with educational needs should be placed is flawed. He argued that students with the most significant educational needs
047require intensive and individualized instruction that cannot always be provided in a general education classroom. Additionally, there is evidence that special education students in the inclusion model do not have consistently improving test scores. As a result, we believe that we should look more deeply into the placement of our special education students, their learning needs and environment, and impact on their general education peers. We want to be clear we are not arguing for more self-contained classrooms, rather for grouping students based on their reading needs, giving the struggling students, special or general education, the opportunity for more individualized support and the advanced reading students the opportunity to be challenged. This seems to be a logical solution with appropriate inclusion students continuing to participate in the general education classroom. For at least the next 2 years, we will have
048extra teachers. Those teachers belong in a classroom teaching. Finally, I would like to discuss with you that uh we are losing another great teacher. Um we would like to know if the Board of Education uh is aware of why we keep losing seventh and eighth grade science teachers. They seem to be overloaded with teaching six and seven classes without support. Um in addition, I'd like you to let the current science teacher know when um he can schedule his exit interview. Thank you for your time. >> [applause] >> Good evening. My name is Alvin Gutierrez and I am a parent My son will be in pre-K next year. My wife is also a teacher in the district and for disclosure, I am running for the board. I have been speaking to parents because I am running
049for the board for the board and I wanted to get to know what sorts of things were on their mind, what sorts of things they like. And one thing that has come to my attention from multiple parents is that elementary school kids are being dismissed without anybody knowing. Um so multiple parents have told me that their children were released from the school into the outer space of the elementary school and the parents were not there. The parents had not told anyone to release their child. Um so obviously that's a huge issue. Um I also spoke to parents about this and they told me that this was not an issue prior to this year. So I don't know what has changed in the dismissal process this year, uh but certainly somebody should revisit what is happening
050and go back if you need to to what was done before because uh elementary school kids, especially at this elementary school that only goes K through 3, uh really should not be dismissed without supervision. Thank you. >> [applause] >> Hi, I'm Amy Bellantoni and this is off the cuff, so I'm not writing anything down. Um we were talking about the Seneca Falls, so that 10 years ago, I had two of three of my student of my children, my own children, that had to leave the high school that they loved because of Seneca Falls. It was such an outrageous cost and they were very upset to leave the high school they loved. Just imagine if your children at a high school that you love and they had to leave. Okay. You know what? I said to
051them it's the best for the community. We negotiated a price. It is what it is. We have to continue, but it really changed the trajectory of many families. So whether, you know, you anybody cares about my children having to leave, I'm not asking you to care. But now we're back at a Seneca Falls and it's costing our district this enormous amount of money. I mean, I think we should try to negotiate. I mean, what if all these kids, you know, their trajectory changed? It was just in vain for that. So that it's very disheartening that you know, we had to find out why the um you know, the program costs went up so high because of the Seneca Falls and it is the board's fiduciary responsibility to the constituents and the community, okay? So the
052fact that we had to try to find it and try to, you know, just it it'd nice if there's more transparency. Um And you're all very nice. I mean, you're you're all very nice, but I I don't know if I'd like you to, you know, balance my checkbook, quite honestly. When I look at this, you know, you have printed out some stuff here. In 2022 to 2023, the budget was at $27 million. Okay, we're at $32 million. That's a difference of $5 million $620,000 in a matter of 4 years. And you know, our enrollment went down. So, I think we could be looking a little bit more at the Seneca Falls. [clears throat] A lot of money. So, now we're looking at $1.8 million for the Seneca Falls. Plus, we took $1.4 million out of
053reserves. So, that's a total of $3.2 million. Where are we going with this? We can't just keep doing this. You know, anyway, here's another thing when I looked at the budgets where in 2022 to 2023, we were at zero spending. But we had more students. It's just so confusing. So, when you go through it, everything's very contradictory with when I go through all of the budget workshops, cuz I do read them. I do go through them, you know, etc. Okay, another point. Thank you. Um We're we're hiring a lawyer now at $230 an hour with no like So, most lawyers that are hired when I look at other board agendas, it'll say only to reach this amount. So, it doesn't even say that in this lawyer that we're hiring who you know, this new lawyer,
054but we have these other lawyers. So, maybe we can look at all these lawyers lawyers that we're hiring when people can't come to compromises. That's on my tax dollar. That's on my our tax tax dollars. Thank you so much. And I you're all very nice. And I'm sorry if I I didn't offend anybody. Thank you. >> [applause] >> Thank you. Anybody else wants to speak tonight? Okay, thank you. Moving on to Oh, you Oh, yeah. Okay. Yeah, please sign in. Thank you. I'm Crystal Maybe. I'm a taxpayer and a parent in this district. Obviously, I don't have anything right now, but I a lot of what was already said is things that I was already thinking. As a taxpayer, I would like to know how we expect to just increase the budget. You guys quoted
055a $252 increase a month. As you look around, everything is going up financially, and people can't afford that. So, although that number may sound great for the average family, look at our numbers here. We have a very low-income school. So, I, you know, that's going to affect a lot of families. I think that the board needs to look at how we can save money. And we do have an administrator retiring this year that doesn't need to be replaced, in my opinion. And we can take that money and use it elsewhere. That position wasn't always there. So, I think that money can be utilized for other things. Bring more teachers in. Bring more programs in. And support financial needs for the district in other ways. If you look at SeeThroughNY, you can see districts around the
056county, no one has as many administrators as we do that get paid as much as we do for 400 kids. There are many schools that have one principal, one superintendent. I don't see why Green would Lake needs multiple administrators to support the needs of a small district that is suffering financially. Think about that. Thank you. >> [applause] >> Anybody else like to speak tonight? Okay, thank you. Um moving on subject 7.1 to approve Orange-Ulster BOCES 2026-2027 administrative budget. Um can I get a motion to approve? Um BOCES 2026-2027 administrative budget as presented. Kevin, Ian Any discussion? All in favor? Motion passes 4 to 0. Subject 7.2 Um BOCES cooperative board vote for Berger and Berger and Bova. Can I have a motion to pass one vote for Lawrence Berger and one vote for Martha Bova
057for the two open seats on the OU BOCES cooperative board as presented. Mike Ian Any discussion? All in favor? Motion passes 4 to 0. Subject 8.1 adopt 2026-2027 school budget. Can I get a motion to adopt the 2026-2027 school budget as presented. Mike, Kevin, any discussion? All in favor? Motion passes 4 to 0. Subject 9.1 to confer tenure for Christina Diaco. Can I please get a motion to confer tenure upon Christina Diaco in the English as a second language tenure area as presented. Mike, Kevin Any discussion? All in favor? Motion passes >> [applause] >> 4 to 0. Subject 10.1 finance financial reports and warrants. Can I please get a motion to approve the financial reports for March 2026 as presented at this meeting. Um Ian, motion from Mike Any discussion? All in favor? I Motion
058passes 4 to 0. Subject 10.2 approve property tax report card. Can I please get a motion to approve the property tax report card for submission to the New York State Education Department. Kevin Ian Any discussion? All in favor? I Motion passes 4 to 0. Subject 10.3 accept Moody's Investor Service profile. Can I please get a motion to accept Moody's Investor Service profile as presented. Mike Kevin, any discussion? All in favor? I Motion passes 4 to 0. Subject 10.4 approve change orders for district-wide capital projects 001-027 and 002-016. Can I please get a motion to approve change orders for the district-wide [clears throat] capital projects as mentioned above. Mike Ian, any discussions? All in favor? I Motion passes 4 to 0. Subject 10.5 to approve budgeting and design services pre-referendum proposal CPL. Can I please get
059a motion to approve the CPL budgeting and design services pre-referendum proposal as presented. Kevin, Mike, any discussion? All in favor? I >> [clears throat] >> Motion passes 4 to 0. Subject 10.6 to approve consultant's agreement Medicaid services. Can I please get a motion to approve the MAC BOCES consultant's agreement as presented. Mike, Kevin, any discussion? All in favor? I Motion passes 4 to 0. Subject 10.7 amend 2025-2026 student calendar. Can I please get a motion to amend the 2025-2026 student calendar as presented. Kevin, Ian Any discussion? All in favor? Motion passes 4 to 0. Subject 10.8 to accept a donation from the Green Meadow Lake PTA. Can I please get a motion to accept the generous donation from the Green Meadow Lake PTA as presented. Mike Kevin, any discussion? All in favor? I Motion passes
0604 to 0. Thank you very much. Subject 10.9 execute agreement Garcia and Garcia. Can I please get a motion to execute the agreement with Garcia and Garcia as presented. Mike Kevin Any discussion? All in favor? I Motion passes 4 to 0. Subject 10.10 execute agreement Shaw, Carlsen, May and Lambert. Can I please get a motion to execute the agreement with Shaw, Carlsen, May and Lambert for the administrator's union negotiations as presented. Motion Mike. Kevin. Any discussion? All in favor? I. Motion passes 4 to 0. Subject 10.11, execute agreement Shaw, Perelson, May and Lambert. Can I please get a motion to execute agreement with Shaw, Perelson, May and Lambert for transportation unit negotiations as presented? Motion Mike. Kevin. Any discussion? All in favor? I. Motion passes 4 to 0. Subject 10.12, approve retirement incentive SMLI district
061and GLTA teachers union. Um, can I get a motion Can I please get a motion to approve a special retirement incentive SMLI between the district and the GLTA as presented? Mike. Ian. Any discussion? All in favor? I. Motion passes 4 to 0. Subject 10.13, approve educational services agreement. Center for Discovery Incorporated. Can I please get a motion to approve the Center for Discovery educational services agreement as presented? Mike. Kevin. Any discussion? All in favor? Motion passes 4 to 0. Subject 10.14, execute health services agreement. Can I please get a motion to execute health services agreement as presented? Ian. Mike. Any discussion? All in favor? Motion passes 4 to 0. 11, personnel. Subject 11.1, to accept the resignation of Mr. Blovell. Can I please have a motion to accept that with regret the resignation of Matthew
062Blovell as science teacher as presented? Mike. Ian. All in favor? I. Motion passes 4 to 0. Subject 11.2, accept the resignation for purpose of retirement Campbell. Can I please get a motion to accept with regret the resignation of Hazel Campbell as school bus monitor for purpose of retirement as presented? Motion Mike. Kevin. Any discussion? All in favor? Motion passes 4 to 0. Subject 11.3, to appoint part-time lunch recess aide Kafka. Can I please get a motion to appoint Ariana Kafka as a part-time lunch recess aide as presented? Mike. Kevin. Any discussion? All in favor? I. Motion passes 4 to 0. Subject 11.4. Um, appoint Green records management officer. Can I please get a motion to appoint Karen Green as records management officer as presented? Mike. Ian. Any discussion? Oh, I'm sorry. I pronounced the name
063wrong. I'm sorry. It's Karen Green. My apologies. Um. Um. All in favor? Motion passes 4 to 0. >> [clears throat] >> Subject 11.5. To appoint long-term leave replacement leave replacement Noel Boucher. Can I please get a motion to appoint Noel Boucher as long-term leave replacement school psychologist as presented? Mike. Kevin. Any discussion? All in favor? I. Motion passes 4 to 0. Subject 11.6, appoint long-term leave replacement Amy Casey. Can I please get a motion to appoint Rena Casey as long-term leave replacement as presented? Motion Ian. Kevin. Any discussion? All in favor? Motion passes 4 to 0. Subject 11.7, to appoint substitutes Melissa Casey. Can I please get a motion to appoint the following individuals to the positions listed as presented? >> [snorts] >> Kevin. Mike. Any discussion? All in favor? I. Motion passes 4 to
0640. Um, subject 12.1, accept recommendations of CPSE CSE meetings. Can I please get a motion to accept the CSE CPSE recommendations as presented at this meeting? Kevin. Ian. Any discussion? All in favor? Motion passes 4 to 0. Subject 13.1, adjourn to executive session upon approval of a motion. Can I please get a motion to adjourn to executive session regarding negotiations pursuant to Taylor Law and GLTA union. Motion? Um, Kevin. Mike. Any discussion? All in favor? Motion passes 4 to 0. Budget vote and election takes place Tuesday, May 19th from 11:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. in the elementary school gymnasium. The next Board of Education meeting takes place on Tuesday, May 19th, 2026 at 6:00 p.m. in the middle school cafeteria. Subject 14.2. Okay. Thank you everyone.