Yorktown CSD Board of Education Meeting – June 16, 2025

001All right. Um, good evening. Welcome to the Yorktown Central School District Board of Education meeting for June 16, 2025. Can I have a motion to go into executive session to discuss the employment history and personnel history of the superintendent, the employment history of particular pedagogical and non-pedagical employees and matters made confidential in the family educational rights and privacy act. So move. Second. All those in favor? I oppose. Thank you. Can I have a motion to go back into public session? Some move. Second. All those in favor? I oppose. Good evening everyone. Welcome to the Yorktown Central School District Board of Education meeting for June 16th, 2025. Quickly stand for the pledge of allegiance which will be followed by a moment of silence for our armed forces and those in our community that have lost loved

002ones, especially the father of Francis Francisco Garcia. I pledge algiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. I'm going to ask the board for a point of order. So move. Second. All those in favor? I I would like to bring up an item on the agenda for the exeicio board appointments. Ron, do you want to discuss this before we do the um Yes. motion? Yes, absolutely. Good evening, everyone. So, we have a special night ahead of us for so many reasons. One thing that I'd like to just lead with is as a result of new legislation, school districts will be appointing student exeicio student members to the board of education. So, we went through a very rigorous process.

003Students applied to be part of our board of education. And there was a pretty intensive interview process and that process I want to extend my thanks to the high school superintendent student council because that group led the interview process and did such a great job in making two recommendations to me. Both students are here tonight. So for the first time in our school's history, we will have students as part of our board of education beginning next school year. So, what a great way to introduce student voice to our district's board of education. So, at this time, I'd like to There was a student who was appointed and there is an alternate student who a student who was appointed as an alternate. So, the student who was appointed to our board of education is Yorktown High

004School junior Hunter Mazatesta. Hunter, come on up. I'd also I'd also like to invite up the student who was selected as the alternate Luke Evangelista. [Applause] So, good evening everybody. Thank you. I'm honored to be a part of the school board and to be the student voice for all students across all grade levels in Yorktown School District. And everyone needs representation and view on many different subjects and I'm here to be that view. Thank you. Hey, I'm Luke Evangelista. I'm going to be the alternate exeicio member. I'm so excited to be able to learn from the board and Hunter and really develop to hopefully fulfill the role in the future. And I'm really excited to also provide a voice and really connect the students to the board of education and deepen the connection between both

005sides. Thank you. You're welcome. Welcome aboard. Welcome. So, let's make this official. Resolved based upon the recommendation of the superintendent of schools, the board of education here boy hereby appoints Hunter Mesatesta to serve as an exeicio member of the board of education for the 2526 school year. Subject to the requirements of district policy 2245 and be a further resolve that based upon the recommendation of the superintendent of schools. The board of education hereby appoints Luke Evangelista to serve as an alternate exeicio board member of the board of education for the 202526 school year subject to the requirements of district policy 2245. So move second. All those in favor? I opposed. Welcome. Thank you. Now, Hunter and Luke are in the middle of final exam week. So, Hunter and Luke, if you guys head out early,

006have a great night. We will see you back here where you'll be sitting on the deis with the board of education representing students. And what I'll share is what came through in Hunter and Luke's application is just such a deep love for our school district and such a deep fondness and respect for our school district. And that came through during the interview process. We look forward to welcoming you to our board. Congratulations to you both. So, good to members of our board of education, my colleagues from district office, and from each of our schools. It's wonderful to see you this evening to celebrate some really, really special professionals in our district. I would also and especially like to welcome our retirees, our anniversary celebrants, and their families and friends who have joined us this evening.

007To begin this evening's celebration, I'm calling upon our middle school chamber orchestra directed by the incredibly talented Janet Morrison to perform a musical selection for you to enjoy. This is one of my favorites. So, Miss Morrison, I turn it over to you. [Music] Hallelujah. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Down worth. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Applause] [Music] Wow. Wow. That is some way to get the night started. That was absolutely incredible. Absolutely incredible. to to think that that was a middle school orchestra performing. It's hard to imagine that that wasn't a high school orchestra performing. So, just one more round of applause for our middle school students. I bet about two notes in you recognize the song almost immediately. Um, this is a it's a special night, but it's also a difficult night for me because I'm looking

008at some of the faces in the audience of our retirees and you were the ones who welcomed me when I arrived here eight years ago and it just felt like we created with with so many of you, it felt like we created such a special relationship and such a special connection. And so, I wrote some notes. I'm going to read them because I don't want to stray too far from what I prepared. I usually don't read notes, but there's there's a family atmosphere certainly within each of the buildings and you can see the way the schools sit how we kind of sit almost by school and and it's wonderful to see that camaraderie, that friendship, that that family style just feeling and and I always say that Yorktown's different. It's just different here. And for

009people who work in other school districts, who maybe you have friends who work in other school districts, uh my wife works in another school district. I think you'll hear that often. It's different here. Yes, we can always do better. Yes, there are areas that we need to work on and improve upon, but it's just different here. And it's different here because of all of you. And a small piece of that is saying goodbye to us on June 30th. but maybe you'll come back and I'm going to give you my sales pitch in a little bit. Uh, but we're celebrating the extraordinary careers of some of the most talented professionals in the region. They've devoted so many years of service to our school district and to the children of Yorktown. Whether you're marking 20, 25 years,

01030 years, or yes, even 40 years in our school district or entering into retirement. Your contributions to our school community have shaped the educational experiences of so many children and have helped build the strong foundation upon which our our district continues to grow. Within each milestone year, it's easy to say 30 years. It's easy for me to stand up here and say 25, 30, 40 years. But there are so many small moments within each of those years that have been defining not only in your careers, but in the lives of the students that we serve. From guiding young learners in the classroom to supporting essential operations behind the scenes, your efforts have made a lasting impact on the lives of students, families, and your colleagues. Your dedication exemplifies the spirit of excellence and care that

011our district strives to uphold each day. On behalf of our board of education and our administration, I express our deepest gratitude for your many years of commitment and service. Your integrity, passion, and relentless pursuit of excellence for our students inspires us all. And we are so proud to celebrate you tonight. We're going to Before I do that, I just want to take a moment to acknowledge the family members in the audience. This is not an easy job. You take this home with you. You're so invested. Our teachers, our staff, our custodians are so invested in their work that they bring this home with them night in and night out for 20, 25, 30, 40 years. Report card time. I know what an elementary school dining room table looks like at the middle school level. You

012have to be so attuned because they're children, but they're going into adulthood as well, high school level. There are just so many different types of challenges that you face and that you share with your students. You are so invested. So to the family members here, thank you for sharing your loved ones with us. We appreciate the time that we had with them. I'm going to make a sales pitch later to uh try to keep them coming back, keep our retirees to come back. And I I see the family members saying no in the audience as well. You're not coming back. Uh but I just thank you to the families in the room because we recognize that you exper you live with this too. you live with the daily experiences that your loved ones have. So,

013I just want to take a moment for those celebrating an anniversary, for our our staff, and for those retiring, if you can just give your families a round of applause, I would appreciate that. It's welld deserved. We're going to move in to the anniversary celebration this evening and I'm going to ask my dear friend, our PTSA president, Lisa Bulo and and Lori Kasaga to please come up to the stage. They prepared just a very kind gift for you. And so as you come up to the stage, I'd like to be able to take a group photo. Brian's in front. We'd like to recognize this moment with a photo and then we'll ask you to greet the board as well. The board would like to thank you for your service as well. So, I will call

014you up by school. In some schools, there's only one person celebrating the milestone anniversary. In other schools, there are upwards of nine people celebrating the milestone anniversary. But we always begin or I always begin with our youngest schools and we move forward. So, we'll begin with Brookside School. I'd like to invite Anna Serbone to the to the stage celebrating 20 years of service to our school district. [Applause] Thank you. This time I'd like to recognize our colleagues from Mohansik School who are celebrating their 20th anniversary. I'll ask Ernie Debecia and Val Murphy to come up to the stage. Congratulations. our colleagues from Krompon School who are celebrating their 20th anniversary in our district. Jim Flanigan, Francisco's not here unfortunately. He had a passing as you heard during our moment of silence. And Joanne Benditi, please

015come on up. Congratulations. That's it. Thank you. We have several colleagues from Mildred East Middle School celebrating their 20th anniversary in our district. I'd like to invite to the stage Mr. Christy Pasqual, Lisa Epstein, Danielle Sanuli Moore, Theresa Favenburgger, Michael Sika, Joanne Silverman, and Deborah Tosso. [Applause] Oh, we have to get a picture before. Congratulations. Thank you. Congratulations. I know. Like your hair this long. A Thank you so much, Lisa. Congratulations. Thank you. Woo! [Applause] Our high school colleague celebrating 20 years. I know Mr. Kavalik was not able to be here. Uh, Diane Pascita [Applause] 20 years. Thank you. And now we move into 25 years of service. I'd like to invite the following Brookside colleagues to the stage. Kelly Debecia, Mora Schnecka, Schnecker, and Jennifer Stout. [Applause] All right, Thank you so much. And

016for our colleagues at Mohansik School celebrating 25 years, I'd like to invite to the stage Miss Jan Banks and Lauren Rander. [Applause] Congratulations. [Applause] Congratulations. Thank you. our 25 year anniversary celebrants at Krompon School. I'd like to invite Linda Arco, Megan Caligris, Joe Longabardi, and Dave Zyler to the stage. [Applause] Congratulations. Thank you. Congratulations. At Mildred East String Middle School, we have several colleagues who are celebrating their 25th anniversary in our school district. I'd like to invite at this time to the stage Maline Campbell, Shan Carney, Veronica Hildinger, Karen Ljudis, Rose Milan, Michelle Monaco, and Lisa Mela Nansen. [Applause] Woo! Woo! [Applause] [Music] Thank you. Thank you. Congratulations. Congratulations. Oh, congratulations for you. Congratulations. Thank you. Congratulations. Congratulations to our colleagues at Yorktown High School who are celebrating 25 years in our district. I'd like

017to invite to the stage uh Geraldine Mat Broccoli Matthews, Sam Contras, Gus Egan, Brian Fritz, Michelle Harris, Erica Kn, Dan Lopez, Mike Rasigno, Tim Sullivan, and Steve Viri. Heat. [Applause] Heat. [Applause] Thank you. [Applause] Congratulations. Thank you. Congratulations. And now we move on to 30 years in our school district. And to celebrate 30 years, we only have one at Brookside and it's Mike Vote. Mike, come on up. [Applause] Congratulations. So this year we don't have any colleagues at Mohansik who are celebrating their 30th anniversary, but I'd like to move to Crown Pond and invite Miss Ellen Winer to the stage. [Applause] [Music] [Applause] Get that hand. I just want to take a moment to acknowledge Rabbi Robbie Winer in the back who is a dear friend of mine. and Joshua. Hey Joshua, I'd like to

018bring you everywhere with me. Rabbi, our colleagues at Milred East Strength Middle School celebrating their 30th anniversary in our school district. I'd like to invite to the stage Miss Laura Bran, Carrie Andelia Angelo, Liz D, Liz Kennedy, and Gary Kit. [Applause] What did she [Applause] Congratulations. Remember that part when I said it's different here? It it I think it's just different here. You can sense the love, the family, and just the appreciation from colleagues and families. So, so terrific. So terrific. We're going to move on to our 30-year anniversary celebrants at Yorktown High School. I'd like to invite Rich Armstrong and Jenna Strav to the stage. [Applause] There he is. Congratulations. [Applause] Congratulations. We have a 30-year anniversary celebrant from our operations and maintenance department and that's Adam Smith. But Adam is not able to

019be here this evening, but we certainly commend him and congratulate him on 30 years in our district. [Applause] And we have no 35 year anniversary celebrants, but we do have one 40-year anniversary here. So, at this time, I'd like to invite Eddie Frederick to perform. Heat [Applause] up here. [Applause] And I know the sign says French Hill, but truth is Eddie's worked in every building over 40 years. Eddie's worked in every building in our district, and he's done a great job. We're going to move into the retiree recognition portion of our evening. And I know there are a lot of things that our retirees are going to miss about Yorktown. I know one thing they won't miss is that five o'clock in the morning call that they get from me that is either welcomed or

020or unwelcomed or I wish you would have made that call last night the night before so that I could have enjoyed the uh the snow day leading in. Um but I think what you'll miss is the smile that a child gives you when they see you each day or that moment in their eyes when they have that breakthrough in their learning. That's so special and over your careers you've experienced that. Maybe it's the gratitude that students share with you for being one part of their educational journey. There are so many joys that come from working in this most noble profession. And those joys have the magical ability to remind us of all that's right in the world and all that's right in education. We are the better for having had you as part of our

021district, for having you as part of our family. And yes, our PTSA has generously, very generously pro provided gifts for you. I provided a small gift for you as well. There's two things in there. There's an E steam mug because I had some leftover. But it's to in truth, it's to remind you. It's it's to remind you of this thing that we've built. E Steam doesn't happen. It's now a nationally recognized. We've had educational ministries from all over the world come to visit Yorktown to learn about this idea called ES scheme. It's because of you. You did this in the classrooms. Regardless of what content area you teach or what grade level you teach, you contributed to building this wonderful district. So, there's an ETE mug. May that be a constant reminder of the work

022that you built. And then there's a magnet for next year's school year. So, partly joking, partly not. I put the magnet in each of your bags. In some cases, you'll look at the calendar and you'll laugh at those of us maybe who have to show up on the day after a holiday or the day after a break as you're enjoying a cup of coffee from your east mug. Or maybe you look at that calendar and you say, "School's in session. I'm going to go back and check in with my colleagues." I hope it's for the latter. We one of the beautiful things in recent years is we've had so many retirees come back and they've come back and they've worked in different offices, different administrative capacities. Once you're part of this family, yes, you're retiring,

023but you're always part of the Yorktown family. And that's not going to change just because you've entered into retirement. So, I hope you look at that magnet. Yes, you can get a few laughs in on that first day of school, September 2nd. But after that, I hope I hope you'll look at it and say, "Okay, I'm going to come back and visit." You'll know exactly when we're in session because you'll have that magnet. While so many things have changed throughout your career, the one constant for all of you is that you've done right by children. You've always placed students first. Yes, we've complied with mandates. Some of those mandates didn't make a whole lot of sense, but we did everything we needed to do to serve our students. I am so grateful to each of

024you for being part of our excellent school district. And at this time, what I'm going to do is I will introduce the retirees one by one. And we for those who are joining us for the first time who aren't familiar with the program that we that we run here this evening, we invite a speaker up to speak on the retirees behalf. In some cases, it's one person, in some cases it's an entire department of of speakers who will come up, but there are just some heartfelt sentiments that someone will share about a speaker about one of the retirees. So to begin this evening's retiree recognition, I'd like to invite Nicole Cassiopo and Annie Catalano to present retiree Carol Fiori. Carol, come on up. [Applause] Is Carol here? Carol, come on up. We're here for you.

025Oh, good evening everyone. We are so honored to be up here to speak on behalf of Carol Fiori. Carol has worked in the district for the past 21 years. She has dedicated herself on so many levels to the students here in Yorktown. During her many years here, she has worked amongst many of us throughout the district. Her career at Yorktown has included nine years at Mohanic, five years at Krampond, and seven years at Brookside. Within Yorktown, she has worked as a one-to-one classroom CTA and in the health office, helping students in many different facets. For the last two years, we have had the pleasure of working alongside Carol in the health office. We have shared countless laughs, cared for many students together, and truly became like family. Carol has the kindest heart. She is always

026there to help others and does it with a smile on her face. It has truly been a gift to work alongside you and what has only been two years feels like a decade. You entered the health office and quickly acclimated to the task at hand and did so with such organization, effectiveness, and kindness. We are so excited for you as you enter this next chapter of your life. You will truly be missed. We love you. [Applause] Thank you so much. At this time, I'd like to invite Nancy Bari to the stage. And to recognize Nancy, I'd like to call up Jen McCartney, Liz Uenzo, Liz Dorenzo, Liz Martin, Jen Chen, Susie Gaggliardi, Erica Giorgio, Pam Trillis, and Kevin Cotch. [Applause] Good evening. We are here tonight to celebrate and say farewell to Nancy Ferrari, a

027truly dedicated special ed education teacher who's retiring from Mohansk. When I started at Mohansik 22 years ago, our department was only four people. Val, Nancy, Liz, and myself. Look at us now. How we have grown under your leadership and direction, Nancy. We have flourished and developed into a fabulous team. I hope that Liz and I, the last of the original four, can carry the torch that you now leave behind. I cherish our friendship and sisterhood, you know, since the kids all think we're related, and look forward to hearing about your next chapter in North Carolina. Congratulations on your retirement. [Applause] Nancy, you and I started working at Mohansick the same year, 1998, before some of our colleagues were born. I remember riding the school bus with you. Remember the new staff orientation and we had

028to go on the school bus together and we both lived in lower Westchester and we were like, where are we? We had no idea where we were. And now almost 30 years later, Yorktown is our second home. And Mohansik is and always will be part of our family. So congratulations, my friend. Enjoy every minute of your retirement. [Applause] Nancy, I wrote you a poem. In the quiet classroom light, she's been teaching with passion, making everything right. Third grade ICT, her heart always on the line. Specialed TC, her love will forever shine. Devoted co-orker, always there with a smile, supporting her students, going that extra mile. Years of commitment, compassion so bright. Her legacy sparkling pure teaching delight. She's leaving behind more than just lessons learned. Her heart in each student of kindness and caring, a

029teacher show so rare. Nancy special ed journey is beyond compare. Congratulations. [Applause] A beautiful smile and a warm embrace greeted me on my very first day at Mohansick 3 years ago. Right at the top of the staircase as I stepped onto Friendly Way. Nancy, you told me that morning I would love it here and that you would always be there whenever I needed support. You are absolutely right on both accounts. Thank you for being that steadfast source of encouragement and help. No matter the time or day, you always answered and never once disappointed. You will be missed more than you know. Congratulations, [Applause] Nancy is kind, welcoming, and a wonderful friend. She is an amazing mentor to many, but especially to our special education department. In the short period of time that we work together,

030Nancy has taught me tricks of the trade that I will forever remember and will continue to utilize. Even through her retirement, she will impact the Yorktown community. Teachers will continue to use what she's taught us to help serve our students. Students will continue to share beautiful memories they've had and lessons they've learned in Miss Ferrari's classroom. How lucky we've all been to know and work with Nancy. [Applause] Nancy, as I made my way to becoming a special education teacher in Mohansik, you would always say, "Whatever you need, come see me." And believe me, I did. In these last two years, you were always welcomed me with any question, comment, and clarification with a smile. Thank you for guiding me when I was navigating a new reading intervention. Thank you for assisting me in writing an

031appropriate goal. And of course, thank you for always checking in with me and everyone during the annual review season. I will cherish every moment that we spent together both professionally and personally. Congratulations on your retirement. Nancy, you were the first special education teacher I met when I came to Mahanzik. And you taught me a very valuable lesson that first day on flexibility with one of your Nancyisms. Remember which one it is? Gumpy. Yeah. You got to be Gumpy. I thought I was flexible, but I was no Gumby. I hear your voice telling me that all the time. I want to thank you for making me a better teacher and for that important message and all the lessons you've taught me. Thank you. I'm working with your daughter these days. You know that, don't you? At

032this time, I'd like to invite retiree Linda Arco to the stage, who will be presented Linda will be presented by Caitlyn Rodman. Hello, my name is Kaitlin Rodman and I am in Mrs. McGro's class. Tonight I get to say something very special to someone who means a lot to all of us. Our amazing reading teacher, Mrs. Arco. My classmates and I have had a pleasure work of working with Mrs. Arco every day during the LA. She comes into our classroom during reading and helps our class become better readers and how to think about what we were reading about. Mrs. Arco is a very kind and helpful teacher. I remember once during reading I was doing a summary on a book and Mrs. Orco came over to my table to help me. I told her that

033I was confused and she sat next to me and helped me to so much to work through it. Right after I was finished with my summary, she looked it over and said it was excellent. I also enjoyed whenever my teacher stepped out for a second, Mrs. Arco made sure the class wasn't silent and would start to talk about what we are doing so we would make the most of reading time. Mrs. Arco helped our class a lot. For instance, she's the teacher in one of our book club groups and help and she helps them a lot. Not only does she help me in my class, but she also helps a lot of other kids, too. Mrs. Zarco has made a difference in my life and many by always having big ideas to make our work

034better and helping us become the best version of ourselves. When I heard that she was retiring, I was devastated. The next morning, when she came into our room for reading, I ran up to her and gave her a big hug. Mrs. Argo, I wish you good luck and happiness with your retirement. We're really going to miss you, but we're also so happy for you. Now you get to relax, read as many books as you want, and go on all kinds of adventures just like the ones you gave us. You will always be the best reading teacher in Cromp. [Applause] I'd like to welcome to the stage Kathleen Moldun and Kathleen Kathleen will be presented by Dylan Kirkpatrick. Yes. Today is a bittersweet day as we say goodbye to a truly exceptional teacher, Miss Maldun. Let

035me start with a little fun fact. My uncle Mike had Miss Maldoon her first year teaching at Quampine. And all these years later, in her final year of teaching, she had me. Being that I'm the one up here giving the speech, I think it goes without saying who her favorite compatri is. Miss Maldin's passion, knowledge, and positive energy has been contagious over the years. She has been able to engage a classroom full of students year after year for almost four decades. To me, her passion for math shines through. For example, I remember when Miss Maldun an amazing song to help us students who were struggling with math. The song was called make them fra make them fractions, a reference to make them laugh. It was a song that we could use to help us with

036difficult fraction work and more importantly, it would make us laugh. Her knowledge of each subject she teaches is endless. If someone was struggling with the subject, she would be more than willing to help. There have been m more than a few times that either myself or a classmate did not understand a homework assignment and went for to her for extra help. She was always willing to go over the problems to give us trouble and she could always give us more than one way to solve it. This crew up our confusions and we were able to do better on future assignments. Getting a group of fifth graders to try their best each and every day is never easy. Miss Maldun showed up every day ready to push us to the next level. She made us better

037mathematicians, readers, writers, historians, and scientists. For example, if she felt that we didn't do our best, she'd be honest, but also show us how to be a better writer. Lastly, Miss Molden has inspired us to never quit on a task when it seems too hard to accomplish. Having someone believe in you and push you has an impact on your dreams and makes you believe. Believe that you can accomplish anything you put your mind to. Thank you, Miss Maldun, for not just being an amazing teacher, but thank you for getting to know us. Your passion for teaching has helped us overcome our fears, problems, and mistakes. May your retirement be filled with sunny days, endless smiles, and may and may you make as many heartfelt memories in your retirement as you did here at Grump School.

038Thank you, Miss Maldoom, for your dedication to Harvard. We are grateful to you and we miss you dearly. [Applause] I taught his uncle in 1988. You guys are so [Applause] I'd like to now acknowledge and celebrate Miss Liz D'Angelus Kennedy who will be Presented by Isabella Usuzo, Liam Galatelli, and Dexter Sodto. Liz, please come on up. [Music] Good evening everyone. We are honored to speak for today for Miss Kennedy, a great science teacher. Today we are here to celebrate someone who has not only taught us about the wonders of science but has also left left a lasting impact on our hearts. Miss Kennedy. I remember most how Miss Kennedy was a very un understanding teacher and how she would help all the students. From the first time that we learned about planets, volcanoes, or atoms,

039you made every lesson come alive. What made you a truly special science teacher was showing everyone how much you care. You took the time to make every student feel seen. And your classroom was a place of growth, curiosity, and fun. One thing I specifically remember from my time in your classroom is when you set a table on fire with a match and then proceeded to touch the flames with your bare hands. Another memory was field trips and some fun experiments. In November, we went behind the school to a nearby stream. We examined macro invertebrates, even getting to catch and keep some crawfish and minnows. Then at the end of the year, we cracked open stones looking for crystals and such. We also went on a hike to Turkey Mountain, reaching the peak and coming back

040down. Miss Kennedy, you made our sixth grade year an enjoyable and exciting year with your amazing and interesting experiments. On our behalf, we'd like to wish you the very best of luck in your retirement. Last, always remember, team Oh, yeah. [Applause] [Music] [Applause] Congratulations. And staying with our middle school, like to recognize Kristen demo. [Applause] And to present Mr. Googlamama. I'd like to invite Jackie Petrov, Justin Petrov, and Sophia Vienni to the stage. [Applause] Good evening. My name is Jackie Petrov and I am a freshman at Yorktown High School. Miss D was my English teacher in seventh and in eighth grade. Miss D helped me be the person I am today. She made my confidence as a student go up and she pushed me knowing I could reach my highest goals. Having her for two

041years was the best because she got to know me really well. She always knew when something was up and made sure all her students were doing okay. Another thing I loved about her was her door was always open if I needed someone to talk to. I'll never forget Unity. [Applause] Hello, my name is Justin Petra and I am also a freshman at the high school. Mrs. D was al always really nice and made school fun. I liked how she helped me when I didn't understand something and never got frustrated with me. She always smiled and made everyone feel special. Thank you, Mrs. D, for all all you taught me. Is Sophia here? Sophia Vi. Oh, okay. No. Congratulations. Yes, absolutely. picture. [Applause] Congratulations. [Applause] [Music] [Applause] And continuing with our middle school, I'd like to

042recognize Moren Gallery and invite Moren to the stage to present Mrs. Gallery. I'd like to invite Joselyn Torres Mononttoya, Jessa Robinson, and Alessandro Lotuspada. Here's your speech. Good evening everyone. It's an honor to speak on behalf of Mrs. Gallery as we celebrate her retirement and an incredible career. After years of dedication and patience for thousands of students here at MUSMs, Mrs. gallery is moving on to a well-deserved next chapter. All of us are extremely grateful for her guidance, wisdom, and care. I can't imagine how many students lives she's changed, including ours, whether in the classroom, in the hallways, or during lunch. Her strong and vibrant presence was always felt, whether it was in or out of the classroom. I'm so upset that my brother isn't going to have the opportunity to have the most wonderful

043English teacher. [Applause] We hold many great memories from our time, Mrs. Gallery 7th grade. I remember the times when we should she would assign us an individual book based on our preferences. This is something not many teacher can do. Our favorite part of being in Miss Galler's class was listening to her sarcasm and witty oneliners. One of her most frequent sayings was children are a blessing. This quote was used for when students who most often tested her patience. Something about her expression every time she said it would make us snicker and laugh. These years we spent with Miss Gallery have been memorable and are unforgettable. Miss Gallery, we hope you have a peaceful retirement and no longer need to say children are a blessing. We will miss you dearly and your positivity, kindness, and care

044will always be with us. Enjoy every moment of this new adventure and know that you've made a difference in each and every one of our lives. Happy retirement, Ali, Jessa, and Jocelyn. [Applause] Congratulations. [Applause] Congratulations. [Applause] I'd like to invite to the stage Miss Lette Gonzalez Forza to be recognized and Lette will be presented by Natal Alia Fitzpatrick, Sophia San Dominico, Franchesca Pazudo, Allison Tersios, and Alisandra Loaded Spado. [Applause] Good evening. We're here to honor Mrs. Lette Gonzalez. My name is Natalia and I am one of five members in Miss Gonzalez's DBT group. We started this group in seventh grade and have been meeting once a week since then. Mrs. Gonzalez has been a big part of my DBT journey. She has been there not only for me in DBT, but whenever I need her.

045She always knows what to say and gives the best hugs. This group has been life-changing, and I will never forget you, Mrs. Gonzalez. [Applause] My name is Allison Cersios and being in DBT with Mrs. Gonzalez has shown me many things such as how to cope with my feelings, how to improve my relationships, and has given me an amazing group of friends. I don't think I'll ever forget all that Mrs. Gonzalez has done for me and all of the girls in this group. I'm going to be reading on behalf of Sophia Sandomanico because she couldn't be here tonight. Mrs. Gonzalez truly shaped Sophia's middle school experience in seventh and eighth grade. Mrs. Gonzalez always believed in her, pushed her to do her best, and created a classroom where she felt safe to be herself. Her support

046and encouragement helped her grow, not just as a student, but also as a person, and she'll always be grateful for the impact that she had on Sophia's life. [Applause] Whenever I walked into Miss Gonzalez's room, I always felt a sense of comfort and sincerity. It always had the most inspiring and beautiful quotes all over the walls. She always had so much energy and happiness, a sort of energy that drew you in. She always comforted everyone and was always there for everyone in our group. In DPT, she had the best energy around her and was so empathetic with all of us. Mrs. Gonzalez isn't just a teacher. She's been a guide and someone who has always helped and had compassion for all of us. She's helped us learn more than just skills. She helped us learn

047about ourselves. I learned how to pause when I feel overwhelmed and how to stay kinder to myself when I felt like I didn't deserve it. Her belief in each of us, even when we didn't believe in ourselves, is something I will never forget. We love you, Mrs. Gonzalez. Great. [Music] Congratulations. our next retiree that I'd like to invite to the stage is Miss Andrea O'Connell and Andrea will be presented by Andrew Medelli and Dennis O'Sullivan. [Applause] Mrs. OC's classes are always very lively and fun. We always have a very good time in her class. She is very smart and explains things very clearly, but that is not the best thing about her. The best thing about her is that she is truly kind-hearted and really cares about her students. She's a great math teacher and

048all of her students love her. [Applause] Miss OC Miss OC is a is a very kind and loving math teacher who always makes her students feel special. Even when she was in pain after surgery, she showed everyone how much she cares by greeting us with a smile. She makes math fun with a positive attitude and a great sense of humor. We quickly learned her special language. Like right now, are you co Are you kosher dill pickles, Miss OC? Everyone looks forward to math class because of Miss OC and she will be missed. Thank you, Miss OC. Thank you very much. Thank you. [Music] [Applause] And staying with the middle school, I'd like to invite Moren O'Keefe to the stage to be recognized. Moren will be presented by Kristen deama. If I knew Jackie and Justin

049were here, I would have asked them to do this. But um and thank you. Moren O'Keefe has been an integral part of my classroom for a decade and of the middle school since 2001. In fact, she's such a big part of my success at school that when I heard she was retiring, I knew I had to go as well. She is great at working oneon-one with a student who needs some help. uh someone who requires a little individual attention or a little extra TLC in the cafeteria. She's an advocate for students who are having trouble navigating the rocky waters of middle school social life. She enjoys reading and has a strong grasp of grammar and her help when we were working on writing assignments saved me from literally pulling my hair out. As we have

050always had three different preps together, her help in keeping me organized, recording students monthly progress monitoring data was invaluable and lifesaving. Next year, I will miss my daily dose of her quick wit. Without any words, her side eye look can bring out a laugh for me. despite not liking attention. Uh she was a godsend when my mom was sick and I was out a lot without warning. Her patience and kindness and dedication have made the middle school a better place for 24 years. I would like to thank her for her hard work, her humor, and most importantly her friendship. Congratulations. [Applause] Congratulations [Applause] at This time I would like to invite Miss Deb Tosso to the stage to be recognized. Deb will be presented by Evan Dascalius and Wesley Kro. [Applause] Oh, you already printed

051it out. I did. Hello, my name is Evanas Galas and I'm currently an eighth grader at Mildred E String Middle School, soon to graduate into high school. I will miss Mrs. To very much once she retires this year. To honor her, I would like to say a few words about how wonderful she is and how she has helped me throughout middle school. I have always felt safe, supported, and always given the chance to succeed with Mrs. Toou. I first met her back in sixth grade where she offered me support in math class when I was struggling with some of the more difficult assignments. She was also very calming and helped me when I was overwhelmed. Moreover, she had a way of sensing when I needed a break. Those breaks allowed me to clear my head,

052regain my focus, and allow me to finish my work. When I moved up to seventh grade, I was really happy to see Mrs. Toes once again. At the start of that year, in just one week, the pool flooded unexpectedly and we had a fire joke, the latter of which I did not favor too much. A lot can happen in just one week. However, Mrs. Toaster was there to reassure me that everything was okay. So, I eventually overcame my fear fire Joe's and no longer needed my headphones by the end of the year. Additionally, all right, additionally, Mrs. To had a good sense of humor and would cheer me up when I was feeling down. Plus, she had a secret stash of mint lifesavers that helped me reset and bounce back onto the task at hand.

053In English class, she would know when to take me to a quiet corner for me to read my thoughts aloud for a writing assignment of some sort. It appeared as if Mrs. Tosso always knew what to do, not just for me, but for others as well. She truly made an impact in my life, and I'm sure that she helped the lives of others as well. I wish her a happy retirement. Honestly, I don't know what my experience with classes would have been like without Mrs. To, and I'll never forget her kindness, patience, care, and thoughtfulness. Thank you. It is an absolute honor to represent Mrs. Tosso here tonight. Mrs. Tosso is a fantastic person that I had the honor of working with during my public school journey and even in my graduate studies. She is

054very kind, helpful, and always has a smile on her face. She was always there to support you whether it was with academics, personal matters, or even with learning how to become a teacher. In this case, Mrs. Tossa was there for me in all three and she played a significant role in shaping who I am today. Mrs. Tosso has had such a tremendous influence on many lives throughout the Yorktown community and indeed a significant one on mine. Congratulations to Mrs. Toso on your retirement. May this next chapter of your life bring you nothing but the absolute best for you. [Applause] Yeah. [Applause] And finally from our middle school, I would like to invite Deborah Beola to the stage to be recognized by Regina Stanton. [Applause] Good evening. My name is Regina Stanton and I'm the librarian

055at the Mildred Eastrang Middle School. It is my honor and privilege to speak about Deborah Beola as she retires after 22 years as a CTA at MEMS. Debbie is one of the most genuine, kind-hearted people I've ever known. What you see with Debbie is what you get. And what you get is warmth, honor, humor, and an unwavering commitment to students and staff alike. For the past eight years, I've had the great fortune to work alongside Deb in the library. In that time, I've seen her create a space where all students, whether avid readers, reluctant learners, or simply kids looking for a safe place to land, felt welcomed and seen. She's the kind of person who consistently, quietly makes a place better just by being there. And when I started at the library, she did the

056same for me. She welcomed me and she showed me the ropes. She and I very quickly became close, not just co-workers, but friends, then confidants, maybe co-conspirators, and now family. Deb has never hesitated to say yes. Whether it was to help a student step into a challenging situation during lunch duty or supporting one of my more ambitious or hairrained ideas for the library. And through every challenge, she's brought not just reliability, but genuine care and excitement. I know that I, as well as the library and the school, will carry on without her. The work will get done. But in my heart and as my friend, Tbby is irreplaceable. As she begins this next chapter, spending more time with her grandson Elliot, her daughters Sarah and Claire, her husband John, and of course, visiting her beloved

057conventions, we send her off with our deepest gratitude and our warmest wishes. Debbie, you have left a permanent stamp on me, the library, and the school. And I thank you for everything. Congratulations. [Applause] So, we'll move into Yorktown High School. And anyone who knows this next retiree knows that Mike Salmore never wants the attention on him, but he has done such an amazing job for our school district that when we spoke, I I said, "Mike, I'd love for you to be here for our district to recognize your years of service. I'd like for our board to shake your hand for all you've done for our students. So, I won't put you on the spot, but Mike, come on up. [Applause] And now we move into our retirees from our district level staff. I'd like to

058invite Ed Frederick to the stage and Ed will be presented by Dennis Vero [Applause] before Ed gets up here. I think I found a job for him after uh after he retires and that's the middle school. All these fires and floods. What the heck is happening? Anyway, this evening is not just a goodbye and thank you to all our retirees, but a chance for us to celebrate the years of service you all have given to the Yorktown Central School District. One individual in particular has been a true pillar in our school community and is stepping down after 40 years of service. His name Edward Frederick. Let's take a moment and let that sink in. 40 years. That's four death four decades of showing up early, staying late, working through snowstorms and hurricanes, power outages, and

059countless concerts and assemblies and everything in between. That's four decades of being the steady hand, the calm in the chaos, and the quiet hero behind the scenes. I Googled the worst hurricanes to hit our Westchester region and came up with the following list. September 1st, 2021, Hurricane Ida, which recorded the wetest rainfall in this region in a 1 hour span, over 3.15 in. October 28th, 2012, Hurricane Sandy with over 32 billion in damages and 53 deaths statewide. September 16th, 1999, Hurricane Floyd dropping just over 13.7 ines of rain and 6 feet of water in our high school boiler room. I bet you were busy that night, Ed. And September 21st, 1938, the great New England hurricane with 125 mph wind gust and 18 ft storm surges. And the common denominator in all these events, Ed

060Frederick was here in the high school. Though I think the 1938 hurricane, he was still in grade school. Seriously though, Ed has seen generations of students walk in these very high school hallways. And in many cases, he has cleaned up after our students and their parents before them. And do I dare say the grandparents before them. And not once has he ever asked to be in the spotlight. He just showed up, did his job with pride, and gave this school building and everyone in it a sense of care, purpose, safety, and respect. Ed has the unique distinction of having served as senior custodian in every Yorktown school building from the high school to the middle school, Krampon, Mohansik, Brookside, and French Hill. How about that for durability and dedication? As referenced in The Breakfast Club,

061a very popular movie in the 80s when Ed actually started here his career in Yorktown. He liked the character Carl, the high school janitor who shared with a group of high school students serving detention to be the eyes and ears of this institution. Carl showed these students that a job or title should not be what defines a person, but rather the actions of an individual, their devotion to their craft and empathy to show that they all come in contact with, whether it's supervisors, administrators, teachers, or students. Ed, like Carl, defines his career as a quiet guardian of our schools. It's not easy to measure the impact of someone like Ed in words, but if these walls could talk, I have to sense they say, "Thank you, Ed, for your service." As you head into retirement,

062know that your legacy doesn't walk out the door with you. It stays here in the spirit of our schools and in the hearts of everyone lucky enough to have worked with you and learned from your example. Thank you and congratulations, Ed. Thank you. You're going to see I've asked Mr. her boys to stay on the stage with me because we're going to honor our next retiree, Frank Gy. Frank, come on up, please. [Applause] Frank, are you still on the clock? Okay. Seriously though, he did work tonight. Another member of our custodia and being celebrated this evening, Frank Gonti. Frank joined the Yorktown schools after working 30 plus years in the print press business with Philip Winston in New York City. Yes, Frank. Work with Lenotype or type setting machines that were first patented in the

0631880s. And as of 2023, the last known newspaper company in the United States, still using lenotype machines can be found in Colorado. Frank started his work at Yorktown High School as a night cleaner and was promoted soon thereafter to custodian at Mohansik Elementary. It was here that Frank found his true calling in life. as principal Barry tabbed him the Michelangelo of Mohansik. Yes, Frank delightfully painted the hallways of Mohansik and oftentimes more than once or twice as I think Miss Barry was experimenting with paint colors for her living room. And to this day, you may still find some of those unused cans of paint. Majestic yellow, impulsive fuchsia, startling orange, and mermaid. Y teal. You got another one to go. They're all in the closets at Mohansick. Frank moved over to the middle school to

064share his wisdom and working experience by mentoring our newest cleaners to the Yorktown schools. And in fact, even though he's been retired since December 30th of this past school year, Frank has opted to stay on as a substitute at our high school and continue his mentoring work. How about that for dedication? Now standing here and thinking about Frank's two careers and work history, how is it that you've completed over 50 years of work work experience and still only 59 years of age? I only wish the best for you, Frank, in your retirement, and may you find enjoyment and relaxation. I know that's not a word you're familiar with, so I'll help you out here. Webster's dictionary defines relaxation as the act of relaxing or the state of being relaxed or relaxing or recreational state, activity,

065or pastime. It can also refer to the lengthening that characterizes inactive muscle fibers or muscles. So, in other words, Frank, sit back, put your feet up, and enjoy some quiet time with family and friends in Myrtle Beach as you begin the next chapter in your life. Thank you for your service to our Yorktown schools, and I wish you a heartfelt congratulations. Congratulations. We have just two retirees left and both are from our central administration building. At this time, I would like to invite Janet Busco to the stage to be recognized and she'll be presented by Lisa Sample. I am honored to speak on behalf of Janet Fusco who was retiring after almost 15 years in the district. Janet started in Yorktown in 2010 as a building secretary in the middle school and then moved on

066to Brookside. She eventually found her way to the business office where she has made a tremendous impact by bringing not just dedication and professionalism to the job but also kindness, patience and collaboration. Janet is always willing to help those with questions or problems and will seek a resolution if she doesn't know the answer. The business office is a busy place and Janet's attention to details and ability to multitask always keeps things moving and on track. The entire business office will miss Janet dearly, especially her homemade cookies and treats. But we are also happy to celebrate this exciting and well-deserved next chapter in her life. May retirement bring new adventures, quiet mornings, long walks, and the joy of spending cherished time with your husband, three sons, and two precious grandchildren. Thank you for all you've done

067to the Yorktown school community. You will be missed. [Music] Congratulations. and last but not least, I'd like to invite Dr. Sheila McInness, director of human resources, to the stage to be recognized. And Dr. Guinness will be presented by me and Sheree Lane. So I'm just going to start really quickly and then Sheree is speaking on behalf of Sheila. But I will tell you that I believe I have a great team here in Yorktown. So much of the success we've experienced as a school district is attributable to Dr. McInness. What many of us see with HR is just kind of what's presented, what's on the surface. I've had the honor, the privilege of working so closely with Sheila and seeing how she tries to apply the human side of personnel and human resources to her work.

068There are a lot of laws and a lot of restrictions when you're in HR, but Sheila brings such a discerning lens to her work. And her summers are filled with hiring and onboarding, credit acquisitions, and all of the non-glamorous things that happen in an office that make our school district run. And so, Sheila, I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to work with you over these last eight years. And I wish you well in retirement. And I know our paths will cross at some point. And I'd like to before I go too far off of my script, Sheree, I'd like you to say a few words. So, good evening everyone. It seems like yesterday I was interviewed for a position in the HR department at Yorktown Center School District. When I found out

069I was offered the job, I was both happy and somewhat nervous. Embarking on a new journey, I soon found out that working underneath the tulage of Sheila both calmed my nerves and made me feel a sense of ease. She has always been extremely encouraging and supporting to me. Tonight, I stand before you with much more knowledge, a lot of confidence in the role that I play within this school district. I owe you so much, Sheila, and I'm so grateful for everything. I'm so happy for you and wishing you all the best. Bombay. Everybody knows she loves [Applause] Congratulations. We have some retirees just their schedules did not allow them to be with us this evening. But I do want to take a moment to recognize Tom Dunning, Steve Labor, Beth Feifer, and Rebecca Woolly for

070their many years of service to our school district. We wish them well in retirement as well. That concludes this evening's celebration, but I would like to turn it over to our board president, Miss Carbone, to say a few words. Uh this is a wonderful night. We we wish everybody well. We congratulate everybody on their their milestones. Um for the retirees, you are all going to be sorely missed. You are family and you'll always be in our hearts and we're going to miss you. I'm going to turn it down to Lisa. Congratulations to all of you. Um you are what makes our district as amazing as it is. And everyone talked about the other teachers and the effect on the students, but don't forget the effect on the parents. Um there's several of us up here.

071I think all of us are parents of kids who are in the district and um you made a difference. So go into your retirement knowing you made a difference. First, congratulations to all our retirees and to also everyone who celebrated a significant um anniversary with us and to our students and staff who spoke on behalf of the retirees. Thank you for your heartfelt words and uh also some inside jokes. I really enjoyed that. So, thank you. Sure. Uh, I think anyone in this room and anyone in any of our buildings has the ability to impact students and it ripples through generations. Not only do those ripples last through generations, but you really have an impact on every student you teach or are around. So, I want to say thank you for the impact because most

072of the retirees and the celebrations for um years of service, my own children have had you and I know the impact you've had on my children. So, thank you for all of you done. you can never imagine the impact you've had on so many generations of children. So, thank you and enjoy for all of the retirees that were we're sadly losing, but good luck and enjoy. Mike, congratulations uh to all the retirees and and the anniversary celebrants tonight. Uh as long as I've sat at this table, uh it never ceases to amaze me the stories that I hear of the work that it's done every day in this district. And it truly is a special place and um I'm very proud to uh have sat here and um worked with all of you over the

073years. It really I'm just always left speechless when I hear uh especially our students speak so fondly of all of our uh retirees. It's it's truly an amazing place. So thank you all. So we're going to take a brief five minute recess. You're welcome to stay. We're talking about all kinds of things. cell phone policies and so on. You're welcome to stay. If you do choose to leave though during that recess, I would just ask that you do so so uh quickly and quietly so that we can go on with the meeting. Congratulations to all. Have a great evening. Okay, we're going to this that was a wonderful night. Thank you very much, Ron. Thank you to all the retirees and our anniversaries that came out, too. We're going to go on to public comment,

074our first public comment, which is um agenda related items only. So, I'm going to just read my normal reading. Um although state law does not require us to hold a public comment period, we have chosen to do so because we believe it is crucial for us to hear from our community members about their concerns and issues. Please note that the board is here to listen. The public comment period is not designed to be a discussion. accordingly. Please do not expect the board to respond to your concerns and questions tonight. Um, our public our policy 12:30 public participation at board meetings clearly states that we do not allow discussion involving or using the name or situation of individual district personnel or students. Anyone who speaks in violation of the policy will immediately give up the right

075to continue to speak. Speakers are expected to conduct themselves in a civil manner. Anyone using abusive or inflammatory language, using offensive language, or in any way causing a disruption will give up their right to speak. Members of the audience are expected to maintain civility and respect of others. We didn't allow calling out, clapping, or other disruptions from the audience. We'll be tracking each speaker's time, and towards the end of your three minutes, we will warn you to conclude. If you fail to abide by the three minute speaking time, we will turn off the microphone. And that's not directed at anybody. That's just what we read. So, our first speaker is Alex Sullivan. Is he here? Yes. She Yes. Come right up to the microphone. [Music] First of all, I just wanted to say that I

076wasn't really expecting to do this. I was on a lacrosse field and I heard there was going to be a vote about the cell phone policy and um just wanted to give my two cents. Um I feel it's important to me as a mom of three kids, one teenager, Dr. Hatter knows and um I'm a high school social worker as well. So I have firsthand uh experience with this problem. So I I wrote a few things while I watched your nice meeting. Um, so I love that the governor passed the rule about cell phone use in schools. I recognize it creates a logistical nightmare, but I truly believe it's a gift for our students to have their phones physically taken away for the six hours that they're in school. Um, I don't know how many

077of you have teenagers, but I know that Dr. Heder does, and they might know my teenager, and I'm probably outing her, but um, she's a great kid. She's, you know, good gets good grades. on Barcel. They won the sectionals. Um, she spends some time away from her phone, but when we're at home, it's a real challenge to get that phone out of her hands. And I do my absolute best. I take the phone away at 8:00. I'm not home, so I it's probably in her hand right now, but when I'm home, the phone is gone by 8:00 if she's home from practice. Um, when I drive her around town, I have to argue with her every second. Can you put the phone down? Mom and I only are in the car for, you know, 3

078minutes from here to the high school. please put it down and talk to me while we're in the car together. You have three years left with me. And I really think that um they physically can't put it down. They're addicted to it. It's like they can't separate themselves from it. It's so hard for them. And I think that taking the phone away from them for the six hours that they're in school would be a gift for them and a gift for the teachers because in my opinion, it's just going to end up um you know as a disciplinary issue if the teachers are having to educate them and monitor their cell phone use. That's like a real challenge. And I think that it would be nice for the kids to have a break that they

079had to adhere to where they put their phone in a little bag on their way into school and they didn't have to even think about it. Because let's be honest, even if the phone is in their backpack, they're going to be sneaking it, using it in the bathroom, using it in the cafeteria. There is no way that the school can monitor the use that it's only for, you know, emailing their teacher. Uh that's an impossible logistical nightmare. So I really think that it would be better for the kids. You know, everybody sees the news. It's terrible for their mental health. It's terrible for their socialization. Um it it's a very nice opportunity to take this law as a a gift to give them time away from this technology that they could have six hours to

080talk to their friends. You know, my daughter tells it's like texting me throughout the day in the hallway or texting her friends, I'm going to meet this um where are we going to meet in between these classes like lift your head up and look and see who's in the hallway and go meet your friends that way instead of by texting. And I think if you don't have teenagers, you don't really realize like Thank you for your time. Thank you. Thank you, Lar Kian. Good evening. I am speaking on behalf of Yorktown 100, a group of volunteers seeking to reduce our carbon emissions to net zero and we need your help. I'd like to support the suggestion made at the last board meeting by a board member that sustainability be a board area of focus for

081the coming school year. Sustainability means that in our dayto-day operations in our use of energy, we should not be damaging our planet at the expense of future generations. namely our students and we had some wonderful examples of that uh tonight and that is precisely what we are doing now with the burning of fossil fuel. We are far behind neighboring districts and transitioning to clean energy. So here are two examples. 25 years ago, Putnham Valley School District started using heat from the earth, geothermal, to heat and cool their buildings rather than burn fossil fuel. The savings to the environment in terms of their reduction of their carbon footprint as well as the cost serv savings of $13 million are easily calculated. We need to follow their example. Second example, we cannot continue to send most of

082Westchester's garbage to the Peak Skill Incinerator. Sustainability is an instructional issue. We need to teach our children and their families to separate food waste, paper, and liquids. The wet trash from schools takes a very high temperature to burn in peak skill and the resulting emissions are poisoning our air. Food waste should go to compost, liquids, and other trash separated. If neighboring districts can do it, why can't we do it? Please make sustainability a focus uh for next year to increase our chances of catching up with other districts. Thank you. Um Ron, we're going to move on to the superintendent's update. Thank you for that. So, I just have some brief updates. Some of the updates that I wanted to offer will be included in in the board's agenda this evening. specifically with regard to areas

083of focus exeicio board appointment which we discussed earlier this evening as well as u the cell phone policy and the survey results. So some of the items that I will share independent of that are some upcoming events. We had our UPK moving up ceremony. It was absolutely wonderful. It was on Friday uh June 13th. It was so so terrific. Our numbers we had about 120 students enrolled in year one. 20 students enrolled in year two. We are already over 150 students enrolled for the upcoming school year in our universal prek program. The experience has been incredibly positive. The feedback that we've received from our kindergarten teachers both anecdotally and and otherwise has been nothing short of spectacular. So that program continues to thrive. We have some moving up ceremonies that are scheduled for this week

084and next. We have Brookside's moving up ceremony tomorrow, June 17th at 9:30. We have Mohansix's moving up ceremony on Wednesday the 18th. We have our high school graduation ceremony on Saturday the 21st. Crompton's moving up ceremonies on the 23rd, middle school on the 25th. We have some early dismissals scheduled for the final three days of classes, June 25th, 26th, 27th. The schedule was included in the last newsletter that we sent out, but some wonderful things happening throughout throughout our school district. Some really exciting things. It's an exciting time for so many of us, but for my central office team, for our administrators, the office staff, we're here all summer. So, the year the fiscal year closes June 30th, but we're not only doing our closeout reporting at that point and into the summer, but we're

085our fiscal year reopens July 1st. So, it's it's the ordering, it's the purchasing, it's the hiring, it's the reporting, the auditing, and all of the other things that come with the the operations of a school district. So, we're looking forward to a busy summer in addition to our extended school year program and our summer reading program that will be housed on the Yorktown High School campus. So, again, great things happening. I will touch on some of the other items that I wanted to address in my report later in the agenda, but I thank you for the opportunity. Thank you. So, we're going to go right onto our first board discussion item, which is the board's area of focus. And I believe when we discussed it last time, Ron, you were going to come back to

086us with some ideas and some suggestions. Were you able to do that? Yes, I was, of course. So, at the last board of education meeting, the board had brainstormed some potential ideas for areas of focus for the 2526 school year. We had six areas of focus for current school year and they included student wellness, student connectedness, communications, cultural awareness and equity, fiscal responsibility and east team 3.0. So there were several supporting projects within that that I provided the community and the board with an update on at our last meeting. And most recently, our administrative cabinet, which is our entire building and district level administration teams worked together to discuss potential areas of focus for the coming school year. There was genuine support around keeping the existing areas of focus and perhaps looking at some supporting

087projects within that. The first was looking at transitions across our school buildings to ensure a more seamless experience from Brookside and Mohancic to Crown Crown to the middle school and so on. So that I found that one to be quite quite interesting. Supporting student mental health that that's something that we certainly want to roll up our sleeves on and and continue to advance good work in that area. building stronger connections with our community and creating opportunities for that interaction, that engagement, looking at zerobased budgeting in year two. So for members of our community, certainly our board recalls, but for members of our community, you'll you'll recognize that we employed a slightly different approach to budgeting this year. Rather than using a rollover budgeting approach, we took a modified zerobased budgeting approach, which resulted in incredible

088and extraordinary savings for our community. we weren't uh necessarily filling every vacancy in our district. We looked at some strategic scheduling and and looked at some ways to cut costs and and we were able to come in with one of the lower tax rate increases in the in the region. And historically, we were fourth lowest in terms of tax rate increases over the last tax levy increases over the last four years, eight years, pardon me. And another area we looked at was sustainability. So that was we're we're doing some great work in the area of sustainability. So making that an area of focus is something that our team certainly has interest in doing. So I share with you and and I'm happy to report back at our July meeting to provide the board with some

089additional um thoughts around what the areas of focus can be. But again, continuing the areas of focus, looking at some projects as subsets of those areas of focus and specifically whether it's transitions across buildings, student mental health, building stronger connections with our community, zerobased budgeting year two, and sustainability. Um, I'm sure we can work those into the existing goals in some capacity. Thank you. Um, Mike, questions, suggestions, concerns? Um, no, I I think everything Dr. Hatterer just laid out seems to fall into one of the, you know, six categories that we already have. So, I guess maybe we should think about just laying each one out a little bit more detail and adding those things in because right now I'm just looking at six bullet items and that certainly doesn't encompass everything that we're trying

090to accomplish. Um, so perhaps if we could lay that all out, um, you know, take out some of the things maybe we've already accomplished and add in some new ones. Um, that would make a lot of sense to me. Sure. Yeah. I think as Dr. Hatter has mentioned in our July meeting, we should um circle back, but I'd like to see some goals like sub goals and targets so that we can actually measure some of these areas of focus. So, I think that would be probably a good next step for us. Rash. Yeah, I echo a little bit of what Mike said. Um, in terms of um, you know, I think we can consolidate some of these things that we may have achieved like I think communications we've come so far from where we were

091uh, just a few years ago. So I think but I think it's also time to look at what we can add to it. Um, I think Dr. had said there was um and I said this in the last meeting about you know adding sustainability. I don't know I'm not sure that it goes into any of the other the current categories. So maybe it needs to be it's standalone. Um but I would like to keep the number to six. So I because that's you know it's uh more than that I think it's a lot of goals. Um so yeah Lisa. Yeah. So I think that we did accomplish a lot um from our areas of focus like the student connectedness. Now we have the the student board members which is great. So maybe student connectedness can

092be combined in somewhere with the communications since we've really come far on that one. Um I agree with Rashmi if we add a seventh category. It's too much. But somehow if we reflect back on what we accomplished with these six that we have, maybe consolidate them and then we can add sustainability in there. I agree with Lisa. One of the things with sustainability, but can we add sustainability and energy efficiency because I don't I think that they're connected categories, but they're not one and the same. So sometimes being energy efficient isn't necessarily 100% in the sustainability category, but I think that we need to do both. We need to find ways to cut our current costs. So I I I like that idea. Um I like coming if you can come back to us at

093the July meeting. I think that would be really helpful. So similar to what I did last July, I gave a a more detailed presentation. So we had the conversations just a board discussion at this point and in July I I'll have a more formal presentation to the board. Right. I like the targeted areas under each goal because then we know and like um Cheryl said measurable is always great for us. It helps us. Thank you. Um going to go to board action items. We only have one. So it's a motion to approve the minutes of the June 2nd meeting. Second. All those in favor? Opposed. and policies. We have a first reading on the following policies. Um 3120 duties of the separate superintendent. 4311.1 display of flag. 4321.8 impartial hearing officer employment and compensation. Anybody

094have questions? I have one question and that's on the numbering. Cheryl, do you know if this goes past 10, are we going to wind up with two ones? Should we number them 01? We did. Isn't that what we decided at the last meeting that we would start with? Yes. With 01. Um, right. So, that's that was our decision at the last meeting. Correct. All of them. 012. Yeah. 0203. Okay. Great. Yeah, that's that's what we had discussed at the last policy. Thank you. Sure. David, you have any questions on the Yeah, just a I guess an explanation on the duties of the superintendent. When I look at the red line, it this seems like everything was added. Was that from just Can you just explain the process how we got from what was like a

095small paragraph to a couple of pages? Yeah. So, I can I can address that. when we opened up this policy and we and we're just reviewing them in order um the oldest to the newest unless there's something we have to look at. Um it was like two sentences and he clearly does a whole lot more than two sentences. So I think uh what Dr. Heder did was pulled out the job description that was posted and took all of the items from the job description and put them into policy because it is what he does. He does more than two sentences. He actually used the job description for when we hired him. Yeah. So that's what we went by and I thought that was a great idea to incorporate that to be a lot more specific

096than the one micro paragraph that was there. Okay. Thanks. That's now he has to do them all. He does more than that. We know that. Okay. That was it, Mike? Uh, yep. Okay. Anybody else? All right. Now we get to the other one. We pull this out separate because we have to discuss it. This is going to be discuss and conduct a first reading on the following required new policy and this is the 5695 students and personal electronic devices. Um so Ron do you want to start it? Do you want Cheryl to start it? So I'm I'm happy to start. Cheryl's the chair of our policy committee and and I thought that she did a great job facilitating a very complex conversation around this policy. So, um, if there's anything that I do leave out,

097I trust that Cheryl and and Lisa, who are members of the policy committee, can fill in the blanks on this. The education law 2803 is quite specific in many areas. There there are some areas where school districts have some discretion and some flexibility, but there are some very specific parameters to this law. So we surveyed members of our community, not just uh families, but we surveyed students and we surveyed high school staff to gain their perspective. Some of the questions that were asked were more for us to understand the community's perspective, students perspective, staff's perspective. Although regardless of what the answer was, we couldn't change the law. So, for example, we asked one of the questions uh in each survey was whether there was support or disapproval of the cell phone ban. And we call

098it a cell phone ban, but it's not quite a cell phone ban. And I caution anyone from limiting this to cell phones. These are internet devices, internet enabled devices. So quite often we think of smartphones, but it's not a cell phone band because a one of the cell phones that I had at first when I first got a cell phone didn't have internet connection. It was a flip phone that could only call. We couldn't we didn't have text messages on that either. Those are permissible under education law 2803. So I just want to caution the just the language we use. It's not a cell phone ban. really is an internet um enabled device ban. And so we surveyed members of our community and I will tell you that 95% of our students oppose a ban.

099And I'll call it a cell phone ban just for ease of conversation, but I do want to preface that by saying this is not just cell phones or smartphones. 2% of students had no opinion or were neutral on this. 98% of our students believe that the phones should be allowed during lunch and/or free periods and 60% of students cited that they use their phones for academic purposes. 89% stated that they communicate with family and 24% of students use their phones for health management. From the parental perspective, there there was almost an even split on this in our parent community. 54% of parents supported the idea of a ban, whether it's strongly support or somewhat support. 45% of parents opposed the ban and 1% didn't have share an opinion, were neutral or had no opinion on

100this. But the almost twothirds of our community support students having access to their phones during lunch. 25% didn't support access and and then there was a small percentage of parents who were unsure on how they felt on that particular topic. 80% of our parent community believe the phone should be stored in the backpack. That was an overwhelming message. From our teachers standpoint, over 90% support a ban. 91% to be precise. With the biggest reason being it will promote greater academic focus. And with regard to storage, our staff more than half supported pouches. So there are there is no perfect policy at this point. And I think two points that we need to drive home are number one, this policy will evolve and the policy committee will continue to take this up. this is not an

101issue that we anticipate will be first read adopt and we'll revisit this policy through in our normal cycle. So that is one point and the second point is that just given the split on this there will be members of our community who support the approach or and some who don't agree necessarily with the approach. What I will share with you is the approach that we are taking. K8 the phones have to be away in the elementary schools. Phones need to be and I say phones but it's internet enabled devices. That's the gizmo watches, the smartwatches. We understand the value from a safety standpoint and the geo fencing that those uh devices allow for but they need to remain in the backpack and they need to remain away. In middle school, phones will remain away in

102lockers. Just and in K8, nothing has changed with regard to policy. That is what we currently do. It's consistent with our practice. At the high school level, students will be allowed under this proposal, as as first read by the board this evening. We're proposing that the phones be kept in a student's backpack or locker. They cannot be taken out during class unless the teacher expressly gives consent because the phone is being used as part of an instructional activity. So at times students will take surveys in class or a poll in class for a question answer multiple choice that's on the board. At times there are phones that are used but I don't anticipate that being common place. So phones will be out away in backpacks or lockers during class and during passing periods. There are

103some limited exceptions that are defined in the law that that are spelled out in this policy. The the policy committee simply took language from the law with regard to the definitions and the exceptions. In addition, there's an additional provision that we're allowing during lunch and this provision was really um brought to the forefront by the superintendent student council. We consulted or I consulted with the superintendent student council at the high school level to hear their use of cell phones and what they shared with me is that they often do their work on their cell phones or if they're working on their districts device and they want to look something up without and have two windows at the same time. I know two screens has become more and more common as students and and adults actually

104work. So students will refer to their cell phone for a Google search or or to look something up while keeping their work on the screen. So they spoke to the instructional value. They spoke to after school clubs and activities and the frequent cancellations or rescheduling or change in location, change in time and trying to coordinate with parents. Additionally, one of the things that I heard that was really re valuable to hear is I had a student share with me that their parent the nature of their job doesn't allow them to take phone calls. So, they can only communicate with their parent through text message. Our text messaging capabilities as a school district is very limited. So, if a child needs to send a text message to a parent to alert them to the fact that

105they need a ride after school or that the practice time has been changed or whatnot, they would appreciate that opportunity only during lunch and during their lunch period. So, we spelled out some very specific instances when the phone can be used. We will be looking to put procedures in place independent of board policy but but regulations or procedures I should say to govern how the phones are used and and the permissions how the permission uh would be granted in the cafeteria. But essentially there are some limited circumstances that we recognize that a child may need to use their phone. It's only permissible in the cafeteria during their lunch period. But we're also looking at some safety protocols that would involve students. you having their cell phones on them. So, more to come on on the

106safety piece of it because we're still working through the details and the logistics, but the student access to their cell phone is part of our reunification plan in the event that we have some kind of breach of security in our district. So, we would need to access students have access to their cell phones in the event of an emergency, which is a permissible exception. So therefore, the pouches and confiscating the cell phones at the door is not really conducive to those emergency situations. So I believe the policy is reflective of how our students, staff, and parents feel. Although those were different feelings on this policy, I do believe we captured the spirit of where our community is, where our students and staff are. I believe we are within bounds of the law. We've obviously consulted

107with legal counsel in developing this policy. I believe it's intelligent. It's well written. But it's imperfect and it will always be imperfect. The law is imperfect. And we'll continue to adapt and revise as we experience some of those imperfections in the implementation of the pro of the policy. And we'll certainly report back with an update. But this is only a first read. So we share this with you. and uh happy to take any questions that you have whether it's for me Cheryl or for Lisa. All right. So before I open up for discussion, Cheryl, Lisa, thank you. I know this was not an easy policy. It's it's not just a new one. It's got a lot of emotional connotations. So thank you for your hard work on this. Um Rashmi, did you have any questions

108or comments or No, I'm I'm good with the policy. I just had a question about um just generally do we know whether other um districts in New York are also adopting um like their versions of the policy or are they kind of deferring to well this is the state at law so it's what's in the law that's a great question I appreciate you asking that because I neglected to mention that the many districts in our region are following a similar approach to our to Yorktown. There are some districts uh that I've heard of, not locally, but but in the state, nearby counties that are completely confiscating the cell phones, putting them in pouches. the students and I appreciate the students in the superintendent student council sharing with me the shortcomings and the three very simple

109ways around the pouches and the ineffectiveness of the pouches whether it's giving in an old cell phone or having those demagnetizers available to them or a student saying that they forgot their cell phone on that day. So, the students were were quite forthcoming and I really appreciate the relationship and the and the um the comfort that the students had in sharing those workarounds with me. Uh so I have heard of some districts doing that, but I believe the vast majority of districts, at least the districts with whom I've consulted, are following a similar approach to our district. Thank you, Mike. So I I wasn't involved in the policy committee discussions. Um but I think it would be helpful not just for me but for the community to go back to the beginning of Dr. Hatter's

110u presentation and just perhaps if you could just lay out for us most of this is established through law. Correct. There are only a few key components that we have the ability to tailor, right? Such as how we store the cell phones and whether they're permissible under certain so maybe if you could just give us a quick outline on what were the parts that we actually could change. Um, absolutely. That that's that's a great question. So the parts that were really up for discussion were the method of storage. that that was something that we had to determine and how so there there are opportunities to grant exceptions on case by case basis these on a case- by case basis for instructional purposes. So looking at how that might look in a cafeteria when you have

111220 some odd students and much fewer many fewer adults than that supervising 225 students in a cafeteria. How do we grant those permissions? What processes do we put in place? So would we permit this in the first place? And and under certain circumstances, our policy committee felt comfortable permitting use, but only in the cafeteria, limited use and limited access. So that if we do see a cell phone outside of the cafeteria being used, irrespective of lunch period or free period, that that student would not be in compliance with policy 5695. So the two main items were storage and the this process and conversation around exemptions, what would qualify as an exemption and what uh where would it be and and when those types of decisions. Jackie, if I could just continue, there was something brought

112up to me on more than one occasion from the community asking for clarity around what defines the school day. Um many people are under the impression that it's anytime the kids are on campus they can't have their phone. So can we clarify what does that look like? Yeah. So that actually is very clearly defined in education law 2803. So what essentially they're referring to is school day is belto belt from the first bell to dismissal. So students may use their devices while on the bus while riding on the school bus. If students arrive at school early, there's nothing in the law that would lead me to think that they are not permitted to use the phone despite being on school grounds. And then after dismissal, so at the high school after 9th period, because 9th

113period is the end of our school day after 9th period, students would be allowed to use a cell phone on campus. However, from the start of first period to the end of 9th period at the high school, 1st to 8th at the middle school, whether you're in the building or at the right on the property line, you're not permitted to use your cell phone irrespective in the building or out of the building. If it's during the school day, it's not permissible. Okay. One last thing. Go ahead. The um now you made me forget what I wanted to say. So, it was about the school day and then um come back to me. I'll remember it in a minute. Okay. I'm going to go to Cheryl now. Cheryl, what do you have anything to add because

114you've been involved in this from the beginning? No, I really don't. I think Dr. Hatter pretty much gave us the best summary of, you know, what we've been working through and working on for the past few weeks, few months really. So, and you know, we're working within the confines of the law. So, you know, a little bit had to be fleshed out, but we don't have a lot to say about um much of of what's in the policy. Lisa, yeah, we um Cheryl did a great job facilitating the discussion. Um and our our district attorney did a great job of helping us understand what we could and couldn't change. Um the law is the law and every district has to pass something. Um you can't just leave it. will just follow the education law because

115it doesn't provide any of the how this is going to be accomplished. Of course, this doesn't stop any parent from saying you can't take your phone to school. Like that's fine, too. If parents are really um against having a cell phone in school, there's there's a choice there. They don't have to come with it. Um, I I think that landing on keeping the cell phone in your backpack or in your locker is really the best compromise. Although I'm not sure that that's so different than the policy now in the high school, right? The kids are not allowed to have their phones out during class. Technically, no. They're not permitted to, but at times it does happen. But I think the biggest change is going to be during the passing periods. I think that'll be the

116biggest change for for our high school students is they will not be permitted to have the phones out during the passing periods. And again, this isn't set in stone. So come September, October where you start to see the the cracks in the policy, you can always go back and reook at it. Good luck. Yeah, that was the point I wanted to bring up that I was referring to before, which is obviously this is going to evolve over time. Um, and I think it from from reading what we've come up with, which was obviously well thought out, it's not something we want to we're not looking to create a, you know, penaltyheavy environment here. I I the last thing I want to see is, you know, 100 kids suspended because they had their cell phone out.

117That doesn't accomplish anything if they're not in class, right? So, we have to really make this work um on all fronts. And I think it starts with what we saw tonight, which is a parent coming out and expressing um you know, their beliefs and having how they're going to help their child. Um you know, as Lisa mentioned, maybe you know, just leave it at home. Um you know, whatever we can do to try to make this work for the benefit of all of the students would be u most important, right? I'm I'm grateful that you guys the policy committee took into account different student needs and the fact I I I do like that you're allowing them to use it at lunchtime because for some kids it is necessary. It there are always are other

118reasons kids need things that we don't always know. And so in this kind of a situation there's so many mental health issues and things going on and physical issues. I'm grateful that you took a measured approach to this instead of an all or nothing. So I I thank you for that approach. Um from an adoption standpoint, just with regard to timeline, the law requires boards of education to adopt a policy, a personal electronic device policy by August 1st. For our board, the last meeting that we have prior to August 1st is July 1st. So we would like the first read this evening. So in the hope that we can have an adoption at the July 1st meeting so that we can be in compliance with the law that requires the policy to be in place

119by August 1st. So we will start to see to Rashby's point we will start to see school districts coming out with their policies very soon if not if they haven't already done so because we're all up against a deadline of August 1 to have policies adopted by their boards. Right. But so are we all good with the framework that knowing that we're going to be doing this again at some point? We all good with this framework for July 1st? Yep. All right. You know, if it doesn't work, you've got the August meeting as long as we've adopted it. Perfect. Right. So, all right. So, we are good with that. Um, we're up to personnel. Um, a motion to approve the personnel resolutions A through C as stated below. So move. Second. All those in favor?

120I opposed. Um, personnel agenda. Upon recommendation of the superintendent, a motion that the following be approved. We have certified personnel appointments, part-time appointments, other compensation, extra duty, extended school year. um changes and corrections, a resignation for the purpose of retirement, and under classified personnel, we have an extended school year, summer assistance, substitutes, and additions to the substitute list. So move second. All those in favor? Any opposed? The business office um be resolved. Upon recommendation of superintendent, the board approves a tax warrant notification for the 2025-26 school year to the towns of Yorktown, Courtland, and Newcastle in the amount of $87,787,000. Some second. All those in favor? I opposed. A motion to approve the asset disposal proposal from e-waste for the 2526 school year. So move second. All those in favor? I opposed. A motion to

121approve the following transportation agreements for additional services for field trips, excursions, and athletics for the 2526 school year. It's Chapqua Transportation, Utson Valley Charter Service, JNR Tours, and Red Carpet Coach. So move. Second. All those in favor? I oppose. A motion to approve the following vendor contract amendments for the 2526 school year. So move. Second. All those in favor? I oppose. Motion to approve the Yorkton High School trip to Oshkosh, Wisconsin for the UAS force STEM competition from the July 19th to 24th to comply with Wisconsin state laws regarding hotel accommodations. The board authorizes eight parents and team members to accompany their child. So move second. All those in favor? Any opposed? A motion to approve the attached amendments to the following rental contracts for space at French Hill School for the 2526 school year.

122They are listed below. So moved. Second. All those in favor. I opposed. A motion to approve the resolutions A and B as followed below. It's funding of the capital reserve and un unassigned fund balance. So move. Second. All those in favor? I. I opposed. A motion to approve the following insurance policies for the 2526 school year v the property general liability and auto access storage tanks environmental additional cyber and student accident. So move. Second discussion. We added additional cyber. Is that correct? We did. Yes, I can speak to it. Lisa can fill in the blanks on this, but just given the number of cyber attacks and ransomware attacks and and other types of network attacks that we've seen across the region, we thought it wise to provide ourselves with some additional insurance in the event

123that obviously we won't pay a ransom, but we would certainly want to recover our data and that just takes time and overtime. So, similar to what happened back in October of 2020 when we had the ransomware style attack on our computers, our network went down for a couple of days and it took some time to restore that and all of the costs that are associated with the personnel to assist in the restoration. So, we've opted to pursue additional cyber insurance. Lisa, is there anything else? Okay. Okay. Thank you. All those in favor? I oppose. Budget transfers. A motion to approve the budget transfers as stated below. Second. All those in favor? Any opposed? Curriculum. A motion to approve the following Yorktown Congress of Teachers professional improve improvement pro proposals for the 25 242 and the

1242526 school years. Some move. Second. All those in favor? I oppose. Special ed. A motion to approve the placements as of June 16th, 2025 listed below. So moved. Second. All those in favor? I oppose. Motion to approve the instructional services agreements between the Yorktown Central School District ascending school district and the following school districts as the receiving school districts for the 2526 school year. And they're listed below. So move. Second. All those in favor. Opposed. Um evaluation approval. Whereas a board policy 4321.04 04 provides for the right to receive an independent educational evaluation at public expense in certain limited circumstances consistent with the provisions of the individuals in disabil with disabilities act and New York State law. And whereas the parents of student 4775 have met the requirements to receive the independent evaluation in the

125amount of $5,500. Now therefore, it is hereby agreed that the board of education approves a payment of $5,500 towards the co cost of an independent neurosych evaluation for student 4775 and authorizes the business office to make a direct payment to the chosen independent evaluator upon submission, evaluation, and invoice. So move. Second. All those in favor? I opposed. Gifts, grants, and donations. A motion to accept with gratitude the following gifts, grants, and donations at Brookside. $4,074 for the mobile library mobile book organizers from the Brookside PTA, Mohansic classroom and office supplies from Diane Polaris and 79 $7,91 for an outdoor reading station from the Mohanic PTA at the high school. $250 from the Peter Car from Peter Kerolo for the Peter Carello commitment scholarship. $200 from an anonymous donor for the BB Miller Memorial Award and

126$100 from an anonymous donor for the Dan Oconor Memorial Scholarship. I move second. All those in favor? I opposed. We're up to board comment. Lisa, what an amazing evening. Um my favorite part was when we saw East Team at work. I don't know if you saw the two young men who presented and when they got down off the stage, one looked at the other, held at his hand and said, "Great job." That was the best part of the evening. Um, beautiful evening. Um, I think it's overall been a terrific year and um, as the school year comes to a close, um, congratulations to class of 2025. Graduation is this Saturday, so that's our sendoff to them. Um, of course, we have the moving up, uh, uh, celebrations in each of the buildings, uh, which is

127always wonderful. And, um, have a great summer. We'll see you back in two weeks. Cheryl, this is always a bittersweet night. We celebrate um the commitment of so many educators, staff members, but then we know that we're also losing some to retirement. So, we truly wish them well and we thank them. We thank them for committing themselves to Yorktown Central School District and for choosing us because as you see the longevity of so many of our employees, it's simply incredible. Once they start here, they never want to leave. So, we really do thank them and wish the our retirees well. Mike, it's a wonderful celebration, culmination of a, you know, another terrific school year. Um, congratulations again to all of our retirees. Uh, we wish them well and, um, looking forward to graduation coming up

128on Saturday. Yes, graduation is on Saturday. Tonight is a wonderful night. It is bittersweet. Some of the staff members that are retiring, I mean, I had personal connections, too. I think all of us did. They've made the difference in the lives of our own students. So, we know what they've done for all the students and we are so grateful to all of their service and we do wish them well. And our anniversaries, people stay in this district a long time. That that is the Yorktown difference. They don't hop around, they stay for good. We are so grateful to them all. So, we thank them all. Um, we're going to get up to our final uh public comment. Mr. Killian Wait, wait. Can you speak into the microphone? Try that. Hello. That's better. Thank you. I

129would like to suggest that you invite Bob D'Angelus of Yorktown 100 to make a presentation to you, the school board, on the same topic of energy efficiency and sustainability to complement the presentation you heard on June 3 from the perspective of a construction manager. Sustainability and the consequences of not reducing our reliance on fossil fuel need to be better explained. We need to have more encouragement to make a multi-year plan. The concentration on lighting in the June 3 presentation was unfortunate. Very little can be accomplished just with LED lights. The objective of an EPC uh C should be to increase, not decrease, as stated, the use of electricity as you transition to heat pumps to cool and heat your buildings and electricity to power your vehicles. Information about the life of solar panels was misstated.

130When you install solar panels, you lock in the cost of electricity for 25 years. My solar panels, which are 20, which are three years old, have a warranty to produce in year 25 86% of the power they made in the first year. When you cover a roof with solar panels, you greatly included with other trash and don't have to be separated because the glass, aluminum, and silver are much more valuable than paper or plastic. Solar panels do not go into landfills. The suggestion that energy service companies are not reporting accurate data to the uh SED is very unfortunate. The method suggested reduction in the use of electricity is not the appropriate method. Calculations of savings come from comparing the cost of on-site production of electricity, which you lock in for 25 years, with the cost

131of buying electricity, which increases year after year, compared to the cost of fossil fuel not burned. So, please invite Yorktown 100 to do a different perspective on energy efficiency and sustainability. Thank you. Thank you very much. Can I have a motion to adjourn? Second. All those in favor? I oppose. Good night everybody. See you in two weeks.