BOE Meeting 03/24/26

001We're good. >> Okay. I'll rise for the pledge of allegiance >> to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> Thank you. Mrs. Sadita, can you please call the role? here. >> Here >> thank you. The reading of the district mission. Our mission is to empower all students to be self-directed, lifelong learners who willingly contribute to their community and lead passionate, purposeful lives. May I please get a motion for the approval of the agenda? >> So move. >> Thank you. >> Second. >> Thank you. Um any discussion? >> Seeing none, all those in favor? I >> opposed abstensions. Motion passes. Um correspondence. I'm going to get to correspondence next in my president remarks if that's

002all right. We did get a little correspondence this week. Um >> I have a correspondence. >> You do? Sure. Go ahead. >> The town of Libertarian supervisor reached out to >> I think we can't hear you too well >> about the >> if you could like pull it closer to you maybe. >> Hello. >> Can you guys hear Jeff pretty well? No. Can you pull the whole machine closer to you? >> Yeah. Thank you. or put it on the side and have the >> uh the Rotary Club is looking for volunteers for their Lraange Road Ranger Trash Bash. It is Saturday, April 25th from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00. Um great opportunity for volunteer hours for anyone who needs them. >> Great. Thank you so much. Anybody else? Seeing none, moving on. Board presence remark. Well,

003welcome. We don't usually have a packed house anymore. Um, we used to have packed houses when the kids had to come from the government class and get their paper signed, but that's been years. So, I want to welcome everybody. Um, I think many of you know that the board has received uh many emails this week. Um, I know that a call for action came out in response to information information about the um instrumental elementary music program and uh and and that call for action was enthusiastically picked up and we received an awful lot of feedback from an awful lot of people. Um, I did read all the emails um taken together. They were a really, you know, honestly a beautiful portrait uh to our music program and painted a a broad picture of what it

004means to a lot of people. Um we heard from current families and students. We heard from more than I would have expect empty nesters, people whose students have long since gone through the program, grandparents. We heard from alumni. Um, we heard from a lot of former students who are now actually employed in the music industry, either as professional musicians or teachers themselves. Um, and then we heard how we heard how the music program formed kids, how it gave them friends and discipline and community and just a lot of other wonderful things like that. So, what we definitely heard is that our community loves our music program. And I just wanted to share with you that that message did come clearly through to us. I think we always knew it almost I would say many of

005us here uh have had children who have been beneficiaries of the fruits of our music program. So we understand what it does on a personal level as well. Um but in fact I I need I'm going to take this moment to inform you that there isn't any planned cuts nor was there any planned cut to the elementary inst music music program. Um, we had a meeting. We are working hard on the budget. There was a list of a variety of things given. Um, and Dr. Bonante has been thorough this year, which I've really appreciated in after each of our meetings sending a note out to staff so that they know how our deliberations are continuing and what what we're facing as we go in the interest of transparency. So, as that went out, I think

006that's where the misunderstanding began to form. But I hope you are reassured by the fact that that is not something that is on the cutting block, nor is it something we've even discussed. So, um, but I but I would because I've got the attention of so many people, I would like to just talk a little bit about, um, what that means and and where we are now with our um with our with our budget. Um, school budgets statewide, perhaps you've heard different some school districts are having really terrible years. Um, state aid is down, inflation is up, health insurance for everyone is is escalating at a rate higher than anything else and that's affecting us. Um, we're aware of all those things. We're also aware that our taxpayers pay high property taxes and they care

007how we they're under real financial pressure themselves and they're and we always take our taxpayers into consideration. Um, so what does this mean for Arlington? We have a lot going in our favor. Um, couple of things off the top of my mind. We have a very talented and dedicated staff in all areas. We have a very supportive community reflective of this evening and and we've been careful stewards of our finances and facilities over decades really. Um because of that um we're going to be able to manage these pressures in a very managed way over several several budget cycles. Um and avoid the type of draconian cuts that have brought everybody out today. Um I feel very confident that under Dr. Bonante's leadership, we can find efficiencies while maintaining excellence. And that's where we're going to

008head in the years ahead. But we definitely need to work together. We've heard from our music program loud and clear. But the strength of our our comm community, our district is the breadth of our program. Starting first of all with academics, but also athletics and art, AP, engineering, the culinary arts. We have a wide variety so that each student can find their place. As much as the students here tonight have found their place in the music program, other students find their places in other places. and we want to make sure we have a wide breath of things to offer them where they can experience personal growth, social interaction, and self-discovery. Um, our people, our values, and the richness of our programs are what make Arlington such a special place. And together, that's what makes Arlington

009Arlington. We here know that, and we're working to protect it all the time. And I appreciate the fact that that you care, too. And I want to thank you for reaching out. I want to thank you for paying attention and I hope that you continue to support Arlington into the future. That concludes my remarks. Dr. Bante. >> Thank you, Mrs. Mean. And I think there's going to be plenty of discussion around the budget. So, I'll hold my comments on that just for now because there's a few updates that I wanted to provide uh the board of education. And then I also uh uh soon we uh have some special guests that I want to welcome uh to Arlington. And and good evening to the members of the community that are here with us this evening.

010I appreciate your attendance at this evening's meeting. Uh first, I I had the joy I I'm not going to approach my comments any differently. Uh just because there's a larger audience actually. It's a great opportunity to highlight some of the things that are going on in our district as we do each uh time we meet. I I want to thank Miss Mosca and Mrs. Dystra uh teachers at Knoxon Road Elementary School. I had the opportunity to meet with a precocious group of first graders uh 10 of them uh on St. Patrick's Day as they were enjoying their St. Patrick's Day treats provided by their families uh for their commitment to character club which is an opportunity for the kids to come in uh every month and talk about a different member meet a different member

011of the community. So I was the guest uh this month and talk about how character uh notably positive character uh shapes our work in the community and uh many of the guests have have shared a story uh or something of that nature to just emphasize various character traits that I think we all aspire to. Uh so it was great. I think I held the kids connection for or attention I should say uh for you know five minutes or so and then beyond that once they heard I called snow days uh that that really became the emphasis of of of the meeting not so much the work that I do outside of that um but I did my best and I want to thank Miss Moscow and Mrs. Dystra for uh inviting me to attend and

012I know uh the other members of the community that have had the opportunity to attend uh really uh appreciated that time as well. Uh, I don't want to step on anybody's toes who's going to mention this, but I'd be remiss if I I didn't mention uh the Winterguard Invitational uh a couple of weeks ago at Arlington High School. Uh it was great to see our students perform. Uh many students perform from various communities. Uh but it certainly highlights the extent and breadth of the programs that we offer our students in Arlington as you noted Maryanne. So to see that we have a JV Wintergard is I think just really remarkable and they did fantastic. And then obviously our our upper classmen uh did so as well and they had the chance to perform in front

013of their friends and family uh community members and a loyal contingent of alumni uh who were also there to support them and I know several of our board members were there as well. Uh it it serves as a good reminder that we have a lot going on this time of year as we turn towards spring. Um you'll see some student artwork highlighted outside of the district office and we highlight uh student artwork from throughout uh the district each month. Uh this uh month we have some upper classman's work which is just amazing. Uh and it's nice to see the progression of their uh the visual arts program over the course of their experience here in Arlington. Uh so please check that out as you're on your way out this evening. It's just some great representations

014of student artwork uh here at district office. But the ultimate representation of the scope of that program uh will be April 11th at Arlington High School uh this year uh for the district's arts fair, which you don't have to be there at the beginning. It runs from 11:00 to 4:00 if you have the opportunity to stop by the high school uh and check out the various work that's on display. I always love seeing the um you know, our our younger students uh with their parents, you know, getting a picture in front of their artwork that they created. Uh I still have the photos in in in in my house of uh our kids next to you know a piece of their work uh from that time. That's great. And then some of our upper classmen

015again do live demonstrations which is a really nice add-on uh compared uh a nice add-on that's evolved over the last few years. So be sure to check that out. Um just two more businessoriented items for the board. Uh again before I eventually get into my presentation. Uh the LMS principal process is underway. Uh thank you Hillary for facilitating the first round of interviews with district leaders uh and other staff from LMS uh up here uh last week. Uh that is going to progress uh after the break to a next round of meetings uh and interviews for candidates who have been selected to move forward with parents, students and and faculty and staff uh for uh ultimately uh will culminate uh in identifying the next school leader for Lraange Middle School uh which we look forward

016to. Um, and lastly, the state budget process is ongoing, so a bit of a transition. Uh, although my remarks on budget are going to come a little later, I just wanted to keep the board apprised of the contact that I've had uh both with, uh, Senator Hinchi and, uh, Assembly Person Barrett's office. As you know, a group of us met, uh, with, um, Assembly Member Barrett, back in the fall, I would say by now, Mary, and I think that's when it was. It's a little bit of a blur. um and representatives from Senator Hinchie's office to talk about the cost allowance for the West Road site location project. Um that was not included in the governor's our request was not included uh despite their request in the governor's executive proposal. However, uh they advised me

017that's that was probably going to happen. um they have been very active behind the scenes and uh introducing joint legislation now in the budget uh uh uh budget development process as the legislature works through the one house budget and um are keeping me apprised you know every other day or so uh about the status of that legislation. So uh I think that's really great news. Um they said this is this is how this goes. So, uh, I'm along for the ride at this point, but as I shared with Maryanne on Friday, NISPA also reached out, uh, the school boards association to, uh, indicate that they are they've identified those bills being introduced and if they could play any role in also advocating for those bills, uh, to to be supported in the final budget process,

018which again, I think is great. I didn't know NISSBA did that. Again, so we're we're learning along the way, and I've provided some information uh, to them as well. Uh so our hope is again that will uh help us maximize our aid on the West Road uh site location um uh and uh really put us in a a good position uh financially uh not just for that project but for the total scope of projects that are are scheduled to go on over the next 5 years or so throughout the district. So uh things are moving forward there. Um again I have uh many remarks related to budget but I'll have my time in in a few minutes. So uh at this point if we can transition to Mia. Thank you. Yes. Our report from Exophysicio

019student board member Mia. Thank you. >> Good evening everyone. Um it's really nice to see so many people here. Um I I leaned over to Dr. Venante in the beginning of the meeting and said, "Wow, there's a lot of people here. I could barely even find a parking spot." Um but I just have a few remarks regarding sports. Uh, so as our winter season came to an end a few weeks ago, we had the winter sports awards tonight and I was honored to be able to speak on behalf of unified bowling. Um, which is by far the most like my favorite program I'm involved in at Arlington. Um, I've been doing unified basketball and unified bowling since I was a sophomore. And it is just a wonderful environment, um, rooted in inclusivity and compassion. And

020I see some faces here from the high school tonight. And if anyone is interested in joining the unified program, you definitely should because it's just a joyful experience. It's amazing. Um, there's botchi ball in the fall, basketball in the winter, and then wait, no, sorry, bowling in the winter, and then basketball in the spring. And it's great. And then now we're moving into our spring season. And most of the teams, if not all of them, have our first games this week. Um, I'm a little biased to flag football. So, our first game is tomorrow at Caramel. And hopefully we win. And I just wanted to say good luck to all of the spring athletes. and I'm definitely a little sad that it's my last season at Arlington, but I'm very excited to make the most

021of it. Thank you. >> Thanks, Mia. Does anybody have any questions for Mia tonight? >> Thank you so much. >> All right, that brings us to the first session of public comic. Do we have anybody, Francesca? >> Yes. >> All right, then. Let me read my little my little spiel. There you go. Thank you. This is the first of two opportunities for people to address the board. When your name is called from the speakers list for agenda items. You may speak for up to three minutes on agenda items only. Your remarks must be addressed to the board. All speakers must conduct themselves in a civil manner. And although we do not engage in dialogue, we are listening. Comments about individual district personnel or students are not permitted. And if you leave your contact information with

022Mrs. Sadita, our district clerk, one of it, the staff will contact you as soon as possible. Thank you very much. So, who's our first person? Good evening, everybody. My name is Ed Haly. As I've mentioned at a previous board meeting, I'm a 31-year member of the community and the proud parent of two successful Arlington graduates and the very proud uh grandfather of an incoming kindergartener. I'd like to encourage the board tonight to follow the recommendation of Dr. Benante and assistant superintendent for business, Mr. Sheldon, and adopt a budget with a 3.51 tax levy, the maximum that's allowed by the state. In these uncertain economic times, there's little reason to believe conditions will improve in the near future. If we choose not to utilize the full tax cap now, we risk finding ourselves in the same

023difficult position again next budget season. As you enter a discussion this evening about budget, I feel compelled to address a comment made last week about sacred cows. As I was the only community member present when the statement was weighed, and I'll be honest, it was a little bit difficult to hear, but I'm going to ask for you to reflect with me on that topic. Picture the Arlington Central School District as a whole. Then picture each individual school building. Now, think about each department within those schools. Finally, imagine each each classroom, many of which you visited this year. Now, ask yourselves, what would our district look like if every one of those pieces performed at the level of what's being called a sacred cow? Isn't that the goal? Wouldn't it be something to be proud of

024if our entire district were recognized regionally and nationally for the same level of excellence as our music program? As a grandfather and educator, I believe that that should be the standard. So maybe our mindset about this is backwards. Maybe the question isn't how do we dismantle the so-called sacred cows. Maybe the question is how do we create more of them? What can we learn from the programs that are thriving? How can we pli how can we apply those lessons across classrooms and the departments and the buildings? Imagine the opportunities that would create not just for my granddaughter but for every student in the district. I believe this is the charge that's before us tonight. In the current fiscal environment, the only way to move toward that vision is to adopt the budget recommended by our

025superintendent and assistant superintendent for business. They have proven to be trustworthy stewards of our of our students, staff, and community. Reducing the tax levy to an arbitrary, more marketable number may sound appealing, but approves minimal savings to taxpayers while risking last lasting harm to our students. I did notice on the board docs tonight that in order to get to a 299 tax levy, you proposed to eliminate a section of kindergarten. It's my sincere hope that increasing the class size for the newest members of our learning community isn't even entertained as an option as part of your deliberations. Ultimately, the decision should rest with the community. Allow them to decide what they're willing to invest in their children's education. Thank you. Next person. >> Good evening. My name is Megan Rush and I'm here tonight to

026urge the board of education to protect the Arlington experience for all students by approving Dr. Bonanti's recommended budget with an increase to the tax levy of 3.51%. For the past eight years, I have been a fifth grade teacher at Arthur S. May, where I've lovingly taught over 350 students. But tonight, I am not here as a teacher. I am here as a taxpayer and parent. I am an Arlington alum, class of '06. And when my husband and I moved back to the area 9 years ago, we intentionally bought a home in the Arlington school district despite the higher house prices and tax bill. We wanted our future children to be afforded the same high level of education that I enjoyed. Now, my daughter is registered to attend Arlington this coming fall. As a parent, I'm

027already concerned about the larger class sizes that my child will be experiencing due to the significant staffing reductions across elementary schools next year. Despite claims of right-sized classrooms, I don't believe this is what is best for my daughter. Yet, I understand that hard decisions need to be made to maintain a balanced budget within the tax cap. What I cannot support, however, is the willingness of some board members to make further cuts to the Arlington experience by increasing the tax by not increasing the tax levy to 3.51%. The difference between a 2.5% increase, not even the 2.99 that you're asking for, 2.5, and a 3.51% increase on my personal tax bill is $53. On a personal financial level, this is minimal. The cuts that would be necessary to accommodate a lower tax increase, however, would be

028significant for our students. Now, I'm adjusting my comments based on what I just saw as in Dr. Ben's presentation. In order to make that lower um tax levy work, I see that there would need to be a reduction to safety and security. A reduction to safety and security when there have already been eight school shootings in the United States in 2026 alone. there were 78 in 2025. I also see that there would need to be an additional reduction of a kindergarten section. The proposed budget already includes a reduction of eight elementary sections. Now, what I need everybody to understand from my perspective in a school is that those reductions do not just do not just affect the grade level where there is a reduction. It affects multiple grade levels in a school as teachers are

029moved around to fill those gaps. Elementary school teachers are not interchangeable. We are specialized. I'm a fifth grade teacher. I am I am a recognized fifth grade teacher. I was recently recognized for being a master teacher. When I taught first grade, I went home and cried every night. Right? It is not the same to be moving from first grade to fifth grade. We are losing talented teachers and replacing them with teachers who are less prepared to teach the same curriculum. This is not in the best interest of students. It is not in the best interest of my child and it is not necessary if the tax levy is increased by 3.51%. The role of the board of education is to protect the Arlington experience, providing oversight to ensure that all Arlington students have the best

030education possible. The 350 Arlington students that I have taught have enjoyed and benefited from the programs that you are looking to cut. Your children have enjoyed and benefited from the programs that we are looking to cut. and I urge you to not dismantle those programs for my child. As a parent and taxpayer, I ask you to please approve Dr. Bonante's proposed budget with a tax levy increase of 3.51%. >> Thank you. Do we have anyone else for the first section of public comment? Okay, thank you. That moves us on to reports and discussions and the student of distinction. Absolutely. So, get my notes organized. I'm sorry. At this point, I'd like to welcome our guests from Duchess Boseies and Miss Tilman and Mr. Frasier, I think, are going to There you are. Welcome. Come on

031up to the front. And Miss Tilman and Mr. Frasier from Duchess Boseies are going to recognize our student of distinction uh for this month. Our Bosey's student of distinction for this month uh Miss Mia Fountain. So, absolutely. And Mia, Mia, Mia, if you don't mind, if you could stand as well while we're saying nice things about you. Yes. Good evening all. Uh my name is Kesha Tilman. I'm the principal of Duchess Boseis Resilience Academy. And in our effort as a Duchess Boseis to further innovation, partnership, and growth, we are here today myself and Mr. Frasier to present the distinction award to Miss Mia Fountain. Uh Mia is one of the highlights of our students here at the Duchess Boseis Resilience Academy. I'm going to read a few statements from her teachers. Mia has shown tremendous

032growth since coming to the Resilience Academy in June of 2024. She continues to evolve into a conscientious, hard-working student. She gets along well with her peers and is always respectful and polite in class. Another teacher states that um in the last year and a half, she's seen tremendous growth in Mia. Mia has taken ownership for her academics, identifying what learning styles suit her, having the ability to set forth short-term and long-term goals. She's now um displaying confidence and courage to seek out assistance when needed. We are very proud of Mia's success, especially when it comes to her commitment to math and science, especially after passing her algebra and her earth science regions exams. And so I just want to say on a personal level that I enjoy Mia. She's in a lot of different uh

033clubs, student government, she's been a part of, she's been put a part of community service, teen talk, uh SAD, students against destructive decision-making. She's one of the students that we look to uh if we're doing tours in our building. And so we are definitely very proud of Mia and we thank you parents for raising such a fine daughter and we thank you for here to celebrate her today. Come this way. We'll take a picture real quick. >> Actually, if uh we can in uh one sec. We're going to take a couple pictures if if you don't mind. May I just also wanted to present you with a certificate from our school district as well. Um, >> yeah. No, we're good. It's sliding. It's sliding there. Uh, we're very proud of I'm going to come up

034there. May you stay right there. Yeah, you stand right where you were. I should have put a little X on the floor stage, right? Um, but we're very proud of the efforts that you've made as an Arlington student at the Resilience Academy. And one of the things that Miss Tilman shared that I I think is uh uh really important that because it's something we repeat all of the time to our high school students, which is the importance of getting engaged in your learning community. There's a lot of opportunities obviously at Arlington High School. There's a lot of opportunities at Duchess Boseies. I think you've served as a wonderful model for what that positive engagement looks like within a school community. So, if it's okay, Miss Meen, if we can take a minute, uh give me

035our certificate and then we'll take a couple photos. I asked the audience just for your patience for a moment or two because I assured Mia she wouldn't have to stay for the budget presentation. She's got to get out of here. All right. Thank you. Yeah. Cool. Nope. You know, I have a pleasure of recognizing students pretty routinely. Yeah. >> And you know, usually I meet mom and dad, but an observation is grandmas and grandpas always introduce themselves. >> So I didn't see me as grandma. I'm a grandma. Gotcha. Sorry, I missed you. >> Yeah, that's wonderful. Always a great thing to have at one of our meetings. Um that moves us on to the Duchess Bosey's budget presentation. So we have a couple of people here and Nora Merritt from Duchess Boseies. And again, I

036know many of our audience members are here to hear remarks regarding the Arlington budget, but part of the Arlington budget is the Bosey's budget. And this is the meeting where uh Boseies comes and provides a brief summary uh uh around some of the facets of the Bosey's budget and our uh contribution towards that and Bose services that they provide our students. So Derek and Nora, welcome. Thank you for being here this evening. Uh and and feel free to take it away when you're ready. Well, thank you for having us. As a grandma, yeah, >> and as a a proud uh parent of three Admiral Arlington graduates, I'm very very happy to be here this evening and it's great to have the crowd that you do in such an important matter truly. So, I want to

037thank you um from Duchess County Boseies. My name is Nora Merritt. I am the assistant superintendent for human resources with Duchess Boseies and I'm here alongside my colleague Dr. Sheline and we're here to do um a presentation of the Bosey's budget. It's really three-fold. I can't do it without these. Excuse me. Uh one, we'll uh go through the Bosey's budget itself. We'll talk a little bit about programs and services and then we'll talk about our journey of innovation, partnership, and growth. Thank you. I'd like to begin by thanking our own board of trustees and their continued support for empowering the cabinet to do the work that we p we're passionate about advancing teaching and learning across the region. In particular, I'd like to recognize the board president Ralph Shimento for his leadership. I'd also like

038to thank your board for the commitment of service to the community. As I mentioned, I'm a proud parent and I have watched my kids who've gone uh through the system many many moons ago, but I have uh little ones in tow underway ready to to join the team. So, I'm very very proud of the work that you're doing and I do appreciate that. Uh do be reminded that we have two open seats uh in the Boseis uh board for this year. Uh the vote for that will be on April 28th alongside the administrative school budget. Dr. Dr. Shouline will take you through the elements of that school budget now and I will close in just a short order. All set. >> Thank you, Dr. Merritt, and thank you all again for allowing us just a

039few minutes of your time tonight on a night where it looks like you've got a packed agenda. Uh my goal these next series of slides here is to present this uh really like your ideal school bus run, right? Short, on time, efficient, and with as few bumps as possible. So, I want to start just with a quick overview of the budget process. We begin that in earnest in the fall months with internal discussions with the different departments, assessing what they see as the current needs of the state of the program and early indications from districts as to what their needs are going to be moving forward. And we take that information and we use it to kind of assess what's going to be necessary uh and build out the rates that we need to support

040that. We did send those rate sheets out to the business offices uh back in January. And we we do really ask uh for folks get that back to us uh early in April. So that if we do get it back that first week, that really gives us a good five weeks or so to build our budget, to take a look at what all the district's needs are um and then to figure out what we're going to need to do to support that so that we have a budget with fidelity uh put together for our board of trustees. Um on the 10th um just to situate the administrative budget within the context of the Boseies overall um what this diagram here is showing in all those different major program areas from special ed with resilience academy

041you just saw some representatives here and uh saw point center and learning tech and the others um that other 94 or so percent of the budget that is not administrative um is all self- sustaining that is fee paid for services um that doesn't exist if districts don't sign up. Um so they are very much self-funded. The portion uh we're going to focus on right now is that blue part on top, the 5.6% which is the administrative budget. That's actually the one portion of the budget uh that we ask for district support on uh and to vote to approve. In putting that budget together, uh we did make some key assumptions. We do have an open uh contract with our teachers union and we are optimistic and hope for a successful conclusion of that process uh

042that is both fair and financially and fiscally sustainable uh both now and in the future. Um like you and the other districts we are dealing with a 9.9 average uh percent health increase to the premiums. Um I do want to point out that although Duchess Bose sort of houses DHCK, we are very much a member just as every other district. one of 24 members. Um, and the 9.9% that all the districts contend with, we have to factor in as well. Um, within the budget, we are looking to maintain our investment to make sure that our kids have access to the latest tools and technology as they learn their crafts and their trades. They're able to meet the expanding special ed needs that we see. We anticipate some growth in the early college access and dual

043enrollment programs. Um, we're going to continue to support the roll out of a district safety and security service that we launched this year. And then really um we took a very hard look at the budget recognizing the strain that everybody is under uh to take a look at really any dollars being spent that are not revenue generating u to go through and make sure they are absolutely necessary to support the program um so that we're not putting an undue burden on anybody. So with the numbers the proposed administrative budget for next year is 7.142 million in the top row there. Um and you'll see that's a 4.14% increase. The number might stand out to you, not just because it's circled in red, but because I just got done talking about how we were going to

044be responsible in building that budget. And that's a big number. Um, and the reason for that really, I think, is shown in the next two lines down. Um, and that is, uh, the administrative budget is driven very heavily by retiree health insurance contributions. So under state law, whenever a an an employee in any program that they're in, whether they're in CTI, they're in special ed, learning tech, my old grounded resources, as soon as they retire, their retirey health insurance costs get moved into the administrative budget. And so you can see that accounts for pretty much twothirds of the overall spending in the line share of the increase. That that upper line, non-retirey administrative expenses, that's really that discretionary portion of the budget where we've got a little bit of leeway to try to control costs.

045Um, and you can see there, I think we've done a good job at holding that to under 1.1% on an increase. Uh, if we're going to spend the 7.142 million, we have to raise that much in revenue. Um, and you'll see on the bottom chart there that although the budgetto budget increase is 4.14%, uh, the charge to districts is going up by 4.94. And the reason for that discrepancy is that line that says other revenue. Um, like districts, one of our primary sources of other revenue is interest income earned on deposits. And with rates having come down as they have over the last year and what we expect moving forward um we anticipating a little bit less revenue there which does unfortunately shift a little bit of the burden to the districts which is why

046those two numbers don't match. So that 4.94 is important to note that is an average charge. Um it's the average increase across the districts. Each individual district's amount will actually be slightly more or less uh based on a district's arwada. And arwatada is in that second column from the left that stands for resident weighted average daily attendance uh which is just a real mouthful of a way of saying your enrollment uh with a little bit of waiting. And so our WADAS if we follow that line I'm sorry Arlington's Arwatada if we follow that line across has increased by 65 uh which is an additional cost or an increase to the administrative budget of 80,351 or 4.94%. While um districts are only voting on the administrative portion of the budget and not the capital and rental

047portion, we do like to show this out of a desire to be completely transparent because although you're not voting on this, uh these costs are allocated out to the districts in much the same way the administrative budget is according to Arwatada. And so our budget does include a million dollars to fund uh minor improvements on the campus. Think of things like, you know, we wind up having to replace a leaky section of roof, HVAC fails or some window replacement. Um, and then $61,200, uh, which are rental fees for the handful of classes we have in district to support special ed programs. So, Arlington's portion of that increase is 2396 or 1.06% on the top row. And then finally, I want to just pull it together by um going back to uh talk about what we

048see as um really the financial return that Arlington gets uh for its investment with the Boseies. So if we look at the 2425 school year on an all-in basis, Arlington spent 19 million642189 um in total Boseie services and on that expense over the course of this year we have begun and anticipate returning uh just almost 6.4 4 million back to the district or about a third of the original cost. And that's come from two places. The first being the surplus paid of about 1.35 million. So at the end of the year last year, as we had been able to do, fortunately the last bunch of years, we had more revenue than we had expenses. And under state law, when that happens, we have to balance our budgets to zero at the end of the year.

049Every penny extra that we have gets returned and allocated back out to districts based on how you purchase services. Um, and so those checks were actually um that payment was made uh about four weeks ago. I know districts got it because the checks were cashed about the minute they went out the door. Um, the and then the lion share of that is of course uh Bosey's aid that's generated on your purchases. And I do want to just note that that 32.4% return is actually higher. It doesn't include the high-cost aid that you get on special ed students because that goes directly to the district uh from the states. And so with that, I want to turn things back over to Dr. merit to kind of bring us on by talking about where we are and

050our vision for the future. >> Thank you, Derek. He's very good with the numbers. It makes it sound so simple. It isn't. It's pretty complicated and we work really hard at um taking a look at all of our services, including the student programs. And as you can see your student count for the 25, excuse me, 26, what are we? 2526 school year, we have 64 students in the special and alternative education programs. That would include the resilience academy of your student of distinction this afternoon. So it's uh you can see how that works. 101 students are accessing our um advanced technology programs or career programs at CTI. um the lion share of those are in the trades, electricity, excuse me, electrical, HBAC, welding, etc. And you do engage in a um the PEK program, which

051is sort of a new program for us in partnership with DCC and WERS and other school districts. You have five students in those programs as well. So, you can see that uh your district does um partake in many of our services. Just to be reminded that these are the student services that we have. There's a whole host of other uh services that we provide to component school districts. You know, in earnest back in April of last year, we set course on building a strategic plan that was meaningful and that was representative of what our efforts will be going forward. We really boiled that down to four priorities and they're going to be sound very similar to your own priorities actually. uh you know we want to be the lead educator prov educational provider for the

052component school districts in Duchess County. We want to be your first call. So we want to be the central hub for that work um to be support of you and your teaching and learning experiences. In addition uh talent management and development you know it's important that we have folks live and work in Duchess County. We want our um acquisition of talent to stay and so the retention and the recruitment and retention is very important to us. In fact, we're engaged right now in a job fair for um the community at large uh on April 18th. And thank you to uh Hillary Roberto who was helpful in in in organizing that student engagement is at the heart of all the things that we do. Uh we want to make sure that the student experience is is

053authentic and with we've done done with fidelity. We also want to ensure that we have the materials to support those students students in that endeavor. So operations is quite important to us. So as you can see, you know, our blueprint for excellence is really your blueprint for excellence. We want all of the students in Duchess County to um have that that wonderful academic um pathway to success. And I thank you for your time this evening. I do extend apologies for Dr. Deluchia who is engaged in another meeting tonight. So, with that, uh, if you have any questions, I'll be happy to help answer them. >> Thank you very much. Does anybody have any questions? >> I don't think so, but thank you. Thank you for all your hard work. >> Thank you. >> Okay, that

054brings us to the star of the evening, our budget discussion. Dr. Bante. >> Thank you, Mrs. Minan. I I think this is probably the 12th budget meeting that we've had at this point this school year. So, uh, obviously the board and and maybe one or two members of the community are familiar with that. Uh, so I'm going to go backwards a little bit because we don't want to miss the opportunity because we have, uh, so many community members that are here this evening just to provide a little bit of context for what's shaping budget development this year. Uh, and and then also uh then pick it up, I think essentially where we left off in our last discussion last week. So, uh, with that, I just ask for your patience from the board because there's

055probably a few things here on the front end that you've you've heard, uh, several times over. Uh, but I think it's a good opportunity just to set the context for, uh, again so many of the invested community members that are here with us this evening. Uh, last school year, so I'm actually going to go back to last year, I shared with the board on the front end of budget development that there's several things that make our community unique uh, as a school district. that maybe we had some uh community members speak to that uh just a few minutes ago. And this list could could have 20 different qualities on it. And no one of these items uh necessarily makes us unique. It's the combination of all of them uh that make us unique as a

056as a school community and I think a really special place uh for our students who attend school here, for our staff uh who work here and and then also for the uh community members that get to be a part of it. The first is our history uh in Arlington. And I can say uh respectfully that we care about our history. We're not bound to it. Uh but we do our very best to honor uh the people who were a part of our community, who helped shape our schools uh years ago uh in the in the present moment. And that's why like stories like Charlie Johnson's really endure uh and previous school leaders have have made a uh and staff members have made a dedicated effort to tell Charlie Johnson's story. Uh when I came into

057the district, uh I I know Mr. Pepe uh made a concerted effort to tell the story of Tom Hassenflug who was a superintendent uh many years uh prior and was credited with modernizing Arlington at that particular time. Uh and then also um uh using his position uh as superintendent to tell the story of others who uh uh he had heard uh about Bill Sweeney um and and and we recognized uh Mr. Sweeney obviously uh outside of the auditorium and and and in that space and as I've come in and obviously there's others who come before me I think it's important to tell Mr. Pepe's story and the work that he did here uh as well as Mr. Brook's story but also the story of some of our educators who uh who shaped uh you know

058me and and and I know my my classmates as we went through school people like Mrs. Vatelli uh at Traver Road Primary School, Val Sudter at Arlington High School and Brian Badeston at Arlington High School and there's hundreds of others. So, uh, our history truly is something that makes us unique in the way we honor those, uh, who who who came before us. Uh, I think we have outstanding teacher quality in Arlington. um uh that's recognized through things like the master uh teacher program which uh Miss Rush is a part of but also uh through the national board certification process. Arlington uh as a proportion uh proportionally has more uh master teachers and national board certified teachers than than most school districts in New York State uh outside of New York City. uh when our

059district is operating at its best, uh the leadership among administration, uh board of education and and our teacher leadership uh generally has a very collaborative approach and a shared vision uh for what it is that we're trying to accomplish for our kids. Uh another thing is our extensive programmatic offerings that we offer a lot to our kids. uh we highlight that in various ways as you know you attend many of those events over the course of the school year and we're able to provide as a large school district a really robust uh programmatic offering for our kids. Uh and then we have a great commitment from our support staff and I I I love to tell the story. I won't get into it now but my son both of my sons had an outstanding elementary

060experience. They've had a great experience here in Arlington. Uh but I'll never forget the day when he uh when my younger son uh said goodbye to his bus driver uh on the last day of elementary school. knowing that that that part of their journey together was was over. Uh that going into the next school year, he was going to have a different driver. But Miss Christine was such a fixture in his life. Starting the day and ending the day each day with such a positive presence uh on him and such a positive impact on him was really uh important to him and important to us as a family. So again, it's not any one of these things uh that makes us unique. It's the combination of these things that make us unique as a learning

061community. Uh, and it's also how we go about our work. Uh, that really defines us when we're at our best, not the what. Uh, again, the what that we do is is offered in many places throughout New York State. Uh, when it comes to to public schools, it's how we go about that work. Uh, the relationships that we emphasize through uh uh through our schooling that really has a positive impact on our kids. Uh, so this was shared last year. Again, just want to bring you back to that as we were going into uh last year's budget development process. Something else that I shared uh with the board, you'll uh you'll remember this is that we were really coming upon a time when state aid was going to moderate. Moderate may be an overstatement uh

062at this point uh but that there was going to be more pressure to control internal costs, salaries, benefits to the extent that we could uh and the expansion of our programming while maintaining additional revenue. Now revenue is for us is taxes uh in a manner that the community can support. And I know that's a very delicate dance that the board and I and Kevin and the members of our team have tried to navigate between last school year and leading into this school year, but we we saw this coming and I know the board understands that uh again for uh the community members. This is something that uh is not new in terms of our fiscal outlook. Um uh we knew that there was going to be pressure on the budget last year and there's going

063to obviously that's continued into this school year. uh and it's going to force us to be deliberate, creative uh as we go uh go through the process to ensure that we can uh continue to provide the things that make us unique as a school community. Now, I'll fast forward uh to this year uh and obviously I I should note here that if any community member wants to really understand what's been discussed over the last three months, you know, all of our budget documents are loaded into board docs. Uh they're they're public facing. So I again I'm just highlighting some things for sake of time this evening but you can go back and look at those things in our meeting. Uh the most significant variable I would say uh influencing budget development this year as Derek

064from Boseis just noted was health insurance. Uh and this chart depicts the health insurance uh premium increases over the last 10 years. And with the exception of 1718 uh because that's a 16% increase that's uh being highlighted there. We've become accustomed to increases between, you know, zero and I would say six percent uh over the last eight years or so. And this school year, as you know, when we started out, we were anticipating a potential increase of, uh, 16%. Uh, obviously, as the consortium has be worked with that, uh, we've arrived at around a 9% increase. Uh, I think our information is updated, uh, from Derek's, no offense to him, it would have been 9.9 like two weeks ago. It's 971 as I have it uh right now. Uh increase to health insurance. We spend

065uh about $50 million uh on health insurance uh for our employees. It's a big cost for us. Obviously, benefits are so a percent increase uh to our healthcare uh is is $500,000 just to uh try to provide just some con context to that figure. So the difference between 6% and you know nine almost 10% uh again is about $2 million. uh in in in the scope of uh uh our budget. Definitely highlighting here as the board's aware, I recommended a budget a couple of weeks ago uh to a 3.5% uh increase to the levy. Uh we prioritized a few areas. I'm just going to speak to them. Uh again, uh the expansion continued expansion of our universal pre kindergarten program. We anticipate receiving increased funding for New York State. Uh that's definitely a priority in

066the governor's executive budget proposal for funding. Uh we could serve our community well by expanding the programming that we're currently offering. Uh we've expanded our kindergarten programming over the last year. Pre kindergarten, excuse me, uh by I think it's 63% is what I had uh in the last budget presentation. Again, I'm just uh drawing from memory right now. Uh we have over 200 students enrolled in our pre kindergarten program. Uh we anticipate enrolling another 36 students next school year with the creation of two additional classrooms. I will say I think the community is catching on, if you will, to the the value and the benefit of this uh at last count. John, I'm just going to around 300 uh applicants uh to the pre kindergarten program for next school year. Uh, and I know that

067uh I'm going to speak to savings here uh more so for our community because I know I know the board gets this that we estimate that if you're to pursue prek privately that you're going to spend anywhere again depending on where how frequently that uh pre-k program is and and and the the program itself anywhere between $6,000 and $15,000 uh to enroll your child private in a private uh preschool program whereas you know under this we would offer it for free. Um uh the second piece is the early college access uh program. Uh we offer plenty of courses at Arlington High School and a core function is becoming of the high school is allowing students opportunity to access college level courses uh at their high school. And we work with Duchess, we work with other

068four-year schools to offer a variety of courses to our students uh at the uh in in 11th and 12th grade. Our students access these courses broadly. They do incur a cost as a family. Um I just got my bill uh from Duchess uh again second time this year um for those costs to enroll if you want the actual college credit uh and uh under next year's model John has worked with Boseies to entirely offset the tuition costs uh associated with this program for our families. Now this is an initial expense for the district. We have built that into the recommended budget. Uh but at the same time as Derek noted we get reimbursement. So, this is expected to be a one-time cost for the school district. Um, and then it will begin to pay for

069itself in subsequent years given the eligibility for for reimbursement through Boseies, which is really through the state. Uh, again, for some families, I would say that's a a savings of $1,000 in tuition costs if your child's taking multiple uh courses, college courses concurrently uh while they're engaged in high school credit. So, we have definitely prioritized being mindful of costs for families. two areas uh that can uh one significantly that can hit families hard which is the cost of prek uh and many of our families you know are probably in a position where they have to just bypass it uh they can't go to prek um or have their kids enrolled in pre-k those who do obviously are paying out of pocket and then the early college access program uh this has been lingering but another

070area of focus going into next year is to make the shift uh towards becoming compliant with the elementary physical education requirements um this is something that's been long-standing for the district. We've uh I just recall from last last goround in Arlington, you know, attempting to put uh begin to address this. Uh we clearly put that aside for several years. Uh we're picking that back up to become compliant uh with physical education requirements at the elementary level. Uh this is driven, you know, for good reason. It's important for kids to be physically active uh at all times. Important for everybody to be physically active. Uh but we know that um uh diabetes particularly uh and obesity particularly at the uh youth level is something that's a very real threat to their their health um long-term health.

071We want our kids to be more active and have the opportunity to access our physical education program uh in Arlington. Uh we've also structured some uh base level training for our staff to again uh expand uh their practices and working with our student body over the course of the year. As I develop the budget, I I look at various program areas also where we can have opportunity to expand. Uh I will say I've included funding in the budget related to athletics um to include a JV flag football team. Mia mentioned flag football a little earlier. Uh flag football is the largest growing uh area uh in terms of athletics for kids in New York State. Uh we're fortunate to have a a varsity uh girls flag football team. They had a great season last year.

072Uh we're turning kids away from that program. Uh this would allow students to access a JV structure. Uh also girls varsity wrestling is another area that's really uh growing. Um we had some female wrestlers wrestling alongside the boys this year. Uh we believe we have enough students to formulate a girls varsity wrestling team next school year. Uh and then long-standing track is one of our largest sports. Uh we would benefit from having additional coaches uh stipened for track. Uh so the again we have over 100 students who who participate in track and we only have I think four coaches. So uh it would benefit to us to have uh an additional coach uh for the track team. With respect to athletics, these tend to be very uh high yield, meaning kids really benefit from being

073involved in athletic program, but relatively low cost given the size of of our uh district. So, to start a JV flag football team, as an example, uh you have your coaches stipens, your referee fees, if you will, uh that's actually a bigger cost. And then you have to outfit the team, you know, jerseys and whatnot, a uniform. It's about $20,000 uh to start a team. Um including transportation costs to get to and from games, uh which is relative to the number the schedule that they run. So, these tend to be lower cost items. I will say what we don't monitor and share with the board is every year we have teams that don't run because interest dips. So we have more girls playing flag football. That means there's fewer students who are engaged maybe in

074lacrosse. So maybe we're not running a lacrosse team each year. So we're continually re-evaluating uh what we're committing our funding towards and the scope of program that we're offering in something like athletics. So is there a cost associated with it? Absolutely. Um I I consider it to be relatively minor given the impact that it can have on the number of students who uh would participate. But what it's likely offset by teams that were not running uh in that given year, which you don't really see because we don't provide a report to the board on all of the teams that aren't running in a given season, but we probably could if that was something that the board wanted to see in the future. But there's always, if you will, a a push and a pull uh

075going on within within athletics. But generally these are good programs. Uh and we want to make sure they all make up if you will. Uh no one program I I think we would all agree everybody in this room would agree no one program defines Arlington. It's the scope of the programming uh that that really is something that stands out uh to in our district. Uh and I'll just note that the recommended budget that I presented to the board uh maintains all existing programs for students. Uh, something that I know. All right, Devin. You said it was gonna happen and he disappeared. >> There you are. All right. >> Hiding. >> You hit the space bar for me. >> Thank you, Deon. So, this is a summary and we did provide copies if anybody wants to

076grab a copy of the presentation uh in the audience because I know this isn't easy to see. Uh but we went through this last week with the board. This is a summary of all of the reductions and ads, the key reductions and ads that are included in the budget development process through this year. Again, as state aids moderating, it's going to force us to be much more deliberate in reviewing our budget each year in making reductions where we can uh while still maintaining the same quality of program for our students uh across the system. And I know the board totally gets this and wants uh you know that to be maintained and honored and that's where the obviously Kevin and I and the administrative team are the ones who are working on this in great

077detail uh over over several months and you know none of these reductions come easily. Uh so I I don't think I need to highlight each one. Uh again they're they're listed there. If uh folks want to want to review them uh they can. Uh but we've had extensive discussion around uh several of these areas. I do just want to clarify a point or two. The prek funding adjustment is where I added funding for prek in this year's budget, the budget that we're in right now, uh because we we wanted to um for some of our uh contracted prek providers, uh they were, you know, realizing uh uh additional costs themselves so of operation. So, we didn't want to drop the number of seats uh that were available to our kids. So, I supplemented prek. uh

078you supported us with that um in in in this year's budget that will come out now next year um if we if the legislature follows through on shifting the per student prek uh aotment for each student. So I don't need to supplement prek anymore uh because we'll be getting more money from New York State for it. So hopefully that that holds through the process. Uh so that's why I've talked about prek. You'll see it there again. Uh, one other piece I wanted to mention there, uh, the early college access I'm showing obviously as an ad. It's not in parenthesis, but that's going to be the cost to totally offset the tuition costs for students, uh, who are enrolled in early college access um, next school year. Um, however, we believe that will become a revenue

079line through Bosey's reimbursement uh, the following year. As Miss Russia noted, we've we've made a lot of uh reductions in staffing uh several reductions in staffing over the course of the district uh or examining the scope of the offerings we have in the district. Uh this totals 20 positions. Uh I'd like to just remind the board or for the community's uh note there were 14 positions reduced last school year. So, it's a total of 34 positions over the last two years. Uh these aren't easy. Uh but again, uh we feel we can make these reductions and still maintain the quality of programming that we're offering uh to our students. Some folks may ask uh and and I've heard this over the last few days, this hasn't this hasn't come from the board. Uh well, why

080would you look at one area like why is elementary uh have eight reductions but maybe I only see uh um a minor reduction in another area. So we do tr establish uh standards if you will uh or guidelines I should say parameters for class size at the elementary level. Um we have over years now realized fewer students coming into our system. Um, with that we feel we can still maintain a certain a consistent level of class size across our district uh while making a net reduction in staffing there. So there was a time in Arlington when we had cohorts of 900 students or more coming into our school system. We now are at a time where we have 500 to 550 students coming into our school system. Um so that's a pretty significant difference having

081400 students less each year coming into the system and then as they make their way through the system uh will result in a reduction in workforce uh over successive years. So those cohorts have made their way through the elementary uh they're making their way now through the middle school and even relative to this our lo largest cohort in the district K12 is just under 700 students. So, we're we're really lower everywhere in the district, but those smaller cohorts of 5 to 550 are making their way up through the uh through the school system. So, in part, you know, you're in a position to make a reduction uh of workforce again, which is not easy. I'd love to keep all of these positions in our district. We'd use everybody, but it's just not uh fiscally responsible

082uh to do that as you're working through budget development. And I know that's something that the board as stewards of the community's tax dollars and the administration takes very seriously is trying to navigate that balance while having very reasonable parameters in place for uh within our system. Uh something that's always a focal point is well where's the central office reduction? Um where's maintenance reduction? I heard a few chuckles. So a couple of things and and this is why we can't um we can't look at budget development. We have to operate within the year we're in. But we really have to look over successive years. You'll notice there's no maintenance. I'll I'll start with maintenance. There's no maintenance reductions in the budget. Years ago, and I'm going back 10 or 12 years ago, we significantly cut

083our maintenance department. Uh uh and that was if we were showing staffing reductions, we were probably showing more on maintenance and operation, if you will, uh than we were in any other area. Um uh we're running right now, uh I I think in a very efficient way. Um, if I could, I'd probably add some maintenance staff in. Uh, I'm not in a position to do that right now. Uh, but I think we've adapted, if you will, to operating our maintenance and operation departments, uh, at the staffing level that we are. So, I'm not going to I I feel we're running as efficiently as we can in that area. Similarly, with district office, Arlington has never, well, I won't say that. Uh, Arlington has had uh, prided itself at various times in running a very lean

084administrative uh, level at district office. And I would encourage anybody to go look uh at a district that's a similar size. Whoers uh being obviously the closest, but if you want to go down to New Rochelle, you can go on their website, check off check out the district office staffing. Uh look at how to a department of curriculum and instruction is staffed in a district with over 5,000 students. Uh we have an assistant superintendent and two directors. You will likely see at minimum in another district our size an assistant superintendent and four directors. and you'll probably see a layer underneath that. Um, we've prided oursel on empowering teacher leadership positions that's not administrative as a basis or a component of curriculum and instruction. I'm not saying that there hasn't been other administrators or superintendents who've

085come in and maybe had a different vision for that. I could understand why. Uh, but that's just generally not how we've operated. So, we reduced a position. We even reduced a position in John's department last year. Um, and obviously we supplemented in special education. Uh, and again, I would encourage you to look at the special education administrative structure. In another district our size, you will see an assistant superintendent. You'll likely see multiple directors. You will see um, uh, committee of special education chairs, and then you'll see CSSE chairs underneath that. We do not do that here. So at some point while yes it is a single year's budget development I have to look and and and there has to be uh I think some trust in the fact that I'm examining the administrative structure in

086the district and I know the board's been empathetic to this uh and making sure that we're remaining we have the support that we need to do that type of work in the district but also that we're being responsible in doing so. Uh so in the year and a half I've been here we haven't added any administrative positions uh to the district office. Uh I think you can make the argument we could uh but that being said, we've somewhat prided ourselves on just making sure we have good people in each of those positions and we'll continue to run uh and be efficient operationally. I would point and just remind the board uh we each had our own clerical support. You had a clerk. Uh I had an administrative assistant. We now share that. Um and I

087and that's largely functional. Uh but I, you know, certainly look to to to what occurs, if you will, in my my own office first. uh in the spirit of being efficient. Again, district our size, I don't think you'll see shared clerical support in the superintendent's office with the you know with the board clerk. Um and for many years it didn't exist that way. So, I just want to call that out because I think we've tried to be really transparent uh not only this year but last year as well. But I know, you know, when you're looking at it just in one year, you know, some things stand out, but really we have to look at All right. So, uh obviously glossing over a lot the committee of the whole follow-up. So, we had a good

088discussion last week around um what would a budget at under 3% look like? And at the back of the packet, if anybody has it, the board has had this in the past. Um levy increase since the tax cap legislation went into effect. I don't have it up here to display. Uh but I I I think there's a norm in the community that the board is largely operating within and understandably so. when the tax cap legislation was passed in 2012 or so, um, uh, you know, was the the headline, as you will, is a 2% tax, uh, cap. The reality is it's formula based, and it's not really 2%. It could be less than 2% some years, it can be higher than 2% some years. And, uh, but there certainly was a dedicated effort on the

089part of the board and the administration when that legislation was initially passed to keep it right at 2%. Um, or around or less. Uh and if you look at that chart, you will see that as the years went on, there's years where we were able to be below. Uh the years there are years when we've been slightly above. We had an extensive dialogue last school year um to go to a seven uh 2.74% levy increase. Uh and that was, I think, a very helpful uh and healthy dialogue between the board and the administration. Uh as we said though and as Kevin and I shared there was going to be more pressure in the years to come uh to really test that uh because the state aid increases were not going to come in at the

090level I think we had become accustomed to uh right around COVID or or post pandemic. Remember we were getting additional foundation aid during that time and we were also getting federal pandemic relief money coming into the school district at that time. So those monies are have been spent um or they're incorporated into our budget. Now, we were advised and the state has held true to this. We're going to see 1 to 2% increases in state aid and that's what obviously uh the indication of what's been provided this year or what we're planning around uh in the budget. So I know that there's a pressure that the board feels respectfully and I think uh certainly empathize and understand this that the community has reflected if you will support for the budget uh right around the 2%

091range. And uh you know as certainly the long-standing board members the the the potential of of a budget not passing uh does more damage uh if you will uh than um uh than anything. and we've we've had to live that in in years past. So, part of the dance is trying to figure out at what levy will the community support? We knew we had support at 274 last year, if you will. That's a new threshold uh potentially. Uh obviously, I've recommended a budget at 3.5%. Uh and I know obviously that that creates a bit of a tension as we go through here and and questioning is the community really prepared to support that? Is that are we being fiscally responsible? uh you know and I know everybody and you know I have family obviously on

092a fixed income uh that all lives in district um who who certainly let me know when we're raising taxes and the impact that that has on them. Uh and so I know this is something that the board takes very seriously and you wanted to see well what could we do um what would that look like to reduce the budget to 299%. Uh this would require an additional $828,000 in reductions uh or revenue or cough cost offset something of that nature. Um and this is how uh you know I would frame it. Now I said with you last week somewhat jokingly someone had asked what would you do? I said well the first thing is I'm going to bargain with Kevin and see if is if there's any more reserve funding that he would feel comfortable

093putting into the budget and we really have to trust Kevin with that because he manages our reserve over over multiple years. So, in discussion with Kevin, we felt we've been using uh we've already allocated money from our worker compensation reserve into the budget. We'll walk through that in a minute. Um we would take additional money that's in that reserve, $428,000, and we would plug that into the budget. That's how we would get partway there. uh the other roughly half of that I would look to uh four areas uh to further make reductions or areas that I think at this moment in time maybe we would be able to. Um uh so safety and security uh is an area where I'm already showing a $100,000 reduction in the budget. Uh this is roughly a $2 million

094budget line for us. Uh I do feel we could perhaps make another $100,000 reduction there. Um, I don't love it. Uh, but again, I think that there's some things uh behaviorally, and I mentioned this to the board months ago, you know, that we're going to get to a point where we're gonna have to change some behavior. I I should note I don't think this would make our schools any less safe. Uh, I I think we do some things when it comes to event management that we do very well. Uh, but at the same time, I I don't know if we need to be doing as much of it uh to still run a safe uh and effective event. uh looking at that situation such as that across the scope of a school year, I I

095think in working with the administrative team, we may be able to reduce another $100,000 there. I think there's another $100,000 in Bosei services. Obviously, I'm trying to avoid any additional staffing reductions here. Uh I I would go back and look at Bosei services to see if there's another $100,000 there. I I do not have that defined yet uh for public. I have a few ideas and I just ask that you trust me with that. Uh but I I do not yet have that uh defined for the public or to share in public tonight. Uh I do think in speaking with Dr. Kishan uh and Hillary um we could make another reduction to the responsive support plan model in Arlington. Uh this has been an area model that was put in place a few years ago

096uh to support students who are in crisis internally as opposed to relying on Boseies for that. Um, we've we've made reductions to this model now over two years. I already have one proposed uh in in in in the budget I proposed to the board. We could make another reduction there. Um, right now, and this is speculative as kindergarten enrollment always is, we're trending low in kindergarten enrollment in a couple of areas or a couple of zones, if you will. In looking at that, uh, we have the potential to make a reduction in kindergarten. I usually don't define our our kindergarten sections until July. Uh just to be fully honest, uh because registration gets later and later every year. Uh we promote it right now. I I think we have schools that are fully enrolled right

097now or registered. Uh but we have other areas where it tends to lag and we know registration really goes all the way up through the summer. Um our our best estimate of the number of kindergarten sections we need is like September 1st. But at the same time, we do the best we can. I'd like to hold on this, but right now I see we're trending lower. Uh perhaps uh we would end up lower there. So I have less confidence in that reduction, if you will, as compared to the other three. Uh but, you know, I I I may be able to find a section, if not a K, um you know, somewhere else in the district, uh that would that would fill that. Uh each of these I would price right around $100,000. So that's

098what will get uh us to the the $400,000 figure. Um board's familiar with this chart. Uh I'm showing here. I left my glasses at the seat there. Uh the current budget for 2526 is the first column. Uh the recommended budget uh March 10th is kind of like to the middle left there. Uh tonight I'm showing the 299 levy increase. And Kevin would be happy to explain these cost offsets. uh they are not meant to be a sum if you will if you if you're like me and you just read down the column expecting the 400,000 figure the 800,000 28 figure to all add up or equal a sum of zero that's not going to happen if you do that I spent 20 minutes on that today wondering why I couldn't do the math went down

099to Kevin he says because you're not supposed to do the math that way in this column that's not what we're trying to show um so that being said though we're showing this is a balance of the total reduction on the revenue p plan and the expenditure plan. Those two lines have to match. Uh in budget development, uh we're showing the net offset to the levy of $828,000 to get the levy down to 2.99%. Uh the other revenue is the workers compensation reserve, which we're now plugging in there. Just want to speak to this chart for a minute. Uh again, board knows this. I'm orienting more so the community to this. The assigned fund balance is something that we take each year, as you can see, and we plug into the plug into the budget. $7

100million. Okay, that is a structural gap as we go into next year's budget development. We need, if you will, in our budget to have $7 million to commit to the ne following year's budget uh when we assign fund balance in that way. It's a strategy we've been employing uh for some time, but there is more pressure on that line uh already and will be in in the years ahead. the other revenue uh reflects uh the the reserve funding that we're committing. Um and we've had a couple discussions regarding the use of that reserve uh that's also being put into the budget for next year. So, those are one-time monies. They are no longer there. Uh we're using that to bring the budget into balance this this year, but there's going to be more pressure, if

101you will, in in using those uh um uh pulling those levers uh in in each uh successive year's budget. Okay. So again, I know we've gone through this and Kevin has with the board pretty extensively. So I just want to uh we've also used the ERS reserve at $1.2 million. So uh we are tapping into our reserves. Folks ask about our reserves. We're we're doing that. Uh when it comes not only to the budget I'm discussing tonight, but even the recommended budget, we've we've done that. Uh and I know the board's attuned to that and the pressure that puts on the budget in the the successive year. I don't think Nope. I don't have anything else to to share. I think that's a good stopping point for board discussion. Marian, if you >> Yeah, I

102do. Thank you so much. >> Yep. >> Um would anybody like to jump in? >> Don't be shy. So, we got to this point because uh I'm losing track. Was it two weeks ago? Two weeks ago, I think we were at Veil Farm, right? And as a board, when we were presented with um everything except for what we received tonight, we we've got the 3.51. And I think we just wanted to um challenge the administration to see, you know, what would come next if we said we wanted to lower um to be able to respond to our community when they talk about the pressure on expenses at home. And so, uh thank you Dr. Bonte. you have presented us with um this $828,000 of additional savings, some of which are, you know, your um this

103is this is kind of where you would go. Um so that's where we are. And and tonight we need to decide um so we vote I think on April is it 10th? >> No. What's the date? >> 14th. Sorry, my bad. Um April 14th. Correct. So, we vote on April 14th to accept the budget. So, we really, this is our last scheduled meeting before that meeting. And so, we really need to give direction. That's something we need to do tonight. Um, there was talk that we could possibly add another meeting. Um, there would really, uh, on the 7th, um, there would really, in my mind, need to be a very specific reason. Um, it would need to be something where we were tasking the administration with something else. We don't really want to have just

104ruminating time. So, and we certainly don't want to be um I I certainly don't think it's best practice to be um debating uh specific things on the day we're going to approve the budget. So, if you've got anything you want to add to the discussion, I I ask or if you have an opinion about where we've ended up, um I ask that you please share it. >> Okay, I'm on. >> Yeah, Marian. Okay. So, this is these are my thoughts from last week to this week. I've had lots of thoughts over time, but um I think last week made me feel like I had to be more concise and thoughtful about um what I what I say. Um so just bear with me for a minute to talk about the fact that board service is

105such a learning curve. You know having having been an educator on the other side of the coin for my whole life. You come to this side of the table and you have to learn what governance is and it seems simple enough that somehow we are in charge of setting direction and ensuring accountability and the accountability thing really comes forward to you at budget time. It's it's it's a lot and it's it's a lot of money. you know, a person who's just used to dealing with a family budget and now you're talking about numbers that I've never even thought of in my humble little life. Um, and then we we are charged with hiring a superintendent um to manage the daytoday runings with his cabinet and his administrators um that are going to put the best

106interests of the district at heart. So it also as a board member becomes a trust fall that we have done a good job hiring that person and the people that work with that person to do what's best for our students um and their education and the Arlington history that um Dr. M Benante mentioned. Um so we got ourselves to three two weeks ago because it was not last week um at the committee of the whole where our administration came to us and said we have crunched the numbers. We have done everything that we think is right for this district and therefore we think for the first time probably in my tenure here on the board we want to go to the top of the tax cap and we are entitled to 3.51 and that's what

107we think is best. Then comes in the part that because as a board our taxpayers are beholden to us to keep account of money and what goes on in this district and you can't lose sight of that. So therefore, something like last week's discussion comes up where we then say, "Okay, we hear what you're thinking." But bear with those of us that are worried about starting something in the 2% tax cap era that starts with a three in the tax cap. So, we needed time and sadly we also then charged our administrators with a little bit more work for figuring out what would that look and feel like to us and to the district as a whole. So that's what happened and that's where we got to that 2.99 because it started with a two

108I believe is really the the point that was there. Um this has been mentioned by um Maryanne and Dr. Benante but what we are hearing and seeing this year is we're being held hostage by a number of outside factors that we do not control. We do not control the amount of money that the state ultimately is giving us. Um and it it's less than what has happened um in the past. The health insurance costs are something we cannot control. Um that's just to name a couple, but that's setting Arlington and all the districts in in New York State up for some pain. Um, so as stewards of the district's finances, we're faced with making sure that every avenue has been studied to make sure that we're maintaining the Arlington excellence for all students while not

109putting the district in financial spaces where we're starting next year's budget so far in the hole that if we feel like 3.51 is untenable to some of our community, We probably are not even going to want to project ahead to what could be coming because I think what we're gleaning is this is a process that's going to take several years. We need to give our administration time to really look at the whole district and are there any other places that you know we can glean some kind of financial um balance I guess for keeping our district as wonderful as it is and still honoring the fact that in our particular state we ask a lot of a homeowner to fund our public education, but that's not a system that we started and we have to

110live within those parameters. Um, so I think there going to be several more years of difficult discussions around what's best for the students and the residents of Arlington. And I believe all areas of our district are going to be looked at moving forward. I don't think we're going to be, you know, able to say that we haven't un overturned every stone to really look and make sure that we are being as efficient and as prudent with the money that is given to us as the stewards of the district and the money. Um, so all that being said, we have to have all of our students in our hearts when we make these decisions and we have to have our taxpayers and our entire community in our hearts and I think we try to do that.

111Um, so for this year, trusting that the levy presented by our administration is in the best interest of our district, I am prepared to support the 351 um, moving into next year because I I think when I look at the big picture, it's what's best. Amen. Done. Thank you, Marian. Thank you, Marian. I appreciate that. Um, anybody else? >> Sophia, >> I have a question about the the committee of the whole followup for you. So, in these two pockets that we have, you have the worker compensation reserve at 428. >> Sophia, can you please direct your microphone closer to your face >> and Yeah, maybe like point it down. Yeah, that's perfect. >> I was told not to move it. So, >> Oh, really? Well, I'm >> not to move this, right? Not to move

112this. >> Oh, really? I I I I'm sorry I didn't hear that instruction. >> All right, >> there you go. >> Break it. >> Thank you. We want our friends at home to hear everything, too. Thank you. >> Um, so on the committee of the whole committee of the whole follow-up, so the four you have the the reserve at 428 and then the there's 400 and I'm going to say the way you explain is 100K per each one of the lines >> approximately. Yeah. Is that list ranked in your mind? So, would you go first to the reserve and then to the others? You would? >> No, >> I wouldn't. Um I'm sorry. I was uh in terms of the staffing adjustments, we probably would go in that order, but I would first if if

113we're actually looking and I know this may seem counterintuitive, but if we're looking to put the district in the best financial position moving forward, we would make the reductions uh uh in the staffing area first because those are those impact your base. Those reserves are one-time money and are again a tool we're going to want to continue to leverage with the unknown of the future. So if I had to make a recommendation at 299 or in between if you will, which would I do first, >> it's actually more in our best interest fiscally to make the reduction of those costs that are associated with staffing before we would use reserves. >> Okay. Thank you. >> We don't have to do that. It's what I would recommend. We could debate that obviously um if that's where

114the board wanted to land. I I do think and I know this came up last week Sophia not necessarily about you but just in discussion what if we landed somewhere in between >> um I would say at that particular point I I I don't know if we're just kind of negotiating with ourselves at that point in that okay it's about $400,000 and in the scope of our budget uh you know we're talking about a fraction uh of the budget um and uh you know again I I know where the board's mindset that is but especially as it relates to you know testing testing is the wrong word but what is the trying to assess what the community may have a temperament for um uh you know beyond three uh but I think you know if

115we're at 29 this is what it would look like uh if we're at obviously you know what's in 35 or 351 >> okay can I have another one >> um sure I guess so sure go ahead yeah >> none of the proposals that you have presented to us have included the reduction of the elementary music program. Correct. >> Correct. >> None. >> Since the beginning to now none include the reduction of that school. >> No. >> That program. Okay. Thank you for confirming that. That's what I remember. And then when I saw the the emails, I'm like, did we? And I'm like, no, I don't think. >> And I think what obviously has caught attention is I shared my notes in preparation for last meeting with the board, you know, to walk you through uh

116a variety of things. some of its context that you've seen, you know, now 10 times over. Uh and respectfully, I I've shared with you those meetings are not uh they're not recorded like these meetings are. Uh and again, in trying to be very transparent, specifically internally with our staff because we have a lot of staff that are impacted directly or indirectly. Uh each year we go through budget development. I I shared those notes with our staff. Uh following the meeting, we did walk through a variety of program costs uh as part of that uh and there was some discussion related to it. Uh but none of those things have been recommended um as part of my recommended budget or um obviously we're not recommending them this evening. >> Thank you for confirming that. I really

117appreciate >> I just um Mia's going to be next. I just want to clarify for everyone our committee of the whole meeting. So committee of the whole is really a workshop. It's our workshopping. It's usually one topic. Sometimes we get educated about something. We've had ones on MTSS. We've had ones on different topics over the years to make sure that um as a very diverse board that we have a base of knowledge and so when we were this we had an open scheduled meeting so there's no voting at a committee of the whole there's no decision-making it really is an educating so we had asked Bill to create you know we wanted to sort of hash things around with him and so we we um that was our topic for that meeting and it is

118open to the public and people are welcome to come and it is a posted meeting and um a few people did come. So, I just want to make that clear that um all our budget conversations are open to the public and it's just that it's a it's a different format and it's a workshop for us. And now, Mia, >> um I just wanted to say that as a student at Arlington High School, um I truly appreciate uh Dr. Bante and the board's efforts to um maintain all existing programs for students. Um as someone who's involved in many different things at the high school, I can confidently say that I would not be the student or the person that I am today without the programs that Arlington has provided me with. And I know even some

119of my friends and peers in neighboring districts often express jealousy to me. For example, my friend who's a dancer that goes to Ketchum is very jealous that I get to go to school and take a dance class every other day because she doesn't have that. And I just think that there's like I think that the programs at Arlington truly provide communities and families for a lot of students. For example, I find a strong sense of community within student government. Um, I know many friends that find a strong sense of community and family within our music department and our theater department. And I'm just very grateful that through this um difficult the difficult budget decisions that um we're planning to keep all the programs. >> Thank you, Mia. Um Jeff, are you looking at me like

120I see a little red light on? >> Yeah. and they can I mean part of it is for Kevin um and it's kind of abstract. I'm trying to bring it all together for $800,000 is what we're is what we're looking talking about. >> Uh difference between 351 and 299. >> Yep. >> And how many households are in the district that pay taxes and that $800,000? You know what's that number look like? I mean, it's not a big number >> net cost for the differential there. >> Yeah, >> we'll let Kevin uh >> Right. That's why Kevin, you're welcome. >> And if he needs time, maybe we can come back to him. >> He's banging away on that calculator. >> I was just, you know, just so it's like I think if we put a dollar

121number on that increase that we're, you know, working so hard at looking at and what that means for the individual on average. Just remember and I'll give Kevin time while I'm talking, you know. So, it's a half a percent, right? I think we can equate it as such, you know, in in your levy. And the levies vary depending on your uh your home value, >> right? So, we usually present this >> and the town that you're in >> and the town. So, we usually present this at varying home values, right? 300,000, 400,000, 500,000. So, there's no one answer to that question. >> Kevin, do you have a number? >> It's roughly 0.00 000118 on 7 billion that we have in in assessed values here. >> I'm not I'm not I'm 7 billion is is rough.

122That's just from memory. But >> so you multiply that fraction by your home's assessed value. Is that what you're saying? >> You would you would add 0.00001 to the tax rate. So if your tax rate is uh 23.98, you'd add a point. Z00 you'd probably lop off the first two zeros 011 to that >> probably probably would. >> Right. Sorry, Kevin. >> You're asking me to do this on the fly and >> and I know it wasn't fair, but I just want to illustrate that it is a 0 >> 800,000 is 0.001 0001 of your tax base. >> Right. So, >> okay, we're going to give everybody just a couple seconds to absorb that. >> There'll be a little pop quiz. Um, no, that's good. That's a good way to think about it. I'm laughing,

123but um, right. Uh, and I think I think Megan spoke to that, too. Right. She spoke to the fact that it's a dimminimous change in her bill and um you know uh thank you for that. Anybody else? Eileen. Eileen, your little red light. Yeah, there you go. >> Um I appreciate Marian that you said it takes time for you to learn this because the same way you know I'm um in my household I'm the one who doesn't want to spend. And so when I saw see that we're always under the 2% cap, I think that's a good thing. Um, but this year as I'm learning not taking that money when we need it, um, perhaps isn't the best thing. And as I'm looking at this, I then become concerned about pulling money out of the

124reserves. We have reserves for a reason. Um, and you things come up that you don't always expect. Um when I look at the the items from the committee of the whole and I actually wanted to see the 2.99 um to me it's concerning what what will the our community bear and if they don't bear 3.51 then that puts us in a a very difficult position. Um, but as I'm looking at these, I would appreciate, Phil, that you said our safety and security wouldn't be compromised by making this reduction, but um, through Arlington Connect SECA safety and security was one of the number one things that that people were concerned about. And so I think we always have to be mindful of that. Um, we we talked a lot about the Bose services today and and

125were well supported by them. Um, I do think as we move forward, we want to keep an eye on the RSP model and see if that's the best if we are serving those students in the best way. You know, the gut sense is keeping kids in in their home base is the best way, but um I'm not convinced on that one, but I'm not necessarily ready to cut that. And I when I looked at the kindergarten section reduction, it looks to me like that would make a kindergarten section 25 somewhere, right? >> Uh potentially. I obviously we wouldn't if that was the case, I'd be reluctant and I I tried to qualify that there may be another area I would look to. Um but monitoring K enrollment stuff, >> right? Exactly. I get that. So

126for me, given all of this, it's it's really a change of um attitude for me and it's not comfortable, but but I would support the 3.51 at this point. You know, if I could comment just on something Eileen said because I think it illustrates a point that if at 351 the budget fails and and this just speaks to the complexity and the dynamic the board, you know, has to navigate is well then what's the budget that you come back with to the community to try to get a level of support and it very well may be below 299. And so I know you get that. We talk through this. We're trying to guess, you know, how people are going to vote. Um, obviously I appreciate many of the community members that are here and I'm

127sure the board does as well. uh at least an expression of support at that levy. Uh that's helpful to hear because we often don't hear from the community. What are you willing to support? You hear what you're not willing to support but not what you're willing to support. Um so you know again the dynamic that you know in the conversation we've been engaged in is okay if not 351 where and it can be a bit of a guessing game in the way we've approached it over the with the way we've approached it over the last 12 years. Um, so, uh, not an easy task and I know one we all take very seriously. And Eileen, you mentioned safety and security and I'll acknowledge it. It's a tough cell. Like I I think we can do

128it, but in terms of just how oriented folks are in the community, I you know, I I don't again I don't love it. Um, obviously and um I think we could make the $100,000 reduction, which is what I included in my recommendation, and nobody would notice, if you will. But part of this, as I've mentioned, is an SRO uh that I added into this year's budget. That was part of last year's budget development process that definitely would be impacted at this point. But that was also, you know, last year a commitment I I was trying to make to move from three to four because I felt our schools needed it. Um the county has been slow in filling that position. Uh because again, demands exceed supply. Uh but they have folks that they're training. But

129I I recall a comm a conversation with a community member last year. That's why partly what influenced the recommendation was a parent saying I feel we need another SRO in our schools and here's why and talking through it. Um again we experience right now relatively low level engagement but you know that I was influenced by that conversation to put it in there and here I am you know now potentially we are potentially in a situation where we may have to sacrifice that. So, um, if I had to make reductions, I, you know, last thing I added, probably something I, that's not here yet would be an area, but I I I would like to be sure to include that for reasons you had said. It's, it's a really important thing to our community. >> Linda,

130>> um, I support the 3.51% um, tax levy budget. I think it's important that everyone knows or if you don't know the staffing reductions um it's it's due to attrition mostly and that's important and I appreciate that you took the time which I would imagine you would and your staff especially Kevin so a shout out to him of the the yeah on this page the the two guidance counselors foreign language all these uh humans which they're not just, you know, words up there, the people up there that we can provide the great programs here at at um I was going to say Duchess. Oh boy, got to move that >> here at Arlington without affecting these wonderful programs we have. So, I think it's important that the community understands that the board is not looking

131to, you know, have programs that are, you know, not great. I mean, we know a family very well. Their son is graduating from um Spackenkill this year, and he wishes he was at Arlington because of all of our programs. >> He's very much into uh automotive and and you know, hands-on type of activities, and Spacken Hill just doesn't have those, >> right? >> Um though, it seems to be a desirable place to go to school. Um but Arlington by far, I think we have the best programs. So, I do support the 3.51. And just as an a little offshoot, Mr. Gillan's in the in the audience here today, my son graduated here in 2019. He was uh he was very much into the music program, which was wonderful for him. He did graduate and but

132did not pursue music as a career. However, he did go to Carnegie Hall and what a memory. >> Yeah. >> I mean, memories are, you know, that's you know, I remember memories from when I was in high school. So it's a wonderful memory for him and that was because of the music program >> core memory right hold on to those things and I just one quick comment u Linda mentioned most of these reductions are able to bank through attrition uh which again we can't always guarantee but we're in a position again as a larger school district where we're often able to work through a staffing reduction like this and even last year uh with avoiding layoffs uh and obviously with each week that passes we're because we were still in a position I I think

133a couple weeks ago, Hillary, where we thought it was three, if I'm not I get the number wrong each time, but I think we're that that has reduced since that time. Correct. Accurate. Yeah. Thank you, >> Jen. I also wanted to last week um look at the 2.99 just to see where that would um put us. Um, I was also concerned about the staff reductions, um, especially seeing that we were losing a lot of our workforce through retirement over the next several years and what that would look like, having to lay off teachers and then have to hire new ones and what those teachers would look like after we've um, worked towards hiring the ones we Um >> with that being said, um the additional reduction within the RSP model, like looking at that, is

134that really the best model for our students currently, um is really just a question. Um seeing the students that we have and where their needs are, um and um their mental health needs currently. um and the programs that they're going to um is that really the best um solution. Um with that said, I would support the 3.51% levy >> based on the information that we've been provided. >> Thanks. >> Anybody else? Um, I just wanted to maybe make an an observation or two. You know, if um, kind of jumping off something Eileen said, uh, if we'd gone to the to the levy limit last year, which I'm comfortable with what we did last year, but we would have had another million dollars in our base coming into this year, which would have maybe necessitated a

135lower levy. It all kind of interplays as it goes. and and looking to the future it's more um uncertain and then um certainly the world is everything about the world is more uncertain right now and then uh I I really appreciate the care that's gone into the development of the cuts that are you see over there um in part they've been pushed to do things they've not done before so it's not like we've done this before for example I maybe hollered out at one meeting, I can't believe Kevin put breakage in here. Breakage is the difference between a retiring the price of a retiring teacher and the price of a new teacher. And we've never put that in our budget before. That's just a little grace that we have someplace, you know. So, the fact

136that they're sharpening their pencil like that, uh, you know, also the the line that says um O andM equipment and furniture, those are basically deferred costs. We're just saying, you know what, for a year you like you might in your house, you might say, you know what, this year we don't have we're not going to spruce that up. We're going to like leave that be and make it do and fix it up and and that's fine and you can and I I I think it's an appropriate thing to do, but there's only so many years you can do stuff like that. And all that goes into where you begin next year. Um, and of course the the 1.2 from the reserve for the the ERS. uh it's not so much taking it from the reserve,

137it's the fact that you made your budget with something you can't easily pull out again. You know, the reserves are there and it's okay to use them and we don't need to be afraid of the fact that we used our reserves, but it it's a it's a card you only get to play so many times type of thing. So, um I am I'm absolutely comfortable with a 3.51. Um that said, I have, you know, uh it's a different hat than um than the hat you wear in concern for your neighbors who are are and we're all struggling with how much it costs to live here, right? It's a um I I think you said it really well. We didn't design this system, but our hat here is to steward this district and um and we'll

138see from our community if they if they agree with us. Um if that's the way as a full board we decide to move forward. Um but I I am glad, you know, glad maybe the wrong word. Um it's not the wrong thing to have gone through the motions. It's not the wrong thing to have kicked the tires on the 299. Um, I I would not be excited about using more reserves. That would be a a no for me. Um, and honestly, you're just really trying here with the other 400,000. But really, what you're saying is we're going to see where our needs are and you know, if we need the kindergarten teacher, we're going to have a kindergarten teacher. I mean, that we're not going to not have what we need, but it'll need to

139come from somewhere. And uh the fact that it's harder and harder to find also means that we've kind of come to the bottom of the of the sandbox for this year I think. So um that for those reasons I am um comfortable. Uh I well I support 3.51. Um I think what uh does anybody else have anything they want to add at this moment? I think what's important now is um is how do we move forward from this space and this discussion, right? Um my opinion is we should be able to give Phil and his team some kind of an understanding about if we're going to support this levy increase. Um I don't see any reason to meet again on the 7th unless we're tasking them with something. We're not just going to do this

140again. So, um, does anybody have any reflections or thoughts on that? Is that, you know, >> do you want to do >> straw? >> Yeah, let's do >> I think we should so that we can put >> April 7th to rest. >> All right. So, um, yeah. >> Sorry. >> Um, so we just go I guess we'll just Do you mind if I start with you, Jen? just going to go around. So, you you said if you could just I think we'll just say um can you support a 3.51 levy and that'll be good enough. It's not a official vote. It's just literally straw poll. We won't. So, >> yes. >> Well, there you go. All right. Everyone can breathe. >> Okay. >> Well, you know, thank you. It was a lot of work for

141everybody and a lot of uh a lot of brain juice for the board members which is why we're here but oops I'm not talking into my my microphone. Um I just want to say thank you to everybody who participated in that. >> Uh so then Phil we can move on. Am I right? Are we good? >> Yes. >> Oh may I please get a motion to extend the meeting till 9:30? >> So moved. >> Thank you. >> Second. >> Thank you. Um, all those >> all those in favor >> I opposed abstensions. Motion passes. I'm sorry. Okay. Um, item nine, policy. Uh, first reading with revisions. We need no motion on a first reading. >> Nope. We need no motion on a first reading. I'll save your motion for item C. Okay. Um, item B,

142we need no motions first reading without revisions. Item C, acknowledgement and approval of deleted policies. Can I get a motion, please? >> Second. >> Thank you. Thank you. Any discussion or observations? No. Um, all those in favor? >> Oh, I'm sorry. Yeah. Oh, Sophia, I'm sorry. >> I I just have a question. So, on the first reading, and thank you for clarifying for me. So, in the first reading with revisions, there is one that is about student clubs. So, I understand there's a space for feedback on the on that current policy that I think has a date of like 1985 or something like that. Okay, that was all. Thank you. >> Okay. Um, yeah, always on first reading, we don't vote till the next time. So, you have two weeks if there's anything else you

143haven't already contributed. >> Yeah. And if I would just offer and Linda, off the top of my head, I'm not rem we're meeting in April. >> April 8th. >> Thank you. April 8th. So, if you have specific feedback, uh Sophia, if you have specific feedback on the policy, if you can send it to Linda, uh you can copy me prior to the ETH and they'll just give us an opportunity to share it with the committee members uh going into that meeting. Uh and then we'll >> Yeah, that's >> and and the feedback is only from the board or from the public. >> Uh honestly, anybody can provide the feedback regarding the policy. That's why they're public >> and they are send they sending it to Linda. uh they can send it to Linda and me

144internally with the board we've been saying send it to the chair with the CCD but honestly if it's a community member they can send it to Linda or me as well that's fine it all gets to the same place in the end >> thank you >> okay so I think I got a motion and a second did I not okay so um all those in favor >> I I opposed abstension motion passes that brings us on to new business our new This section of the agenda lists several items for individual resolution approval. Documentation concerning these items have been provided to our board members in advance to assure an extensive and thorough review. Item B, overnight field trips. Can I please get a motion? >> So moved. >> Second. >> Thank you. Any discussion? Seeing none,

145all those in favor? I opposed abstensions. Motion passes. Item C, election personnel for the 2026 annual budget vote and school board election. May I please get a motion? So move. >> Second. >> Thank you. Um any discussion? >> Seeing none, all those in favor? I >> I opposed abstension. Motion passes. Item D, agreement for joint neighborhood recreation center, town of Pleasant Valley. May please get a motion. >> So moved. >> Thank you. >> Second. >> Thank you. Um any discussion or comment? >> Just a brief comment and background for the board. The town of Pleasant Valley utilizes our baseball fields uh that are at the rear of the West Road property. Uh the league would like to engage in some fundraising which would allow local businesses to post signs along the fencing. Uh technically uh

146we wouldn't allow for uh advertisements to be on school property. Uh but given the unique relationship that we have with the the league uh and their desire to provide you know opportunities to what are likely our students um uh where this modifies our adjustment uh I'm sorry our agreement to allow them to do that level of advertising. It's very we don't expect there to be it's not a prominent area that our students walk by or around uh during school hours and it will allow the league to engage in fundraising activity. uh the district does have the authority to review any of the signs that go up if necessary. There's limits on the types of signs uh and uh uh if you will that that could go up. So uh it seems like the right thing

147to do and uh jointly this has been presented will be presented to the town of Pleasant Valley board uh to act on because it's in their municipal agreement. So they have to approve it as well but I told them we would be able to do so likely this month. >> Great. Thank you. Anybody have any questions for Phil about that? Seeing none, all those in favor? I >> opposed. Absention. Motion passes. Item E, acknowledgement of the terms of engagement for legal services Arlington Central School District with Keenan Bean. May I please get a motion? >> So moved. >> Thank you. >> Second. >> Thank you. Any discussion? >> Just at our last meeting, we uh you reviewed the engagement letter uh with Mr. Lambert, who's currently with our lead firm. uh he's going to work

148with Keenan Bean. Uh this is the outline of the contract or retainer agreement for the remainder of this school year to continue to work with Mr. Lambert on matters related to spe of special education and uh pupil personnel services. Uh which is what we how we've worked with him all along. Uh and then uh what you won't see because it's really just an acknowledgement letter is through uh Mr. Shaw's office uh which acknowledges that they're going to reduce their rate or the retainer agreement with the district uh in the amount that you're approving tonight uh now to go there. So it's no additional cost and legal fees uh to the school district. It's an adjustment. David's acknowledged the adjustment that he has sent me a letter for that. Um so you won't act on that.

149Um you're acting on the new engagement with Keenan B. >> Thank you. All those in favor? I >> I opposed abstensions. Motion passes. Item F, new curriculum resources. Can I please get a motion? >> So moved. >> Thank you. >> Second. >> Thank you. Any discussion? >> Seeing none. Anybody else? No. All those in favor? >> I opposed. Abstension. Motion passes. Item G, draft school calendar. Can I please get a motion? >> So moved. Thank you. Second. >> Thank you. Any discussion? Seeing none. All those in favor? >> I opposed abstension. Motion passes. Business consent agenda. Our consent section of the agenda lists several items for approval by a single motion. Documentation concerning these items have been provided to our board members in advance to assure an extensive and thorough review. May I please get

150a motion on the consent agenda? >> So move. >> Thank you. >> Second. >> Thank you. >> Any comment or discussion? I I just wanted to draw the board's attention to the retirement of Miss Jeannie Desiree, who's an assistant principal at Arlington High School. Uh obviously, I know there'll be a time to congratulate Jeanie towards the end of the year when we recognize our retirees, but Jeanie is one of the longest standing members of our building administrative team. Dare I say the longest? I I'm not sure. I've certainly close to. So, I just wanted to wish her well in retirement. >> Thank you. Any other comments? Okay. All those in favor? I opposed abstension. Motion passes. All right, that moves us along to page in the back. Um I think it takes us to page

15121, future discussion items. Does anybody have any future discussion items they to bring up tonight? Seeing none, now we move on to item 13, public comment for non-aggenda items. Do we have anyone for public comment number two? >> We do. We do have quite >> Okay, that's fine. We love that. Okay, so I'm going to read my spiel again in case you all forgot. Um, this is the second of two opportunities for people to address the board. Please state your name and address. And you don't really need to say your address. It's fine. It's um please state your name and keep um Oh, this one's truncated. Hold on. Well, what we want to say is please keep your comments to three minutes and please be civil, but I know you will. Thank you very much.

152So, first one up, >> Kristen. I'm still short. Okay. Hello. My name is Kristen Carrie Hirschman. I am an Arlington alum, class of 93. No comments from my son or his friends on that. Um, I am a parent of an eighth grade Unionvil student and an 11th grade Arlington High School student and I'm also a music teacher in a neighboring district. I understand that there was a potential elimination discussion of the fourth and fifth grade instrumental music program that was part of a scenario that became public and raised significant concern within the community. I'm very pleased to hear that there is no proposed cuts to this program at this time. I want to speak to the importance of that program though as the foundation of everything that follows in Arlington's music program. Strong music programs

153do not begin at the high school level. They begin at the elementary schools where students first learn the skills and habits that carry them forward. Without that foundation, the middle and high school programs cannot sustain the level of excellence that this district is known for. Arlington has set the standard for excellence in the instrumental music field throughout the state and even beyond. eliminating the elementary music program would decimate that completely. From both my experience as a student in this district under the amazing Mr. Sweeney and as a music educator, I can clearly and confidently say that programs like this are built over many years and they are not easily rebuilt once lost. Programs like the Arlington Instrumental Music Program changes lives every single day. It changed my life and it is changing the lives of

154my children. Without the foundation that the elementary instrumental program provides, opportunities that exist and inspire our older children will no longer be feasible. The championship marching band, the nationally ranked jazz machine, the amazing symphony orchestras, they will not be sustainable. These programs are where our children find themselves. They find out who they are. They find their passions. And yes, it all begins with hot cross buns in the elementary band and orchestra. This program is valuable for another reason. In a world where AI is slowly changing the way we do many things, even the way children learn, we must take a moment to place value on learning that cannot be AI, you cannot AI yourself into a great clarinet player. It takes whole brain learning. The entirety of a child is engaged in learning an instrument.

155This is a necessary thing not because we want a plethora of future professional musicians, although that would be lovely, but because we want a future of citizens who are able to think critically, problem solve, and appreciate something bigger than themselves. I also want to be clear that I'm not only here to speak about music, but to support a budget that preserves programs like this that make the district strong. The music program in Arlington is without a doubt one of the biggest strengths in this district. I support the superintendent's plan and I am willing to support a reasonable tax levy, including the 3.15 3.51% to ensure that all of the wonderful programs that Arlington offers remain intact. I urge the board to continue to protect elementary music as a foundational program in this district. and I

156welcome the opportunity to discuss this further with you if you wish. Thank you so much for your time and thank you for responding to my email. I appreciate it. >> Thank you. >> Who's up next? Mrs. Sadita >> Matthew let everybody else. >> That's fine. Eric Gilman. >> Good evening. Eric Gilman. I have uh a junior, a senior, and a graduate. Uh thank you for your remarks at the beginning of the meeting. I've uh curtailed my remarks greatly due to that. Thank you um for all of this. And on behalf of the Arlington Band boosters, I am the treasurer. Um, and I just want to reinforce our support for Dr. Benante and the 3.51% increase in the budget. We are going to work hard to help get that passed. Thank you. >> Thank you. Thank

157you. >> Next, >> Marie Murphy. >> Okay. And then who's on deck after Marie? Okay, just so we know. So, we keep going. >> We have to reset the time. >> Oh, >> Devin. >> Thank you. >> Good evening. My name is Marie Murphy. I am the president of the Arlington Symphony Orchestra Association. I have one daughter uh as a freshman at the high school, is a violinist in the orchestras there, and a chist in sixth grade at LMS. Um, and thank you for allowing us the time this evening. And Dr. Bonante, I just wanted to say I appreciate your transparency with budget development. Um, and I have greatly curtailed my comments as well because I know you've heard a lot about the music um, department, but I did um, just want to take a

158moment to underscore um, the importance as we consider these budgetary cuts, not just to the music department, but to all of the programming of the disproportionate impact that that would potentially have on our most vulnerable students. um those students as we know often get blocked out of so many other um opportunities uh that other families and other children have. Um and so I just wanted to bring attention um to that and schools uh as ours are in the position to have it make an a difference in these students lives um by providing access to instruments to highquality music instruction and performance opportunities. Um, and so I sincerely hope that we will preserve uh the music education and our other programming in this budget. And the ASOA, the Arlington Symphony Orchestra Association, supports the 3.5% um

159budget and you have our full support for that. Thank you. Thank you. Paula Paula Rafter's up next. Who's up after Paula? >> Jennifer. >> Okay. Good evening. Um, my name is Paula Mora Rafter and I'm a parent of three boys. Uh, two have graduated. One is in 11th grade at Arlington High School and I'm the vice president of the Arlington Symphony Orchestra Association. Um, I also have cut back on what I was going to originally say. I just wanted to thank you, Maryanne, for speaking at the beginning and letting us know that you heard what all of us said when we emailed you and that there wouldn't be any cuts um to the elementary music program. And we just want to reiterate uh myself, but also as a group between ASOA and Abby that we

160support Dr. Benante's efforts in developing this budget and as a group um we will support it and we will get the word out not only to our membership but to others so that it can get passed. Thank you. >> Good evening. My name is Jennifer Fox. I understand that based on tonight's discussion, this topic may not feel as immediately relevant, but I do believe it is still important and valuable to share these thoughts. I'm here not only as a parent, but as someone who believes deeply in what this community stands for and what it should continue to stand for. We are a diverse district. Our families come from different backgrounds, cultures, and life experiences. Not every child connects in the same way in a classroom, on a field, or through traditional academics. But music is

161one of the rare spaces where those differences don't divide us, they unite us. In a band or orchestra room, labels fall away. Students listen to one another, they support one another, and they create something meaningful together. They learn in a very real way how to be part of something bigger than themselves. Both of my children, Avery's in seventh grade and Graham is in fourth, are a part of this program, and I've seen firsthand how transformative it can be. What begins as simple curiosity grows into confidence, discipline, and pride. Music gives students a place where they feel seen, valued, and connected not just to their peers, but to their school and their community. Now, for our family, music is also deeply personal. My mother is currently battling Alzheimer's and is in the last stage of the

162disease. Now, as her memory fades and so much of what once defined her slips away, music is the only thing that remains. It reaches her when words cannot. It brings moments of clarity, recognition, and connection that are otherwise lost. She no longer remembers our names or who we are. But when Avery and Graham play for her, she responds. She hums along. She lights up. And for a moment there's connection again. Now music is not just an activity. It is a bridge between generations, between past and present, between who we were and who we still are. Now as you continue this discussion, I ask that you consider what is at stake. Decisions about elementary instrumental music are not just budget considerations. They are decisions about access, equity, and opportunity. They shape whether every child, regardless of

163background, has the chance to discover their voice early when it matters the most. They determine whether we preserve one of the few spaces in our schools where unity, creativity, and belonging naturally thrive. Now, programs like this are not easy easily rebuilt once they are reduced or delayed. The foundation they create is both fragile and essential, and gaps at this level can have lasting effects. Now, as you continue your discussions, I urge you to look beyond the numbers and consider the human impact. Consider the students who find their confidence through music. Consider the families like mine who rely on it as a source of connection. Consider the community we want to be, one that narrows opportunities or one that protects the things that bring us together. I urge you and I thank you as you continue

164to support and prioritize the fourth and fifth grade instrumental music program. Thank you. Thank you. Who's next? >> Good evening and thank you for the opportunity to comment tonight. Like others, I've greatly uh shortened my remarks here tonight, but I would still like to say a few words because as numerous speakers mentioned earlier, we're going to be under a budget pressure, fiscal pressure for some time. So, this conversation may come back up again and I want the board to understand just how deeply important music is to our district, to our children, and our community. My name is Haley Carlock. I'm a resident of the district with two children currently attending Arlington schools. I've got a fourth grader just in beginning band starting his music career this year and I've got an eighth grader at LMS.

165Uh they are both part of the band program and it's been a very important part of their school experience. When I heard that there was a proposal, conversation, thought about potentially cutting elementary music, I honestly was shocked because I think a huge part of the district's identity is its excellence in music. Certainly, there's a broad array of programs here at Arlington that benefit many, many different students, but our music programs are the best in the county, the best in the region, and one of the best in the state of New York. uh and the fourth and fifth grade music program is the foundation that our future success is built on. You cannot have a high-erforming ensemble in high school that win state championships, goes to national competitions without having that foundation at the younger grades.

166Even more importantly than the excellence that our district has exhibited in music are the skills that are taught to our youngest students. They learn confidence from picking up an instrument they've never touched before and they have no idea what to do with to making a song that others are enjoying and and clapping for them. They build perseverance and discipline and practicing difficult passages that they, you know, just can't get through. And through repetition and discipline and practice, they learn to excel at that. They also learn teamwork, which is something I think people don't usually think of when it comes to music, but it's a huge part of band. You learn your own part. You play it solo in a vacuum and then you put it together with all these different parts and you all have

167to work together in a give and take to make a beautiful piece of music. And finally, but certainly not least importantly, there is music speaks to everybody. Not everyone can access perhaps some of the dense academic texts. Not everyone's going to be a champion on the sports field. Not everyone may be, you know, a premier musician or or go into music as a career, but everyone can enjoy music. everyone uh can have music help heal their their feelings and uh be part of a full life. Arlington's elementary music programs have done all of that and more for my students and for many others. Please preserve the elementary music programs this year and in years going forward. And I support a tax le levy of 3.51% to maintain all of Arlington's programs and minimize cuts. Thank

168you. THANK YOU. MY APOLOGIES FOR COUGHING. >> YEAH, >> CARLA. >> UH, good evening. U, my name is Caleb Carl and I'm an eighth grader at LMS. I'm a member of the eighth grade eighth grade band and jazz ensemble. I've been part of the band program since I was in fourth grade at Titusville. Learning an instrument and participating in a band has taught me a lot and has been one of the mo best experiences in school so far. It has taught me a lot of important life lessons and how to fit together with other people in a band. My amazing music teachers at Arlington starting at in Titusville have inspired me to audition for many um for many opportunities in select bands. I was first selected to all county band in fifth grade. An amazing

169experience with worldclass conductor cemented me into this music program. Without an early start to learning music, our students would not be would be unprepared to play at a high school level and beyond. It is one of the best things in our school and I really hope you do not cut this. Thank you. >> Thank you. a quartet. >> Uh my name is John McGrath Lunupina and um we are all uh eighth grade students at Unionville uh middle school and I came in here today. I came in here with a whole spiel prepared about how much the music department means to me and all of us here and I think that I can definitely simplify that into a lot more words. So, I'm going to try and do that. So, please bear with me. Um, every

170single day I know coming into school that having music in my life will turn my day around. I could be having the worst day possible, but I know going to orchestra will turn my day around. This music department has changed my life in ways I I can't even recall. It's introduced me to some of the closest friends I've ever met in my life. It's given me skills and resources to handle what I thought could have been the toughest challenges of my life so far. And I just, you know, I think I can speak for all of us here when I say thank you. Thank you for not just keeping our music program, but for supporting it. And that thank you is not just for you guys in front of me. That's for all the teachers

171who put in time that they don't even need to. They put in the dedication, the weekends, everything that they do, not just for me, but everybody in this music program. So, thank you and thank you for your time and have a great rest of your day. >> Yeah, great job. THANKS, HI. I I'm just gonna I'm gonna let you assume that I had some amazing comments because I really did. I really did. But I know it was all covered here tonight. Um I have come before you. I think it was in November to talk about the marching band and how wonderful the experience it was for my daughter. Um I I do want to um say thank you to Dr. Pente for actually putting a lot of thought into this budget process and to all

172of you to support it. Uh the gist of my comments I'll keep them just in case I have to bring them next year. But I did but one of the things I did want to say is that when when we make budget decisions it's it's not about just trimming around the edges. It really is not just budget decisions. It's decisions about equity and how they disproportionately as one of my colleagues just said disproportionately affect uh people um with lower incomes and they pro they um they delete the opportunities that they have in the future um because the decisions that we make today really do affect not just the programs going forward but making budget decisions and them being equity decisions actually make decisions on where they're going to go. So, I appreciate the fact that

173you're going to continue to do that as you look throughout the budget process on all the cuts, knowing that um a few dollars here or there could really mean a lot to um low-income families and their opportunities for their students. And uh I can vouch that my household will also support a 3.51 uh levy. So, thank you. >> Thank you. Thank you. Hello again. Um, I am also changing my comments that I was going to prepare, but I just wanted to thank the board for um, supporting the 3.51 tax levy increase. Um, I also wanted to highlight my appreciation for the music department. What I didn't mention earlier is that I was a part of the Arlington marching band. Um I was also a part of the um Arlington band program where I stubbornly refused

174to join the wind ensemble because I wanted to play my instrument with my friends. Um and those friends remain my best friends 20 years later. Um we have the friends that I made through the Arlington band program. We have st we have stuck together um to be at each other's weddings, each other's baby showers, the good times and the hard times. Um, I've developed amazing relationships with the band directors that I had. Mr. Gillan was at my wedding. Um, so, um, thank you for your support of the program. I hope that we continue to support the program moving forward. As an equity co-f facilitator in the Arlington district, I also think it is important to consider the equity in um, continuing the fourth and fifth grade instrument program. Um, as I mentioned before, the difference

175in the tax levy for me is $53, which many families can swing. Many families could not swing private instrument lessons for their children. Um, so as we move into continued difficult decisions in years to come, I hope that you continue to support the music program. Thank you. Thank you. Okay, good evening. Um, I too am cutting down a great portion of what I was going to say, but I still think that it is important that I share my story uh with the Arlington music program. In 1991, my family moved to Poqu from the Bronx, where instrumental music is not generally part of a student's public school education. My parents are not musicians. After moving to this area, we became quickly aware of Arlington's music reputation. "Wait until you hear the Arlington music groups," our neighbors

176would say. "They are amazing. I was so excited to begin an instrument." I still remember filling out the instrument preference sheet and listening to Mrs. Rizzo and Mr. Silus, sorry, Mr. Rizzo, um demonstrate the instruments for us. I began playing violin in fourth grade at Beman Elementary School, and that opportunity truly changed the trajectory of my life. My career path would not have been possible without Arlington's music program. In fact, well, I should have said this earlier. I am an alum obviously and I'm also a music teacher and a parent of children in the district. But I later returned to the Bronx as an early music educator and started two string programs down there to provide students with the same opportunities that I was given up here. I currently teach in Westchester County High School

177orchestra and I still see every day the long-term impact of early access to music education and what that can have on a child. I am also the oldest of seven siblings, all of whom participated in band and orchestra here at Arlington with five of us going on to pursue careers in music. The strength of this program is also a major reason why my husband and I chose to return to Duchess County and raise our family in Arlington. Beyond this, uh, my professional experience and own research, um, I have done a lot of data collection on music education in Westchester County and I have collected data specifically on elementary school programs and when districts start their students. Out of the districts I've p districts that I've pulled, not one started their students after fourth grade. So

178that should speak volumes as to why we do that and why it's important. Um, and this is supported by science. Fourth grade is a critical development window for fine motor skills, auditory processing, and neurological development. Learning an instrument at this age strengthens memory, attention, and problem solving skills. Earlier access doesn't just help our students start, it helps them succeed. Delaying instruction would also widen inequities. As stated before, families with the means will seek private lessons while others may not have that option. That will create larger gaps in access and achieve and achievement. Beyond academics, music provides something essential, belonging. For many students, my own daughter, the music classroom is where they find their place, build friendships, and feel connected to school. That was true for me, and it, as I said, is true for my

179children. I strongly support a budget that preserves foundational programs like music and beyond within the Arlington district. I also support the superintendent's plan to do so responsibly, including the proposed tax levy to maintain what makes this district exceptional. BTO's tax levy of 3.51%. Thank you. >> Thank you. Thank you. That's it. Well, thank you all very much for participating that. Let's see. Again, my apologies to the people I cough through. Um, okay. I think we're I think I didn't skip any pages. I think we're on to committee reports. Is that right? Okay. So, committee reports. um advocacy >> uh nothing other than awaiting the one house >> conversation with the governor and see what our tax levy truly will be in the end or not our levy but what our >> percentage of the >>

180input from the state will be >> that's it >> all right thank you audit oh's not here Kevin anything on audit okay uh Kathy >> we'll be meeting tomorrow one o'clock at Arthur May >> okay >> yeah and if If I can uh for those committee members, let's meet in the uh the front area of ArtMay. We're going to go It's probably easier to go through the building to the first site location that we're going to check out, but let's meet right at the front, >> which is really the rear >> the greater desk. >> Okay. See you then. Uh policy. >> Uh the policy committee met on March 11th. Uh we began looking at policies from section 7000 uh with the assistance of Dr. Regina Kish and Dr. Banti. Uh we're going to continue

181with the 7,000 policies um at our next meeting which is April 8th. >> Okay. Thank you. Brings us to organization reports. Um Arlington Education Foundation. >> Um nothing new. The next meeting is April 8th. There's just a reminder that um there is a fundraiser at FunMax on March 30th. It's $20 cash. You get socks. Um, and the 5K and family fun run is May 2nd at Union Veil Middle School. >> They could probably raise a lot of money if it would be like come watch the board members jump on trampolines, right? >> Just kidding. >> A dunking booth. >> There you go. Thank you for that. Uh, Duchess County School Boards. >> Um, nothing. >> We haven't had one. Yeah. Yeah. No, but just for those that are interested, the meeting in April is a

182week later because the first Thursday of the month is part of spring break. So, the meeting's on the 9th. >> Okay, that sounds good. Thank you. >> Um, PTA, PTSA council is tomorrow. >> Yes. >> Right. From 7 to 7:35 sharp. Um, they're very, very efficient this year. Very efficient. Um, district health and safety. >> Nothing at this time. >> Okay. District equity. >> Um, there was a meeting on March 19th. I was not there, but um, I'm told the meeting was led actually by the student reps, the high school student reps, and there they led an activity on empathy. Is that right, John? >> Um, small group work. And anything that you need to add? Uh we also we also had um asked the buildings to work with their equity facilitators to review their

183wellness and belonging data um and define immediate action steps and long-term action steps based on how their students were reporting to the survey that we we put out. >> Okay. Look forward to hearing about that. Um can I please get a motion to extend the meeting to how about 9:40? >> So moved. >> Thank you. >> Second. >> Thank you. All in favor? I opposed. Extension. Motion passes. Okay. Um, moving on to superintendent closing remark. I give you 10 minutes. >> No closing remarks. >> All right. Maybe we would have snuck in. Uh, board reflections. >> Brian, >> very quickly, um, thank you for all that showed up to the home show and we will have one more opportunity to see the, um, Winter Guard Admirals um, April 7th at 8:30. This will be our

184sendoff to Dayton if anyone's interested. Free to the public. >> Nice. Nice. Anybody else? Linda >> uh went to the Overlook International Showcase yesterday. It was wonderful. Um the cornbread stuffing out of this world. I believe it was Pakistan. I wasn't sure. But the uh the outfits the children were wearing and the parents, the food. Um one little girl sang. Um it's always a a home run. Great. Anybody else? Did you have your hand up, Jen? >> Yeah. You don't have your microphone on, though. >> Thank you. >> I was going to say this before when we were doing the policy discussion, but it's really more of a reflection and I really appreciate all the work that the policy committee is doing this year and the organization >> of the policies that are being reviewed

185and the way they're being presented. Um, I really do appreciate it because it truly is so much help. So so very helpful to see what's being changed in the policy and it's expediting the process. Um >> she's the expedit >> the the highlighting and not having to um share a screen to look and see what changed and where it changed. I just really appreciate >> and the invitational was phenomenal as always. Anybody else? Eileen, you >> go. >> Um, we we got comments tonight about remembering our why, remembering that as we make these decisions, we're making them for the kids. And, um, this year we've gone to all of the different schools and one of the ways that I remember my why actually came from the music department. Um, if you remember at at LMS,

186we weren't scheduled to see a music class, but we just impromptu walked in. I think it is that Miss uh Ves Velasquez, is that >> Velasquez? >> Um, and in that room, if you recall, she was walking around with her violin as the kids were playing and there was so much joy and so much engagement. And we use that word engagement all the time. So, I don't think that any of us ever forget the students and that what we saw that day. That's what we want for all of our kids. >> Thank you. Marian, did you have something? >> Just I wanted to just piggyback on the winter guard. Well done. Thank you. And I also went to overlook last night and ate my way around the room. It was great. >> It was wonderful

187as usual. a little first grade girl that stood up on that stage and sang in Russian >> all by herself just stood up there and >> sang her in her beautiful costume >> start to finish her song. She was first grade >> so good. >> So, thank you. >> All right, then. Anybody that I don't see any more um that may I please get a motion to adjurnn. >> So moved. >> Thank you. Um, all those in favor I >> I opposed abstension. Motion passes. Thank you all.