0015A I'm sorry 5B A the presentation concerning the strategic plan and 7.1A are going to be removed from the agenda. in their spot now and put at the end of the agenda as items 11A and 11B. Also added to the agenda is a as 7.1D is a resolution concerning a parental request for transportation. With that, kindly uh rise and join me in the pledge of allegiance. I pledge allegiance >> flag to the stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all. >> Thank you. 5A on the agenda is the superintendent's update. Dr. Murphy. >> Thank you Mr. Bar. Nice crowd tonight in the audience. Uh my remarks will be brief. Uh last time we met was in August. So uh since that time we had the start of school. Um just tremendous
002districtwide. Uh we were fortunate enough to have great weather. Uh and there was um just the kind of seamless baton pass from the end of last year to the beginning of the year with uh smiling kids and uh faculty ready to welcome them, faculty, teachers, our staff members. Uh so um so just great job all around. I always like to recognize that our custodial staff uh get get the buildings ready for the opening of school. Uh I was joined by Mr. Scrio and Miss Sienna and others as we did our annual walkthroughs. Um and of course it was exciting for all of us not just to walk the buildings but to see the progress that's going on throughout the district with our grounds. Um Mr. Baret joined us uh at the middle school for what
003I shared with the students was was probably a once every 50 to 70 year moment where there the students themselves cut the ribbon on the multi-purpose uh courts and ran onto those courts with such excitement. Um we played a little basketball, some of us with them. We fared okay. Uh but truly it was just a very very special moment to be a part of. I'm so grateful for it. Um this past weekend I had the the pleasure of uh of being um a colleague and and a parent at the McKenzie Borchers 4th annual volleyball tournament, listening to Tracy uh faculty member uh talk about how special that tournament is. Uh my daughter happened to be playing for Smithtown East. uh who of course the way things work, Murphy's loss, Midtown versus Hopog in the finals
004of the tournament. But the much bigger um moment was was Tracy addressing the crowd about uh how this all came about and um of course how special McKenzie was and then how this tournament raises money for Angela's House. So um just tremendous job and uh again so grateful to be a part of that. Um next just individual level congratulations to Mahir Satish Kumar. Um we have heard his name a few times through the years and I think we're going to hear it many more times. Selected to the top 300 in the National Thermal Fisher Scientific Junior Innovation Challenge. Say that three times fast. Uh and that was for the third year in a row. So, please help me to applaud Mahir. [Applause] Also, just want to recognize before I turn the mic over to my
005friend over there, Hannah, who's going to get into some other news. Uh, we recently learned that junior Katherine Marietta has qualified as a National Merit semi- finalist in the 71st annual National Merit Scholarship Program. So, congratulations to Katherine. [Applause] And uh we're down one tonight because Alakin, who normally sits next to Hannah as our two board uh student members, is at a volleyball game out in the Hamptons. Um tough to get back on time. Uh so uh sports, athletics, um schooling, all of that comes first uh for our board members. So Hannah, we appreciate you being here representing uh the two of you, please. >> Thank you, Dr. Murphy. Um good evening everyone. First up, on behalf of the students, we would like to thank the board for covering the SAT and PSAT. The test
006will take place on Friday, October 3rd. During this time, freshmen will be provided with workshops that can be pre-signed up for. and seniors, it is not too late to sign up for the test still. Uh, our new uh, statewide cell phone policy has been seen making a very positive difference in the building. Allan and I both agree that it's nice to see more communication among the students and less technology technically. Uh, lastly on our end, we're coming up on two of Pog's favorite days of the year. Kicks for cancer, uh, Tuesday, September 30th, soccer games beginning at 400 p.m. and homecoming on the 18th of October. We look forward to seeing many of our community members coming out to support and we hope that everyone continues to enjoy the rest of their September as they
007get back into the routine of school. >> Awesome. Thank you, Hannah. And uh I'm reminded as you're talking uh this week also we have our back to school nights at the middle school and the high school uh recently at the elementaryaries. Um so uh again the principles always do a great job to that. We're going to hear from the elementary principal shortly. And uh I I did want to add I was a little late to exact session uh with with uh Mr. Michaels Brian uh we were at the Icelip um town board meeting which was uh very well attended. Um, for those that don't know, the board of ed, this board of ed unanimous unanimously passed a resolution uh opposing the best uh battery facility um concerns about um uh really illuminated by the fire
008department about uh fire hazards and emergency response concerns uh and most of all proximity to Brettonwoods Elementary School. Uh Brian and I were at tonight's uh meeting. He had a connection, was able to speak 15th uh in the crowd. I was 26th. I have to just give him a a nod because he he received uh a huge round of applause after he was done speaking. He he really represented this board and the community quite well and helped to uh spell out our concerns. Uh, and I'll say that there was a lot of, uh, of your neighbors, uh, community residents, parents there tonight who were appreciative of the board support. Uh, also happy to share. So, we both spoke and then we ran out of there that we got a text message that the town board
009voted to extend the moratorium another year. So, great news uh, for the district. >> Thank you, Dr. Murphy. Five um A on the agenda uh recognitions and awards drawn on tonight. 5B on the agenda is uh removed uh from its position and reumbered 11A as I stated earlier. 5B are presentations from our elementary school principles. We shall start with Dr. Christopher Smallley, our principal at Brenton Woods. [Applause] I was uh I was waiting before I got started. >> Um good evening, President Bar, members of the board of education, Dr. Murphy, and my fellow worker bees. Um hello. Hi, Lindsay. How you doing? Um it's wonderful to be here tonight on behalf of Bretton Woods and um I thank you very much for the opportunity. Um in short, this year has been incredible. It's been an
010incredible start to the year. Um, you know, everything starts really kind of all the way back in July to get ready for uh September and in July there's so much going on throughout the district and there are a lot of people who played a really um important roles to get this all done. Um, so this is a little shout out to some of the folks that helped pull it together. So Glenn and the entire B&G custodial staff um for preparing the building, thank you. Um the IT IT team Swanson, hey Swanson, and uh the steam PAS were great. Um the entire security team um led by the smart and dapper, Mr. Gary Msina. Um Jerry and transportation helped us get set up with all of our bus routes. Um transportation is a bear. It's big.
011And um he was very helpful. Um cabinet, all of you were super great. Um your clericals and your offices really helped us bring things together. and I can't say enough good things. Um that goes for the directors as well. Um and of course um all the great work done by our incredible Brettonwoods uh clerical and custodial staff. Um our summer was busy. Um by August, you know, that was like July. By August, you know, teachers started filling the building. And uh for the teachers here, you know that if you're in elementary school, you really start to work on your building um on your classroom um almost all summer. and our teachers were wonderful and great and they were in um all all days um all times of the day. Uh the bond work was coming
012together really nice. Um FYI, the bathrooms are awesome. Um thank you. They really came out well. They weren't just your state-of-the-art throw some tile up and move move away. They really kind of took their time to make them look great. And um you know, our own custodial crew continued to work long nights um clear clearing cleaning every inch of the building. By the time superintendent's conference day came, um you know, we were pretty much ready. Uh Dr. Murphy, thank you. You set the incredible tone. Um resonated in our building and across the district. It was really nice. And on the same day, um of Superintendent Conference Day, we actually had our first meeting in the building um you know, as as a group. And I could tell you that we had 20 new faces um
013in our building this year. Um, a lot of that was due to retirements and some movement around, but um, it's it's a lot of new new folks at at Bretonwoods and it was really nice. Um, so by the time the first day of school came, well, everything I mentioned, you know, we're ready to go. Um, the weather was beautiful. Hundreds of smiling faces, new backpacks, fresh sneakers, new bus routes, you know, obviously a few tears along the way. Um, our teachers spent the first week welcoming their new students, making them feel comfortable. Uh the tone in the building, you know, healthy, vibrant, good. It was a great first week. Um meet the teacher was a really special night. You know, hundreds of families showed up all were so grateful and happy to tell me how
014much they loved Bretton Woods. Um I couldn't believe the amount of parents that I met that were actually former students in Bretonwoods. And I think that's really special and awesome. And I actually met uh grandparents who were there who were Bre, you know, they went to Breton Woods. They were there with their adult children who went to Bretton Woods who were there with their own, you know, their own kids in the class. So, it was a really nice uh fam family affair there. It was great. Um but they all spoke with such pride um in the school. Um uh but things are going great. You know, our year started off wonderful. We had a beautiful ceremony last week um to honor 911 as we gathered outside of the building around the flag pole which was
015nice. And um you know overall I can tell you uh Brettton Woods is off to a good start. And lastly I will say that you know we couldn't do any of this without um the board of ed. Thank you so much. Um, as being someone who has been behind the scenes for a few years, um, I know all the hard dedicated work that happens and everything that goes on behind the scenes and there's really thoughtful leadership that brings it all together to make it all work. And um, you know, in my very short time at Bretton Woods, I can see the fruits of everything that's happened over the years. So um, that's our little story from Breton Woods. Things are good, students are good, and that's it for us. Any [Applause] questions or comments uh
016from the board concerning Brett Woods presentation? Anyone in the community have any questions for Dr. Smallley? Thank you. >> Great. Thank you. Uh next up, um our longest tenure principal in the elementary school, now on the job three years, Michael Coen. Thank you very much. I appreciate that. And please uh don't infer the fact that I'm sitting alone and my teammates are behind me. I didn't know that that was the game plan or else I would have been there with them. Um, and I say that in justest, but in all seriousness, I want to take a moment just to to say that the the the camaraderie and the teamwork that we've already established as three elementary school principles is really something super special and I'm excited going forward to uh align with the other uh
017buildings in the district to uh bring us all where we want to go. Um, another interesting note is uh prior to this meeting, you know, that camaraderie has been in the form of of Zoom calls and uh phone calls and uh a couple of uh in-person meetings. And um when we knew we were going to be coming here, all of a sudden it was uh emails from the rookies saying, "What is this all about? What do what do we need to say? What do we need to do?" So, I wrote down exactly what Dr. Smallley just said. And it was well said, Dr. Smalling. Well done. Um, and and that probably gives you a little insight as to the uh the teamwork and the camaraderie we've developed so far that we can poke fun at
018one another a little bit. Um, but uh without any further ado, it's certainly exciting to be back at Forest Brook. Um, I was in the building over the summer a lot. Um, and it's empty, quiet, eerie, and really depressing without those faces. um those smiles, um the laughter. So, it's really refreshing to have everybody back in the building, students, teachers, parents, uh everyone. Um I know it's been mentioned already, but the custodial staff, I wouldn't be doing my part if I didn't sing their praises specifically at Forestbrook. This year with all the wonderful bond work that's been going on, The Pines underwent an entire um parking lot uh renovation, which mean none of the programs that The Pines was planning on hosting could be hosted there. Therefore, Forestbrook hosted more than their capacity probably. Um,
019so it was a real balancing act for our custodians to make sure that all of their needs for all of those programs were being met while at the same time we were emptying every single classroom, cleaning everything and getting ready for um for the upcoming school year. We at Forsbrook have three bathrooms that are uh wonderful. They're, you know, beautifully done. There are no problems with the bathrooms outside of the uh uh there was a little tweak made to the nurse's bathroom for the eyewash station, but other than that, the the bathrooms are gorgeous. Uh we've uh like every other um school in New York State, we are now offering free breakfast as well as free lunch. Uh free breakfast was something that was new to all of us this year. Um and we were
020quite frankly scared to death how that was going to roll out. Um I think we're averaging at Forestbrook anywhere between 140 to 200 breakfasts ordered pre-ordered um every day and they are delivered to the child's desk prior to the start of school pri prior to them sitting in their desk. Um so there's a lot of effort um going into into that initiative and it's been highly successful. Um just a couple of highlights. Um we've had uh code of conduct meetings uh K through two and three through five. Um open school night was very well attended uh and uh highly successful and it's it's always a wonderful night for for me. I've been in the district now. This is my 23rd year. Uh so I see parents now coming back that I had them when I
021was their assistant principal in high school when they were in high school. It's a little frightening, but it's uh wonderful to catch up and um see them now be parents and bringing them through Hop Hog Schools. Uh our PTA has uh been uh awesome as usual. They are constantly making our students feel welcome. Uh giving them opportunities uh things such as sidewalk chalk for the first day of school, balloons. Um there's a a PTA welcome back breakfast that rivals any breakfast on Long Island. Um they uh have a volunteer day for us for our teachers to kind of share the burden of all the work that needs to be done. So we're very fortunate at Forestbrook to have such a wonderful PTA. Um like Dr. Small had mentioned, as is tradition at Forestbrook, we all
022assembled at the flag pole uh on 911 for a uh meaningful ceremony for the pledge and a moment of silence. Um this week and last week, we've had our bus safety programs. Today, we had our fire safety assemblies. So, there's uh there's plenty going on at Forestbrook all the time. It's really uh a very alive school. Um again I just want to say thank you uh to uh Mr. Bullis and Dr. Smallley for their partnership, their leadership and their colleagueship. Um I'm very fortunate to be working alongside them. Um lastly, uh I want to thank the uh central office staff um Dr. Murphy uh and I want to thank the the board of education. Um, every time I see a board of education member, this question is asked of me and most recently was asked
023by Mr. Scaro. Do you have everything you need? That speaks volumes for this board of education. And I thank you for asking that question and I thank you for me being in a position as a principal not having to say yes, I need this, this, this, and that. because you've already made sure that that has been um given to our teachers, our students, our parents, and our school building. I'm looking forward to a great year. I'm sorry I took so long. Uh thank you very much. And I'm looking forward to uh more great stuff. Thank you. Any questions from the board, Mr. Poland? Any questions from the community or comments from Mr. Poland? Uh next up, our principal from the Pines, our newest principal, Mr. Bulis. Welcome, [Applause] Scott. I I don't know if Mr.
024Colin prepped you or not. >> My gut says he didn't on this. We have a tradition when it's your first year doing this, you need to go around the deis and say one nice thing about every board member, starting with Mr. Kylie. >> You guys look fantastic. A lot of blue up there. Anyway, uh please welcome and uh have at it. All right. Well, thank you. Uh, I swear I started with a very articulate, wellplanned out set of notes that has been ravaged by my two colleagues with, uh, the kind words that they've said because I I I I echo all of it. Um, just start by just saying my my summer started. Um, before July 1st, we did a retreat on June 30th and I had the opportunity to meet um, the amazing admin
025team. And then starting on July 1st, I was greeted by the full main office staff and teachers were in in the building the first week of July in their classrooms. Um, so what I was taken back by that immediately was just the level of dedication that they have at the Pines and in HPOG. The rooms haven't been cleaned yet and teachers were trying to do their bulletin boards on July 7th or July 8th. It was really, really incredible. Um, you know, when joining the Pines, I sent out a a survey to our families and our community and and our teachers to get some feedback. And overwhelmingly, the most amazing thing that I kept seeing was Hot Dog's fantastic, Pines is a family. This is the greatest place you could ever land. And that has I
026that has not wavered since since I started here. And all the reasons I have on this list just go back to support that. Um, when the students came in our building, we started our first day with what what we called like a welcome back to school block party. Our PTA had bubbles and balloons. There were teachers singing on the microphone and dancing. Uh, it was basically a party outside of Pines Elementary and our kids came in super excited. I was uh able to speak to parent volunteers who were wearing um student helper vests. It really was an environment that was for kids and that that's how we started our school year. Um, before that even happened, our custodial team put in hours and hours of work. The bathrooms look phenomenal. The parking lot is is
027incredible with our additional spaces. But what what really uh interested me was how our custodial staff was there on the weekend before over that Labor Day weekend making sure that everything was and spam for our kids cuz those bathrooms got done in like the 23rd hour and the dust hadn't settled. And even on the first day of school, our custodian was going down every railing to make sure that every speck of dust was cleaned up. And it really was that level of dedication to start the school year. Um, as I said, we have those two new bathrooms. We have a nice parking lot. Thank you. That really helped. Uh, as we now have enough spots for our staff, so there's little to no parking on curbs sometimes on the grass, but mostly everyone has a
028spot and our staff really really appreciates that. Um, just the ease of coming in and out every day. So, thank you. As the school year started, we had our open school night. We're had an opportunity to get to each and every classroom. And as our parents left, they routinely said, "This is going to be a great year." And it was because of the teachers. They mentioned teacher by teacher um by name as they walked out saying how great they are and how fantastic they are, how fantastic they are, and how prepared their kids are for the next year. Um three of which are here today. So, I just want to thank them by name. We have three staff members that start were hired the week before school started. Uh, and you would never know when
029you walked in their room on the first day of school. So, I want to thank Nicole, Emily, and Brooke who are here tonight. Thank you. Can you give them a round of applause? All three have been absolutely fantastic and and you would never know the pressure that may have they may have felt uh jumping into the school the week before, but they have done a fantastic job into the pine. So, again, thank you. Um, lastly, I just want to thank the the board of education and district office um for all the support you've given the first couple weeks. I I can't tell you how many um people have stopped by from either district office or our admin team, the text messages from from our administrative team just checking in and seeing how the Pines is
030doing, seeing how mom doing, seeing how the new staff is doing. Um, it really is a supportive environment and our kids are going to benefit from that. So, thank you. Thank you. Comments report concerning the pines. Question or comments from the community for Mr. Bis concerning the pines. Thank you. 5C on the agenda is the adoption of minutes from the business meeting of the board of education uh of August 19th, 2025. I'll make a motion. Mr. Sco second. Any discussion? Seeing none, all those in favor? 701. Mr. Pascarino obstaining. Number six on the agenda. Questions or comments uh from the community on tonight's agenda only? Next is our consent agenda. Are there any items that uh board members would like to have removed? Uh I will remove uh as I did earlier 7.1A is now
031going to be relabeled 11B and put at the end of the agenda. 7.1D is uh the parental request for transportation will be severed and voted on separately. 7.2A 2 A2 uh appointment to tenure will be severed and voted on separately. 7.2 B2 uh will be severed from the executive session and voted on separately and 7.1 B will also be severed and uh voted on separately. Are there any other items that members would like to have removed other than those that I've removed? Uh, with that, I'll take a motion to um approve the consent agenda less those items that have been removed for independent vote. U Thank you, Mr. Scredo with the motion. I'll second. All those in favor 70. Okay. 7 um 1D is a resolution concerning a parental request for transportation. I'm just going
032to read the resolution into the record and then ask the board to vote on it. Whereas on July 30th, 2025, a parent submitted to the Hop Hug Union Free School District a request for transport transportation for the parents child to and from a non-public school for the 2025 2026 school year. And whereas the parents submitted documentation and other evidence to the board of education asking the board to consider the parents late request for transportation for the parents child. It is hereby resolved that the board of education approves the parents request for transportation and authorizes the relevant district officials to authorize the transportation of the parent child to and from the non-public school for the 2025 2026 school year. I will make the motion. Uh Mr. Scrio seconds. All those in favor of adopting the resolution
03370.1 uh I'm sorry 7.2 B2 change of employment status um concerning Christopher DSO um I remove that matter. Do I have a motion? >> Thank you Mr. Scrio. Do I have a second? Thank you Mr. Michaels. Any discussion? All those in favor? Opposed? Abstensions. 601. Mr. Barstaining. 7.1 B is um now I'll turn this over to Dr. Murphy. B [Music] So I'm gonna I'm going to speak first about two other matters. Uh >> okay. >> So we we'll we'll come back to that 7.2 A2 uh change of employment status uh appointment to tenure. 7.282 appointment to tenure concerning Rebecca Bilski. Do I have a motion? >> Thank you, Mrs. Scrio. I will second. Any discussion? All those in favor? >> 70. Miss Bilski. [Applause] 7 uh 7.2A appointment to tenure concerning Gary Campanelli. Do I
034have a motion? >> Thank you, Mr. Scredo. I will second any discussion. All those in favor 70.2 [Applause] 2 A2 appointment to tenure of Ms. Bridget Sienna. Do I have a motion? >> Thank you, Mr. Scredo. I will second. Any discussion? All those in favor? 70. [Applause] >> So, I'm just going to say a couple words here. I'll start with you since I couldn't find you in the crowd at first. Um so congratulations to all three of you. Gary um from the heart you have uh proven yourself to be such a tremendous colleague. You have led our our efforts with anti-bullying. You are on college trips. You're leading so many nights for our parents uh that are informational sessions. you with your guidance counselor team. Um, and you're an annoyingly good bowler, which is frustrating
035at our admin retreats. And you're good at other things. We don't have to go into the whole resume. Uh, but truly, you have won the crowd here, and it is such a uh, and you're such an asset to the district. So, congratulations. I'm glad to see you here with your with your crew. [Applause] Uh, let's go over here. Bridge, who's here? Anybody here in the crowd? >> Yes. [Applause] So, um, Bridge has, um, a very distinctive laugh. And, um, at some point I made a reference, not everyone will know this reference, to Edith Bunker. Um, and when I call her, what do you say? >> Hello. [Music] And I say, "Hi, Edith." So, I share that anecdote because um many times in that position, it's we call her the banker. It's numbers. It's not it's
036not always work that is obvious to the rest of the honestly the community how it impacts every day our our kids and you bring this levity and this humanity to the role. You laugh at yourself. You always were up for my shenanigans about how we're going to dress up for Halloween and St. Patrick's Day and everything else. Um, but it's that sense of humor that I think is the the the most identifiable trait in addition to your expertise and your care. All of us know you'd run through a wall for Hop Hawk and it is uh it doesn't go unnoticed and I'm so happy uh and thank the board for approving your tenure tonight. Many years to go and then Dr. Bilski who um the background story here is this is the first time that
037Dr. Bilski has received tenure even though she's been in the district for 27 years. I think it is she's been in the district since 20 19. So the reason that is the case is because I kept uh with the board's approval uh promoting and changing our title and that like reset the tenure. Um, so to the point where um Taz is uh was making jokes as recently as the other day like, "Have you considered maybe updating your title?" Uh, one last time, let's put this off. Um, goes without saying that uh the care that you bring to the role uh as director of Oh, director. See, even I forgot that had that title. Um, assistant soup for PPS. Um, our our neediest students are always benefiting from your work. You truly lead with your heart.
038Um, I'm so glad you also shared with me your MySpace and Pelaton name, Beckar, which I call her often. Uh, we have nicknames for each other around here. Beckar, what was the real Beckar 83? >> Yeah. >> Okay. See, I remember. Um, so again, the theme of of having a little fun back here, it's we're able to have fun because we know that we're connected. We lock arms with uh with each other about doing what's best for kids and you have proven that time and time again. Um, such an asset to Hot Pog and I'm so happy uh your your crew here tonight as well. >> Big big wave in the back. The boys, Billsky boys, congratulations backstar. [Applause] 7 um 1B is a resolution that I'll read uh into the record concerning uh the
039naming of our soccer field. Be it resolved that upon recommendation of the superintendent of schools of the Hawog Union 3 school district that the district formally names the varsity soccer field located at Hopog Middle School as the John Rafini soccer field. I will make the motion Mr. Scredo seconds. Discussion. Dr. Murphy. >> So, um I had the distinct honor uh to be on a Zoom call um last week. Uh the reason for that Zoom call is we had received multiple requests and um recommendations uh from alumni from um uh former athletic director Taz Joe Tasman who's here, current athletic athletic director Dan Butler um to uh rename the field in honor of Coach Ruff. Uh, and so I'm on this Zoom call that Taz helped to put together and he had invited um just a
040bunch of uh Russ's former players. Um, and I just have to say when I when I got on the Zoom call, those of you who have been on Zooms, you see all the little thumbnails and the amount of participants was extraordinary on short notice. um to the point where you have little one day one two where you have to hit the hour to go to another screen to see everybody who's really on that call. Um so um as I shared with him that night I again Taz um really orchestrated this and uh it was kind of a no-brainer for me to ask the board to consider this recommendation. Um, I asked for a few stats here, so I'm just going to read them off uh for for John Rafini. 33-year coaching career, 1971 to 2004.
04113 league championships, three Suffach County Championships, two Long Island Championships, 10 time League Coach of the Year, twotime Suffach County Coach of the Year, 362 career wins, which is still he retired in 2004. That 362 is fourth most in Suffach County history. So, it goes without saying that um the legacy that you have left, coach, is just undeniable. The love uh of your players was evident. Uh at some point um we got through Taz's technical difficulties and uh we asked all of his players to unmute and and in a chorus they were just uh commending and thanking and appreciating their beloved coach. You know many of his former players my age perhaps older younger it was just tremendous. So, uh, the endorsement to the board is we believe name in the field and coach Rafiti's
042honor will serve as a lasting tribute to his le legacy and dedication to Hop Hawk students, athletics, and the entire community. Joe, do you want to add anything to my remarks? >> Uh, thank you, Dr. Murphy. Amazing job. I just wanted to say that I have the privilege of working alongside you, John, um, and with you. And I've never experienced a coach who's been loved more by his players than you. And uh this is an incredible honor and welld deserved. And I want to thank the board and Dr. Murphy for for making this happen for you. Thank you. >> And a quick quick vote of the board. The varsity soccer field located at the Hop Hog Middle School will here and after be called and named the John Rafini soccer field. All those in favor?
043I 70. Congratulations, coach. [Laughter] >> Nothing. Oh. Oh boy. >> Oh boy. >> The board of education, the superintendent, the assistant superintendent, Mr. Tasman. Can you hear me? It's a little personal at this point. I'd like to thank my three field. I don't know who they are. I think it's three. And I'd like to thank the Hop community and most importantly the field may be named after me. I was going to call it myself. I don't call it the field of champions. I've had somewhere between 350 and 400 boys today for me. And it's because of them, not me, that there were 14 250 just whatever amount number I had. I thank the boys of the community and the parents of the community for letting me coach here for 33 years. I thank you all.
044[Applause] So before we go on to the rest of the meeting, we'll take a break of about uh 10 minutes to um Yeah. After Don Dr. Murphy uh speaks. We'll take a 10-minute break. >> Just very quickly, um if if I know we have three newbies in the crowd because uh Mr. Bullis mentioned them, please please stand. If you were Yes. If you were on the agenda tonight as a new hire, if anyone else is in the crowd who was part of 71, please stand as well. I just want to say congratulations. I think you heard tonight and you're seeing what a tremendous district that you have uh joined and uh I wish you nothing but success and to be part of our family for many many years to come. So congratulations and our meeting
045will reconvene at 10 after 9 exactly. [Music] Thank you. live. Yeah. Yeah. >> Welcome back. >> Eight on the agenda are um policies. There aren't none tonight. Nine, committee reports. Uh we ran a little late, so we'll skip those tonight. And put them on our next business meeting agenda. Number 10 on the agenda are discussion matters. We have them tonight. 11 is new business. Do any board members have new business they'd like to discuss? Mr. Scredo, >> I just also want to make sure we thank the security guards and all the um crossing guards as well, school guarded. Any other new business? Does administration have any new business? >> We do not. >> Thank you. Uh 11A on the agenda is presentation 20 2526 strategic plan presented by Dr. Murphy uh our superintendent of schools.
046This was previously on the agenda as 5B A and it's reumbered 11A. Dr. Murphy. >> Yeah, thank you. This is more of a of an overview and just a thank you to the community and to the board. Um uh we have uh called this plan hop hog 2030. This is a 5-year strategic plan and so it lines up nicely um with uh you know the even number year 2030. Uh just as a little bit of context, a little refresh, um we've been working at it for over a year uh to develop a strategic plan that will serve as kind of our north star for the work ahead of us this year and the years to follow leading up to uh the 2930 school year. Um so it's a it's a five-year plan. We had met
047with the board in the retreat. I want to thank the board for your feedback. Um and really that last step was to uh provide any changes and modifications to really was what was the collective work of the entire community. We had sent out a uh a thought exchange survey and just to uh reiterate what what that achieved uh that's not a traditional um survey. it it amplifies those thoughts that are the most popular amongst the community. So, it's a way of really crowdsourcing. So, the strategic plan committee um after tonight we'll get a a nice thank you message. We had come together after that initial survey. Looked at all of the uh the thoughts right the ideas the feedback from our community and then we we unpacked that during uh a session where uh we
048had board members in attendance. In addition to that, we had a a board member only um meeting uh happened um where we took a fresh look at our mission statement, our vision statement and also provided feedback. So this has been um really a a collaborative effort amongst led by the board and um backed by the community. Uh and when we had the strategic plan committee together, it really gosh, it was north of 70 individuals from all different roles, the board of course, but PTA, teachers, um TAs, custodians, security, us. So, it was uh a a really community effort. Um just to point out a few highlights, the entire plan will be uh on our website and we will share it a few different ways. I will be coming back to the board throughout the year
049to provide updates on our progress. Um, there we go. So, I'm just going to fast forward here. Right. Much of the plan has type that on a smartboard is not something we can easily read or decipher. But the first two pages are a table of contents and an overview of what a strategic plan is. I just wanted to highlight this particular uh slide which is uh our new core values which you can see up there with the the you know we wherever possible we're branding so you see the eagles acronym that captures the values of our community uh I will not read this out loud you can see it there but you're also going to see an updated m mission and vision statement again thanks to the board which helps to kind of guide our
050efforts. These these are these are not just um kind of check the box items for us. These are um these are uh documents that will uh guide everything that we do. So from here I work with the admin team. our principles will integrate, you know, our values and our mission and vision in the documents that they have and we will begin to live this document out loud. From there, just to kind of highlight this slide and gosh, I am blind, but I I'll I'll speak to this. So, there's three board priority areas from this collective work. Again, um when you read the three areas there, it kind of captures the spirit of our d of our district, student experience, academic excellence, and community and operations. Within each of those three buckets are three um focus
051areas for myself. So, nine total. What happens on the uh the pages after this is a deep dive into each one of those uh focus areas. So uh there are four per focus area. So 12 per board priorities. So 36 alto together. So we have 36 objectives that is guiding our work this year for the administrative team. And not to get too in the weeds, but we basically then take those 36 and we map them to our own collective uh action plans as admin as an administrative team. So you can see the the different focus areas up there for myself. In the following pages of the plan, it gets a bit more indepth about um what we're talking about here. But again, just big picture, uh, when it comes to student experience, we're talking about
052creating safe, supportive, enriching environments for our kids. Academic excellence is everything from supports for our kids to advanced learning opportunities to career pathways. And then community operations, which again, feedback from the board was was how do we capture all of the great work that's going on already on our campus uh at our buildings, modernizing our facilities with some of the feedback received about, you know, communication with the community, continuing to build upon that trust. Um, and then also about staff morale and collaboration. in terms of you know preparing our kids for the future. We we talk about what are the skills and um dispositions that students need for success in college careers. Many of our kids own their own business from here and of course we even are honored to have kids uh students who
053move on to the military. Uh we have a focus in here on on again as as uh amplified in our values on on critical thinking on resilience on adaptability um and all of this in what every year is a rapidly changing world. And then we talk about um commitment to offering multiple pathways for our kids uh and expanding opportunities. Um we see this represented in our course catalog. you see this at the high school. U you know, it it's almost um it's it's mindboggling. you can walk out on the field and see the dirt piles and the pickle ball courts and the tennis courts and the track. And then you walk in the building and there's work happening um you know within the high school right now with our new innovation lab where we're soon
054going to have stock tickers up uh for our kids who are uh going to have what amounts to almost like a Wall Street experience. It's it's just going to be incredible. And this is on the heels of the STEM lab which the board spearheaded a couple years back which has incredible equipment and opportunities for our kids. um again reflective of how our students are leaving us and um happy to report many of them and I'm I'm getting these you know I just even today got data from Boseis how their their HVAC program their automotive science program um all of all of these kind of vocational paths are exploding which I think we all know is so important right especially on Long Island um to have kids who are pursuing these different careers. Um, but we're
055also looking at, you know, expanding our AP, our IB, our CTE, the arts, athletics, service learning. All of this is is happening. Um, and again will be captured within is captured within this plan in terms of our focus, but will be um also shared with the evidence uh of our success and and our updates. Um, and the last thing is just about uh the student experience, making sure that everything we do is with an eye on engagement and um extracurricular activity. We we've had a a uh a district charge. Every day counts to uh focus on having our kids at school. Chronic absenteeism is a challenge everywhere. Uh but we were able to prove again hats off to my colleagues here Tim Rebecca um you know our efforts with uh our chronic absenteeism approach where
056we're taking a positive approach with our community to get kids who are chronically absent to come to school but also proving that the more kids are involved in clubs and on on athletic teams uh the more likely they are to come to school. This board has always always been supportive of uh you know uh agenda items that may have a cost but mean that kids have uh you know specialized opportunities that they may not have in other districts. Um, always, you know, Brian and I talked about this tonight and I um I led with that uh in in in my remarks to the town board that most of all our goal is to create a safe and supportive environment for our kids. And so that's my duty, that's my responsibility so that is uh woven
057within the plan as well so that kids can take risks and grow and thrive. And then how do we continue to to capitalize uh on the um you know the incredible community that is hop uh the HIA and beyond? How do we give kids you know you know how how do we create internship possibilities? Um how do we leverage the you know HIA and beyond? um you know what what does Hop Hog 2030 look like as we continue to build our our campus brand and make this as I like always like to say almost like a mini college campus. Uh last note on this you know the energy is is just there. Um the strategic plan helps to kind of guide our work again our north star. But um one thing I didn't mention in
058my opening comments was that the senior sunrise breakfast was the most well attended breakfast we've had in years. Um I see Hannah nodding over there. Um just in and it's great to see our senior class kind of leading by example and and so um that resonates with with you know the juniors and sophomores, the freshman and beyond. So there is this appetite in hot pog. I know the board knows this or or you wouldn't sacrifice your time and be here but the community is is primed for more and I think you know cliche stealing a line from Field of Dreams if you build it they will come. Um we're the heart of the community and so as we continue to kind of dream and the board helps to kind of fulfill those dreams I think
059we're going to see the fruits of our labor for years to come. So bottom line is I don't want to just talk about it. I will be back to present to the board to kind of share how um this strategic plan has been operationalized and and how it's paying dividends for our kids and our community. Um so thank you. >> Thank you Dr. Murphy. 11 uh B on the agenda was formerly 7.1A which is the adoption of the strategic plan. I'll make a motion Mr. Scrio seconds. Any discussion? All those in favor? 70. Questions and comments from the community concerning anything related to the district whatsoever? With that, I'll take a motion for an adjournment. Uh, our next meeting is scheduled for October 14th, 2025. I'll make the motion for the adjournment. Mr. Scrio seconds.
060Any discussion? All those in favor? 70. We are adjourned. God bless. God bless Hop Hug and God bless the United States. Thank you. >> Thank you. Have a good night, everybody.