001Going to call to order the regular meeting of the board of education for Wednesday, April 9th, 2025. Please rise for the pledge to the flag to the flag of the United States of America and to the stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Start with a reading of the mission statement. We are committed to academic achievement and success for all students in a safe environment in partnership with families and our community. Our mission is to promote confidence, inspire a passion for learning, and to prepare our students to become responsible global citizens. Next on the agenda is approval of the revised agenda. Is there a motion? Motion. Second. Second. All in favor? I. Motion carries. Uh there is no update on questions or comments raised from interested citizens and I don't
002believe we have any signed up to speak tonight. Which brings us to the budget review superintendent's recommendation. Dr. Norman Good evening everyone. Good evening. I am Tracy Norman, superintendent and I will be presenting the 2526 budget recommendation. So before we begin, I just want to remind that you've you've heard from our assistant superintendent, our directors, our assistant principles. Um they have presented on their respective budget. So tonight is more of a summarization and a global approach slide. So these are our budget priorities. um safety and security, maintaining our programs, and really just supporting our students, faculty to meet state standards. Some of the things that you heard leading up to this that that are embedded in these areas, uh safety and security for one, you heard us talk about the actual vestibu, additional security cameras.
003So those things are already a part of that and they will remain our priorities for the following year. Next slide. So this is a portrait of a graduate and New York State wants all of our students in the state of New York to be proficient in each of these areas. So what you're looking at on the screen there are really is what drives our budget and our priorities and that's to produce students that meet each of these areas and not only become proficient in these areas but also become competitive as they enter the workforce in each of these areas. Next slide. So this is the famous tax cap. So what you're looking at are the actual steps involving calculating the tax cap. So dating back to 2011, the state has imposed a tax cap that
004all districts must adhere to, meaning that you cannot raise the tax levy higher than the actual tax cap. This year the tax cap is 3.55%. The tax levy that we are proposing is 1.5% which is well below the maximum. And I also want to note that for the past six years we have come in well below the tax the tax cap. So that's good news for our taxpayers slot. So looking at the revenue side, uh again you see the recommended levy at 1.5% uh which again is lower than last year's which was 1.7%. Um you also see last year that we had state aid of 88 million. Uh this year we have uh state aid of 94 million or so that's coming in. Now that allows us to to lower our tax levy. So that's
005again is a is a good thing. Um one of the reasons why that has increased uh governor hok you awarded $1.4 billion dollar uh to the state and as we've spoken about both they're doing capital projects which has also produced additional aid for our district. So the end result is that we're able to to recommend a 1.5% tax levy. And this is a graphic you have of our state aid by category. No surprises there. Uh foundation aid make up the majority which is 69%. Uh the second highest area is transportation at 16%. Pointer. Okay. Thank you. Excellent. We're good. So this is the district revenue by category and this is a year-to-year comparison. uh just kind of gives you a visual of how we compare this year to last year. Well, this actual current year
006state aid year 39% as I mentioned next year's a little bit higher at 40%. And then you see the other side which is the tax levy which is a good chunk of our revenue. Uh last year again 58.7% but uh as I mentioned uh next year we're proposing uh just a little bit lower at 1.5%. So that's good news for our tax taxpayers. Thanks a lot, Patrick. Yeah. So, uh I'm going to review this slide real quick. So this slide shows the uh superintendent's recommended budget and uh so proposition one as it typically is is the general fund budget, the total general fund budget. So we're proposing a budget of 236.7 million, which is a 5.88% budget-to-budget increase. Uh Dr. Dr. Norman has covered the real the school tax levy 133.3 million which is a
0071 a.5% increase in the levy. Uh non uh property tax revenues and other sources that's principally state aid and some miscellaneous aids 99.5 million. The appropriated reserves the district has reserves which are like rainy day accounts we sometimes say for uh specific purposes. So we're proposing to use 2.47 million of our reserves. reserves that we'd be using would be the employee benefit acred liability reserve which is called ebilar um which is for payments to employees that are separating from the district or have acred let's say vacation time which they can liquidate we're proposing to use uh the unemployment reserve so that's set aside for unemployment expenses that the district incurs we've seen a little uptick in that uh we're talking about using the ERS and TRS reserve and finally the debt service reserve which is
008a a fund that's been set aside. It's actually money that was uh associated with the borrowing from the high school. So, it's literally that old and we have to use that in the next couple of years because we'll be retiring the debt associated with that. So, that's the other piece of that. Finally, the assigned, I used to call it appropriated fund balance, we now call it assigned. We're recommending 1.425 425 million which is the surplus that we anticipate getting from the current year and giving that back to the taxpayers to lower the levy um for next year the upcoming year. So you see the appropriation budget is equal to the revenue budget. That's proposition one. Proposition two is um an authorization to uh spend up to uh $16.6 million on additional capital projects. So, these
009are projects that would complement our existing $98 million project. And what we've done is we're we're proposing to use $5.3 million from our existing capital reserve and borrow the remaining 11.3 million. And we've engineered this to have no tax impact because the expense associated with repaying the borrowing would be less than or equal to the building aid we'd receive over approximately a 15-year period of time. So, we're able to spend $16.6 million with no tax impact. And I'll just very briefly go through, we're going to talk more about this in coming weeks, what we're proposing to do with that. So, we've talked a little bit about this. We're proposing to add air conditioning kind of like central air to classrooms in three of our elementary schools. And so, these three schools are Pineree, North Main,
010and Central Valley. So, these are the schools that as part of our 2023 capital program are having major uh heating renovation where we're going from a steam heating system to hot water system. And I've mentioned this before. So, as part of that, it's sort of an invasive process where we're doing new boilers in the basement, new piping that's going to run up through the building along the ceilings, chases, and the like down to new unit ventilators. So, for a relatively small investment, we can add air conditioning. So, it's a w in my opinion, it's a wise time to do that. It's a cost-effective investment right now to add air conditioning. And then the other big piece of that 16.6 million is adding walls and doors to the open classrooms at uh North Main Elementary School.
011So, we've we've heard from folks there. Um it's it's sort of a you know, it's one of those things you can't easily do that, but now is the time for uh as part of this 16.6 six, we can add doors, walls for security reasons, for um instructional functionality. I understand the open classrooms are nice, but there are some challenges with that. So, we're proposing to enclose that um and do do that work at North Main. So, that's the bulk of Proposition two. Yeah. Thank you, have a question. I think for really the public's benefit, um the air conditioning is actually a now a state mandate that's coming out that if it hits over a certain degree, we have to make arrangements. So, I think just for the public to know, this isn't just an add-on
012that would be nice to have, it's actually been mandated in law that otherwise you have to send the kids home or make alternate arrangements. Correct. That's correct. Want me to answer that? So, so it's called the heat index law and it's effective September 1 of 2025. And so when classrooms I think actually non-instructural spaces hit 88 degrees, the mandate is that you you can't occupy the space anymore. You have to take action to reduce that or move people to another area. So we're mandated to come up with a plan that addresses that. And you know, part of our plan, we have short-term plans and the $16.6 $6 million proposition to sort of the longer term plan where we're going to actually air condition classrooms. And um and you're right, Michael, it's it's now a state
013mandate that um these classrooms can't be used when they're above 88 degrees. So, and then the middle school um I've had kids that gone through the middle school, the second floor of the middle school is like a heat box inferno in the summertime. Yes. Um is that on the slate at some point? Um because I I only have the three schools that you mentioned. Yeah. So, as part of the 16.6, there there's also funding in there for electrical upgrades that we would need to do. And and these are actually major upgrades at the middle school and the other buildings that are involved. And the the solution there, I'll call it the medium-term solution, uh is to upgrade, make these electrical upgrades and uh install almost like a permanent inst per permanent installation of sort of
014a two-tonon a heavier window unit to air conditioned classrooms. So there there's sort of multiple things. There's also a very short-term move which would be um to uh install um more like uh smaller um I would say air conditioning units that you'd see in your home, you know, kind of as a very short term. So there's short, there's medium, and there's the long term. So the electrical upgrades will help get all of those installed to support the load. Yeah. and and that's required to have the the really the larger uh window units which will do a much better job than than sort of the residential type units which we're going to use in the short run, very short run. Yeah, we do have a plan that's um a lot of this work is taking place
015now. uh our principles have done a great job of identifying areas, cooling areas uh when the temperature reaches that and we're confident by September one that that we'll have a plan in place that we can meet the uh governor's intent this heat index tent. Thank you. So what you're looking at here is a budget-to-budget comparison uh going back to 201617. So over the past 10 years um we've averaged we're about 3.8%. Um this year you it's a little bit higher 5.8%. But if as you see there the last four or five years we've had you just an increase in inflation. So uh that's kind of the major factor of that. looking at the tax levy comparison over the past uh 10 years. So, the good news here is that over the past 10 years, it's
016averaged about 1.8% I believe. And here again, we're coming in below the uh 10-year average at 1.5%. So, trending in the right direction there. So I have to talk about uh well I think it's prudent to talk about um contingent budget rules and what this simply means is that uh you know if this recommendation is adopted by the board and for whatever reason it's voted down you by the public uh then we have to resort to what's called contingent budget rules and uh meaning that uh we can't increase the tax levy you if it's voted down twice and we have to uh basically um just put forward all the essential items. So that would leave us a 1.9 million deficit meaning that we would have to u find that that money or cut to meet
017that uh that deficit. So, and these are upcoming budget dates encouraging uh all to actually participate in voting. Ending your questions. Is the crusader chat going to have a format similar in years past where the public can submit questions that'll be answered? Sure. We have spoken about that if I know that's something we've done in the past and we're prepared to do that if um if that's there's an appetite for that. Yes. Thank you, Dr. Norman. Mr. Cahill. Thank you. [Music] Next up is the approval of minutes from March 19 2025. Is there a motion? Motion. Second. Second. All in favor? I. Motion carries. Policy manual updates. Second reading and adoption. Is there a motion? Motion. Second. Second. All in favor? I I. Motion carries. And Miss Hawk for personnel. Thank you. I'd like to
018request board approval for the items listed under personnel this evening. Any questions? Motion. Motion. Second. Second. All in favor? I. Motion carries. Mr. Cahill for business and financial. Uh, thank you. I recycle request approval of business and financial items 10.1 through 10.6. Any questions? I have a question regarding the photography bid. Um, I know we've talked about it here in public, so I saw it on the agenda for this evening. So, if either you or Dr. Hassel can just give an update publicly as to the company that is being utilized and how the process kind of came to be. Mr. I'll start us off and then I may kick it to Dr. Hassle. I think he's actually a bit more involved. So uh we conducted an RFP process which is you know permissible in this
019sort of situation because it's professional services. Uh Dr. Hassler team from the high school and business office folks went through that process. Uh I believe there were approximately five respondents proposers. I think we narrowed that down to two or three near the end and uh conducted some interviews and I and I think it was uh very successful because we were able to sort of number one callull out and unbundle exactly the services that were involved with this overall lower the price. Um there's different you know there's different packages of photos that can be purchased but in general it was around 22% reduction in price uh which is great news which was really the objective to kind of get the vendors to sharpen their pencil and and uh give us a better price and understand what
020we're really buying. It turned out that in a lot of cases there were these free I'm mayor quoting services which which really are not free because they're passed along in higher prices to the families. So that's what we were trying to get to really is to to callull that stuff out to really understand what the the true cost was and and get the best price and pass that on to the family. So I think I think we've accomplished that. Eric, I don't know if there's anything you want to add. Yeah, I think that the only thing to add to that is that the scope of the RFP were two main items. One was senior portraits. The second was the underclass portraits, freshman through juniors. So Patrick, I mentioned that there was on average a 22%
021reduction in senior class portraits was the number that he was referring to. The underclass portraits, the freshman through junior package prices were reduced on average of 44%. So I I agree that I think that we accomplished what the mission was of really digging deeper into what's behind the cost and bringing the cost down in a more affordable way. Okay. Just publicly so that everybody is aware because it is the same company. So, I think it's important to realize that, you know, the due diligence was done and the company obviously heard the requests from the parents, myself included. Um, and so it's great to hear that even though we are still utilizing the same company, there's going to be a lot of significant changes. Yep. So, thank you. And and I just want to hats off
022to those that were involved with it, business office folks, people at the high school, Dr. Hassler. Um, it's a lot of work sometimes to go through these procurement processes and to really do a good job and understand what happened. And I think we did. I learned a lot. Had to talk to the business office because they they do this on an ongoing basis. I'm not a big RFP participant. So I learned a lot. Um what about the graduation photographer? That's so right now we have two separate contracts we have for a long time. We have uh yeah a separate photographer who does exclusively graduation. Right now the focus of this was really the senior portraits and the underclass portraits. But we started we started conversations about the possibility of including some of those as part
023of the service. But at this was sort of the entry point and then I think we left the door open for future opportunities like that. I should also note previously the contract was for a multi-year contract. The contract now moving forward is going to be for one year with an opportunity for renewal after the year which I appreciate because I saw that in here. I think with the problems we've had, we need to make sure they stick to their commitments. Yep. Thank you. Okay. Any other questions? Motion. Motion. Second. Second. All in favor? I. I. Motion carries. Committees on special education and preschool special education recommendations. Motion. Motion. Second. Second. All in favor? I. I. Motion carries. Reports by board. Vice President Cereello for audit. Um, I think we need to set a date, right?
024I I know I owe Michael something. Yeah, we had um We have a lot of conflicts with We had an issue with the uh the the previously scheduled meeting and so we were we're in the process of deciding if we're going to if and when we're going to reschedule. We we have the June 11th meeting on the calendar. Um but we're talking about uh available dates um prior to that. All right. I'll have an update at the next meeting. We'll try to see if we can coordinate schedules. Sounds good. Thank you. Miss Donghue is not here. Miss Clark, is there anything you'd like to share with Dr. Norman about policy committee? Our next meeting is on the 22nd. Um, one member is not able to come, so when Suzanne gets back, we will talk about
025seeing if we need to reschedule that meeting or not. Thank you. And Mr. Reynolds for visitation. Um, we visited the old schoolhouse a couple weeks ago. It's still old. Um, not much changes there, but I think we have a good path forward of the tree any raccoon. Yeah, the the tree hit the roof. Um, which, you know, tends to happen to old buildings. Um, but I think we have a good path forward of actually moving and doing something with that building in a positive way for uh for us and and and other community members to enjoy it. Um, so more to follow on that as we get closer. Thank you, Miss McCclary for Capital Project. Um, so we did have a recent meeting and went over we had um the architects in and the Palumbo
026group that came in to discuss where we're kind of at with the process and I did check to see that a lot of the things are going to continue to be updated on the website. So for community members who are interested aside from reaching out to whoever you might have questions for high school or excuse me principles of each building are going to be aware of the scope of work that's happening, who's in their building as far as safety and security. So those were all big concerns and we have um the work on phase one is set to begin early summer. So, we are on track and ready to go. And um as work gets progressed and gets done aside from, like I said, in the buildings, they'll have information to go out to the
027parents as to what's happening in each of those zones. But then also keep an eye on the district website for updates for anything specific. I'm forgetting anything in particular, Patrick. I think that's pretty much I think you nailed it. You got it. Yeah. I mean, we've already spoken about the Central Valley vestibules. I know you addressed all of that. Um, and you just spoke tonight about the uh reserves and all of that. Michael brought up about the heat index law. So, pretty much everything that's been covered. Thank you, Miss Simmons. Orange County School Board Association. So, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Our next meeting is June 12th. Okay. Thank you. Uh, the last um Oxbow meeting was packed with a bunch of interesting topics. Um we covered uh federal DEI and how what's the what's changing
028there um is affecting the educational space. Um immigration concerns, transgender student rights. Um we address something that Monroe Woodbury already has in place um having student board representatives. And then we also discussed collective bargaining trends. There was a presentation by David Shaw and Beth Harris from Shaw, Pearlston, May, and Lambert that kind of went over components uh of all of these um and essentially all the school districts needs to have plans in place as it relates to all of these topics. So, thank you. Of course. And next is our student representative, Mr. Escobar. Hey everyone, hope you're all doing well. I'm excited to share today what I've done since the last meeting. I've had the chance to visit three schools, Smith, Clove, Pine Tree, and Central Valley. Uh just like my meeting at Sapphire last
029month, I read to students the book We Are All Wonders, educating them on people with facial differences and showing them that it's what's on the inside that matters. The kids were adorable. I think it's really important to educate young students about people with visual differences so that empathy and understanding is formed. Uh now on to my visits at uh Pine Tree in Central Valley. I met with students to speak about their experiences with their peers and conducted a survey. Uh I'm hoping to conduct the same survey at North Main in a few weeks and I'll give an update on my findings uh by the next meeting. Uh if you have any questions, jump in whenever. Uh I asked four questions on a one to five scale. How do you feel about spending time with classmates?
030How do you feel in activities? Uh how included do you feel in activities? Sorry. Uh how comfortable do you feel in class? And how kind are classmates to you? Um the survey also asked six yes or no questions which were have you ever made a classmate upset? Has a student ever made you feel upset? Do you feel safe at school? Do you feel that classmates are kind to you? Have you ever uh had to speak to a teacher about something that made you upset? And has anyone made you upset but you didn't tell the teacher about it? Um and students were told that for the yes or no questions that they could put maybe or sometimes for if they were struggling to pick one side or the other. those middle responses like the sometimes and
031the may were all counted in one group. Um, lastly, just uh background on the survey, students were asked to elaborate on two of their answers on the back of the sheet uh to give some greater clarification on what they put. The data was very similar across both schools. So, I don't think it's necessary to break the report down by each school. Uh, and all of these recommendations can be applied across uh all of the two through five schools. Uh, possibly even middle and high as well. Uh, a couple of interesting things were revealed from the data. Uh, the average of the question, do you feel comfortable at school was a 3.7 at Pineree and a four at Central Valley. Uh, and the most yeses uh the mo the most amount of yeses uh to a
032question was for do you feel safe at school with 21 out of 24 at Central Valley saying yes and 15 out of 15 uh saying yes at Pineree. Um, and I think that just speaks to the effectiveness of both security and teachers in making the environment of the classrooms comfortable and safe for students. So, uh, I was happy with that. Um, uh, a lot of students answers that they felt like, uh, on the ranking it was a five out of five for feeling included in activities, but of course there were some students who, uh, put lower scores and that's totally normal. There will always be students who feel more shy or who feel like they can't break into groups as much. Um, I would just advise teachers to do a mix of activities where students
033can pick their partners and somewhere groups are decided at random. Uh, giving space for students to both form relationships and continue developing their relationships with the peers they already know and also giving them the opportunity to meet new people and break in with new groups. Um, some also added in their extended response that they just enjoy time to themselves. And I thought that was a really wonderful and emotionally m mature response. Uh, it's important to understand that we're all different or have uh different uh levels of extraversion or introversion. Uh, so recognizing those differences uh and that some people just uh enjoy that alone time is uh I think is really important. So I was also pleasantly surprised at uh the emotional maturity of the students when asked about the have you ever made a
034student upset. Um a lot of uh students did put yes and I think that showed a lot of bravery for actually um talking about that. Um some said that it was because they were in a certain mood and they said things they didn't really mean and that they understood that um when another classmate made made them upset that was true as well for them. Uh I think it was it just highlights how emotionally mature our students are at the schools and even at the these younger levels how uh mature they can be. I think the most significant conclusion from this data was regarding students talking to their teachers. For the questions, has something made you upset but you didn't tell the teacher? Um 15 out of 20 at Pineree said yes. Um and uh at
035CV that was uh 19 out of 25. So in the extended response many students said that they didn't because they didn't want to be like a snitch or a tattletail or didn't want to start more drama. And you know it's been a long time since any of us have been at that age level. But hearing this brought back a lot of um of those feelings that I had when I was that age of not wanting to be like those things, you know. Um, and it's it's a common thing for young students, but I think to address that, uh, my recommendation is that teachers have, uh, some kind of anonymous comment box where students can write down something that's bothering them, uh, and tell the teacher discreetly and privately. Uh, this will make students more comfortable
036with sharing their feelings with the teacher. Um, and it won't impede class time and allow for students to resolve problems uh, quietly and effectively. uh I'm aware of the anonymous alerts which are available on the website. Uh but this system would be more personal to each classroom and would have comments going directly to the teacher. Um and then in this way students won't feel like a snitch or a tattletail for telling students about something that is bothering them and the setup is as easy as a box, slips of paper and a pencil. Um but overall I'm very happy with the findings from this survey. Um which could not have been done without the work of the wonderful administrators uh and students who helped me out. So, thank you guys so much. Um, the these findings
037just demonstrate that our school is an environment where students feel comfortable and safe and that our district is doing things to make sure that all students feel welcome. Um, so like I said before, I'm going to add on to these findings when I visit with North Main. Uh, and with the conclusion of that visit, uh, I'm kind of entering the twilight of my time as board of ed, you know. Um, I've had so many wonderful meetings with administrators uh who show so much dedication with the district. I just had one with uh Dr. Norman that that was wonderful. We just had an excellent conversation and I'm at ease leaving this district knowing that it's in such good hands going forward. Um, and I would just like to add that over the next few months, um,
038there are a couple things I want to do things a little bit differently. Uh over the course of my visits to the schools, I've not just been observing whatever the topic I was looking for. Um I was observing commonalities between student responses or things that they were often times bringing up when we were having conversations or discussions. And I'm planning on bouncing around to a few different schools to address these wider issues. So, um I will keep you all updated on that as I'm going around to each of these schools uh one last time. So, um, if you guys have any questions, just, uh, feel free to ask. If not, then, yeah, I will see you all at the next meeting and I hope you all have a great night. Thank you. Thank you so
039much. Okay, and that brings us to reports by board and central office, Dr. Morales. Good evening. Just a few things. I had the opportunity to participate in the music boosters interview, which is always an incredible night to be able to chat with students and try to ease their nerves a bit. Um, and just continually impressed by just how much they're juggling on a on a consistent basis. I would like to thank the Smith Clove administrative team as well as Miss Mullen. I had the opportunity to read to her class as part of Women's History Month. She has quite a classroom. very very excited first graders. Um I would like to thank the secondary administrators and the ENL departments for all of their work in being able to host a very successful tri-state visit. I would
040need to acknowledge and thank the two through five administrators and teachers for their flexibility and patience as we navigated all things state testing. not to talk about a hot topic and I would like to congratulate Mr. Burgerer. Thank you, Mr. Cahill. Okay. So, uh thank you. I'd like to thank my colleagues for all the work uh that they put in in pulling together the budget for this year. I think we we put together a good budget and um did a really good job and it's always a team effort. And with that, I hope everyone has a nice evening. Thank you. Thank you. Dr. Yes, music booster was a great experience. Um, and and I feel like sometimes I'm learning from them because I'm not really good in that area. So, it was always an interesting
041experience. Big shout out and congratulations to the high school chess team being a champion. Um, uh, being a first place in the Mid Hudson Scholastic Chess League. Um, and especially to shout out to Jacob who had an undefeated chess team uh, chess season which is incredibly hard to do. Um, and James for the second place. Um, and a good night everyone. Uh, I agree. Music boosters was great. Um, congrats to Chris. Uh, middle school also navigated some of the testing challenges. And I have to say selfishly, you know, I'm excited for Chris to head into the HR position, but he really led a building today through some very challenging circumstances. So, you are definitely going to be missed at the middle school. Um, I attended the OUC CTE budget dinner, which was awesome. Uh, I
042I was at the Harlem Wizards game where I think I think Dr. Norman said that he would play in the future. I think you I think I I think we Sorry to burst everybody's bubble. Sorry. Sorry to burst everybody's bubble, but we lost again. But I think maybe Dr. Norman, if you play next year, maybe I'll I'll play with you next year. Maybe we might be able to put us over the top with the I think it should be the whole cabinet. Yeah, the whole I'll play chess. Yeah, there you go. bio sports and music. Yeah. Uh I went to Secret Garden. It was amazing. Uh quick plug for the high school. Tomorrow night's their job fair. So if any students are listening, uh I encourage you to attend because um we've had a lot
043of success with our kids getting jobs and you know, kudos to the high school for putting it together. So and agree with the chess team. Thank you. I would just like to congratulate Chris Burgerer who this evening was approved um to be first the deputy assistant superintendent for human resources and eventually the assistant superintendent for human resources. It is an [Applause] amazing I'm not yet ready to pass the baton, but I will be at some point. And um it is an amazing feeling to know that we are going to have someone in this seat as competent as you are. So congratulations. Uh Miss Simmons. Uh also a hearty congratulations to you, Chris. Couldn't have gone to a more deserving person outside of uh Lori. You're the next in line that's like gonna rock this position
044out. Um, Secret Garden. Again, the talent in this district was amazing. The performance was engaging. It was enthralling. So, kudos to all of those amazing performers. Congratulations to the chess club. And I do want to give a very heartfelt thank you. Um, last meeting I got some very disheartening news about a member of my family and the outpouring of support and people reaching out to me. I truly truly appreciate it. um she is going to be okay. So, thank you for that. Um but this is what Monroe Woodbury is. Um we are all just a part of each other's extended family. So, from the bottom of my heart and from my family to my extended crusader family, thank you so much um for that outpouring. Your prayers really made a difference. Um have a great
045evening everyone. Thank you, Miss McCclary. Um congratulations to Mr. Burgerer. Very welld deserved. I had an opportunity to read um for women's history month at Smith Cove Elementary. So, I want to thank Mrs. Gardner who always does just a phenomenal job of not only inviting us to attend these functions, but she just always goes above and beyond in her efforts to to make us feel welcome. The kids are engaged. It's just it's a great experience for us to be able to be able to witness what she does on the daily basis. So, I appreciate that. Um, I was also able to attend the high school uh crusaders committed to education event. So, thank you to Liam Gaffne and all of the high school staff for inviting us to that. It was a great day. I
046was able to go to, I believe, about four different presentations. So, they were all very wellreceived. I know in one of the classes that I was in, the students were really engaged. They enjoyed all of it. They had great questions and I think all of the resources that were given to the students that day were passed on through the high school. So hopefully for any students in need, they have those resources. Also, April autism awareness. Um, as I've said here before, I had four kids that came through. It's very rare to have your high school senior come home and tell you how their day was. You know, you ask and you don't always get a lot, but I have to give kudos. I'm not sure where it originated or how it started, but Meline did
047come home to tell me about the rock paper scissor that took place up at the high school and um it was great. So, it was nice to hear her engaged about it. They it seemed to have be very enthusiastic in the building from what I understand. It looks like every kid got a necklace and they kind of competed against each other until there were only two left standing if I'm understanding it correctly. Um but it sounds like it was a great day. So kudos for that. Rhythm and rhyme again this year. Always amazing. It was my fourth year attending. Mr. and Mrs. Bulla always do an amazing job. Congratulations to Dylan because aside from all of his board of education duties, he was there rocking it out and did an amazing job. So, congratulations to
048him. And the job fair tomorrow night. So, if your student is looking for a job, there's about 25 businesses coming tomorrow night, 5 to 8 at the high school. Thank you, Mr. Reynolds. Um, I greatly appreciate all the wonderful things that the testing teams did today to adjust and yesterday as well. Maybe New York State will figure out how to do it the right way uh so that we don't have to put our teachers in our buildings in all that chaos. Um great to hear about North Main of putting up walls and uh doors not only for safety but really for our teachers and our students. It's a much better experience to focus on what they should be focusing on which is everything in the classroom and not outside of the classroom. Uh so great
049to hear that. Uh, I'd like to thank Stacy for basically, I think, co-sponsoring the photo Oh, reduction with me to make it down. So, as I leave, kudos to the team to get 22%. That's great. I mean, that's real savings to our families who could be struggling to get something that, you know, your kid only graduates once from high school, right? So, uh, really proud of the team on that one. Mr. Burgerer, welcome to the team, brother. Good to have you. We're going to miss Lori, but I'm sure you'll uh at least somewhat fill a little bit of her shoes as you go in. And Secret Garden, I mean, I'll let probably Mike talk about Secret Garden since his son did an amazing job in it. Uh but really the talent, as my colleagues have
050said, is is unbelievable in this district and uh not only in the classroom, but on the sports field and clearly on the stage every day. So, thank you. Thank you, Miss Robinson. Um, so just to add on to what Jeff was saying about state testing also, I appreciate the communication that went out about it as a parent, but also as an educator dealing with it as well. Knowing when things were changing and how they were changing for the kids was very helpful. Um, also congratulations to Mr. Burgerer. And um, that's it. Good night. Thank you, Mr. Escobar. Well, um, congratulations to Mr. Burgerer. um from all the meetings we've had, you've been such a wonderful guy and I know the people at the middle school love you so much and they're going to miss you,
051but you're going to do such an amazing job in this position. Um when I heard about the budget recommendations and the AC's and the walls at North Main, I am so You want to graduate, right? I No, I'm I am so excited about that. Um I didn't go to North Main, but my mom works there and I consider myself like a uh pseudo North Mainer. So just hearing about those um and from talking to the students I know how uh big of a concern that was uh both the air conditions and the the walls. So hearing about that just made my day. So I'm I'm really happy about that. Uh congratulations to uh chess team on the huge win. Uh going to plug Secret Garden one last time. It was awesome. I mean like uh
052all my friends were in it and I directed it so like it was fun. Uh yeah, that was, you know, just uh shameless plug. Uh and um yeah, uh Rhythm and Rhyme was wonderful. To uh all our um amazing performers there, great job. And to uh Miss Hawk, it's um uh I just uh wish you well in whatever you know comes next. So uh thank you for all the amazing work you've done for our district. So thank you so much. Thank you. Dr. Norman, good evening again. So, I just sit and beam with pride when I hear the uh updates and all the great things that's happening in our district. So, I won't repeat much of what's been said, but I would be remiss if I didn't acknowledge u not only Mr. Burgerer, congratulations, but
053also the great job that the board members did and the other cabinet for participating in the interviewing process. um and yielded your great results. So, thank you for that. I'm pleased to share that our district has achieved 100% compliance in the recent comprehensive food service administration administrative review conducted by the New York State Education Department Child Nutrition Program Administration. This outcome reflects our ongoing commitment to meeting all federal and state requirements related to school nutrition programs. I'm going to just take pause and and just really try and and maybe communicate this the right way. This was a major state audit. Rarely if ever are audits conducted and nothing is found. That's what happened with our child nutrition program. Kudos to Lynn and we should we should really clap for that and acknowledge [Applause] So, just
054a quick deadline reminder. Uh, the board of education is seeking a member of the MW High School class of 2026 to serve as student representative on the board of education. You heard Dylan say that he's um nearing the end here. Uh the student member of the board of education will serve as the voice of the students by providing brief reports sharing issues of importance to the student body and board at board of education meetings. Congratulations to the middle school Odyssey of the mind team who placed sixth in the New York State tournament in Syracuse, New York. Well done, Crusaders. Um, I had the pledge of attending the Orange Olter Bosey's annual humanities award breakfast on April 2nd. Two Monroe Woodbury High School students, Anna Mallalerie and Sunonny Stein were among the honores at this event
055that celebrate seniors and juniors who have shown an impressive dedication, skill, and commitment to the arts and humanities. Congratulations to them. Um it was mentioned you our chess league. Congratulations to those students. And I too attended the actual musical production, The Secret Garden, my wife and I. And I really just continued to be mesmerized you by how these students perform and and just really just Broadway caliber. So congratulations to yet another successful production. Thank you and have a good evening. Thank you, Vice President Cerello. Okay, I'm going to try to keep it brief but brilliant. Um, the budget presentation tonight was one of the best that I've seen and I really appreciate that. Uh, I think it had just the right level of detail and information and explanation. So, thank you to everyone who was
056involved in putting that together and to the presenters. Uh, Secret Garden was, uh, another fantastic show and I don't really have much more to add than what everyone said before. Uh, I would say, you know, if you haven't had an opportunity to go to Broadway, you should come to a Monroe Woodbury High School production. It's it's pretty close to Broadway level and it'll give you an experience and it's a lot more cost-effective. And then congratulations to Mr. Burgerer. I know the middle school's going to miss you, but we're going to be glad to have you at the DEAS and supporting the school in a different capacity. And with that, I just want to wish everyone a great evening. Thank you. Okay, I'll start with the budget presentation. Uh I I too thought it was a
057a great presentation, but I want to note that your focus to keep our students um and balance it out with the community was appreciated. So, thank you to you and Mr. Cahill and the cabinet and everybody that supported the work that went into the budget. Uh Mr. Burgerer, you know, you've made an impact every place you've been in this district. I've known you a long time and we're very looking forward to having you a part of the next move for you here. Um and like Dr. Norman said, the student board representative position is open, I think, until the 11th, Carol, right? April 11th. Um, so you still have some time to get your applications in and I'm sure Mr. Escobar would be happy to speak with any student that was interested in in being a
058part of this amazing experience. I've spoken to a couple already. The uh candidates who are going for it are just all um you know I'm not picking it, but like I would if if I was I would have such a hard time because they're all such uh wonderful and talented people. So I'm excited to see what comes next. Thank you. Um, and that's all I have. Thank you and good night. And with that, a motion to adjourn in to executive session. Second. All in favor? I I. Motion carries. Meeting adjourned.