001All right. So, uh, this is the call to order for the, uh, East Aurora Union Free School District Board of Education meeting and public or board of education meeting, Wednesday, June 11th, 2025. Please join me in the pledge to the flag. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Thank you all. I have a motion to enter executive session to discuss the superintendent's evaluation and contract negotiations. Contract negotiations for 10 particular employees. Contract negotiations with the EAA matters protected by FURPA. Contract negotiations with negotiations with uh EASPA and matters relating to a particular corporation. So move moved by Miss Armbro. Second second by Mrs. Oileer. Any discussion? All in favor? I opposed abstensions.
002That's passed 6 and we are in exe. All right. Thank you everyone for joining us tonight. Uh we are returning from executive session uh where we discussed superintendent's uh evaluation and contract negotiations uh contract negotiations for 10 particular employees contract negotiations with the EAA matters protected by FURPA contract negotiations with the EACPA and matters relating to a particular corporation. Uh before we uh move on, I just want to take a minute to introduce uh our new uh friends at the table. Um we have uh just Alex Whitel [clears throat] who was elected uh at the uh school board election in budget vote who will be joining us officially in July. We've invited her to come sit at the table tonight with us so she can get a feel for it. Um she doesn't get that
003she doesn't get to back out. We haven't given her that option. she's here. But uh but welcome to Jessica. And then we have uh our our two uh student board members who were elected, if I'm correct, uh last week. Um so we have Charlie Penery and uh Aiden Fry who are joining us at the table. [applause] Uh and and uh Charlie will be acting as the primary uh uh representative uh with Aiden uh being the uh backup as needed. Um so in the future you won't have the pleasure of seeing both, only one. Um but yes, welcome. Welcome to everyone. Um uh we're moving on to item four, agenda changes. Do we have any changes to the agenda? Um Um, item five. Um, this, uh, we're going to call to order the, uh, public hearing
004for the 202526 district. Um, today we have Chris Blackwell with us from Alteras who is our consultant for developing our our district and building level plans. And so, at this time, I'll turn it over to Chris. Thank you, sir. Thank you for having everyone. Good evening. Uh as we know every year the state department of education does make minor changes to our district uh level safety plan. Thank thankfully there were not too many uh changes made for this year. I'm going to do a uh quick presentation just of a couple slides and just go over uh some of the new changes taking place for 2526. And if you can just bear with me, some of the changes are a little bit boring, but I will do my best to uh explain as best as I
005can. feel free to post any questions that you have. Okay. [clears throat] So, beginning for July 1st for 2526, all New York State public charter OC schools must use the new emergency response terms shelter/shelter in place, hold in place, evacuate, secure lockout, and lock down. It's a little bit of a change from last year where we're using shelter in place, hold in place, evacuation, lockout, and lock down. So, the titles of our annexes have slightly been changed, but keep in mind the procedures for sheltering in place, holding in place, evacuation, secure lockout and lockout, and lockout, I'm sorry, lockdown have not changed. It's just a slight changing uh in the wording. So, you'll start to see on some of our procedure sheets hanging around your school buildings that the titles of those annexes have changed
006slightly. In the superintendent uh directive section bullet number seven was amended to include trauma informed drill language to comply with New York State SED law 155.17. The bullet now reads, "New text in bold, ensuring the district of required evacuation and lockdown drills in a traumainformed, developmentally and age appropriate manner that does not include any use of props, actors, simulations, or other tactics intended to mimic a school shooting or other acts of violence in an emergency in all district buildings as required to date education law. So, we cannot use any props, actors, or anything that mimics a school shooting in any of our lockdown drills. Just some again, some of the laws are our changes in policy and procedure, and some of the laws are just going to be slight changes uh in language. Uh in
007the prevention and intervention strategy section, a clarifying comment was added regarding the threat assessment behavioral assessment teams. Uh in summary, building level, districtwide, or participation in a countywide team is not required. We are not required to have building level or a district-like threat assessment or behavior level teams. However, if a district does have building level threat assessment teams, which your district does um participate in a countywide team, they are required to provide a description of such teams in their district level plan. And you will see throughout your district level plan, we do describe that we have um behavioral threat assessment teams uh at the building level. Uh, one of the new annexes for 2526 is an afterchool event annex which has been added to the building level emergency response plan within the district plan. Brief
008statement has been added to the risk prevention and intervention section confirming compliance with this new regulation. you and optional for 2526 was a max temperatures in school annex that can be included in your building level emergency response plans as well as there is a brief statement in the district plan in the section 2 risk reduction prevention and intervention. Although we do mention in your building plans of a max temperature school annex, the district must create a standalone policy in regards to max temperature in schools which now must be approved by the board of education. Under the drills and education section has been streamlined for clarity, making legal requirements and components easier to understand and follow. Clarification was made regarding drills during mass gathering events such as lunch periods and assemblies. You are now no longer
009required to hold a drill during event period or assembly if students are provided instructions on drills in the procedure of an fire during these event times. So you do not have to have hold a fire drill during a lunch period or during assembly if we are now giving students instructions as to what would take place during a fire drill or during a fire during an assembly or during a lunch period. uh a statement adding requirements for residential schools which does not affect your district uh at all. New for 25.6 in the addition to the afterchool annex language being added to the section was added to the drill section as well being mindful of amending the statement as its inclusion to the plan is for compliance purposes. Districts must now ensure they follow the statement in
010their after school activities. The text for that statement reads, "For after school programs, events or performances conducted within a school building that include persons who do not regularly attend classes in the buildings, those principles or persons in charge of the buildings must require the teacher or persons in charge of those after school programs, events, or performances notify attendees of the procedures to be followed in emergency." Simply put, we now must require to notify any programs that utilize our buildings after hours of what our emergency procedures are. So, indicating where our emergency exits and what our shell procedures are, sheltering in place, holding in place, evacuations, secure lockouts, and lockouts. So, any after school program that uses utilizes the building should be filling out a a building use form. Within that building use form, we should
011be now notifying them of what our emergency response procedures are. As well as notifying any visitors to the building, we now be required to notify them of what our emergency response procedures are as well. Full scale exercise language opted or an option for those school districts that do not plan to participate in a full-scale exercises, meaning using props, actors, or simulations. Participation in full-scale exercises is not required. However, the full scale language is required to now be in your district level plan. In the staff development training section, the text training requirements of the building level emergency response plans and district level emergency response man was updated. The district must now ensure that they meet these requirements. The text is as follows. Starting July 1st, 2025, the training for the new year will include a description
012of the roles and responsibilities of the building level emergency response planning team, the building level incident command system, including the roles and responsibilities of designated staff of the building level emergency response plan procedures for in implementing the following required emergency response term. Sheltering in place, hold in place, evacuation, secure lockout, and lockdown. The required trainings will also include the procedures for conducting drills, whether classrooms will be released from lockdown by law enforcement or school district administrators during drills, and the district and building policies, procedures, and programs related to safety, including those which include components of violence in prevention and mental health. Again, simply stating those um training videos that you have to use either the GCN global compliance network or using the vector system by September 15th, those trainings are now going to be covered.
013Anything that is not covered in those um modules, we will help cover you uh through our trainings from Paris. In the protocols for responding to bomb threats, hostage takings, intruders, abductions, and other emergency situations, the following bullets have been emitted. Corresponding changes in the building level plans regarding these annexes are defined in the building level plans updated documents. The abduction annex is now listed as abduction/kidnapping. The alotment annex is now child/otment. Last year the inclusion of the alotment annex was optional. However, we included this annexing plans going forward as now having an alotment annex in your building level plans uh is mandatory. Last year, we suggested all our clients to include a swatting annex, which most of you did. It [clears throat] is not a required annex, but we do recommend it going forward. In
014the response of violence section, bullet number five was amended to the words or emergency closure was added to comply with New York State law. Again, just a small change in language was added uh to comply with the law. [clears throat] Those are the changes in the new uh plans for 2526. Again, our district level plan is a public facing document as we know it's posted on the district website for 30 days for public comment. After that is completed, the district plan along with the building level plans are then approved by the board of education no later than September 1st and then must be uploaded to the vets uh portal no later than October 1st. We will be going over the building level plans with your building level administrators where a lot more detailed changes. As
015we know, the building level plans are not public facing documents. Those are confidential and they are not to be shared with the public. Those do have to be approved by the board of ed which we recommend they are approved uh in an executive session. So I know some of those changes are a little wordy and they may not make sense to everyone but if you go through the district level plan they they would make sense uh when you go through that. Does anyone have any questions on any of the changes for the 2526 district plan? Um I just have a question. So are you looking for some guidance from the board of education with respect to it says new and optional for 2025 the maximum temp because under underneath it says uh let us know
016the district's decision. So is that something that you're looking um yeah that's a totally district decision. The district does have to create a max temperature in school policy and have it approved by the board of ed. We can certainly assist you with getting that policy done. Originally, the state department of education mandated that a max temperature in school annex was included in your building level plans. They have since changed that law and made it not mandatory. They make it so that a standalone policy is created by the district and approved by the board. Yep. We're in the process of changing that. We have 30 days to before we adopt it. Right. So, okay. Thank you. Questions? Thank you. Thank you. Okay. Well, thank [laughter] you. Thank you very much. Thank you, Mr. Rust and thank
017you, Mrs. George, for all your help in making sure that this plan is uh updated in compliance, and we look forward to working with you um again in the future. Thank you, Kish. Thank you, guys. Have a good night. Thank you. [snorts] Um, move on to uh specific to the public hearing on the uh district safety plan um community comments. We didn't get any cards. Does anybody have any Did anybody have anything? Excellent. Hearing none. Moving on to board member comments. Any board member comments? Uh starting to my right. Anyone board comments? Yeah, for for the about the safety plan. Oh god, no. No, I don't understand how much on the left end. Well, would anyone care to define elopment? [clears throat] Can the younger kids run away or anything? So, it's different bigger kids
018too. the younger [laughter] one. An elopment has always been kind of a running away. [laughter] Yes. Most just one very small thing on page eight. I noticed that we the rest of the document has area code PG doesn't require Okay, good catch. Well done. And I do have a question regarding building use forms. So we if this is required now yes I can answer that. Yes we are in the process of uploading it is a separate sign off with the building use form. Um and if I can just on just the comment so both for the board and for the public this will now stay open on our website for until the next board meeting which is over 30 days. 30 days is the um till the August August meeting till the August meeting which
019is over 30 days. Um, and there is uh anyone who has any questions, concerns, things like that. We will read it again for typographical things like that um but wanted it to be out there and open for review um before you all adopt it uh or vote to adopt it in in August. Okay. Um so with that, may I have a motion to adjourn the public hearing? So moved by Dr. and proa second [snorts] second by Mrs. Daniel discussion all in favor I opposed and that's passed 70. Um we are moving on to item six. Um the uh superintendent recommends the board approve the appointment of the provisionary 1.0 Oft position within the tenure of art education effective September 1st, 2025 uh and ending August 31st, 2029. May I have a motion? Move by Mrs.
020Oiler. Second by Miss Armbrust. Uh discussion. All in favor? I opposed. That's pass 70. [applause] Thank you everyone. I'm really excited to be joining the team. Thanks for joining us tonight. We are going to move on to um item seven uh community member comments. Uh before we get to the card that we have, I just want to read to the board list of emails we've received since our last meeting on May 20th. Um uh on the 21st of May we received a email uh with regards to a DASA report from Jennifer uh Dobner. Uh we received on the 20 20th and 22nd uh emails from uh Mr. Russ with regards to a response to a DASA complaint. Uh Jenny Wilson emailed us on May 26th with regards to uh a second formal DASA complaint. Uh
021Carrie Stockinger uh emailed us on the 30th of May with regards to uh a wax museum invitation. Um Mr. Rose replied to us uh or um emailed us on um May 30th with regards to the second formal DASA complaint. Christian Armstrong emailed us on the 6th of June or the 3rd of June with regards to the dress code. Terry Kohler on the 3rd of June uh with a matter for the board. Uh and then we have received three emails from Scott Hapner uh on the 5th, 5th and 9th of June uh that were case updates. Did you all receive those and have a chance to review them? on. We have um we have one card. We have uh Tara Arnold and Elizabeth McCarthy speaking to us on copying printing cuts. Please join us. Thanks. [clears
022throat] Hi, I'm Cara Arnold. I'm an English teacher up at the high school. I'm Elizabeth McCarthy. I teach science to almost all of your kids. [laughter] So, the Easter High School educators would like to address the board of administration today to respectfully request to resend the proposal to decrease printing stations and consolidate all the copying to the middle school building. This proposed cut does not clarify or have a definitive amount of how much this will actually save and is merely conjecture. There's no itemized savings that were attached to this specific piece of the proposed cuts. And we know this will have more detrimental impacts than positive ones. Our current printing setup empowers teachers to focus more on instruction and student engagement rather than on logistics and time consuming task and locating completed printing or backed
023up printing due to limited copy access. As educators, our primary concern is our students and we know firsthand the negative impact this will have on students and overall morale in the building. It is our responsibility to provide our students with effective, timely, creative, differentiated, and meaningful instruction and learning opportunities. It's essential to be able to adapt to the needs of our students in real time. And if we send all of our copying down to the middle school, it will be inefficient and more arduous of a task than necessary, as then all copies will have to be transported up to another building. at times that won't be able to be communicated or guaranteed. All the educators at the high school unequivocally agree that this will add stress, inconsistency, and decrease burnout throughout the building. We offer
024diverse and board and administration supported academic programming from AP courses, one-of-a-kind art programs, esteemed music programs, core and regions classes, special education supported courses, STEM classes, diverse elective courses, and not to mention studentrun businesses, clubs, and activities. All the educators across the content areas have expressed their concern that taking away printing options will make their planning, assessment, creativity, and differentiation more challenging and how they will go about supporting our students. Planning time is tight enough, so we don't have time to designate to make sure we have the basic yet essential and integral materials. Therefore, added stressors to teachers finding printing locations, let alone completed printing copies sent up from another building adds unwanted and unnecessary and inconsistency that will directly impact students. With all the copies done in another location, we would also not be
025able to clarify questions about our materials. There are people in morale behind what may seem like a minor decision. Therefore, this decision has only negative repercussions and this is all a hypothetical statement printing while not taking into consideration that if the changes take place, teachers may actually overprint in instructional materials because they'll be asked to plan out much further in advance and not be able to adapt in real time to students individual needs. We would ask that the board resend this specific proposal as there are more practical ways of cutting on printing by assessing where the most printing comes from and limiting right from there. All right. The main reason for our opposition to this cut is addressed in the signed petition that includes 100% of tenure teachers and faculty members at the high school.
026Um, everybody is concerned about this. I have copies of the explanations in more in more detail about how this will detrimentally impact students, our instruction, and overall negatively impact morale throughout the school. Our petition includes the following reasons why we disagree with this cut and how it will affect our instruction. It will limit our instructional flexibility. It will disproportionately affect students without technology. It'll increase workload and stress. It undermines special education support. It'll create dependency on unreliable tech. It'll reduce classroom engagement. It disrespects teacher professionalism. It'll harm assessment and feedback. It will waste valuable instructional time. More copies will be made. Um, it will lead to confusion and unexpected stress on others when teachers were absent. And it sets a dangerous precedent. Thank you for listening to our specific concerns. We would be happy to
027discuss these concerns and possible solutions in more detail with any administrator or board member so that we can work together to remedy this before the beginning of the next school year. We have suggestions and solutions that we'd like to speak about. Thank you. And if you can just leave those in the uh in the bin there, we'll uh we'll gather them. Thank you for taking the time to [laughter] Yeah. Thank you. We are going to uh move on to uh eight superintendent conference. Um yep. Uh this is uh one of the most special meetings uh of the year uh because we uh celebrate those who have decided to retire. Um you know of course this is always bittersweet. We have uh 12 retirees this year which is certainly the most in my 21 years of
028being in these sort of schools. Um and these are 21 people who have u devoted um so much to our students, so much to each other. Um, and that's what makes our school district great. Um, you know, we're going to miss them terribly, uh, because, uh, they bring so much with them every single day. But we know, uh, for them, this is a good move and they're excited about their their next journey. And so, we wish them well and we would like to recognize them at this time. And so, I would like to start with I going to start with the high school. Uh, Mr. Roberts, would you like to join me at the podium? Usually I usually go last. I was [laughter] [clears throat] I usually go last. So I was back there just
029[laughter] Yeah. Shake that up. All right. Keep my toes. [clears throat] Should I have Joyce? Come on. Joyce, do you want or you want to stay there? I'll stay here. Yeah, I thought you'd say that. [laughter] I'm relaxed. I know the feeling. All right. So, good evening everyone. Uh, tonight we celebrate someone who has been more than just a friendly face at our school doors. Someone who has made a lasting impact across every grade level she has touched and whose presence will be deeply missed. Joyce began her journey in EA back in 2003 as a substitute teacher. From those early days at Main Street Elementary through her years at the middle school and since 2019 at, as I like to say, home at the high school. She has exemplified dedication, professionalism, and a true heart
030for service. Over the years, she has worn many hats. Uh, educator, listener, problem solver, most importantly, a steady source of kindness and support for our students and our staff. Whether greeting students with a warm smile each morning, lending a calm presence during challenging moments, or working seamlessly with her colleagues, she has consistently modeled what it means to be a team player. One of the things we admire most about her is her ability to handle any situation, big or small, happy, sad or angry, with composure and grace. In a world that can often feel hectic and unpredictable, she has been a calming and reassuring presence to everyone that walks through our doors. But perhaps her most lasting legacy will be her care and concern that she shows for our students. Every student who has passed crossed
031her path knows they are seen, they are heard, and they're valued. And in the school community, that kind of connection is powerful. It leaves a mark that lasts a lifetime. On a personal note, Joyce is my right hand. She somehow knows where I am, what I need, and when I need it, even if I don't. She knows my Elm Street and Blue-eyed coffee order. [laughter] She knows my Deloreal lunch preferences and is never short on understanding when my schedule is overflowing with meetings. And I tell her, "I'm heading to the middle school and I'll be right back." [laughter] But more than that, she gives me complete peace of mind. I always know when I step out of the building, she has everything under control. That kind of trust is rare, and it's something that I'll
032never forget. As she steps into a well-earned retirement, we know she'll carry the same grace and warmth into the next chapter that she brought to each and every day on her uh at her job at East High School. Joyce, thank you for your years of service, for your quiet strength, and for the heart you've poured into our school community. You'll be truly missed, but your impact will not be forgotten. We wish you the joy and relaxation that retirement will bring you. Congratulations. [applause] [laughter] Congratulations. Congratulations. [laughter] [applause] And then um although although not here tonight, I just want to and and she's specific specifically emailed me. Don't say anything. All right. Like don't multiple emails. Um but just want to recognize Kelly Syel who is um retiring uh after being in the district for many
033many years. Started back in 1999. Hired at the middle school originally as a social studies teacher. Um taught everything at the middle school. Was a team coordinator, curriculum coordinator. Moved up to the high school in 2014. um where again taught everything from 9th grade to to AP model UN um advisor, debate club advisor and um we do want to publicly recognize her retirement. If you see her recognize it privately um but she doesn't want any public attention so congratulations to Kelly [applause] Mr. Brown. All right. Okay, who should we start with? [laughter] All right, let's see here. I'm not using this right up here. I have a lot of pages here. Well, it's because I've recently gone over the edge to get readers and I didn't have the heart to stand up here and put
034my readers [laughter] and so I blew it up so it's not not as long. We can see the stage. [laughter] All right. So, [clears throat] we're going to start off with Mrs. Kim Cruz. Kim, would you like to come up here or and be in the spotlight or do you just want? [laughter] First of all, we have to say Kim has done a marvelous job of making our library look great. [laughter] No, and we'll get to that. But Kim um amazing, amazing, amazing, amazing. and she came um to tell us that she was retiring. I was part of me was a little bit heartbroken not only for me and the school but also for her because this is going to be such a beautiful um library media uh hub that's going to be incredible. I
035so wanted her um to have the experience of of being here for that. Um but we are so happy um for her and her retirement. So um Kim was hired back in 2005. um 20 years of dedication to our students, parents, faculty, and staff and the entire community of East Aurora. Kim has spent time at Main Street Elementary in this library, but when it was Main Street Elementary, um her first few years as well as the East Middle School, all in this space that we are sitting right now. And a couple of months ago was the first time that she didn't teach in this space, and it's when she graciously moved down the hall to our multi-purpose room. That was a task that took a lot of work and she did it with a smile.
036Um, understanding the big picture and what's best for the students here and she's created a multi-purpose room that actually looks like a welcoming library which I did not think was possible. When many describe Kim, they describe her as a kind heart that loves her job and loves the students. her passion for literature, for reading aloud books, for figurative language, most importantly for encouraging students to read, not only to read for their interests, but also various genres, and she also loves and excels in working with other teachers and different teammates throughout the building. She's always there to help another teacher out with a resource. She truly makes the library a place that people want to be and want to spend time. When I think of him and her passion for the library, I often think of
037the movie Life at the Museum. Have you all seen that? Hopefully some of you. Good. A few of you have Night at the Museum. Sorry. No wonder why you haven't [laughter] dazzled ones that Jackie used to give you. Okay. [laughter] And the reason why I say that is because Kim always had a knack for making the library come to life. She created snowmen and Christmas trees and other visuals on our shelf out of books. So you would walk in and you would see these things based or or made out of books and the different colors of their bindings. It was absolutely incredible. She took pride in having various books and authors on display for students to read. She spent hours reviewing inventory, purchasing new books that she knew students would be interested in. Everything she
038did was always about the students and embracing their passion for reading. Kim showed us that it's the little things that make a difference in the experience that students will have. I can promise you over the past two decades, numerous of memories have been created in this very room thanks to Kim Cruz. Kim has also been a leader of our Eastor Middle School SAD club since 2017 and that she created experiences for students that promote both leadership, working together, but most importantly for making positive decisions. It is an honor for me to be the one to stand here and honor Kim for her illustrious career and to remind her of the legacy that she will leave behind here forever in this very room. for all the hearts and students who have visited here in the past.
039I know that Kim is excited to spend more time with her family and with her grandkids that she absolutely adores. And on behalf of the East Middle School, we want to wish her and her family nothing but good health, happiness, and the enjoy of a lifetime and creating more memories with her family in retirement. We wish you all the best. [applause] Sorry. Thank you very much. [applause] Let's see here. Mr. David Hower come up or no? All right. All right. [laughter] You're lucky. Last year I had we made some. All right, Dave. It is a true honor here um to recognize what I call one of the rights of passage at Eastore Middle School. It's a right of passage to go through Mr. Wallshouser's art class. He is one of the only teachers that literally
040teaches every single student that has been through this building and he has gotten the pleasure to get to know them. But just as equally important, they've gotten the pleasure to get to know him. Dave began his career as the art teacher in East Middle School. Ready for this? 32 years ago in 1993. However, he was a long-term sub at first, but that counts because he was quickly hired in 1996 as the art teacher here at Eastor Middle School. So, I'm a quote kind of guy and I I was looking through some quotes for Dave and the one that popped to my mind was by Maya Angelo. I hope I'm saying that correctly. I've heard this this quote many times though and and we often talk about this in education. People will forget what you said.
041People will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel. Yeah, I can see it. A lot of you were ming with me. Very nice. I just want to say that I agree with this quote 99% of the time. However, when it comes to Dave Walshauser, I don't agree with this quote. So, we're going to pick it apart for a second. People will forget what you said. While that's typically true, that is not true in this circumstance. Not with Dave. I can tell you that the advice that he has given to students in regard to the complexities of art using their passion and choice in creating these incredible masterpieces throughout the building. His laid-back approach to learn working at students own pace of what meets their individual me need. His
042students have not forgotten his words. I can guarantee you when I ask them about their artwork hanging in the hallway, it amazes me at how much they love talking about it and how much they can give how much how many specifics they can give to artist artistic styles and different things that I can't even pronounce and how they made it. And those are directly from the words of Mr. Wshauser. The next part of the quote, people will forget what you did. I think not. Dave was the only art teacher in Eastore Middle School for three decades that I'm aware of, unless there was a part-time at some point in time that I don't know about. But what did he do? He was the student council adviser for several years, the arts coordinator, the middle school
043publications adviser, the K12 arts curriculum coordinator, amongst other things. But what did he actually do? He made students see their full potential. That's what he did. He helped all the students know that even if they weren't gifted in art, they could still create something to be proud of. He also led by example. I've never seen Dave flustered. Maybe the one time with the blood. [laughter] That was the only time. I take that back. One time I saw Dave flustered. He he handled each and every challenge with a sense of calm, finding solutions that are the in the best interest of his students. So the final part of the quote, people will never forget how you made them feel. This is the part that Maya got right when it comes to Dave. Dave made his students
044feel confident. He helped them to see the talents that they have inside. He gave them opportunities to explore and innovate. Dave has been a favorite of many students over the years. When his students found out about his retirement, many of them shared in their disappointment with me. To conclude, Dave, I will miss spending our mornings together on the front stoop as we welcome students come into the building. I appreciate the lessons that you taught me about what are the best patios in Western New York. [laughter] And I now have a bucket list of patios that I and my wife are going to try to visit this summer. I will also miss our chats about the Bills, the Sabres, and literally anything that we could think of that had to do with sports. And I and
045along with all of us here wish you nothing but health and happiness and fun in your upcoming weddings, grandkids, um all the new adventures that you and your family and your wife and loved ones will have, as well as soaking up the suns and the patios of Western New York. You will be sorely missed here at this. Thank you [applause] very much. Maybe I do. Okay. [applause] Okay. So, we have um two more to celebrate. Two more individuals that um like Khali have decided that they would not um going to be able to make it tonight. So, the first one is Mr. Jeff Mackey. Um Jeff was hired back in September of 1997. Jeff spent several years providing students with learning experiences that they will not soon forget. He started his career as a French
046teacher at Eastor High School, but when the district made changes to the world language department several years ago, Jeff demonstrated great flexibility as he transitioned to become a Spanish teacher. We would like to thank Jeff for his years of service and his dedication to the students. And like Callie, he does not want any rec recognition, but if you see Jeff, make sure you give him a fist bump or a thumbs up and thank him for his time. We all wish Jeff Maggie health and happiness and a and an awesome retirement as well. [applause] And finally, Linda Lammana. Um, Linda has been a teacher aid for several years and she couldn't make it tonight because she has a very, very important golf lesson. And if I was retiring, I would probably do the same, [laughter] not
047miss a very important golf lesson. But Linda was hired back in 2001. She began her time in East Schools at Main Street Elementary as a teacher aid. In 2009, she transferred to the middle school and she never looked back. Linda spent spent a majority of her time working closely with I believe one of her best friends in the world, Kim Cruz, here in the library. She was always willing to do whatever is needed to help both students and staff alike. Linda is an active member of the Eastor Rotary Club as well as the Rural Outreach Center. She has really dedicated several years of her life to giving back and helping others in any possible way that she can. We are all better because of the time that we spent with Linda Lamont. That I can
048say for a fact. And we wish her and her family all the best in retirement as well. [applause] And that's Thank you. Next up is Miss Parker. You can go first right behind you with um Sue Sue Austin. You want to come up? I have an excuse to sit. Okay. [laughter] Okay. So since 2002, Sue Austin has taught both kindergarten and first grade. And from day one, she brought her own special magic to the classroom. If you've ever passed by Sue's room during football season, [laughter] you're likely to hear her students grafting graphing something very important. The Bills wins and losses. That's right. She managed to sneak a little bit of football fever into her math math lessons. And um when she was done with that um she would literally bring all of the kindergarteners
049out for dismissal. And um Miss George knows how we wait for the kindergarteners at the end of the day for the buses. Well, of course, she was always a lead for the shout song, and I have to admit that she even added a little bit of Squish the Fish in [laughter] which that's a little weird because Sue is like the animal lover of [laughter] school. So, she's the pet queen. Uh, Bill's aside, all you know, all Bill's spirit aside, Sue is also known for a lot more. She um has these one-of-a-kind birthday crowns um that has been a classroom trai tradition for a long time, and her willingness to dive head first into any theme day is really unmatched. Um, one colleague fondly said that uh Sue went full purplicious. Now for those of you
050who don't know, purplishicious is a children's book character. So creativity and fun was all was all students about. Um, she was a heart of our sunshine committee. Always ready to lift up others with kind words, thoughtful cards, or Hershey's kisses. I know she's waiting for those. Her warmth and her care meant really so much to all of those who really needed her appreciation in those times of need. If you follow Sue on Facebook, you already know she lives a life to the fullest. And retirement, I'm sure, won't change that one bit. Uh there will be Bill's games, I'm sure, watched all the way to the end, Monday and Thursday, right? Um, there will also be, I'm sure, more of Bill's Away games, uh, puppy cuddles with Toby and Lionus, and a lot of adventures with
051her dear husband, um, and partner in crime, Boomer [laughter] here, that uh, South Carolina is is in the, uh, docket now, and that, uh, we'll definitely be following along on your Facebook feed, Sue, to uh, find out about all of those memories. and uh what's next in your exciting life. Um it's already very exciting. We all envy you. [laughter] Um Sue, thank you so much for the laughter, the love um and helping our very youngest learners grow with reading skills and and of course solid football. [laughter] Um we were going to miss you deeply and um we're very happy for you. Uh enjoy every moment and [snorts] uh let's go Buffalo. Let's go suit. [applause] We also have today uh we're bidding farewell to another kindergarten colleague, Jamie Martin. Uh Jamie is retiring after a
052very remarkable dedicated career. Um and she was appointed as a kindergarten teacher in 1997. Uh Jamie spent her entire professional journey nurturing very young learners and at the very at the very very start of their educational path. From the beginning, Jamie always brought a calm, positive demeanor and it made her a very steady and reassurance uh reassuring presence in our building. Not just for the younger kids but for the adults also. Even when things changed around her, curriculum shifts, staff changes, Jamie remained consistent and trusted. Fun fact, Jamie spent nearly her entire career teaching the same grade level in the same room. And last year when we moved everything, I had no idea why why it was so bad. I had come up in the city and we moved every other year, right? So I
053get it now. Jamie, [laughter] you spent your entire career in that room. So, um, you know, she probably needed GPS to find the new room because she'd always been in that same room in the same grade. Despite that consistency, Jamie never stopped growing. She stayed fresh in her practice, incorporating new ideas and approaches. And um even with our writer's workshop, oh, going into her classroom, I would love I wanted to sit down and learn to write. Um her dedication to early literacy was outstanding. Um throughout her career, she was a leader among leaders, serving as the the kindergarten team coordinator, a mentor to new teachers, as well as I learned the reading recovery teacher. uh through her nature, her very very calm presence, she really became a valued member of our safety. I mean, we're
054talking about safety and everyone gets nervous about safety, right? But Jamie always had a calm demeanor no matter what. We could always depend upon her to uh bring about composure in any situation. She's also well known um for her theme classroom. Anyone who knows Jamie knows that she absolutely adores dogs. I mean, she even almost volunteered to be my dog sitter last minute. [laughter] [clears throat] Um I ended up getting another one. But but she also found a way to love to weave that love of pets and animals into her instruction and into her teaching. Um her affection for animals obviously is no secret to any of us. Um and is just one of the many ways she brought heart to everything she did in the classroom. Uh perhaps one of the most meaningful testaments
055is the fact that our superintendent often speaks very fondly uh about the year that his son Adam spent in Jaime's kindergarten class. Uh he remains forever grateful to you um for the strong foundation and the love of school that Jamie fostered. As Jamie steps into retirement, she's looking forward to visiting her brother and her sister-in-law in Colorado, taking a pottery class and volunteering, of course, I bet you guessed it, Whispering Revers Animal Rescue, um where she's going to especially be excited to help some donkeys. [laughter] Now, at the school um celebration, I'll probably have a creative twist with the donkey thing. It's coming. Um but for now, she um is also going to be spending a lot of time with her beloved puppies, Izzy, Tula, Delilah, and Tessa, and her husband, Gary, and of course,
056her father and her dear nieces. Um, we're so grateful for Jaime's years of dedication, leadership, and her kindness. Her legacy at Parkdale and across East Aurora will be felt for years to come. Uh, congratulations, Jamie, and you're going to be greatly missed. [applause] [laughter] [clears throat] very much. [applause] All right. and I'm here to recognize a couple of our teacher aids. Um so I'd first like to recognize Gina Green who is here with us tonight. Um it is with immense gratitude and a touch of sadness um that we've been we're our farewell to Gina Green as she embarks on her journey of retirement. Welld deserved. Um for the past 30 years Gina has been an exceptional teacher aid in East Aurora. Um she has served at the high school at one of our non-public schools,
057Immaculate Conception, and we had the pleasure of having her swan song be at Parkdale. Um she consistently graced our hallways and classrooms with a very warm presence from the first day that she walked through the doors at Parkdale. She just had a remarkable way of being able to greet students with a genuine step smile, instantly brightening brightening their day. Um, beyond her work with students, it was evident that she had a really incredible um, relationship building with her fellow teacher and the staff members at Parkdale, fostering a true sense of camaraderie within the building. We could always count on her to jump in to any task, thank goodness, because there's been a lot of holes to fill lately. Um, whether they're big or small, just demonstrating an unwavering dedication and reliability that we truly did
058need here at Parkdale. Um her commitment to our school community was evident in every interaction making her truly a remarkable part of our Parkdale family. So Gina's presence will be profoundly missed. We are so fortunate that we've got to be a part of her journey over the last many years in East Aurora and she will be missed by students and staff alike. We wish her nothing but joy and relaxation and every happiness that comes with your retirement. So thank you Gina. [applause] You're doing great. Thank you. Come on. [laughter] [applause] [laughter] All right. and Rita Gallagher couldn't be with us tonight, but [clears throat] I do also want to honor Rita um who has been a Parkdale um teacher aid for the last eight years. Um another invaluable member of our team um consistently building
059truly remarkable relationships with our teachers and staff. Um she is another one that in any circumstance we could call upon her to help fill in any single gap that we had. um she made huge impacts especially with our youngest learners um in our prek program and our kindergarten program. So we are incredibly fortunate again to have her be a part of our Parkdale family. Um we will miss her presence in our building um and we wish her nothing but well on her next journey into retirement. So thank you Rita. [applause] Next up is George. Thank you. Um [clears throat] Brian Merzoff, the director of buildings and grounds. Uh my department has two retirees uh this year. Uh unfortunately, neither of them could be here. Um mainly because they're working. [laughter] Just a side note. First
060is is Dennis Mig. Uh he's actually for those of you that work at the high school. Uh he is a a dayshift custodian alongside Scott. He's uh started in 2010 actually on second shift and then some years later uh was moved to to dayshift and so you see him on a consistent basis throughout the high school. Uh he's been uh that calm person, you know, throughout the school, always doing, you know, whatever it is that needed to get done, ensuring the cafeteria was clean and and um the hallways were swept. Very likable person. Um and he's looking forward to his days of retirement to spend with his family. So, um, again, both of them are are gone or not able to be here, but I did want to recognize Dennis, uh, for his 15 years
061of service with the school. [applause] Uh, additionally, Ruth Solomon, um, again at the high school, she's a second shift, uh, cleaner with my department. Um, she's been in the district since 2008. uh she stayed at the middle or excuse me at the high school the entire time. Um but she has been a consistent uh individual within the district, always there, always pleasant, and um she's looking forward uh to her retirement to be with her grand her grandkids and and just spend more time with family. So again, to Ruth, thank you very much. And if you see either of them uh throughout the high school, please extend uh your congratulations to them. So, thank you, Ruth, [clears throat] for your 17 years of service. [applause] [cough] looks different from here. Um, so in addition to all
062the retirements and congratulations to everyone here and who's not here, it's a it's always a bittersweet uh meeting uh when we go through this. But uh nothing but uh best wishes for all of you. Uh next uh we honor Terry Oiler who has served for the board of educa on the board of education for the past 12 years. Terry's journey is one marked by passion, perseverance, and a deep love for our community. Terry brought to the board over a decade of classroom experience, five years as PTO treasurer, and an unwavering devotion to all our students. For those who have worked alongside her, you know that above all, she brought heart. She's been an advocate for smaller class sizes and increased faculty support, the enhancement of district communication, the prioritization of mental and emotional supports, and
063the development of budgets that are both responsible and aligned with our educational vision. In addition to serving as vice president, Terry's been a vital voice on many key committees, including the district parent council, code of conduct, technology, community engagement, safety, textbook, and capital facilities. Terry, your leadership has helped strengthen the scaffolding of our schools. get it. [laughter] I also thinking Marky's no [laughter] uh read that parking. We'll cut that bullet. Right. [laughter] Um Terry, your leadership has strengthened the scaffolding of our schools academically, emotionally, fiscally. Families have seen your care in action. Teachers have felt your support. And the students across East Aurora have benefited from your understanding of their needs. On behalf of the entire board, our community, the administrator, administration, faculty, parents, and most importantly our our children. Thank you for serving with
064integrity, for always putting the students first, and for being an example of what true public service looks like. You will be [applause] One, two, three. [applause] Again, [clears throat] I just like to um just uh reiterate what President Cassie said. Um in all my years and 30 plus years in education and 15 years as superintendent, I have to say that I've been working with many board members who are as dedicated um as Terry. Um totally focused on the well-being of our students and our staff. uh she challenged me many times to think differently and to think through problems and I'm greatly appreciative for that and I'm very much more appreciative for her friendship and we wish her the very best. [applause] Now it's time to have a little celebration. We have cupcakes uh for for
065everyone. So, [clears throat] uh, let's do that. All said she did it. Um, so we are moving on to uh item uh, unless you had anything else. Yeah, it's okay. [laughter] Uh, we're moving on to item nine, administrator comments. Are there any administrators who uh would like to address the board? Is this where I comment on the text? Okay. Yes. Can I go first, everybody? Yes. Okay. [laughter] Um, we've had several textbook committee meetings. So, I'm just going to briefly I'm going to try to make it brief about what we talked about and what was approved. Um, so about a month and a half ago, we had one for Thanks, Mr. Roberts. For high school ELA, they proposed the adoption of 15 new novels which were reviewed and approved. These titles will be incorporated over
066time, allowing teachers to gradually diversify and update their classroom selections. Seven of the novels support a new elective course called Bookbound that Mrs. Arnold will be teaching next year as well as English 9 and English 10. Two are intended for AP language and composition and the remaining titles will be used across English 10 through 12. While not all titles will be purchased immediately, this collection reflects a thoughtful shift towards more authentic, inclusive, and culturally relevant literature. The selected texts explore a wide range of voices, experiences, and global perspectives. This curated list allows our students to see themselves in the literature they read while also expanding their understanding of the world around them. We appreciate the ELA department's commitment to enriching the curriculum and fostering deeper engagement with meaningful texts. So those were the 15 novels
067from the high school English department. And then uh I don't know last week maybe a week before they all blend together at this time of the year. Um we met again uh with Parkdale teachers uh to talk about two different um curriculums actually not necessarily textbooks or novels. Um the first one we reviewed and approved the adoption of the third edition of Amplify CKLA for grades K through two. This is an updated version uh that will replace our current use of first and second editions. Um it offers a more robust researchbased curriculum grounded in the science of reading. Key enhancements include more authentic and diverse texts, choice units that allow teachers flexibility to meet the needs of their students, and a new digital platform that features e-readers, assessments, teacher presentation tools, and skilluing games. Uh,
068especially beneficial for our students with disabilities. This updated resource will provide our youngest learners with a more engaging and inclusive foundation in literacy. And then last, we um reviewed and approved the adoption of a curriculum called magnetic reading by curriculum associates for grades three and four. This program also aligns with the science of reading and offers a strong focus on reading comprehension, culturally relevant texts, and explicit phonics instruction, particularly beneficial for upper elementary students who still need decoding support. It includes differentiated scaffolds. Teacher support tools and a digital library and magnetic reading pairs seamlessly with our newly adopted IR diagnostic which allows for individualized learning pathways and targeted intervention. This program will replace us currently not using a structured curriculum and provides our teachers with a cohesive standardsbased curriculum that better meets the needs of
069all of our learners. So that's our recap of our three meetings. Any questions? With respect to the first with the 15 novels, you said they were going to be spread over time, is it like a couple of years or the purchasing of those? Yeah, the ones for the new c the nine of the 15 for the new course or seven, I'm sorry, will purchase this year because it's for the new course and then um they haven't quite pinpointed exactly when they want to use them, but it definitely will be over the next, you know, three to four years they'll want to purchase them. But they just wanted that ability to be able to uh change out a novel when they feel it's time or fit based on the you know the students and the curriculum.
070Thank you. Great. Thanks Miss Lines. Yep. Other administrators. Okay. You want to go? No, you sure. Uh I just wanted to bring a couple things to your attention. Uh on Monday we had our annual yearbook dedication and ice cream social and wanted to um let you see from a distance um this year's edition of the yearbook. But most importantly, I wanted to let you know that the yearbook uh class and club selected um Kim Riser as the um recipient of the dedication. And Kim was a business teacher uh and BDD advisor and DECA advisor and uh uh received a wonderful ovation. her daughter and her husband were present for the dedication and welld deserved uh for Kim Riser to receive that in her second stint with us at Easter High School. So if you see
071Kim, please congratulate her. Um last night we had our senior awards and scholarship ceremony. Uh, and I just wanted to thank our our teachers uh presented uh department awards and did just an incredible job presenting their their students and the success of their students and and the wise to to what they're receiving the the recognition that they um received. And then also want to thank our community partners um who distributed tens if not hundreds of thousands of dollars last night to our to our graduating [cough] and um it was a special night and um we're looking forward to to watching that uh that continue to evolve in the future. And then it is senior week. Uh so so yesterday our seniors went to Laserron for the first time ever. Uh, and it was a huge
072hit. And today they were at Parkdale. We want to thank Parkdale for hosting us for the senior walk and activities and and the foam party. Uh, tomorrow they head to camp. Uh, it's going to help us. So, a wonderful senior uh tradition. Uh, and uh we we sent out our our information regarding graduation that will be here in the blink of an eye. So, uh, lots going on as usual for this time of year. Thank you. I'll go next. I'll stand too. You're so far. Um so just very similar to the high school. There's a lot of just incredible things happening at the middle school. Today was very special. Um we had our final lunchon with our eighth grade web leaders from this year and it was just nice to hang out and listen to
073music and reminisce um and to hear from them some of the impacts that the program had on them. Um, we also met with all of our restorative practice student leaders. Uh, we had about 80 of them total, 40 in fifth and sixth grade and almost 40 in seventh and eighth grade. So, we had a nice get together with them. We had two keynote speakers. Mr. Russ was one keynote speaker and Mr. Manrey was the other. Um, so that was just very special for the students to um, hear how important the restorative practices are for the district uh, as a whole, not just the school. Our [cough] fifth and sixth grade had field day um earlier this week led by our fizzed teachers who are just incredible. They brought that back a few years ago. We
074have our seventh and eighth graders have a picnic on Monday and our very own Mr. Ddian will be jamming and singing and playing live music for them. We'll have all kinds of games for them. Our eighth graders go to campa on Friday. So the day after the high school's there, our eighth graders are there doing various team building things. They're looking forward to that. and we have an eighth grade luau and activity night happening at the high school on the 20th. So just a lot of lot of fun things happening at the middle school. The only other thing I wanted to mention was to thank um the Eastora Education Foundation, you know, Mr. Brunson. They came and visited the middle school. Feels like it was eight months ago, but I think it was a week
075and a half ago. And they just they visited some of our grants that they provided to Mr. Kowi in the TAC room. um to Mr. Librock with the the CPR training and the web program and it's just incredible um once again the support that that foundation gives to our district and I know everyone here knows that. Uh but it's it's special for our students to be able to show them and show off a little bit at how impactful those grants are. And one of the things we talked about is how when we receive grants from the foundation, you know, it may just look like a grant at first on paper, but really they're they're providing us with experiences and providing our students with experiences that really impact their life. We just want to publicly thank
076the foundation as well. Thank you. for the um elementary school. We um last week we had last Wednesday we had an amazing opportunity um with the Bills organization. They had their community day and we had six players at our school um just bringing a ton of joy and excitement to our entire school community. It was something that we really couldn't talk about publicly. the bills had very um stringent rules around what we could do and say, but I can tell you the um opportunity for our um our students. I think when the seniors came today, they were like, "Oh, the Bills aren't here again." Um but uh it was amazing and um just uh they admired a lot of our work that we had in order to um have them do the special activity that
077they did with some of the kids. They had a parade for all of the kids. Um we did a creativity um opportunity to celebrate one of our character traits, which is creativity this month. And the pieces of work that our children did blew them out of the water. And they were just so um excited about what they saw from our kids. And so it was a proud moment um for them to come in and see the exciting uh faces of our students and just to um bring so much joy to our community. Um this week we have uh we brought back Flag Day and Flag Day will be on June 13th. We're celebrating. It's actually on the 14th, but we are bringing back the parade. So, we'll have all of our families come out on
078the 13th to uh just enjoy the kids um and do a little parade around our campus. Um they'll be wearing their red, white, and blue and also um sharing the amazing work that they've done with our character traits and our character strong. A lot of the different characteristics that we study throughout their year really. Um they the flag symbolizes a lot of it. And so we're going to they're going to come out and um we've invited families back. I've I've heard it's been done in the past precoid so we're just bringing it back. So we're excited about um having our parents on the campus. And then finally our fourth graders on the 20th will be having their first ever wax museum. They're super super excited about the characters characters they chose. They've been practicing um
079and learning about all of these different historical figures. Um and and they're just so super excited. So if you have an opportunity um that's on the 20th at 9:30 at Parkdale. This is my Oh, do you want to go back? You sure? I'm so sorry. Um just a few quick tech updates. Um we are in the midst of rolling out our Windows 11 um transition. Windows 10 is coming end of life at the end of October of this coming year. Um, so we've rolled our plan out to our staff if we're going to collect every laptop um, in the district to reimage it this summer. Um, we've asked our staff to rely on their Chromebooks, which they've also been assigned or or to work with us um, to get a loaner um, for the time.
080Um, we are also overhauling our infrastructure. Our server infrastructure has been living in Active Directory, which is a file directory system that's now become antiquated. We're moving to the cloud um, at the same time. So, it is probably the heftiest amount of work that our department has ever taken on in one summer. So, we're we're looking forward to it. It is going to mean crazy massive change for for everyone. Windows 11 is probably the least amount of change for our board members. You're on Chromebooks, so you won't notice the difference in the same manner. Um but but our staff will. So, we're working on that. We had some good news um with working with the business office and um with some of our our staff who deal with extracurricular funds. We've decided to move forward
081with my school bucks to allow the district to accept credit card payments. Um, it's been a want and a need from Blue Devil Design and a few other clubs for a long time now. Um, I can even accept Chromebook fees, uh, because we have a lot of those as our Chromebooks come in damaged and we hold, you know, students accountable who maybe didn't buy the insurance. So, um, that is kicking off with our our trial run with the Blue Devil Design and and we're all very excited about that possibility. Biggest benefit for that is that our families already use my school bucks, so they don't need another account. Their um, lunch money program was through there. Um, so they continue to use that if they want to use snack money for next year and they
082can incorporate it into our powers school. So they could see invoices and pay through power school into my school books and take the credit cards. Um, the only fees the school incurs is um if a card is used uh there's no transaction fees if we still continue with cash and checks. Um the other thing is and this is a huge testament to Beth Casey is the district has moving forward and we are f we are rolling out and utilizing uh district onboarding tools. Um so that we have digitized the application process and we've rolled out a new tool called school spring this year. Everyone's been trained. We have four test cases that we are sampling the tool with right now and even utilizing now the records tool where once they're hired then everybody who gets
083these people up and running in the district gets notified. All of their files are stored in a digitized format and we've really um brought that transaction process and flow um to the digital world. So, the new hireer gets a list of things to do and forms to fill out digitally and all of our staff work on the back end and um we're really proud of it and excited to see it going and the reason it moved forward is because Beth's really taken the time to learn it and utilize it. So, got some really neat changes coming this year to help everything um be easier and less cumbersome and and hopefully um in a safer environment in the cloud. Okay, thank you very much. athletics. As with all school year is kind of winding down. We
084had um the benefit last night to honor eight senior athletes at the award ceremony. We had Nate Roach and Amelia Olirri won our outstanding senior athletes. We had our Blue Devil award which is hard work, charisma, dedication to teams with Shane Frasier, Megan Cassidy, some of you might know her up there. Um, our student athlete awards were Aiden Chuddy and Julia Week or Julia Wick. And our athletic director awards went to Cooper Gent and Julian M. Um, so we had that opportunity. It's always good. We've kind of almost there to the end of the season. We have one more modified baseball game tomorrow and at 8:40 we'll we'll have 12 athletes um parade out of the school from the a through the athletic doors as they get ready to compete at the state New York
085Championships this weekend. um downstate. So, we have those as well. We also had another committee meeting for our student athlete handbook. Um we kind of went through that and made some changes and adaptations and that is now hopefully still on schedule to be with the board when we want it to be in July and currently the our legal representation has that and kind of that as well to take a look. So, that's kind of where athletics are as we kind of bend into the new year and finish up this one. Anyone else? Just super quick. Um, uh, corporate challenges tomorrow. Uh, if you haven't RSVPd, but you find yourself around Delaware Park between, uh, 5:30 and 9:00, uh, we have over 100, uh, folks going down to, uh, run, walk, jog, and guard the tent.
086Uh even if you didn't RSVP, you want to spend some nice social time uh with faculty, um come on down and we'll have plenty. We'll have a a whole fiesta taco bar and uh celebration of just uh year- end get together. Something new this year, uh we're partnering with Clarence, sharing a tent with them. So, we're calling it a devil's duel uh because they're the Red Devils and we're the Blue Devils and just to kind of build some camaraderie and spirit. So, uh, if you do find yourself downtown zoo area tomorrow evening and you're looking for a taco, stop on by. Invitation. Are you running? I'm running the tent. [laughter] So, technically, yes. If you're at the zoo area, one of our former students is the education director. Okay. Well, have him stop by for
087a taco. All right. Thank you all uh very much for that. Uh we're going to move on to item 10, board presidents and board member comments. Um I'm going to say that in preparation for this meeting. I did not collect my thoughts for this. So I know that I've been to at least a couple dozen events. Uh so I'll just make a blank blanket statement saying that they were all fantastic [laughter] and make me proud to be part of this district. That was great. Miss Arrest, I would just like to say a welcome to our student board me conference. It's great to have you both here. I love the shape of the new table. Really welcome. Um, I would like to say that I've since the last board meeting, I've done a lot of music
088stuff. And I just want to give a huge shout out to um the the high school band, jazz concert, the orchestra, and the pops concert, and the high school chorus, and the middle school um band and jazz. they were just it's just an amazing way to end the year to see the development of the students. Um and then to chaperon the Dair Lake trip where the band and orchestra went. Um and orchestra came in first both the 56 and 78 which was pretty exciting to see. Um, and although I do not have any middle school boys, I had the opportunity to shop 12 middle school boys all by myself at the at Daring Lake and I have to say they were amazing and I got to ride rides I hadn't ridden before. Um, [laughter] but
089it was super fun. I returned I left with 12, returned with 12. I think they were the same, but [laughter] they were they were all great. Um, but it was just it's been it's been a great month filled with music here and it's awesome to see the stages from, you know, the fourth grade through the 12th grade if of music here in the district. Um, I it's it's excellent. So, I'll end it there. Um, welcome to our two students. I'm sorry I'm not going to be able to see how this process um unfolds, but I'm sure you're going to do an incredible job and it's worthwhile to have [snorts] you at this table. So, Welcome back to come back to lots of meetings. [laughter] We'll continue having the meetings you and welcome to Jessica. Um
090I'm very happy that you um decided to take home. So um and thank you all for everything these past 12 years. It's been an honor and a privilege to be working with you. [snorts] For once I'm not going to say I know. Seriously, for once I'm not going to say anything else. Mr. Flowers. Thank you. Yes. Welcome everyone. The more the marrier as far as I'm concerned. Um the audit committee met on May 28th. Mr. Brunson, the superintendent and business administrator attended the meeting. Committee members reviewed two reports submitted by the school district's internal auditor most. The first report reviewed was the corrective action plan for fiscal year ending June 30th, 2024. Risk areas that were reviewed and rated by the internal auditor included payroll and benefits, internal control testing, payroll and benefits, salary, hourly,
091and co-curricular and then approved pay rates as well. The audit in those areas include comments in four specific areas, objectives, testing performed, results, and recommendations. The auditor will review the recommendations made in 2324 while he's working on a 2425 final risk assessment. The second report that was reviewed at the meeting was was the updated risk assessment for fiscal year ending June 30th, 2025. This document is a comprehensive report that includes a list of personnel responsible for financial accounting and reporting and the implementation and monitoring of those procedures. They include accounts payable and purchasing claims auditing payroll benefits cash receipts treasury capital assets capital projects grass classroom information system transfers transportation [clears throat] building and grounds special education insurance so there'd be a lot covered but it's going to be some each year as we move
092forward priority prior the I the prioritizer for the June 30th 2025 first assessment report. Finally, included in the report is an assessment of the control areas and their perceived risks. Overall, it's a very interesting, impressive document, which the board will the board see the final draft of that um sometime later in the next school year, probably after the first of the year. June 30th, 2025, assessments complete submitted to the board. The next audit committee meeting is scheduled for June 24th. At that meeting, information regarding the 2425 external audit will be shared by members of the dresser Milwaukee. Uh, welcome. Members and um, Mr. Lombardo covered it. I attended our code of conduct for the athletic code of conduct um last week. So um and I think we sort of covered and it looks as though
093we're going to be hearing back from legal and then it'll be presented to the board. Mr. Thank you. Uh Flowers mentioned we had the audit committee this month and um uh you covered it very well. Thank you all for doing that. the uh uh I'd also like to acknowledge our two community members of the audit committee, Mr. Blowers and I are board members on the audit committee, but we also have AJ Block and who are very experienced financial people who uh who help us uh to understand all these issues and to move the district forward financially. Uh and and I'd also like to recognize Mr. Flowers uh leadership as chair of the committee. So, thank you for doing that, Paul. I appreciate it. Okay. Uh the um uh this uh past week, uh Mrs. Okconor
094and the jazz band helped entertain at the Quantis Chicken Barbecue. And I want to thank the high school folks uh and in particular uh Miss Ms. Connor and and her wonderfully talented musicians were volunteering each year to come out into the art and entertain those folks who are attending the major fundraiser for the Kuanas Club. And finally, uh I want to acknowledge Mr. Brown's statements with regard to the foundation. Thank you very much for for that, Mr. Brown. Uh Matt is also uh liaison for the district on our board. So he attends all of our board meetings and is a terrific link between the the teachers and the foundation board members. We did visit uh the middle school this uh spring. We tried to get around to all three schools uh on a on a
095rotating basis. And uh I I tell you that Mr. Mr. Brown, they were very very impressed by what they saw at your building. The enthusiasm of the students in particular in the web program was uh was most impressive and and the as articulate as they were to be able to explain young people uh eighth graders uh were able to articulate the benefits of working to help the incoming fifth graders to acclimate to the school. It was a terrific program and and of course we we we loved visiting uh with the technology class and seeing all these uh these terrific robots uh come to life as we and and so thank you for for the visit and for hosting it and thank you for your work as liaison for the for the foundation. Good talk. This
096is uh Wood. So, thank you for welcoming here today. It's good to have a little test run before I really have to do this and I appreciate how welcoming everybody. I'm really looking forward to working with you all. I have some huge shoes to fill. I hope I can at least partially fill that void. Um, so Terry, thank you for coming. Uh, well, it's a pleasure to be able to start like test run for all this stuff. Uh, being the first one to do it. I'm excited for it. A little nervous, but I'm ready. Excited. Thank you for having me. Well, we'll do what we can to help those nervous. You guys are going to do great. Mr. Fry, um, yeah, the same thing as Charlie said, um, I think we both really appreciate all
097you guys here who welcome us and thank you as well. Um, it's Mazano and everybody else that's part of the educational foundation. I'm also great and I'm also huge fan of the credit card. [laughter] Great. Thank you all. Uh, we are moving on to item 11 legislation. Uh, yes, I am. What am I going to talk about? uh financial bridge. No legislation. I'm going to talk about cell phones, right? Is that okay? So, uh universal feeding and cell phones. Okay, great. So, uh this is more of a preview um of things that will be coming down the pike. Uh in [clears throat] the governor's budget, uh two two things that directly impact us um were passed. One is uh free universal feeding, breakfast, and lunch for all students. So, we are working on some policy
098changes to allow that. But um moving uh starting September 1st uh all school meals will be free for one school meal. Obviously if they want snacks or a second meal that would be charged but um there is universal feeding starting next year. Um the other [clears throat] one as part of that was a distraction-free classroom bellto bell no student cell phone use. Um we are required by law to solicit uh stakeholder input from students uh parents uh faculty members administration all and community member. We don't have to do community members but we did it anyways because we want as broad of representation as possible. Um that survey closes today so it's not quite closed yet. Um we will then kind of tabulate all of that and come back to the board with some ideas and
099solutions. Um, we are required, one of those kind of weird quirks of the law, we're required to have a policy in place by uh August 1st and then a plan in place by September 1st. So you will see a first reading of a policy today that basically just says we will have a plan. Um, so there's not a lot of detail in the policy, but it does meet that requirement. Um and what we found is that uh one of our goals on policy was to to not put the same information in two different places because then if it changes one place and we don't change it the other. So some districts are putting their entire plan into policy and in their code of conduct, but then it's hard to keep that aligned. So the policy
100says we will have a plan and to find that plan look at our code of conduct. Um, so that's what you're going to vote on tonight. And then in the next meeting, you'll vote on the code of conduct which will have the district's plan for the distraction-free cell phone or classroom. Make sense? Yes. Okay. There you go. That's the legislation. So much anyone else legislation wants. Uh, moving on to item 12. Uh, first one is the business office operations [clears throat] financial report. Thank you. Um, first I just want to follow up with the audit committee. Um, the internal auditors are currently in the business office this week doing their testing for the 2425 school year and that's been going smoothly. Uh, my report tonight is as of the end of April, we had $16.5
101million in the bank which ties to our cash flow. Our cash flow looks good for the summer. um we had expended approximately 69% of our budget and received 91% of our budget um revenues. Um Mr. Manrey is going to do the grid which will be as of the end of May. We're trending to receive about 101% of our revenues and to expend somewhere between 98 and 99%. I'll know better at the reorg. Um our cafeteria funds again, no surprise. Um expenditures are a little over about 130,000 over receipts, but that was a planned deficit um to spend down our fund balance in the cafeteria fund that that grew during the pandemic and we had an audit and they said we had to spend it down. So, this 100,000 was a new serving line at the
102middle school. Our federal funds are operating as normal. Um, our revenue to date is 870,000. Our expenditures are almost 1.2 million. Um, and we won't receive the rest of that money until the final cost reports are filed once June 30th comes. in the capital fund. I thought I had it here. Here it is. Um the big project continues to keep moving on. We've spent almost um $5 million in that and the capital outlay, as we learned during um our OACM meeting, was a little bit delayed because of the weather being able to repoint the brick up at the high school. So, we've only expended about $8,000 out of that, but I'm expecting in the next week or two that all the paperwork is going to come through so that we can get all our final
103paperwork done to be included in the ST3 so that we get the reimbursement next year on that and that's all I have. Um, just a highle overview for our new members at the table. Uh what we do is uh for most months from October through May kind of give you a snapshot into the 10,000 foot view of the budget um in terms of some broad categories. So what we'll talk about today is kind of where we believe we are and obviously the further we go in the school year the more is known as opposed to unknown. Um and so really what you're going to look at is the May 25 column all the way on the right hand side. Uh, one of the things is that all of the column numbers are in reference to
104the final budget. Uh, it's not a cumulative number. So, it's just kind of always just trying to read the thermometer of of where we are budgetarily in kind of these umbrella type categories. So, you'll notice for the first one um on the on the top half of the chart uh negative is good. That means we are under budget, positive is bad. So, you'll see in staff, uh, we still have one more payroll to process, but we should be about $280,000 under budget there. Um, health insurance, like everything goes up and you'll see we are slightly over budget there. We are still waiting for one more bill. Um, but again, we're dialing all this in. You'll see that in equipment, there was a purposeful um, use of all of that, getting ahead of some items. Um,
105and so there was a purposeful spend down of making sure we hit our budget number there. You'll see that in supplies. Um that should come under budget. That number might actually grow a little bit as we do some final ordering, but also deciding to order some things in this year's budget for next year as the rest. You'll see a big number come down in um contractual. Some of that was bringing in some of the special ed programming and services um that were held out of district back into district. So that $300,000 number looks very attractive, but some of that is oversight in that Bosey's line on the bottom where we're over. So some of that is a wash out. So it's not as big of a swing as it looks. It just falls into two
106different buckets. Um we are seeing let's see here contractual um underbudget technology [clears throat] that going over budget that was a purposeful proactive purchase um based on some funding we had and some needs and some increasing prices. we decided to to purchase that now and again that's where the Boseies goes uh up and then let's see the next one Boseies transportation um that you know we we all know the cost of gas and goes from there the good news is uh the subtotal there is about 330,000 to the good there is some debt service transfer that came in higher than expected um due to the interest rates and so in terms of our expenditures we're just under 200,000 to the good for the year. The bottom half of the sheet is our revenues here. Um
107positive is good, negative is bad because you always want more revenue. Uh property tax, you'll see was slightly under, but everything else came in good. Um under state aid, that was due to some bringing in of some special ed programming and some uh building aid. Uh Erie County sales tax remained strong. um obviously something we need to continue to watch in the economy but um for this year at least it came in well and then the other one um for other revenue that's primarily interest earnings um we are projecting that uh there will be two rate drops of a half point each over the next year um but interest work really well for us so all of that said um in terms of expenditures we're about 200,000 to the good in terms of revenue we're
108about 78 80 to the good, which means when everything shook out, we're about a million to the good there. Um, a million under budget. Um, that sounds like a lot of money, but you got to remember we're dealing with a 45 46 million budget. Um, those numbers are razor thin in terms of percentages, um, with all the moving parts we have. So, uh, once again, the program that you funded, uh, the program that the superintendent wanted to run, we've run extremely efficiently, um, in terms of the things we can control. And then we also hit a couple, um, lucky sources of revenue that that tipped in our favor this year. And that was primarily where most of the savings came this year. Everything else that we have control over was within 200,000, which again, personally,
109200,000 I'll take. Um, but 200,000 in terms of 46 million. Um that's how close we're cutting things right now and that's that's hyperconervative um and judicious in um all these folks behind me watching their budgets um on a daily basis. Okay. Any other questions or concerns about that? Questions or concerns for Mr. May or Miss George? Just a question part of financial report. the child balance looking at the special aid fund special program still has some large receivables and something we talked about previously with the um one receivable is for the 2021 fiscal year is still on the books of 63,523 we started the year with 72,757 as receivable we've received 9,000 And then um the 2122 receivable has been cut down to 2,570 and the 2324 was just over a year old. It takes
110a while for some of the aid to come in. There's a 55747. So I just want to know, you know, not necessarily now if there's a plan to address at least the receivable for 2021. I'm not sure yet. I'm still watching that very closely. We received notification went out to all districts in New York New York State regarding the stack system and we actually have 50 I think it's 58,000 due to us from the state regarding the stack system which would take care of that one big receivable from back billing but we're in the queue so I'm kind of playing that. I'm not sure how I'm going to handle that yet. We've had some years of strong fund balances. I mean, there we just got to keep an eye on that because that continues to
111build for other years and the fund balance isn't nearly as strong. It'll be more difficult to pay that off without, you know, affecting jobs. Anyway, I think we I think when the auditors come in, maybe they'll talk more about that. I It's a material amount. That's all I have. Oh, thank you. I spot here. Uh, Mr. Manetti, you you you pointed out the potential for about 900 some odd thousands of uh surplus at the end of the year, but but a significant part of that is appropriated as a revenue against the next budget. Uh so the amount available for use uh into reserves we have an action item a little later on the on the agenda. The amount available is significantly reduced from previous years uh if if this if it if these numbers come
112to pass on June 30th. So I think it's worth pointing out that uh uh what we can transfer into reserves this year will be significantly less than what we you are absolutely correct. Yes. Thank you both uh for the time and information. Appreciate that. the capital facilities project. Uh yep. So we had another successful week and so uh work that taking place or taking place this week [cough] turf field installation with spreading the stone. They gra the uh turf field fence. They've been grading for the the fence and curb modular block the routine wall uh to create the amphitheater seating was delivered. Uh they're continuing to trench and set uh conduit. Uh the utility shed block installation is in progress and the window still sill repair is complete. Uh for next week uh paving of
113the tennis courts uh turf field fence post uh followed by curb installation, pouring of sidewalks around the tennis courts. continue the conduit installation around the field and begin the waterline in installation to tie in the utility shed. So, um, yep, they're making some really good progress. Um, and really hopeful that by mid August it'll be tied up so that when come back, they'll be ready to use the field. Mr. Russ U been looking at numbers so for so long the numbers kind of all blend together after a while. Help me to understand about this amphitheater scene. Yeah, it's um on the new field. It was what was built into the the grade between where the field is now and um where the new field will be. Instead of building national, they're just going to cut
114it into the um the hip. So the seats will be into the grass. So they'll be a grassy n too with stone and place to sit and it's just going to go like this to Yeah. There's a couple of baseball fields that have that kind of seating out the outfield. That's a great idea. Yeah. Yeah. I didn't realize it was part of the plan. Yeah. Um the only thing I'll say is that the hope for the starting of this room is December break, but we're really pushing for earlier depending upon the um when the sending off the bids. Um and then the fax room in September, but Matt Mr. Brown is hoping for us much much sooner. So as soon as we can get everything lined up, we want to go with this. The only
115other thing I'll mention is that um the building condition survey we know every five years um of the plan is to do this in the 26 27 fiscal year. Uh and the one thing that they are young our architect John Wright are are um suggesting is a geothermal investigation. There's a flex tax program that offers 75% of coverage um for the study. So that's something that we potentially may be proceeding with. So, we figured now would be the time if we're going to be doing some of these roofs and whatnot. It's now's the time to look into that and see if that would be geothermal would help us out. Also would be a great time for the sustainability committee and so many other parts of the high school and the district as a whole. And
116actually next month the uh we worked with UBS to be part of the carbon footprint reduction program. And so each year they they they select about five to six corporations throughout Western New York to join in and have their corporation evaluated with their carbon presence. And so for us, we had two students uh that worked on our our solution to become carbon neutral by 2035. And so they're going to be here uh next month to present to the board what those results were. And one of the biggest biggest thing for us is shifting to electric buses. And then the other big piece is the uh the hydrothermal um uh uh source for power. Uh it also would include solar panels and they'll talk a little bit about that when they come back. So I mentioned
117it to Steve and they're adding it to the to the five-year plan so that we can possibly incorporate it in our next building project. [sighs] [clears throat] I would just bring up that as there's been so much not so much but sometimes there's discussion over oh why are we having fields and all of that I think this spring was a really really really good example if you think of how many schools how many things we had to how many things were canceled because of just the massive amount of rain and those schools had were able to hold their efforts Thank you. We're going to move on to item C. Uh this is uh report. Okay, this will be quick. Um okay, so substantial equivalency, uh New York State came out with guidance probably almost a
118year and a half now. um and [clears throat] ensures that nonpublic schools in New York State are providing instruction that is substantially equivalent to that offered in public schools focusing on core subjects uh like math, science, social studies, and English. And this has been quite an undertaking. The state is very picky about what you put into the portal. So, it's got spitback several times, but we finally got everything figured out. So, um we have six non-public schools in East Aurora, which is very, um it's a lot for the size of our district. Uh for example, Lancaster has one. So um we have all six and all six schools have to fall under one of these seven pathways. So one pathway is that they're registered uh by New York State at already. Uh typically high schools,
119we didn't none of our schools fall under that pathway. They can uh choose the pathway of accreditation by a New York state approved um accrediting body, which I'll talk about a little bit. If they offer an IB program, they're automatically substantially equivalent. If they're a federally approved school, uh, such as ones on military bases, they're automatically substantially equivalent. U, if they give assessments such as a 3 through eight uh, ELA, math, science, and or regions exams, they're considered substantially equivalent. Um, if they have a commissioner's determination, or they can choose pathway 7, which is a local uh, school review where we would have to review them for substantial equivalency. So here are our six non-public schools and the pathway that they chose or fell under. Um so Immaculate is accredited uh and they give assessments.
120GAW is accredited by the New York State Association of Independent Schools. So was Waldorf. Uh Easter is the one on uh Grey Street. They only have children up there. It's like a pre kindergarten readiness program. So they didn't have to report. Guiding Earth is it used to be called Sprouting Minds. this the one up on Mil Street on the top of the hill on the lefthand side if you're going towards Westf Falls um because they're changing over they're changing their name and they're restructuring uh they're in their first two years so they don't have to report and then Mandala is the one that they didn't follow any under any of the pathways except a local u review by um us and so we partnered with everyone Bosey's offered a service uh they know and they
121know the um the pathway of how to review in and out. They don't tell you their um recommendation, but they do um they came out here a couple times. We visited Mandala. Uh we had some Zoom meetings. Um some uh formal classroom observations and lots of document review. And New York State does provide a ch a chart of laws and regulations and what you're supposed to look for and possible evidence of what you would look for to prove that um to meet their criteria. So, we used that throughout our meetings. um and they were determined to be substantially equivalent and I think you have the memo that was submitted through the portal uh on state ed um and they did approve it and accepted it on May 30th. So we do have to do this
122every year um we have to go back in and um unless they change something but we do have to go in every year and um approve the schools. So like guiding earth would be coming up um soon. So that that's uh the quick and easy of what we spent a year and a half doing. But [laughter] everyone goes [clears throat] great. They they have all the paperwork. Uh they assisted us in the visits and talking to Dr. John and talking to the kids. You will need to go back to them again. Mandela or once every year we have to go in and say yeah most schools will probably have the same pathway. I don't know if Mandalo was talking about switching over to 3 through8 assessments. Um, Guiding Earth will be up because they're in
123their I think they're in their second year. So, they'll have to go through some process of I think they're going to be accredited by uh the Monastory system, but I'm not positive. It just seems time intensive. That's Oh, it is. Yep. Yep. [laughter] Well, but we got it down now. So, I think it'll get easier after this. So, thank you. Yeah. Any other questions? Okay. Thank you. Thank you very much. S [cough] [clears throat] very helpful. Yeah. Okay. [clears throat] Steps and steps stands for standardsbased educator evaluation and professional support. So that's where we are. You might need to turn it back down again. Okay. So we're moving from 3012D to 302D. So it's um basically speaking it's going from weighted towards state control. That's when we are very formulaic and it came from the
124state. We have to follow it very closely. Um now they're turning it back over local control which is which is much much better. This is going back probably 15 years. Uh and we used to do some of these activities uh in terms of evaluation that were in my opinion far more effective than the creation process and evaluation system under APR. So this is definitely a good move for us. So the process um what is a good valuation and then we're going to look at the um they created a statement. the the team created a purpose statement which we'll go over in just a second. Um what does our current plan um meet the definition? So what do we have that actually still works? It's a good part of our plan and let's keep it and
125where do we fall short? Uh learn step expectations. What how is steps different you know and what do we need to do to address that and build a new planet keep it good and improve the corruption frustration that we've been suffering through for many many years. So it has been a laborious um and sometimes um ineffective system and so this is a definitely a good for every school district in New York State. So here's the purpose data that was developed by our committee. Uh and what I'm going to do is I'm just going to you know just give them kudos because they have really done an excellent job moving us forward. Um uh we have had 15 other school districts reach out to us to take a look at our plan. Uh because both Boseies
126um the curriculum council uh at area one and curriculum council at 2 both asked us to come and present uh because of the quality of our plan. Uh we also sat down with uh Alex uh Tripolinos who is the assistant commissioner of the office of teacher and leader development and so he said also that we have done an excellent job meeting the criteria and so this is really moving forward. So our team has done a fantastic job and I'm going to read their names. Uh it's Mrs. Converse, Mr. Hill, uh Mrs. Emry Evans, Mr. Battle, Mr. Edol, Mr. Siki, Mr. Husanti, Mr. McCarthy, uh Mr. Brady, Miss Lions, Miss Mayor Nacho, Mr. Roberts, and Mr. Brown. So, congratulations to them for doing such a an exceptionally, uh, good job. And so, uh, here it is.
127Um, make it meaningful. So, improve instruction and facilitate dialogue. That's that's what this is about. Like any good evaluation for a teacher should really be about discussion about what's happening in the classroom. And so, we're able to get back to that and make it manageable, keeping it simple and evolving over time. Uh, this makes a lot of sense. So the rubric um so there's seven New York State standards which are embedded into the four domains of Charlotte Danielson. We've been working with Charlotte Danielson for oh gosh for many many years probably more than a decade two decades and so there's four domains and those seven standards have to be um in the [clears throat] in the evaluation and that is taken care of through the use of Charlotte Danielson's domains and so these are the
128domains we've been using with our staff. So this part is the stuff we're keeping and it and it's good and it's researchbased and it makes a lot of sense. So two groups, non-tenure teachers and uh tenure teachers. And then one other piece uh that we talked about, it excludes librarians and counselors and psychologists and social workers, but we've made our own internal uh evaluation that really reflects what our teachers, how our teachers are as well. And so you can see on on the lefth hand side, it's the non-tenure teachers. It's a one-year cycle. So for the first uh four years or three years depending on their circumstance we'll get two unannounced observations and one unannounced observation which is pretty typical and portfolio highlighting uh the skills in the lesson. So it's really going to be
129the lesson plans for your um observations that that will build that portfolio because that is the requirement of the state. And so the more exciting part is for our tenure teachers, it's on a five-year cycle. And so uh for group A and they're in year one, they will have an announced uh and an unannounced observation and they have to build that uh portfolio which is actually the lesson plans from the announced uh observation. But the exciting part about it is the group A years two, three, four, and five. Uh they can develop a professional learning plan and depending on how we get out because if you're in year five because they have to take all the teachers and separate them in into five different categories. So some will be in year one, some will be
130in year two, three or four go through cycle. And so it depends on where you are, but that's um what it will be. And it's focused on pedigogy content and and student behavior, those types of things. uh low stakes coaching observation. This is where you could ask your supervisor to have a coaching experience with one of your colleagues saying, "I'm really interested in what this person is doing. I want to do my class, but I want them [clears throat] feedback the process." And then you can even survey parents or students. So, there's a lot of opportunities here uh that are way outside of what we've been able to do. Um Oh, I was say Mr. Are these either or are you saying all three of these points have to happen? are the things that they
131can pick, right? They can choose. So, they get to choose um and it can change year to year. So as they go through the process they they can pick up professional learning plan focus on pedigree content or student behavior obseration and that can be done by an administrator an approved peer an approved third party like um for instance um one of our teachers is teaching a college level Latin course and he wants the professor to come on in and take a look at what he's doing and give him some feedback or anything use AI and tell us a little bit about the AI Yeah, I'm still exploring different programs, Mr. Mey and I, but um there's programs out there now that they're starting to develop where the one we looked at, I'll just give you
132that as an example. Um they have you can pick so the teacher downloads the app on their phone. It's completely it's they're very worried about us seeing it. We don't see anything, but this um program that we're looking at, you pick there's probably eight choices like what do you want them to focus on when they're listening to you you teach? They listen to it. It's recorded. You can pick like student weight time. You can pick uh percentages of time teachers talking versus students talking. You can pick the quality of questioning. These are things teachers can pick for the the AI robot to listen to and focus on. So basically, you pick what you want them to focus on. You record your lesson or multiple lessons and then it'll spit out feedback for you like, oh,
133you talked 90% of the time, the kids only talked 10%. These are ways you could improve that. You asked this many low-level questions and only this many highlevel questions. These are ways that you could, you know, increase your the quality of your questions or um uh wait time. You only, you asked a question, you only waited two seconds before you just said the answer. You didn't. So, you can So, this is like new and evolving, but um that is something that the committee did agree to as a choice. Again, not everybody would choose this, but they thought it would interest some of the uh maybe the the newer teachers would be interested in doing some something like that. And then after that, it gives you feedback. So, if they did choose something like this, they
134would have they would do all that. We don't see it. We don't do anything. But they have to write a reflection piece about this is how many times I did it. This is what I focused on and this is what I'm going to change or implement or do differently because of what I learned. You're going to be actually the approval person for that. Yeah. So all these choices here, we decided we had to have kind of one one central administrator that's going to approve or disapprove all these different because they're going to be submitting all kinds of one-year plans, two-year plans, three-year plans. I want to give this survey. uh I want this peer to approve me and this is why or I want this third party to approve me and why. So all of
135these choices, no matter what they choose, it'll have to go through me, I think, to whether approve it or have them modify it. So it is meaningful. The whole everybody's in agreement. We want this process to be meaningful. So um yeah, all of these would go through me first. So So Jessica, for years 2, three, four, and five, can you do your low state coaching observation? Did you do all of those four years AI or No, no. So we said uh so they can pick like Kim had said they have you can pick any of those things in each of those four years but we did say you can't pick the same thing all four years. We have to pick at least two different things. So maybe they pick AI twice in a survey twice
136or if they did do a three-year professional learning plan then they'd have to pick another oneear thing or something like that. But we did say you have to do at least two different things in those four years. We don't want teachers giving survey after survey after survey. So Yep. And then you just go back and start the five years over and then you do the one announced. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. So like when Brian was or Mos was saying we're putting them into five groups. So if somebody is in say they're in group five for ABCDE E um they get to pick they they couldn't pick like a two-year professional learning plan because they're going to get observed the following year. They'd be on that cycle. So it's going to take us five years for everybody
137to get into the groove and be able to to choose whatever they want. But um yeah, [snorts] so the evaluation result in annual ratings of exceeds expectation meets partially meets or below expectations and they made some adjustments to this from where we are right now. Uh so it's it's a little harder to ex um to actually achieve exceeds expectations because it's going to be like on a one one to four point scale of a 3154 is where you need to be for exceeding expectations. And then below expectations it's going to be between zero and 1.5. So we want to focus mostly on the two middle categories meets and partially meets. That's that's where we are primarily. That's where they kind of live. We talk about that. Um and so that's um kind of how this
138has been adjusted slightly from our previous system. A data use for individual feedback, mentoring and coaching and then also for building districtwide professional development which is a requirement of the state. So we use all the data to obviously give feedback to the teachers and their staff members who are being evaluated and then you know we're going to also that will lead to offering mentoring and coaching really those that feedback and then the professional development is something that we're doing you know all year long uh which is a requirement of of the plan and it's something that we have in place already. Questions, concerns or comments? That's great to see. Thank you for all the work. This is going to reduce your amount of time needed for observations. Uh yes, it's going to reduce the amount
139of observations um on the administrators. Yeah. Quality. Yeah. Administrators are kind of disappointed that they have fewer observations. [laughter] I mean on that vein, that was one of the big issues we had with APR. It was an unfunded mandate and it required so much time for the observations. This is obviously going to open up some. What's good about this is it really and so when you sit down for an evalution and an administrator especially our administrators who are very skilled understand instruction. They can go and sit down with a teacher and talk about what went well and what didn't. And that is how the other things that we had to do through ATP are just warriors and got in the way of doing that. So they were so busy going through the process that they
140didn't have time to talk, right? And so this is going to ease that up and will allow the teachers also to kind of follow something that they're passionate about, right? I really want to focus and many times they put on high like they put more on themselves than we're even expecting. Planning, hey, you're going to get that done because again they're conscientious. They want to do good work. They're interested in something and it's just a sub the process is going to be so much better. This is going back like I said 1500 years a do and now the states have figured it out again and so it's going to be a better process for everyone. Mr. Brunson, thank you. Uh so Mr. Ross, we have a a rigorous and effective or will have a rigorous
141and effective means of uh of evaluating the performance of our teachers. And you mentioned that some are not covered by this. So you've come up with a local system to handle librarians and special ed people and that sort of thing. And anyone who looks at the agenda knows that we we uh review the proposals of superintendent annually. We're in the middle of doing that at this point in time. But what about everybody else? the the uh you know we have probably twice as many employees as uh as the the teacher roles uh would indicate. Uh I mean there annual performance reviews for the administrators or the uh civil service people. Yeah. So two two two separate categories. The um when APR was in for teachers, MPR was in for administrators. that remains in place until
142the administrators negotiate a new steps plan for themselves. So they are still under the old system meaning the last 8 to 10 years for civil service which are technicians, aids, B&G, the rest of the secretarial clerical there is an annual evaluation filled out each year by their administrator. Um and we control all of those in our office um and make sure so everyone gets an evaluation every year. Um the two that are bound by state law are the teachers and the admin, the certificated people. Um and then non-certificated people we have a local measure for. Um but yes, everyone everyone gets an annual performance evaluation focused on celebrating successes and goal setting. So it's not designed to be a test or a gotcha, but uh here's what we've seen good and here's where we want
143you to focus on. But every employee Yep. Thank you. And coaches, too. Everybody. If if we pay them, we evaluate them. Anyone else? Thank you very much. Uh we are on item 11, uh consensus items. Are there any board members who wish to withdraw anything from the consensus agenda? Any board members who'd like to add anything to the consensus? Hearing none. May I have a motion to approve the consensus agenda? Miss Arbra. Second. Second. Second by Mrs. Daniel. Uh any discussion? All in favor? I opposed abstensions. And that is pass 70. We are fast forwarding to item 18. Uh the superintendent recommends that the board of education approve the following resolution. Uh the resolution below regarding the um oh the Erie 1 visi contract uh attached. May I have a motion? Moved by Mrs. Oiler.
144Second. Second. Second by M. Then Mrs. Danu. Uh discussion. All in favor? I opposed abstensions. And that's passed 70. Uh item B. Uh, the superintendent recommends that the board of education accept the 2023 2024 internal audit and corrective uh action plan as presented by the internal auditor to the audit committee. May I have a motion? So moved by Mr. Blau, second by Mr. Brunson. Discussion. All in favor? [clears throat] suspensions. That's pass 70. Item C. Superintendent recommends the board of education declare high school items listed on the attached uh logs. Record as surplus and obsolete per port board policy uh 5240. May I have a motion? moved by Dr. seconded by Zar discussion. I just do want to say that the librarian did this is a massive amount of work that um that I just
145wanted to recognize the amount that it takes to go through and go through what has been tally everything that has been used and not used and it's it's it is a massive amount of work and I appreciated reading that. Thank you. All in favor? I opposed extensions. That's passed 70. We are on uh item D. Superintendent recommends the board of education approve the attached novel purchases for use in the high school English department. May I have a motion? So moved. Moved by Mrs. Oweller. Second. Second. Second by Dr. Discussion. All in favor? I I opposed abstensions. That's uh item E, the superintendent recommends the board of education approve the following multi-grade text series um Amplify Literacy Suite, Amplify KCLA third edition, Amplify Education, and uh May I have a motion? Second. Second by Dr. Proa.
146Discussion. All in favor? Opposed? Extensions. That's pass 70. Superintendent recommends the board of education approve the following multi-grade text series purchases. [snorts] Reading series magnetic. We have a motion moved by Mrs. Zoeller. Second second by Dr. Emproa. Discussion. I would say also the amount of effort put into choosing these textbooks as well as all of the um novels um took a lot of time and they not only visited schools but the amount of effort that was put into that for our students um was immense and I'm excited to see how the new textbooks work out. And there's a couple novels that I haven't read that I'm excited to read as well. So, uh, all in favor? Opposed? Extensions. That's pass 70. G. The superintendent recommends the board of education accept the grant from the EA
147EeF agriculture program up to $5,000. May I have a motion? So, Moved by Nazarro. Second. Second. Any discussion? Well, just as a comment, the this is to provide water and electricity on a permanent basis to the farm. Uh they're currently using extension cords and buckets. I think we've come to the conclusion that this is a a program that needs to be sustained since this [snorts] will buy the uh supplies and the district. Sounds ambitious to me. Bucket brigade. [cough] It really does. If I can just comment, it's uh this is something that like kind of takes the program to the next level because it's something that a little bit and super generous donation from the foundation and we're really grateful. All in favor? [clears throat] Opposed extensions. That's pass 70. Moving on to item H.
148The superintendent recommends the board of education approve the settlement for the child victims case attached to the agenda second by Daniel discussion. All in favor? Opposed extensions item I Yeah. May I have a motion to approve the resolution for support of the budget appropriation for the fiscal year uh July 1, 2020 4 to June 30, 2025 detailed agenda as detailed in your agenda. May I have a motion? So second second by Dr. and proto discussion. All in favor? I opposed abstensions and that's passed 70. May I have may I have a resolution to authorize the superintendent or designate to establish a funding plan amounts to determine the subsequent uh to be determined subsequent to the district's finance and fiscal year ending 303 motion by Mrs. Oweiler second by Miss Armb discussion. My understanding is this
149is where we are merely setting the limits for the maximum that we will potentially be putting in. We're not That is correct. And I I set the limits higher than what I think [cough] it's going to be just in case there's a surprise. that I didn't know about coming through before the books are closed. Discussion all in favorions pass 70 to item 19A. The superintendent recommends the board of education perform a second reading to adopt the uh uh adopt EA 3030.04 uh as attached the max temperature and your second second discuss can just close the loop on that. So, the reason the safety plan had the disclaimer in there of we need a policy is because you hadn't voted on this policy yet. I assumed you would. You did the first reading, you wouldn't, but
150technically until the vote that you're about to do happens. So, now I can go back to the safety plan and put in that we don't have to put it in the safety plan because we have a policy. But until you vote, we don't have a policy. So, that was just one of those weird quirks. So, so it will not be included in the safety plan. safety plan will say reference the policy. The safety plan will reference the policy. But because when we put the draft up, we didn't have a policy yet. I couldn't say that. So within a span of 15 minutes, I'll reconcile it all. Perfect. I appreciate that you make sure we get it in the right order. We're trying. Thank you. Uh all in favor? Opposed? Abstensions. S70. Uh item B, superintendent
151recommends board of education perform a first reading to adopt a revised EA 6070.04 policy uh we student use of personal technology uh as attached. May I have a motion? So moved by Mrs. Ms. Arrow. Second second by Mrs. Danu. Uh discussion Yeah, the internet enabled devices. So all this is is writing a policy that says we will put the details of the policy in our code of conduct. So no decision has been made. We're going to tally the results of the community survey starting tomorrow. We'll bring it to the admin team, bring it to the code of conduct committee and all of that. So this is just laying the groundwork to put it in the code of conduct. Yeah, this this policy has to be in effect by August 1st. So that's why we put
152it on now. We'll discuss it at the code of conduct meeting on the 20th, I'm assuming. Yes. Uh all in favor? I opposed abstensions. Pass 70. We have to uh item 20 A. The superintendent recommends board of education accept the res design resignation for the purpose of retirement of Ruth's home uh cleaner the high school effective July 22nd 2025 moved by Mr. Blau second second second by Dr. and pro to discussion. 17 years. Amazing. All in favor? I opposed abstensions. That is passed to 70. Item B, the superintendent recommends that the board of education accept the district's findings of the substantial equivalency pathway uh verification or determination as attached. May I have a motion? So moved. Moved by Ms. Armbro, second by Mrs. Danu. Discussion. All in favor? I item 21 new business. Um given
153the uh hour I am to uh suggest that we do not uh that we look for a future meeting uh where we can continue our discussions from executive session uh with regards to some negotiations in the superintendent's uh evaluation. Uh we can maybe try to find that time now uh for [clears throat] Are you thinking early morning? Well, I believe early morning is what I believe works. Yes. Yes. You sure? Yep. I'm off with the puppies, so I'll be Yeah, sure. Um, yeah. So, so thinking uh uh early morning um uh you know next next week or the week following uh I would say um maybe we uh look at are there any standing days Monday through Friday that do not work [clears throat] in the morning for anyone? Tuesday. Tuesdays. We will rule out
154Tuesday. Can Tuesday's no good for me in the morning. Excellent. Um, we will not we will not do the uh the the 17th or the 24th. Any other uh days of the week that uh are uh an issue? I will be out of strawberry alone on your way. Uh the 24th, 25th, and 26th. So the middle of that week uh would not be. So then that would be either the 23rd or 27th. 27th is the graduation. Um I'm going to maybe steer away from that. So let's put our focus back on the week beginning uh Monday the 16th. Um I can do Monday the 16th. I cannot cannot. And so that takes us to the 18th, 19th or 20th. How's the How do those look for every They're all there's no school. Yeah. But we
155can meet, right? Oh, can we still come? Couldn't we can we come in because it's going to be Well, I don't know if the school will be on. So, then we're on the about the 20th. No, 18th. 18. How's How's the 18th for everyone? Uh, I will be there and have to leave early. Yeah, I have to leave by like 10 to 9. If you do 7:30, can we do 7:30 on the 18th? I'll start on the on the uh the east end. Mr. flowers. It's um Yeah, I've got something in 10, but 7:30 is good. Probably 10. Uh Mrs. Oiler. Yep. 7:30 on the 18th. Uh Dr. Yep. Mhm. meeting in the city at 9. So I would What is it? If it was Veterans Day, we'd have like on a Monday. That's right.
156Works for me. Uh Mr. Russ, in general, they're not Friday. Is that even going to be observed? Uh and uh Mr. I [clears throat] can't tell you. You can tell me anything. Yeah. Um would like to tell you. Yeah. All right. Um well, you'll let us know as you're available. Let us know. Um so at this point in time, uh Miss Casey, uh that's what we're looking at. That's 30 a.m. on the 8th. Executive session. Exe executive session only. Thank you very much. Thank you all for taking the time to do that and for taking the time to um join us for join come together for another meeting. Um we're going to move on to uh two items of information. Um you see those listed below are uh next regularly scheduled board meeting is our
157reorg meeting on Wednesday, July 9th. Um uh item B is the upcoming meetings, workshops and conferences and members this uh 22. We have a motion to move by Mrs. Oiler, second by Mr. Brunson. uh discussion. Uh I just want to thank everybody for uh being here tonight. Uh it it was a longer meeting than what we are used to lately, but uh given the um the the retirements that we were honoring. I personally wouldn't give another minute of this back. Uh it's well it's time well spent. Um so we will we will at the reorg meeting. I can't promise it'll be much shorter, but then we'll get back. Trust me, we'll get back. Um, so thank you all for your dedication to review. May I have a motion? Oh, no. We have a motion. All
158in favor? next month.