001A lot of patriotism in the room. It's nice to see that we're standing for the pledge before we're even called. Just bear with us for a moment. Right away. All right. Thank you, everyone. I'd like to call to order. Wait, hold on one second. I have it here before me. Just give me a second. Let me just read where I'm supposed to read from. Okay. Good evening. I'd like to call the April 16th meeting of the Carle Place Board of Education to order. Please rise for the Pledge of Allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Please remain standing. While we remain standing, let me begin our meeting with an invocation.
002In the spirit of fostering an atmosphere of unity and purpose, we seek a harmonious existence for all members of our broader community and strive to bring harmony to our deliberations and our work. Welcome to the April 16th meeting of the Carle Place Board of Education. We'll start off the meeting with comments from the board, then I will take the lead. Welcome, everyone. We have a few-- Can you hear me? Do I need the mic? Yes. Welcome, everyone. Thank you for attending our meeting tonight. I would like to share some congrats. One is for the Cherry Lane School, who participated in the Presidential AI Challenge Urban Sustainability Initiative. The Carle Place Cherry Lane School has been named a New York State winner in the Presidential AI Challenge, a national initiative that brings together K through 12
003students, educators, and community members to develop artificial intelligence-driven solutions to real-world challenges, with opportunities to present their work on a national stage. Let's give them a round of applause. I would also like to congratulate on the retirements of Leslie Rubenstein, Director of Humanities. Jen Vandino, Executive Director of Technology. We wish you all well for your new beginning of a different way of life. You can freely do whatever you like without a scheduled commitment from the district. I'd also like to congratulate the Carle Place basketball team. Long Island champs. And, I will say that I attended both games at Farmingdale, and as everybody would probably admit, the game was better than the NCAA championships. Right? We can all say that. And now I'll hand it over to Vice President Reardon. Thank you, President D'Amonico. Good evening,
004everyone, and thank you for attending tonight's meeting, and I hope everyone enjoyed the spring break. Our students are participating in this year's Battle of the Classes on April 24th and are raising money for the Tunnel to Towers Foundation, which is a great cause.If you'd like to support this great cause, donations can be made online through our school's Key Club. Thank you very much. I also want to wish Jen Bambino a great retirement. You deserve it. I worked with you for many years when you were a teacher. You will be missed. We know that. You've done a stupendous job for the district. Lastly, I would also like to congratulate our director of humanities, Leslie Rubenstein, on her upcoming retirement. Having had the privilege of working closely with Leslie for 15 years, I can say she's truly
005irreplaceable. Her leadership, guidance, unwavering dedication, and great sense of humor have made a lasting impact on me and Carl Place. She will be missed greatly, and I wish her nothing but the very best as she enters this next chapter of her life. Enjoy every well-deserved moment, Leslie. And also, congratulations to our varsity boys basketball team. You did a great job, guys. Give up a good clap. Until next year. You'll kill it. Good evening. I'd like to congratulate Leslie Rubenstein and Jen Bambino on their retirement. I was here when they were hired, so it's befitting that I be leaving as well. I received a phone call today, questioning me why am I leaving in the middle of the school year, whereas my original intent was I would be leaving on June 30th, the fiscal year end
006of the school district. If I were to wait until June 30th, the board the following year would operate with four members, which can be difficult. So the best solution was for me to leave now so that they could open up three positions to be voted on in May, and that's why I'm leaving now. And that's it for my comments. I'll pass it on to Trustee Dunphy. Thank you, Trustee Zano. I want to congratulate all our athletes. You guys did an amazing job. I tuned in, came to the games. It was really exciting. Our retirees, your institutions here, Kathy, Jen, Leslie, touched so many, done a lot of great work for our kids, including my own, at this point. So, I mean, that's how long it's been in some cases, so I appreciate that. Of course,
007we all do. I also want to take a moment to congratulate Larry. I sometimes would sneak into the back of church if I was late, and if my dad would catch me, I'd find my way into the homily. I'd end up being incorporated somehow into that. And I'd see Larry-- It's true. And I would see Larry, a lot of times he'd be standing, and I told him some of this at one point. We had a conversation. I'd see him standing back there, and he was always very stoic, like he is. He's a learned guy in that way. He's wise. But he always looked like there was a heaviness, like he's got a lot. This guy's got a lot on his mind. And I know why now. Now I know why, sitting here. So I wanted
008to take a moment to thank you and appreciate all you've done for the district and for especially being a new member. Thank you. Troy? Well, thank you everybody for coming tonight. I'm probably going to echo what a lot of people have said tonight. First, I want to thank Larry again. You became friend, family. I'm so happy that I had the opportunity to serve with you on this board the last two years. And next year is going to be sad because you won't be here, but I could walk down the block and just knock on your door. But you'll have so much more time to spend with your beautiful grandson and your family, and that's priceless. So thank you for all that you've done for this district and for me in being here. Basketball, I said
009it a couple weeks ago, I have not been to a basketball game since 1996 when I graduated, and it was insane. It was insane. If you saw me on the sidelines, but you probably did not, I was the lunatic jumping up and down. From Caden- I thought that was my wife. Well- I thought that was my wife. Well, I was second then with her because I was there. I mean, you guys did amazing. Caden running up and down. Leah remaking, like, a shot. Chris deflecting that ball. I mean, I'm not a basketball player, but I guess those are some terms or whatever. You guys did amazing, and I will be going to all the games next year as well because I just love that vibe. Larry making player of the year, amazing, Long Island, and
010Cantwell, 250... Was it 200 games? 200 games. Amazing. So congratulations, guys. I can't wait to see you guys on the court next year, those of you that will be returning. STEM night, I had the opportunity to go last night with my daughter. Amazing. I loved every bit of it. The kids put on such amazing events. My daughter and one of her friends made a cup tower, where literally it was almost up to the ceiling, where she had to get one of the older kids to put the cups up there because obviously she's short, and she's not as tall as me. I'm so tall. We went into the library, where we saw students present their research work. Amazing. These things that these kids are doing in this school, it's a testament to our teachers. It's a
011testament to their families because they're not just doing this in school. They're doing it at home, too, and it shows. We were able to ask questions. We had some questions that were already prompted for us, but we also asked questions off the cuff, and they wereSo articulate, so poised, such an amazing thing to witness in these young, eighth, ninth graders, or even seventh, I would assume. Pat's son was there too. Amazing. I also want to congratulate the retirees. Jen, it was a pleasure knowing you the last couple of years. I hope we stay in touch. You are such an asset to this school. I'm so happy to have met you and the district will be at a loss. Leslie, I don't think she's here. She's sick. Oh, thank God you're not here because I cannot
012have a stomach virus. But I wish you well. I just got to know you this year, and we're going to miss you in the ELA and arts department. And Kathy, I didn't get the opportunity to be with you as other people have because my daughter wasn't in there, but going from Cherry Lane, from Ms. Moriarty to you for majority after the year, it was such a good transition where my daughter was seen, and the staff loves you, and we're so fortunate to have had you. And these are the years that you guys are going to be able to go and spend with your families and do everything that you want to do. So thank you so much for everything that you've done for our families and for the district, and wish you well. Good evening,
013everyone. I want to start off by thanking our retirees. Congratulations. And Mr. Zano, on behalf of the student body, thank you. Tomorrow marks the end of the third quarter, putting us in the final stretch of the school year. Carl Place Middle School will host its Battle of the Classes Junior tomorrow at 7:00 PM, and the High School Battle of the Classes will take place next Friday, April 24th. This annual event features a full day of games where each grade competes for first place, along with a week of pop-up events and spirit activities to get everyone involved. The Spirit Week themes are as follows. Tomorrow we have CP Pride and Choose to Include Day. Monday is Decades Day. Tuesday is Generations. Wednesday is Jersey Day. Thursday is USA Pride Day, and Friday is wear your Battle
014of the Classes attire. This year we are raising money for the Tunnel to Towers organization, and together we've already collected over $10,000 in online donations alone. If you'd like to contribute, please visit the Key Club website. Finally, May 1st is National College Decision Day. Seniors and staff are encouraged to wear their gear in celebration. Thank you. Oh, Dr. Canone, I forgot you. Sorry. Sorry, everyone. Thanks very much. I guess I'll start with Jen and Kathy and Leslie. I have really had the privilege of working with the three of you in my time here in Carl Place. I know that I have learned a lot from each of you. You are formidable leaders. If you want to know about someone or a group of people who give their all for students, who are role models to
015their colleagues, and who show boys and girls, young men and young women, what it looks like to be a leader, and what it looks like to be a person of authority and a person to look up to who's approachable, who's intelligent, and who's strong, you three have that in spades. It is tremendous. It's a wonderful privilege to have had the chance to work with you, and I echo the praise and good wishes that everybody else had. So I'll start with that. It's a nice thing to start with. We had Family STEM Night last night. It was really, really successful. It was a lot of fun. All of the activities that our high school students led for our younger kids, and they really do look up to you, our friends in high school, they take you
016guys really seriously. You're good role models for them. Our middle school students were incredibly smart and squared away with their research symposium that they ran. It was really, really very well done. I am the person standing up there presenting my own research, so I know how nerve-wracking that can be, and they were tremendously authoritative and well-prepared. And I want to thank Dr. Barry, Ms. DeMaio, Mr. Jobson. Mr. Jobson, I know you're right here tonight with us. Mrs. Horior, Ms. D'Amico, because they all contributed very, very heavily along with Dr. Barry to make this happen. It was really great to see colleagues putting this thing together for our students. It was super cool. An update coming up. We're going to have our Fine and Performing Arts Wall of Fame Induction Part 2 coming up on the
01729th. Last year's was spectacular. It was a gigantic event, really, really great. Come out for April 29th. We have a great list of inductees. ELA testing happened this week. 3-3 math testing is happening at the end of the month, 28th and 29th. Study, get ready for those tests, kids. Come out and be ready for them. We want to see you do your best. I've also been noticing a lot of students riding around on electric bikes and scooters. The police will take those away from you. Know that the police department has told us, please tell your students not to ride them because they're actually illegal in Nassau County. This is not a message from me. This is a message from the police commissioner. It's an important thing to know. I also want to recognize a recent
018graduate, Firefighter Charles Karen. A recent graduate of Carl Place, received the Gold Medal of Valor. It's one of the highest awards you can possibly receive as a firefighter because he saved the life of his assistant chief. It's a fantastic thing. It's in Newsday. Chief Gedish was ventilating the building on the roof. The roof collapsed. He fell into the fire. I spoke with Chief Gedish about it, and he told me just an unbelievably harrowing story. And who comes in to rescue him from the flames, like you'd see in a movie? But Charles Caron, and it's a great photo. The photo doesn't do it justice. That's valor. And it's true ascent. So, it's nice that a young man from Carle Place did that for his fellow firefighter. It's a great thing. A couple other quick bits. We're
019going to see a med tech presentation tonight by three of our students. They are going to wow you with their level of research and their poise and their tremendous accomplishments. I mean, they did such great work with Ms. White leading them. I want to say again, congratulations to the basketball team. You guys are dazzling on the court. Really, really good stuff. We're so happy for you and our coaches as well. And I'll just say quickly, we have some more words to say for Larry. But working with you, Larry, has been also a giant honor. I've learned a ton from you. The night that you called me to offer me this job was the greatest night of my entire professional life, and I will never forget that. It was a Monday night at 8:17 PM. Just
020in case anybody's wondering. It was gigantic. So, with that, I'll sign off for a minute and hand it back to President Dunler. Thank you, Dr. Cannone. The public comment disclaimer will be read by Trustee McDuffie. The Board of Education allows time at the conclusion of its regular meetings for comments from residents in attendance. Please note that any person wishing to speak during this time shall comply with all provisions of board policy. Although a total of 30 minutes is allowed for comments, the board president has the discretion to adjust the total time. We remind you to keep your comments to three minutes and conduct yourself in a respectful manner. Please address school matters only and refrain from addressing topics related to personnel matters or individual students. Such concerns should be discussed privately with the superintendent or
021administrator at an appropriate time. The board is here to listen and cannot provide immediate feedback or engage in open dialogue. Any necessary follow-up will be noted and provided at a later date. Are there any public comments regarding the agenda only? Okay, we will continue with our business meeting. We will start with our presentations. Our first presentation will be Trustee Lawrence Lino's junior years of service recognition. So I will start with my comments. So I wanted to say thank you, Larry, for being a board member and servicing our community volunteer hours. We're talking thousands of hours since it's been over a quarter of a century of his service. I would also like to show our appreciation of his institutional knowledge. You don't realize how valuable institutional knowledge is for someone who has been here for over
02225 years and sharing it with his fellow board members. I had the opportunity to be mentored by Larry the first three years that I'm on the board, so I'm ever so grateful. A few years ago, he was awarded the BOCES Partner Nomination Award, and he was nominated by some peer board members. So, we took the time to just have a journey of memories for you. So this is what I'd like to share with you, Larry. Larry has served more than a quarter-century as an educational leader in the Carle Place School District. He is a trusted and revered member of the Board of Education, having held the position of president, vice president, and trustee. In his capacity, he has fought to bring quality programs and essential resources to the district that has significantly improved the academic,
023social, and emotional environment of every classroom in every school of our district. Larry has long advocated for the equitable access to education, ensuring that every student, regardless of their background, has the opportunity to thrive. He has contributed heavily to the culture of continuous improvement in Carle Place, promoting policies that prioritize student-centered learning and support teacher development. Under his leadership, the district has maintained a strong connection with the community and its key stakeholders. He has been instrumental in ensuring that the voice of the residents and employees are heard, valued, and thoughtfully considered in the decision-making process. It is within this environment of transparency and inclusivity that the district has been able to navigate the complex challenges of school administration, particularly in the areas of budgeting and resource allocation. As chairman of the District Audit Committee, Larry
024was responsible for directing the district's fiscal management, ensuring that the taxpayers' money is being efficiently used while also benefiting both students and educators, maintaining the high-quality educational standards that the Carle Place community has come to expect.And with his professional experience at the helm of several multibillion-dollar global companies, Larry has had the expertise and strength the district needs to be successful. Other noted achievements, six years as Carl Place Board of Education president, one interim and five superintendents he has hired over his years as a Carl Place board member. Planning team member for various Carl Place district infrastructure projects, such as building expansion for the elementary school library and the high school multipurpose room, rebuilding the elementary exterior walls and classrooms, planning elementary asbestos abatement, and outdoor sport turf field and bathroom installations. Larry has demonstrated exceptional
025leadership and vision, as well as an unwavering commitment to the betterment of our local schools and the success of all students. He has a deep understanding of the district's specific educational needs, coupled with the ability to address challenges with a proactive mindset. Throughout his quarter-century of service, Larry has demonstrated his dedication to and genuine passion for education. His impactful contributions have left a lasting legacy of excellence in Carl Place schools. We thank you, Larry. So I want to also recognize two people who are here in the audience with us to celebrate tonight. That is my predecessor, Dr. Christine Finn, and our co-valedictorian- Deputy Superintendent Ms. Eileen Serviss. We have a gift and a little presentation for you, Larry. Before I do that, I would like to give Mr. Mike Renga a chance to speak, and
026then Ms. Lauren Moriarty, CPTA president and CPAA president, respectively. Still, that microphone. I'd be remiss if I didn't give a shout-out to Jen D'Ambino and Leslie Rubenstein because the three of us were hired together. So Leslie was hired an hour before Jen and I were hired. So Jen and I were actually sitting in, if you know where the bad kids hang out, where you got detention, and Leslie was hired an hour before us, and then she sat in on our interviews. And having Leslie and having Jen leave is a part of, I think my family retiring. It's very hard. I'm an only child, so I don't take change very well. When Christine and then Eileen left, that was a massive shock that didn't go over well. Christine and I went through COVID together. I didn't
027think I could get through anything, except for that. So, seeing Jen and Leslie retire is bittersweet. God bless them. I wish them nothing but the best. Larry, I guess you're getting too old. So, maybe it's time for you to go. So we're going to sweep you under the rug. But here are my comments if you guys would just allow me, and I do want to say from a personal perspective before I give my official comments, is Larry also hired me. So the district that took a chance on me, I'm always forever grateful and always grounded in that. And I'm honored, and I've loved working here. I would never, ever want to work here. It's the greatest place I think anybody could work. If anybody knows me and knows me as a union president, we have
028an open door relationship with all of our board of education members, central administration. There's no secrets here. We believe it's a collaborative relationship. A lot of that has to do with the years that Mr. Zaino has been on the board. And it's something we've really worked hard to establish. And I'm very proud of that, and I'm very sad to see Mr. Zaino go. So here are my official remarks. So dear members of the Board of Education, Dr. Cannone, and members of the Carl Place community. On behalf of the Carl Place Teachers Association, we proudly recognize the retirement of Mr. Zaino and thank him for his 26 years of service to the Carl Place community, including his time with the Carl Place Civic Association and Board of Education. As a union, we value leaders who understand
029the importance of collaboration, shared decision-making, and respectful labor management relationships. The CPTA was proud to stand behind Mr. Zaino with our endorsement last year, and we sincerely appreciate his willingness to engage with us in a professional and consistent manner over the years. Throughout contract negotiations, budget discussions, and many other complex challenges facing Carl Place education, Mr. Zaino demonstrated a respect for the collective voice of educators and school nurses. We also represent the nurses, for those of you that do not know that. While we did not always agree on every issue, there was always a foundation of dialogue, transparency, mutual recognition of each other's side's role in serving students and the broader school community. That kind of working relationship matters. It strengthens trust, supports stability in the district, and ensures that decisions are made with a
030full understanding of their impact on those who are closest to the work of educating students each day. Mr. Zaino's approach contributed to a labor management environment grounded in professionalism and respect, which has helped Carl Place continue to move forward in a productive way. Carl Place is a strong and respected school district because of its dedicated educators, administrators, support community, and the board of education members, who are willing to engage in a meaningful collaboration with their employees' respective organization. That shared commitment to a partnership has been essential to the progress we have made together. As he concludes his service, we acknowledge not only his years on the board, but his roles in helping maintain a working relationship where all voices on all sides can be heard. That legacy of engagement and respect is something we value
031deeply as a union. We thank Mr. Zaino for his years of service to the Carl Place community. We wish him nothing but the best retirement, full of health, peace, and a well-earned time with his family and friends. And Mr. Zaino, this is your copy of my speech. Thank you. We are old. So good evening, everyone. I'm Lauren Moriarty, Principal of Cherry Lane School and President of the Carl Place Administrators Association. Tonight, we come together as a community to celebrate something truly special and to honor someone whose impact on Carl Place cannot be measured in years alone, even though 26 years is an extraordinary legacy. Larry Zaino has been a constant presence, a steady voice, and a guiding force for our schools, our students, and our community. He has held a rare balance, serving both as
032a passionate advocate for education and a thoughtful steward of taxpayer resources. Larry has always reminded us that the very best decisions are the ones that do both, support students fully while remaining responsible to the community that we serve. On a personal note, I've always known that when I bring an idea forward, it has to meet Larry's standards. It has to be grounded in what is best for children and mindful of the trust our community places in us. That standard has made all of us better. I remember when we first introduced project-based learning at Cherry Lane. Larry trusted us as educators and supported that shift. Not long after, he came to visit classrooms to see it in action. In one of our first-grade classes, he asked a student what he was working on, and without hesitation,
033the student explained he was designing a light device to help him if he ever got lost while camping. And then to demonstrate his thinking, that student took a mirror and a flashlight and reflected a beam of light directly into both of our faces. It was one of those moments that perfectly captured both the creativity of our students and the reality of seeing learning come to life, quite literally, right in front of our eyes. Larry, your impact goes far beyond moments like that. If you look around this room tonight, every administrator here was hired during your time on the board of education. That speaks volumes. You have shaped not just decisions, but people, teams, and the direction of this district. Your belief in us, your support over the years, and your unwavering commitment have allowed us
034to do our very best work for all of our students. On behalf of the Carl Place Administrators Association and our entire central office team, we would like to present you with two small tokens of our deep appreciation. The first is a citation from Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, recognizing your 26 years of dedicated service and the compassion you have shown to this community. Dr. Knoebel will present that to you. And the second is a custom Carl Place letterman jacket. That is still being made, but it will be delivered very soon, and there's a picture in the envelope. Along with a gift card for you to enjoy on your very first Thursday night without a board meeting. Larry, thank you so much for your leadership, your integrity, and your heart. We wish you nothing but the
035very best in your retirement, and we look forward to hearing about the exciting chapter ahead. Thank you from all of us. Those are two very tough acts to follow. When you work with the board of education, you're working with a group of five people who volunteer, as you know, their time and their service to the community. They bring a variety of different perspectives to the table. We have boisterous, rigorous conversations, and one of the things that I admire about boards in general, about our board in particular, is how over the years they have always managed to come to a conclusion that is best for students, and you learn to do that by having a model to follow. And Larry, because of your time on the board, because of your standards, like Lauren said, that you
036set, because of your vision and your leadership and your character, you have truly been a model for that, that has taught successive generations of board members, of administrators, of teachers, and other leaders what it means to work toward those standards. It creates a real legacy. The legacy of this school district is what it is because of all of the people who work together with the leadership of the board, and you have been a leader among leaders. It's a truly wonderful thing to have been a part of. Like I said before, the night that you called me was the best night of my professional life, truly. I look at you as a mentor. I look at you as a person from whom I have learned an enormous amount. We have had a lot of in-depth, very
037intense, challenging conversations. We have laughed very heartily together. We have had some moments of real struggle in figuring out how to get things done, and we have always gotten to that place. It has been a challenge, and it has been exciting, and it's really been an intellectual workout in a lot of ways. And to me, getting to work with a person who is a scholar and a gentleman and a person of culture, and a person who understands Carl Place intimately and the wider world because of the professional experiences that you've had, I think that just rolls a whole package together in a way that gives us something to strive for, and in your way as a leader, have really reflected that back towards students, reflected that back towards those of us who work here, and
038successively have had members of the boards of education down the years really embrace that idea of working for students. And it is with genuine sorrow that we wish you well on your retirement, but because you've given us that legacy and because you've given us something to strive for, this board as it stands, whatever boards may come in the future, we will continue to work that way. And my colleagues and I will continue to work that way as well. And we're grateful that your family is here with us to celebrate tonight, too. And I know you have a few words you want to say for yourself, so I'll just leave it by saying thank you, Larry. I didn't know I was this wonderful. I'm sure there are some people here who don't think so. It took
039me a long time to make this decision to retire from the board. I love the business. I call it the business of education because it is a business. It's a business about educating kids. You have revenue coming in, you have expenses going out. I love working and talking to the staff and interviews, and one of my favorite things is negotiations. With Mike, with Lauren. We got you three. Yes. And you're the lucky one that you won't have to go through another one with me. But that's why we endorse you. Yeah. And you know that wouldn't make a difference. That's why I'm great. Well, you made me great. No, it took me a long time to make my mind up as to retire. And I explained earlier why I'm retiring in the middle of the year.
040And I've been going back and forth, and I finally made up my mind one day and just moved forward and wrote my letter of resignation, which the district clerk now has. So there's no backing out. After 26 years, it's not easy to find the right words to say thank you to the community and to people who mean so much to me. I appreciate every year I ran, I was clearly elected, and many years, nobody ran against me. I'm not sure why, but it can be a thankless job sometimes, but it's a wonderful job because you can see at the end of the school year, the students march across the platform, you shake their hands, and you give them their diploma. And that's a great moment. That's the merchandise moving out of the factory. And we
041have a great bunch of kids here. You look at our sports, the sports are wonderful. Our academics are wonderful. When I was first elected, my daughter Jennalyn was going into her senior year. She clearly said to me she did not want me to speak to any of her teachers- ... as she could take care of herself. And knowing my daughter, I just said, I complied.To my wife, Irene, thank you for sharing me with the Caulplace Schools. Board service is often quiet, sometimes invisible, but always demanding. Irene, your unwavering support made it possible for me to stay committed over the long haul. I know that was not always easy. I love you and miss you for helping me pursue my passion for education. Now it is time for me to move on to do the things
042we had planned to do. So this is another chapter that I'm closing and opening up a new chapter. I've worked with many boards of education, and we have a five-member board. When one member changes, that changes 20% of the character of the board, which can make a difference. Two members change, that's a difference of 40%, which can even be far, far more difficult. So to all my fellow board members, past and present, it has been a privilege to serve alongside you. This work asks for your thoughtful judgment, steady resolve, and a willingness to listen. And what I mean by that is to listen to one another when you're discussing an issue, because boards need to come to a conclusion. You may not always be on the win side. You may be on the losing side.
043But there's a happy medium, you can meet the best results for the school district and for the children. I've learned from each of the board members I've served with. I'm grateful for the legacy we've built together. Good board members should be considered legendary for the selfless work, effort, commitment, and time they apply to this position. I'll give you an example of the amount of time. When we were looking for a superintendent, for which Dr. Ganote now sits. The board that I was on then, those board members, we met 45 times. Forty-five times discussing the applications we received and who we were going to hire. So it can be very difficult, but it's challenging, but it's successful. I think we have a very good superintendent now, and we had a very good superintendent over there who
044decided to quit on me. I highly recommend him. Yeah. Sure. I was very upset when you called me and said you're leaving. Never me. Always a problem. To the Caulplace community. In a small district like ours, the schools are not just part of the community, they are at its core. In our unincorporated area of Caulplace, the school is, in effect, the local government. Your engagement, your expectations, and your belief in what our schools have become can and have become and have always pushed us forward. I have dedicated a lifetime to serving you to the very best of my ability. And to the faculty, staff, and administrators of the Caulplace Schools, especially those I've had the opportunity to hire, which someone said, everyone's here I have hired. Staff. And some, I've also approved their resignations. Yeah.
045I asked the lawyers. Did our lawyers leave? Over here. I've asked the lawyers- Yeah. You can't get rid of them. I've asked the lawyers, "Do we have to approve a resignation?" And obviously, the answer is yes. I never get what I want out of the lawyers. And when I leave, Eric, there's no increases in the fee, okay? There's been hundreds of teachers, many, many administrators, all of which do a great job here. You are the ones who bring our mission to life every day. Watching you grow, lead, and make a difference to students has been one of the most meaningful parts of my journey here. You've all made me very proud of you, of the school district, and for being a board member. When someone says to me, "Thank you for the great job you
046are doing on the Board of Education," I turn to them and I tell them, "I give all the credit to those who work here, to the teachers, the administrators, everyone who works here." The board members, the superintendent, are only as good as those that are working for the students and the community. When I think about these 26 years, what stands out most is a sense of purpose. It has been deeply rewarding to contribute in some small way to something that matters so much to students, to families, and to the future of this community. Caulplace has always been a wonderful school districtWhat's remarkable is how it continues to get better, stronger, more thoughtful, more effective with each passing year. To have played a role in that progress is something I will always carry with pride. I
047thank everyone in the community for the opportunity to serve. It has meant more to me than I can fully express. Once a Frog, always a Frog. Thank you all very much. Thank you. We will now continue with our presentations. The next one is the MedTech Competition presentation. Is this on? Hi. I'm Laurie Fite. I'm the middle school, high school librarian, and also the advisor for the MedTech club. Every year, Northwell Health Feinstein Institute has a competition. It's only for ninth and tenth grade students, and every year they pick a different real-world health issue. This year's topic was gun safety. I put it out there, who wants to do it. These three incredible students stepped up, did unbelievable research. I'm extremely proud, and they're fabulous, so enjoy. Good afternoon, everyone. Today, we'll be presenting a solution
048which we competed with in obviously Medical Marvels, and that's called Support Circle, and it aims to promote gun safety. My name's Alyssa, and this is Giovanni and Rene. So when discussing gun safety, most talk about laws or accessibility. But we felt the need to tackle this problem from its origin, bullying. So to the right here, you could see brain scans of violent offenders, and then to the left, you could see the brain scans of victims of bullying. In both images, the amygdala, which is a subcortical structure known for its role in emotional regulation, is highlighted. This proves a correlation between violent behaviors later on in life and bullying in adolescence, which justifies our solution to obviate bullying. Aside from the anatomical aspects, there are also many correlations regarding the mental aspects of the mental state
049of the cyberbullying victims and the perpetrators. So cyberbullying can have various effects on an individual, among them being aggression, mental disorders, and suicidality. All of these traits have been observed in past shooters as factors that contributed to and were seen in their violent offense. Right next to me is a more detailed comparison showing the correlation, but just as a disclaimer, I would like to say that this is not meant in any way to imply that poor mental health is a predictor of violence. It's only meant to show that there is a correlation. So when it comes to gun violence, it's important to recognize that one case has the potential to impact the lives of many. So that's why our team decided to take a digital approach, which would increase the accessibility to professional help and
050promote inclusivity. So to get into the technological project plan of our solution, Support Circle is an app which you could download within the App Store, and it's automatically designed to connect with social media platforms. And there'd be an AI software on it, where if two or more negative comments were received online, users would get a notification, as shown above, asking if they want to talk about it. And once they clicked on that notification, it would redirect them to our app, which they could either access a video call or a text message. And these different options would allow the users to engage in a form of help that they were comfortable with. And when it comes to our public policy, we basically want to make sure that technology companies would automatically install our app on their
051newer devices and also ensure that our app would remain in the App Store. And schools, we want to make sure that they're encouraging students to download our app and also send out our digital surveys, which Giovanni will get more into. So we plan to send out digital surveys via school districts that will be used to determine the prevalence and effect of cyberbullying on adolescents. A second survey will then be sent out six months later, asking similar questions. We can then use the results of both of these surveys in order to determine whether our app, Support Circle, was a true success or not. So the resources our solution would require are federal funding and computers. As for the people that would be involved in Support Circle, those would be the school guidance departments, the federal government,
052social media companies, technology companies, programmers, and licensed therapists. Something else I would also like to note is that the technology companies and the federal government would work together to provide a 3% phone bill reduction for any household that actively uses Support Circle. This would incentivize more people to download and use our app. To conclude, Support Circle would be an app that would be available from the App Store, and the main design would be to reduce the impacts of cyberbullying. Eventually, we'll hope to see a decline in the amount of cyberbullying cases, which will then promote gun safety. Thank you so much. The next presentation is the Long Island Championship Basketball Team Recognition. Thank you. Before I get started, I also do want to wish my colleagues the best. Kathy, Leslie, and Jen, thank you very
053much for all your time and all the fun conversations we've had, especially you, Kathy. Jen will have to find a new tech director to bother every day about tech issues. And, Larry, I also want to wish you the best. As you stated, you hired everyone in this room, and of course, you hired me as well. And just never forget in the board interview, you just staring right through me. This big stare of crap and thinking, "I'm never getting this job." But thank you very much, and I wish you the best. And the boys basketball achievements, what more can you say? And I'll say this, besides being the Long Island champions, they were also the regional champions. And that hasn't been mentioned tonight, so let's give them a round of applause. And also, like it's been
054said, they were some of the most dramatic moments ever. Vanessa, when we were sitting there and Ryan hit that three-pointer, God, I think we almost jumped onto the floor. Well, we didn't jump as high as Coach Campbell. Not as high. But that was by far one of the most amazing things. And Ryan, you had an amazing year. They said you were Long Island Player of the Year. But Ryan was also First Team Long Island, which is a huge honor. So let's give Ryan applause for that. All right. I'm going to call up the team, who's here. Unfortunately, we had a few conflicts tonight. But Coach Campbell, who did get his 200th win, surprisingly, versus Cold Spring Harbor, the district, I believe, who fired him. So that was great. Yeah, he could. Sure. And then his
055assistant coach, Jimmy Galarza, is here today. Assistant coach James McEwen couldn't be here today. We want to thank him as well. And then I'm just going to call the guys down, and coach will hand them a certificate. Joey Buffalino, Camille Schneider, Mario D'Alessandro, Chris Golap, Costa, Ryan Leary, Evan Dahalakus, Jack Ryan, who unfortunately is injured, can't be here. Caden Ciccone, Devin Stiletto, Justin Warren, Dylan Wyler, Eric Su, Wesley Muse. I also want to call a very special person, the manager, Anthony D'Alessandro, who by far the best water boy in Nassau County. So I hope you see him. I just want to say one thing about this basketball team. Phenomenal year. We did it last year. We went to the States, and we won the counties, won the states, got beat in the first round of
056the states. And this year, we just repeated again. And we got a nice little group coming back next year. So again, thanks for the support and everything from the community and the student body was unbelievable. And to the board members that came and participated, we'll give you more excitement next year. Before I leave, in 1999, I was training Jen Zano in the basement of her house. And right when I was done, Larry Zano said, "You know what? You can work." Or I asked him, "Do you think there's an opening at Cold Place for a chap job?" And Larry Zano, who Mr. Colligan lived right next door, called up Mr. Colligan, and the next day-- This is how great the hiring was back then. I had actually walked into the building, walked into Mr. Colligan's office
057and said-- He knew me because my wife used to coach here and stuff, and I said, "Jim, I'm looking for a coaching job." He walked me up to the second floor here, knocked on Bob Turner's office and said, "Bob, this is your assistant." And that was my interview. But 1999, that man hired me. And I got to train his daughter, Larry. Not Larry, Jen Lynn. And to your wife, who was amazing, and I can't remember, she used to run a magazine or paper in the town, and I used to write for it, and I used to have to send my articles on health to her. And she was great. The Frogmore. And she used to call me up and say, "The deadline is tomorrow." And I didn't know. I didn't really want to get into
058journalism after that. But Larry, love you. Thank you so much, Jen Lynn, I love you, and you guys, thank you for everything, I really do. Can we get pictures for a minute? Woo-hoo. I never think I will ever forget there's a moment here that is unforgettable. We'll continue the presentations with the budget. Thank you. And for those who will stay to the end, we have refreshments to enjoy. So please stay and join us. Thank you. Just trying to give people ample time to leave before I start talking. I did not prepare a speech for Larry tonight because I think I'm still in denial that he won't be at the next audit committee meeting since I have tonight our budget adoption presentation. I'm bringing back a quote that I've been using throughout this budget season. I
059think it's worth reminding everyone to be aware of assumptions that they might be making. As we get closer to the budget vote and board election, I encourage everyone to verify their information, whether it's about the budget or a board candidate, go to the source. By checking the facts, it'll help prevent assumptions from being made and perpetuated. And we want our voters to have all the information they need to make an informed choice. So tonight, we're just going to recap how we got where we are and look at what's driving our budget. We have an update to give on the zero emission bus mandate, and we'll review the proposed budget being adopted tonight. So this slide just shows how we got where we are today. We've provided opportunities for our students, staff, and community members to
060share their priorities for a successful '26, '27 school year. We've communicated our new initiatives and how they align to our district goals, our mission and vision, our committee recommendations, and our thought exchange results. We shared the budget with the community through a series of budget presentations, and in the meantime, we continued to fine-tune the budget ahead of tonight's formal adoption. We saw this at our last presentation, but just to keep it at the forefront of our minds, based on all the responses we got from our thought exchange, students, staff, community members, the top three ranked priorities are preserving rigorous academic programming, offering authentic real-world experiences, and maintaining low class sizes. I said back in February that I would revisit these drivers after we made all of our changes to the budget. So here is the
061breakdown of the expenditure categories that are driving our overall budget increase: our mandatory costs, our contractual increases, our materials and supplies, and technology costs. And altogether, these categories represent 95% of the overall change. The remaining 5% is equipment and facilities projects that we don't fund through our capital reserves. If you're more of a visual learner, this is the same information in a pie chart showing the percentage of change that each category represents. And it shows you that the changes make sense. We know our salary and benefit expenses make up about 75% of our total budget, so it makes sense that they would make up the greatest portion of the change. All right, shifting gears. If you haven't heard, New York State has a zero emission bus mandate that requires all bus purchases made by school
062districts or third-party providers be zero emission vehicles starting July 1, 2027. By July 1, 2035, every district has to operate and maintain an exclusively zero emission bus fleet, whether you operate your own buses or contract out your transportation. There's been a lot of advocacy for changes to this legislation, but as of right now, this is the law. Now, New York State issued clarifying guidance. I hope someone's going to bring me one, too. On March 16th, based on that guidance, we met with our vendor on April 1st to discuss the best path forward. In the clarifying guidance, it says that the law applies to contracts that are newOr extended after June 30th, 2027. And they were explicit in saying that an extension is now considered a new contract term for the purpose of complying with this
063law, and if you don't comply, you don't get your transportation aid. So because we have a good longstanding relationship with our transportation vendor, Pierce, we were able to come up with the strategy outlined on the slide to allow for maximum flexibility and time necessary to achieve full compliance with this mandate. We have negotiated a five-year contract beginning July 1st, 2027. The terms of the contract will provide for an increase at CPI each year. Historically, our transportation contracts have been extended at CPI. That's the method that's allowed by New York State. And in addition to flexibility, the five-year contract provides vendor stability and transportation aid projection protection. Essentially, we're entering into a contract that will not be considered a new contract term under this law until 2031, which again, gives us flexibility and time to comply
064with the mandate. So does this affect the numbers reported for transportation in the '26-'27 budget? No, it does not. The numbers in the budget were already projected at a CPI increase because, again, that's the allowable method for extensions. So why am I telling you? In addition to remaining transparent throughout the budget process, the State Education Department requires specific disclosures for multi-year contracts, both in the actual budget, and in our budget newsletter, and we wanted everyone, again, to be fully informed in advance. This is a screenshot of the actual budget document where the disclosure is made. You can see towards the bottom where it says five-year contract with Pierce Coach Line at a CPI increase over what was paid in the '25-'26 school year. The remaining costs of the five-year contract is based on the CPI
065increase for each subsequent year. Coming back to the budget, as I mentioned earlier, we've been fine-tuning things throughout the entire budget development process. Here you can see the changes we've made along the way from a revenue perspective because we are required to present a balanced budget, so our revenue has to equal our expenses. The budget being adopted by our board tonight represents further reductions from the budget numbers presented on March 12th. Altogether, we've reduced our budget-to-budget increase from 2.63 to 2.45%. And the decrease in expenditures was balanced by decreasing the amount for appropriate and retirement reserve. So the budget being adopted tonight, $60,127,845, a 2.45% increase over the prior year. To support that budget, our estimated levy is equal to our maximum allowable levy at $48,893,575, or 2.32%. So this is a slide I hope
066we never have to consider, but we are required by law to prepare contingency budget calculations to show how total spending and the tax levy would change between the proposed and contingency budget. Had we end up in a contingency situation, if the budget fails, we have three options. We can submit... We have two options. We can submit the same budget or revote. We can submit a revised budget. I guess we do have three options. We could choose to adopt a contingency budget, but if we have a second failed vote, we automatically end up in a contingency situation. So how would that affect you and your family? There's a few rules that districts have to follow under a contingency budget, one of which is that we're held to the prior year tax levy amount. Certain expenses like
067equipment that isn't related to health and safety and new capital projects are prohibited. And then in order to meet the levy and other component requirements, we have to turn to other expenses that are not mandated under the law, which means possibly eliminating clubs, the arts, even athletic teams. And these non-mandated activities are often the most memorable and most loved by our students and their families. Now, even though a contingency budget requires us to maintain the tax levy from the prior year, it doesn't mean that your taxes won't increase. So it is possible under a contingency budget that your student misses out on all of these experiences and you still have to pay more. So again, required calculations. We'll post them to our website. It doesn't mean we think we're going to end up in this
068situation. But again, all about fully informing the voters about the overall process and how your vote can impact our students because at the end of the day, that is why we're here, to give them the best that we can. We've seen this before on the ballot. Proposition one is our budget. Proposition two is authorization to establish and fund a new capital reserve up to $15 million over 15 years. This is just the establishment of the reserve, and authorization to fund, but no tax impact on proposition two. And proposition three is to elect three board members of the board of ed. Two for a three-year term starting on July 1st, 2026, and one for a two-year term starting on May 19th. We're almost there. We have our budget hearing and meet the candidates on May 7th
069and our vote May 19th all day in the multipurpose room here at the high school. If you want to know more, reach out in any way. We want to provide all the information we can, and please join us or meet the candidates on May 7th. Thank you. Thank you for your patience. We will continue with the business meeting in a minute. Okay, we will continue with our business meeting. May I have a motion to adopt the resolve that the Board of Education hereby adopts the 26/27 budget in the amount of $60,127,845? Make a motion. Second? Second. All in favor? Aye. Yeah. Just for clarification, with the budget hearing, that resolution is in place. May I have a motion to approve the Board of Education business meeting minutes of March 12th, 2026? Second. All in favor?
070Aye. The minutes from March 12th are approved. May I have a motion to approve the Board of Education business meeting minutes of March 19th, 2026? Motion. May I have a second? Second. All in favor? Aye. The minutes from March 19th are approved. May I have a motion to approve the Board of Education business meeting minutes of March 26th, 2026? Second. Second. All in favor? Aye. The minutes from March 26th are approved. Now for the approval of the consent agenda. May I have a motion to approve the consent agenda? Motion. Second? Aye. All in favor? Aye. No. Now may I have the approval of the agenda? May I have a motion to approve the agenda? Motion. Second? Aye. And I will have to abstain because of my son being on 7.1 on the appointments. Honor Reardon.
071The agenda. All in favor? Aye. The agenda is approved. Are there any questions or comments from the public? Please come to the podium and give your name and address. Thank you very much. Good evening. Congratulations to Mr. Zano. You have somebody that has big shoes to fill. You have done an amazing job, and it's fascinating to hear all the amazing things that you've done throughout the years. And to the other retirees, congratulations. My question and statement is, as a parent and as an educator myself, umI'm a little worried because I see many resignations. Not resignations. Retirements, resignations. One board seat will be new next year, possibly two, could be three. So as an educator or as an administrator, on paper, the district looks a little maybe shaky, maybe some may be hesitant to apply here,
072and maybe you may get a new graduate or a new candidate who's like, "You know what? They have so many openings, I'm just going to go for it." So my plea here tonight is to the board, to those on the hiring committee, to central administration, please, please, please make sure that we are hiring the most qualified, the most rigorous interview process happens, that these shoes that are going to be left empty need to be filled with qualified candidates. Qualified. Please look outside the pond. That's a plea from somebody who is from outside the pond. Look outside of the pond. There are many new ideas out there, innovative educators waiting to find a place to start something new. So my plea is, please make it a rigorous process. Be picky. Don't hire just now because you
073think you're going to get the best person now before July 1st. Please consider all options. Consider the little kids that you educate every single day that have no voice. So I'm up here for my seven-year-old, and I'm up here for the 1,300 students of this district that cannot speak. So please, I'll be honest, when I saw the minutes for today, I was a little sad to see Jen and Leslie's name on the retirement list because Jen's been working very hard to get new devices, and I hope that next year's rollout of new devices is going to be as perfect as if Jen were to do it herself. And Leslie, I know she's not here, she has done great things. I actually had an email saved as draft that I wanted to send her after ELA
074state testing was over. And now I'm like, "Well, why will I send it to her?" Because somebody else will have to deal with my emails now. So please, please, please, hire the best. The best. Three minutes is up. Thank you very much. Are there any other questions or comments from the public? I am going to close the public session. Can I have a motion to close the public session? Second. Aye. All in favor? Aye. We are adjourned, and thank you for coming to the meeting tonight. Come down here in the front and have a cupcake. Thank you. All right. This is it.