Rome CSD BOE Meeting 10/20/25

001to order. Can we stand for the pledge? I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> And we are all present. [laughter] >> Oh, there you are. >> I told her, wait for you said no. >> [laughter] >> Okay, moving on to our approval of minutes. Can I have a motion to approve the minutes of the regular meeting of October 6, 2025? >> Okay, moved by Kirsten. Okay. Second by Jen. Any discussion? >> All in favor? >> I. Motion's carried. Are there any additions, Delicious, to the agenda? >> Yes, there will be a quick update on maintenance and operations by Dr. Gonzalez. >> Okay. >> Under workshops, >> maintenance and operations. >>

002Under the workshops. Okay. >> Thank you. >> Okay. Moving on to board recognitions, achievements, and honors. Um, first I would just like to say this is school board recognition week, October 13th to the 17th. And so I just want to express my sincere thanks to each of my fellow board members. It goes without saying that this volunteer position comes with considerable time and effort away from both our families and other personal activities and you are all greatly appreciated. Each of us as individuals comes to the board with a different skill set and each of us has something to offer. In order to emphasize that, I want to change a small portion of the way we conduct our business. So each meeting when we come to the board recognition portion, um I would ask that another

003a different board member has the honor of bringing some of our special district highlights to be presented. And this week, Kirsten offered to be our first board member who's going to help with that. But going forward, I would say there will be some things that obviously the superintendent would like to highlight. So I will be bringing those to the individual who wants to do it. So if a board member would like to be the one presenting, please bring it forward because I think we're all in this together and we all should have part of the responsibility of talking to the public on it. So I just thought that would be a great way to start being a little more moving amongst us if everyone agrees with that. Okay. So tonight I'll move it over to

004Kirsten. >> So Madam President, before you move on to special recognition, I would like to also specially recognize the entire board. Um, and again in honor of National School Board Recognition Week, which took place last week, we want to take a moment uh to recognize and celebrate our board of education members again for their service and dedication in particular to our Rome City School District. Each week, and really every single day, we honor the incredible commitment, leadership, and heart each of you bring to this work. Serving as a board member is not an easy task. I don't think a lot of people recognize that it requires countless hours of reading, listening, asking thoughtful questions, and making decisions that shapes the lives of our students, staff, and families. You do this work not for recognition or

005reward, but because you believe deeply in the power of public education and in the potential of every child in our community. You show up, you engage, and you lead with both courage and compassion. On behalf of our students, staff, and families, thank you for your unwavering service, your vision, and commitment to helping us move Rome forward. You make a difference, and we are truly grateful. Please join me and our board clerk in celebrating and thanking you for your dedication and the positive impact you make each and every day. So, we'll pass the baton on to our board clerk who will present you with a certificate >> and a little gift. Just threw away my gift. home. >> Thank you. It was so very nice of you. And this just makes it so we none of

006us forget what we have to bring because we can throw them all in here. [laughter] So, thank you. I would like to first thank Aaron Kerry for my late response and asking him to get me a bunch of information because I was away the weekend and then got home late. So, um with that said, I want to um talk about some upcoming events with sports um coming up for us. Um and again, Aaron, thank you. Don't forget there is um fall um physicals coming up on the 23rd for the winter um upcoming sports. So get those done. They're all on and Aaron's very very good about it. But I am guilty of not checking my parents square all the time. So you will get all these that I'm going to tell you. Um unfortunately some

007of us either don't get them or you know don't check all the time. So there was a lot of important information on there. Um, now what I would like is so we have cross country. The TVL league met uh meet is this Saturday at at CVA. Sectionals are scheduled for November 8th at Mount Markham. Field hockey is doing great. They're undefeated 15-0. Um the sectional semifinals are the 28th of October. Football's 25. Final game is this Friday at Elmyra at 6:00. And I think, you know, I have to say this. Um, I lived through it with a a younger sportsman. Um, the fall team is it's coming along. I am really proud of them. And, you know, they're a young team right now. There's time you become that young that goes further and you all

008stay together. And they're doing a great job. They really are. And I've heard a lot of positive um from other schools about the football team. So, I have to say that that that's very important. Uh, girls soccer is 8 and 8 and they have a sectional game on Friday at 6:00. They're um doing um they're playing against Syracuse City. Boys soccer 510 and 1 and they have a sectional game at Udica on Thursday at 5:30. Swimming and diving, the TVL league meet is um this Friday at 5:00 at RFA. Sections are November 1st and the 5th. Uh the gymnastics sections were Friday, October 17th. Congratulations to Cecilia Castello. She got first place on the beam floor and all around. Uh fourth place in bars. Also Isabella Aapini uh fourth on place on beam. And tennis

009is and they're coming up right for tennis should be coming up to do their section, right? Or >> they finished section. I apologize. I'm sorry. Okay. So, again, Aaron, thank you so much for all that information. Um, I thought I had a lot of it and I didn't. So, again, I I have to thank you. Also, don't forget the marching band's putting on an event for the community um on October 25th at the stadium. So, stadium support will have that. And um I also want to say what a great turnout it looked like on the news um for morning Friday morning. Uh Syracuse had done that. So that was really nice um to see that and watch them get excited and to really really say some really great things about um RFA and the RFA

010gymnasium and the kids. So thank you everyone. Okay, is there any public comment on agenda items? Okay, there is not. Moving on to superintendent report. >> Right. Um I have an update. I I know that because of the fire that took place at Staley, some people are wondering what we're going to do with Staley. And so, as we all know, last week a fire was set in the building. And to my understanding, this is not the first time something like this has happened. These incidents obviously continue to draw on both district and city resources, and they raise serious public safety concerns, which uh we think about at the district level almost every day. The plan remains is to demolish the building. And I want to be clear, the cost of this work is significant. If

011it was just a few thousand, we would do it yesterday. So, it's in the million. Both the mayor and I recognize that this is a public safety issue. And since the recent fire, our district in particular has been working behind the scenes to explore all avenues available to secure funding so we can move forward with the demolition as soon as possible. Although I can't give you information in terms of what we have done behind the scenes until things start coming to fruition, but just know that this matter is of great importance and concern to us and we are working to acquire additional funding wherever possible. And together with the city, we remain committed, the mayor and I also talked about that on Friday, to keeping our community safe and are actively coordinating to address this

012long-standing concern. So that's where we are with Staley so it's not lost on us. Lastly, as we always like to take a moment to recognize a few important observances um every time we meet, as I mentioned the last time we were here, October is National Principles Month, really honoring the incredible leadership of our building principles. It is also National Bullying Prevention Month and it is a time to highlight the programs and initiatives that help keeps our school safe and inclusive. This week marks the national character counts week celebrating students and staff who demonstrate integrity, respect and responsibility each and every day. I also want to acknowledge uh a particular celebration. It's called Diwali which is the festival of lights that will be celebrated by many tomorrow October 21st. It is a time of joy, celebration,

013reflection, and the triumph of light over darkness. So, we always try to bring these observances to the forefront at the board's table because honoring them remind us of the strength, diversity, and character of our district and of the many ways we come together as a community. This concludes my report. Thank you. Student board member report. Okay. So, last week we had our club fair in during lunch periods. We had every single club lined up in tables during our lunch periods so that people can come view the club, see what we do. Um, we were at our staff table. Um, and I know that this is very very beneficial to the students at our school because we see a lot of participation when we're out there giving them the information instead of them having to come

014for us. So, I know we had a staff meeting the next day and we saw an increase of I think about 20 people 2025 students that came and joined the club after we had these um things put out and we explained what we did and how we helped our school. Not very much is going on at this exact moment, but we have a lot coming up. So this week on Wednesday we have our mental health fair which various organation organizations come through and they give examples and resources that other students can use when they're in a tough time. And we also have our heat of fusion coming up which is a huge school thing. Everyone gets so excited about it being in staffs. It's a big school spirit thing for the whole high school. And

015yeah so we have that coming up and that's it for me. When um is what? It's Wednesday, but is it during schools, during class, or is it a assembly? >> It's during 8th and 9th period. It's in the um cafeteria and students can get a pass to go down to the mental health fair. All teachers usually do give people passes. It's never getting told no, you just get to go. So, is it just different organizations of the community um that set up like tables and then they have like information set out almost like you were doing for staffs and stuff so the kids can go and do that. Okay. >> Yeah. So, it's just resources. There's different things. There's like suicide prevention, bully prevention. There's many many different places. They give out resources there and

016phone numbers that you could call if you are in a tough time. So, it's very very like a lot of Oh, this is on Yeah. Okay. like a lot of resources that are given to them right at that moment so they don't have to go to a different um place. >> Thank you. >> We also did have our um college fair and I saw not only a lot of seniors there but a lot of underassmen which is something I love to see. I love to see how early they are planning their future. And to support your students through this tough time we do have a lot of events not just in Stas but also outside of Stas. There is a band and select choir concert this Thursday. And I can attest not just from myself,

017but from all of my peers that what means the most support to us in these kind of performances is just attendance from the community. Not only people we know, but also just everyone is invited and we would love to see you guys there. There's also haunted hallways from both the French and the art club which is going to be November 1st to kind of keep the spooky vibe up after Halloween. It's a very good place to go, not only for children, but also for grown adults. There's different stages you can go throughout the hallways. It's very cool and it's very scary. I believe it's around 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. And I would love to see more people from our community go. It means the world to not only me, but my peers. Thank you. >>

018Can you repeat that again? The date? >> It's November 1st. Haunted >> 6 to8 69. 6 to9. >> Thank you. >> I think Yep. 69. >> Just have one question for you. So, November 4th is election day and I just wondered do up at RFA do they discuss like telling students, you know, reminding them that it's election day and so just because sometimes you students your age might not remember. >> I do believe in history classes we have talked about that before. I don't know if it's a schoolwide type thing. I wouldn't be against that at all, but I do know in history classes I have been taught about that, especially on the day. We usually Yeah, we'll get reminders. I don't think I don't think it's specific that they like the teachers were told,

019but they do take part in making sure we're informed about everything that's going on. So, I'm sure that our they will. >> Thanks. >> All right, moving on to our workshop portion. You >> want me to set the stage? >> Yeah, you can. I'm not sure who's >> Absolutely. Absolutely. Um all last year as we were building our budget uh we had come to the board table and talk about um really opening a tutoring center. Um both TR and RFA were running their own tutoring program for students who sometimes break the code of conduct and they have to be suspended for a long period of time maybe two weeks and on. And so we wanted to really kind of like have a centralized place rather than two different buildings, two different set of staff doing

020their their thing to uh support students. We wanted to make sure we had a centralized program. And so we approached uh Mr. Learon who was serving as the principal at RFA at that time. Um because we really felt like instructionally we needed to beef up the opportunity for our students but at the same time give them a space and time during the school day rather than after school when they are sometimes students who are suspended are the ones who need the attention the most. And so he was really excited about the opportunity. He loves working with families and students. um and we saw that as a strength and so he uh accepted the call and so we talked about having a centralized tutoring program and it has been in operation. Um the other two pieces

021that we've talked about is um we are a district that believes in health and safety as priority. We can't say we want to make sure that students are doing well academically if we don't provide the right conditions for learning. And that includes making sure that we had a medical director in house. Um, yes, we had health services that was being provided, but it was contracted. And it's different when you have a person in house who are collaborating with our leaders, our nurses, and to make sure that anything any gaps, we can um ensure that we fill the gaps. And it's about maximizing the positive impact that we have when it comes to health. And of course, safety is a priority. And so, um, as most of you know, I was an assistant superintendent and safety

022was an area that was under my purview. And so, I can quickly assess what are the things that are of strength and what are the gaps that exist. And so, um, with all of your support, we were able to add these three pieces to ensure that our our district uh, continues to move forward in the way that we have talked about in terms of Rome is rising. So we felt that it was appropriate and keep in mind those three things that we added even though they were additions but a lot of it was we were rerouting the money that we were using um to support these programs in another way. And so for that if you recall our administration line in our budget was a reduction cuz remember we had four um cabinet level members

023that we reduced to three. And so we had some savings there. And of course with our contracted service and health we just took that money and rerouted it. a different way. Um, and so we thought that it would be awesome now that we've had things up and running for you to hear directly from the three individuals that have been identified and selected to run these programs to give the community an update. And lastly, we also want to make sure that in the maintenance and operation, we give you a brief update as well. So, I will first pass the baton on since academic is also a priority. Um, first to Mr. Dr. Brian Learon, who's going to kick us off, followed by safety, the newest guy in town. He started a week ago. And then followed

024by our medical director, nurse practitioner, Caroline Getel. Good evening. It's been uh 10 years and I've been up here in front of the board a number of times. So, the fact it's my last year being up in front of the board to talk about something good is kind of neat. So, I'm glad I've had the opportunity. So, thank you, Superintendent. Now, for giving me an opportunity to talk about the program. We've uh established the fact that um when students are suspended from school, there it's a there's a difficulty in getting them back into school to do some tutoring, right? The after school thing was difficult. Uh when we talked about it this summer, um I spoke with two different districts and there's a difference in programming between schools that have a program that's in the

025school inhouse and one that's out of school. And that's a really kind of a big overview that Superintendent Sabi had multiple conversations already this fall about. I think in the long term, even though the success that we're having, having having it in a place outside of the building where you can do more with the students um would be more productive for them because you can provide ample space and move them around a little bit different. We are kind of locked into a three-hour time period and the state regulation is three hours per day. So any student who's in that program for a day to 5 days to how many of days that they get put out long term, they are still required to have that 3 hours per day. Um they're pretty good about coming

026some of them. Um they're very successful if they're there every day. Uh sometimes when I get them off the bus out back, so we're in the back of the building in the art wing there's there's actually three rooms. Uh if you're familiar with the back of the art art wing in at RFA there's uh a room is I can house about six students in there and there's a long table a role in Prometheian board which uh Joan Mirink all retirey teachers in there uh works with the kids on the board all the time which is really great. Um, there's another room that's got three long tables and there's about three seats per table. And then there's a small room um that I had planned to do some of that uh some things that we just

027talked about earlier, some mental health supports. There's just no way to get that in. Um, we just don't have the time. So, because it's 3 hours, we can't go outside that three-hour block uh because now it feeds into the RTA contract. So, uh, what was budgeted and what's accurate right now, we just I we did a lot of tweaking. Remember, this was built from scratch. So, right now, my plan for to keep building and and Tracy will tell you and some of the APS that I can be a little annoying right now. Um, just because we're hammering and ironing out the wrinkles. Just some things that we didn't know. You a long-term suspensions or if they're out of school suspended and they can't come back to a building, how do we how do we put

028that together? Some, if you know me from history, I'm a routine guy when it comes to procedure and looking at some of the data. So, we're really good about putting some procedure stuff together, but that's an ultimately that's a change for the buildings. So, typically in the morning, I get over to Stra, I pick up work, and if I can get around to some of the kids, the last thing I wanted was to have recidivism. I mean, the whole point is to keep kids from coming back. Uh the one day one of the tutors uh said, "We're going to have a Halloween party." I'm like, "Don't tell them that. They're going to want to come back." Like, you know? So, I think they're but they're they're excited and they're and they're passionate about helping the

029kids. So, you know, when I get over to Stra and I can get around the building and and talk to some of the kids one-on-one, do a little walk with them, it keeps them in their own space about why it's more important to be at Stra and RFA in the building in the halls. Some of the kids I saw beginning year that were suspended four or five days I haven't seen come back. I looked a little bit of data today right now were six out of the 39 students that have attended, six of them have returned. So, that's pretty good numbers for right now. Um, I'm hoping to see that as time goes on. Not, you know, I mean, long term, you never know between now and the end of the year, but hopefully we're

030not seeing some of those same patterns with with some of the kids. The good news is that they're not returning for the same thing. In my mind, that's a good thing because they've learned a lesson, but there's still some more growth there. Uh, a lot of the kids that I see at RFA have been a program that I didn't know like, "Hey, how you doing?" or they speak. we sit and we talk a little bit. So, that's a good thing. Uh, and when I go to Straw and I see the kids, they're really good about speaking. So, it tells me that they've let their guard down a little bit. Uh, you know, tutors get in about 5 minutes to 10. I pick the kids up out back about quarter to 10. I bring them a

031little breakfast from the cafeteria. Um, they have a little bite to eat and then they get right into their work. Um, they get a little lunch. I pick that about 10 after 12:00 when 7th period lunch dies out. I bring a lunch in for them. I play music and they get and that they don't like it but they don't complain because it does kind of keep the piece a little bit. Um the tutors complain more than the uh than the kids do about the music. I mean Kenny G I mean everybody loves Kenny G, right? So what else am I going to play anymore? Is not our station. So at least it keeps the room kind of tranquil. Uh we this summer was great because I had time to try to get as many of

032the resources available, headphones and laptop carts and just getting all those things in the room itself. There's a in the small room there's shelves so there's graphing paper and calculators and all those things were important so that I don't have to go looking for things when I'm there. The hardest part about the program, there's two pieces right now that I'm and I've already spoken with with the superintendent. I would never catch her off guard. We've talked about the fact that more students is a problem because we don't have the ability to manage the space in such a small space because the tutors are working with the kids and they're literally working with them one-on-one. They're switching off. If one of the students is like agitated, I tell them move on to somebody else. Let them

033be. Give them some time. We move around the room. When you get too many or if you get too many, it would be not productive. So, it's really important that that gets noticed. I've also noticed now that I'm at the principal seat how things like maybe five days, could be three, maybe two weeks, could be one. Like when you start to see it differently, you start thinking about why those kids are being suspended. And when you start to hear from them and they start to get relaxed, I don't know how long they really need to be there. They start to perform. So what I've also noticed is that their confident gets built especially when they when they realize that I mean you know me when I when they get off the bus I tell them

034here are the rules when you come in there's there's classes going on you're here for one reason you're here to get academics that's it there there's no other reason so when you come in you sit down you get your work we'll get your breakfast and a lunch I'm Mr. B, I was a former principal. This is what we're doing. Okay. So, we've had a couple instances where I've had to walk some kids to the front door, call their parents, they picked them up, and then I've gotten to know and talk to those parents on the phone and say, "Well, bring them back tomorrow, see how they do it. Give me a shot. It's not a death set, so bring them back." Um, some of those kids have come back and they've done really well. So,

035it is a matter also of having a line in the sand that there is an expectation there for their behavior, but it's also an expectation really about maturity. So, they're very um I don't want to say careless, but they're very immature about their work. So, there's a little there's insecurity. So, when they start to feel secure with that one-on-one attention, they start seeing growth and positivity. Then, that's it for the next three hours. They'll work straight for 3 hours. Like the one day I only had to say it's at 2 minutes of one, like I got to get on the bus. We got to go. Um we'll leave the resources out, put them under a chair if they're coming back the next day, and they'll come back. So the good news is that what we're

036seeing in me to give feedback would say that if anything that we can do as a district that has we can give kids some of that time where they can build that confidence. That is the biggest change that I'm seeing in kids completing work like pages and pages of work. But they're not always like that when they first commit. It takes sometimes about a half an hour to get them settled in and feel good about where they are and the fact that nobody's in their face. they're not pressing them, get them a chance to breathe a little bit, and next thing you know, they're cranking the workout. So, I've seen a lot of really good things. Um, other than that, it's it's pretty straightforward. Uh, the tutors are there, they're off. They're four retirees. Uh,

037we had one who decided it wasn't for for him, and that was great. And then we hired another retiree who was started today, as a matter of fact. So, we have four retirees working in the program. >> One question. Um, so if a student needs a science that has a lab with it, do they get time for that? >> Well, that's a great question. So, I've got uh microscopes from the science labs already and we did some science work. Matter of fact, there were Tracy's kids that did some lab work. Um, some of the science teachers have come down and talked with them oneonone on their preps, uh, which I think is great, but it's actual lab time and one of the teachers like, "No, they have to be in they have to be in

038here in front of me in order to do the lab." So I've opened [clears throat] it up uh for everything. So if you they want to come down, they want to help any way they want they can, the door is open for everybody to come down and we've made it a kind of an open environment. >> So I just had a something kind of like that similar. So now you're telling So what you're saying to me is we could have today up to six kids in in in school, you know, having the tutoring. How do we ensure these re I and I I don't know this answer. That's why I'm asking. I don't want to be disrespectful, but how do we know that they are um knowledgeable in the sub in all of the subjects

039that the kids are going to have? So, he might be doing homework in >> beer board. [laughter] >> He's doing social studies, you know, ninth grade and um ma, you know, all this other stuff, but I'm a senior and she's, you know, um a ninth grader and she, you know, so we all have different stuff that we need done. How are we knowing that these tutors can actually help the children in such a wide range because there's not one teacher for every subject, especially in high school. >> All right, let me come right in the front door. I did everything I could and course Joan Mirink as a math teacher to make sure we get we landed her this summer because we can none of us can do math. I was an English teacher. I

040can help some kids in writing and reading and so forth. We've got an earth science certified person to help with science. We have a social studies certified person. So we have three certified core content area teachers in the room and the other one is special ed. So we kind of cover the gamut. We got really lucky. So if there is someone who I mean we don't have an English certified person other than me but we cover all of the content areas within the group. Okay. But we didn't at the beginning. But having math, I mean, I could probably help with some social studies or even a little reading with the earth science, but having a math tutor certified and Joan gets them up and gets them moving. If you've met Joan Miring, she's hardcore old

041school get to the task and they get the Prometheian up and they're up there in front of the Prometheian. They're on their feet. The one day she had two of the Str kids working together with her. So, it really is almost interactive and active in the room, not just sitting in a space. and then they, you know, move back and forth and swap back and forth. So, if somebody knows a little bit about something else, then we're not, you know, opposed to saying, "Hey, can you help with Brian? He's really struggling here." Or it's the personality. It could be the gender. It could be a number of different things. So, we're really working with the kids to make sure that whatever we can offer, and I'll be honest, when they come in and get settled,

042they kind of do a lot of the work on their own. So, the teachers must be doing a really good job of getting them stuff. It's just a refusal to do it and confidence in which to get it done. So the sign on the wall says complete the task because we know that our data shows last year that that's why we had the growth assessments at RFA because completing the task was a big deal just not finishing or putting in their data in their answer and that really has shown true with some of the kids that are in the program to be honest >> those children there though are just in school suspension kids right or suspend out of school suspension but what would it make it where >> so I know we have other

043tutoring like that they go to their home or the library or something. How is what's the difference in the suspense? Like what would you be seeing versus not seeing? >> Well, that would be homeschool tutoring, correct? I mean, that's would be different. >> You see what I mean? I'm sorry. Am I saying that correctly? >> No, you're fine. I understand what you're asking. There are different types of tutoring. The particular tutoring that we're talking about are usually for students who are 5 days plus suspended. So let's say for example Nurond and Sam committed a violent act. The principal has the latitude to suspend me for up to 5 days. During that 5 days time frame it goes to a superintendent hearing and based on the results of the superintendent hearing. It may be a month.

044Those are the type of students that we're talking about. Now one day in school suspension we still have that. Each building already have their one day in school suspension um and [clears throat] so on and so forth. So we do and the other types of tutoring that exists is also for students who are medically fragile who may not be able to access academic at that point because of a medical diagnosis or whatnot or psychological as well. And that's where we approve tutoring for them. That is usually at home or in a public setting. But this particular one that we're talking about were for long-term students who are in grades 7 to 12 who are long-term suspended. And academically at first we weren't fulfilling all of the academic requirements. So we wanted to make sure in

045terms of those pieces that that was firmed up. But the piece he's also not talking about and I want to give honor to that and name that is the fact that he also spends a lot of time talking one-on-one with the families. And there are times when a student is suspended. All the family needs is a person who can listen, who can take the time and who can let them know your kid is doing great here. So he also shared with me that when the students are cranking out work, he takes that time to call the parent to say, "Johnny did well today. I welcome I I look forward to seeing him tomorrow." So there's a piece in terms of continuing that family relationship, but not only that, he also makes sure that he connects

046with both buildings, RFA and Stra to continue the connection with staff, to continue the connection with the principles because understand even though these students are suspended, the teachers that are teacher of record, they are the ones that are still responsible to ensure that they're sending the work to the tutoring center to make sure that these students stay on task and on track so that when they return back to the building, they're not behind. So, that's a huge piece of what he's doing as well, coordinating with several staff members to ensure that he received work on time for these students and that immediately. It's not a day later or two days later cuz sometimes when you didn't have that, it would take a day or two to get the students enrolled. It's immediate and being able

047to get the work as well. He does a lot of that work in coordinating with the buildings. >> Thank you. >> You're welcome. And I didn't mention too to speak to that directly is the fact that I have three different spreadsheets. So I have a stra spreadsheet, an RFA spreadsheet, and a special ed spreadsheet. So that Christian can be assured that when we have students with disabilities on there with they from ST RFA, there's a list of if they're we have it mapped out. So it's day 1, day 2, day three, day four, day five, and if they're absent or present, plus it'll have a little note in there if we've contacted the parent, if we have all those little things that go with it. Um, and that makes it diff and all the administrators

048have access and the secretaries to that spreadsheet. So, they can all see all of that going on all at the same time. So, when a student is suspended, they're asked to talk to go right to the spreadsheet and put that student's name and information in there. One of the things we learned too was that instead of me sending emails to all of the APS, then I asked them to put we added a category for the individual AP. So, I'm calling that one spec specific person or that one specific secretary. So, they can access uh they send us um work through Google Google Classroom. So, we pull up their Google classroom, take a peek at it so they can't say, "I don't have any work." So, we can pull all that up and the district was

049great about getting access for the tutors. So, we have all that. They send it to us, they send it to me, and then I pick up hard copies for things and bring it over and we have files for all the kids. So I can go right to the file, pull it up, and if the students don't show, we print it and put in the file anyway in case down the line they do show and we've got something for them to do. So we have a lot of we have a lot of things and and resources to offer for the kids. So all of those process and procedures have been it's been a lot to try to iron it all out to get it straight, but I think we're in pretty good shape. So by the

050end of the year, whatever whoever takes that program, it should be like here you go. You can just hand it over and everybody should have a pretty good idea what's going on. Yeah. >> Hey Brian, just a couple questions. So, is there any like during the school year, I mean, is there always like someone that's suspended or is there ever like, hey, we had a good month, there's no one suspended or on any given day throughout the calendar year, is there always one plus kid in suspension or what? >> Um, that might be the first couple days of school in September. >> Okay. >> Um, >> we were bored. We were we I don't want to say we want kids, but we like to have the kids. There was only two kids came today and

051the tutors were like, I wish we had more kids. But because it's it's because they're they're really involved in instruction and you get to know the kids. Um it does make it go a lot faster. There is not a time frame since I've been principal here, there wasn't not somebody. There might be a day >> or two, but for a month or three or four weeks, probably not. Especially when you're using both buildings. So you're looking at over >> I don't know, you're looking like 2,000 kids. >> Right. Right. So, so do you know I mean just curious on average would you say it's like six kids at any given point in time or do you know what that number is? >> Um between what I can picture my mind when I'm looking at the

052spreadsheet between Shroud and RFA we probably average between two to five kids a day. That's max between both buildings somewhere in that ballpark. >> Okay. >> So we might have 14 kids that are on the list to be there but probably five or six will show up. That seems to be the best average that I can put together right now in my head. Yeah. And are you in charge? >> I didn't mean >> are you in charge of like keeping sure that so now if they don't show right so obviously >> there's further disciplinary action. Are you involved in all that other next step also? >> No. So I mean I when I call a parent especially for the students with disabilities I call and check to see where they are and sadly probably seven

053out of 10 there's no message machine or you can't get through with anybody. Um that's been difficult. Um, and I just put a note in there that they weren't available, couldn't reach parent, uh, there was no message machine. So, that is an impetus in the process that you're not getting through to people. By the way, the bus transportation has been outstanding and everybody kind of needs to know that because I know they I was principal so I know it. It's been rough last year, but they've done a great job. They are on time every day. Uh, and they're there to pick them up on time every day. They've been great. So, Brian Warren and his group have done a really nice job. I'd like to address really what you're asking is about attendance in general

054for every student >> if you're suspended, right? >> Whether you're suspended, if you are in attendance, you get marked present. If you're not in attendance, it's okay. It's still a day. Like if you don't show up, it's not like you're going to get more suspension because you weren't in attendance, right? And that's why he has to keep a spreadsheet cuz whether the student is suspended or not, we have to account for everyone and we have to make sure that we record their attendance when they are present or not. So that's why you hear him talk about keeping a spreadsheet, making sure that he records the attendance because we have to give that to the building because attendance is important. That's part of one of the categories that the state really makes sure that we are

055monitoring. Um the other piece to answer your question, Jeff, it's an eb and flow when you have a tutoring center like that or a centralized tutoring program for students. So as one is entering because they just got suspended, another one may be exiting, right? And so it's going to be on an average he will probably see about five to eight students weekly but then it's it's going to just continue to eb and flow like around a break maybe after a break you see a little uptick but then you have those who are exiting and going back to their programs as well and throughout the year that will happen. Most of the time with my experience of running a centralized tutoring program like that, the most students you will have at one time is about 10

056>> and we had 10 one day. >> Yeah. >> Um, first of all, I like this program. I think it's great and I also think it's great that you're reaching out to the families and building that connection because as the superintendent had said, sometimes parents need to feel heard and so don't the students, right? And I think that you're building a good relationship with those students. Um but my question is you have roughly six of 39 have returned. So that's um about 38 and a half% uh return uh coming back to you. Do you have any goals for this year what you want that number to kind of look like or going you know this year might be more of a data year what you want that percentage to kind of look like next year.

057Do you have any of those metrics or goals or thoughts? So my personal goal from the program was like I said before is to reduce recidivism repeaters because I know as a building principal that is always the goal right if the the less amount of kids that repeat the better off you are in total because primarily we would see more kids repeat to be suspended than you would just the whole if kids never got repeated didn't get suspended you would wouldn't have any kids suspended eventually I mean that would kind of work out that way. Um, right now for me, I would I'm collecting data so that when we turn this over, they've got a baseline. And right now, I don't have anything to go on to say, well, last year they had this many

058seventh graders or this many 11th graders. I don't or how many offenses or what specific offense primarily was the reason why they're being suspended. So, I don't have that to go on. So my goal was just to try to that's why I'm highlighting those kids in yellow that actually come and then they repeat so that I know that I'm seeing very few repeaters out of that 30 on. Now if that was like 18 or 20 kids repeating to me that would be an issue that I'd have to sit down with Trace and Andrew and say hey we got to figure something out. You've got some of the same kids that are keep coming back to a program for some reason. Uh I think the big fear in the beginning was kids coming back because they

059liked it. They're getting one-on-one attention. They're doing well. They're getting a they're smiling. They're having fun a little bit and they're getting their work done and they're getting a lot of positive reinforcement. So, I was really worried about one of Tracy's kids. They kept coming back and I thought and he told the tutors, "I'll be back on Monday." One day I was like, "Oh, boy." So, they do. So, hopefully we've got over that now cuz I meet with him a little bit in the building. So, I think specifically right now, I don't have a specific data line for that. No, I don't. But the goal would be to keep that number. That's why I'm tracking it. By the first end of the first semester, we should have a goal for second semester probably. Yes. >>

060Thank you. >> Y >> from the board's perspective, I just want to say thank you very much for not only for what you've brought to us tonight, but for what you're doing. It has it will make a huge difference within our district and it's very much appreciated, Brian. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> And it will make a huge impact for these children. Like I said, some of them just need that reinforcement that someone does care and that someone's going to help them and get them through that. And then >> thank you. And you're you're good at that. I have to say that one thing even as a principal that you can get through to these kids, you know. Thank you. >> Thank you. Thank you. >> Sorry. One bad girl. James, our newest member

061of the Rome family, our director of district safety, James Soulja. Thank you. Good evening, everyone. Um, it's a privilege to be here tonight. Um, I just want to say thank you to the board, uh, to the superintendent, to the Rome City School District for putting me into this position. A little bit about myself uh as an introduction. Uh I've spent 22 years in law enforcement uh specifically with juvenile justice. Uh I've only been here two weeks now, so I've walked out of one career uh and right into another. But hopefully this is a culmination of everything that I've done in law enforcement uh in my experience with family court. um you know the law enforcement field in general supervision and intensive supervision of juveniles. Um I chair the school resource officer and juvenile officer co

062coalition for the county. Um walking into this that was a position that I held. I did that for over a decade. I work with and have worked with both SRO's uh SPOS's, SSOs, depending on what they're called in each jurisdiction, uh to discuss the uh ongoings of of behaviors in school, what's what's safe, what's not safe, uh what attendance looks like, what uh truency, behavioral issues. So, we come together with a coalition quarterly. I think at this point I'll continue to work with that coalition and I'll keep the board posted at what that looks like. Uh I will still be on that depending on whether I chair it or not going forward. I also sit with the law enforcement coalition for the county. That's with the police chiefs across the county. So again, information about

063what's taking place out there uh specifically in the safety and law enforcement world. So coming here to this district, there's a couple, you know, I just have a few notes. I'm not going to inundate everybody's time as I'm so new here. Um, but a couple things that I'm looking at when tasked with being here in the in the Rome City School District to take a look at safety. Um, the assembly of a district-wide safety team. You know, we're taking a look at that um to meet regularly to have a discussion building to building what it's going to look like in the coordination of safety for all nine buildings. I've been lucky enough to see all nine buildings at this particular point, meet great staff members, uh, administration and and interact with the students that were

064in those buildings. Uh, I've been able to take a look at a couple lockdowns procedures, lockdown drill procedures to this particular point to see how they operate. Um, I've worked close in my career with uh, Onidita County Boseies and their district safety team. So, I've trained in lockdown drills and and I've worked with them on what's best practice. So, hopefully when we look district-wide, how we coordinate that. I'm also looking at coordinating going forward a district-wide uh safety week where we can really take a look at what's safe uh in in again that coordination of safety through from the elementary schools all the way through the high school. uh communications through the district uh through our radio systems. You know, how do we communicate districtwide if an event takes place? And not only just a

065uh event that may have to do with an active shooter or something like that, but any event weather related. Um emergency response language, what those terms mean. Uh and building to building, uh students, staff, people know exactly what those terms mean. So, we are talking about and and speaking in the same language when we talk about safety partnerships with first responders. That's another thing uh I want to continue to make sure it goes well uh with the Rome Police Department, uh Rome Fire Department, and any other county sheriffs. Uh anyone else that we would be dealing with along those lines. Um you know, our visitor policy, our camera system, our identification, just just some things that that going forward. I'm not saying I don't really know much about how those operate, but I say that

066in general as I come in here and and have the honor of working with you guys in in this position. So, with that, I don't I don't know if I have too much more at this particular point, but it's been a really good start. Um, I'm really happy that I got a chance to work and meet everybody here. So, hopefully I can take what I've done over the course of 20 years and and help the Rome City School District succeed. It was a pleasure to meet you and we are very excited to have you. We had our meeting, our safety meeting. Um, and we talked about a lot of good stuff and I think the community will be very very happy to see that we have this position now and um that we have someone

067that's so experienced in this stuff. Um, to make everyone not just, you know, the safety is most important with education. Um, and I think that we're going to come far with this. >> And thank you. I appreciate Thank you guys. I appreciate you. If there's any other questions, please let me know offline. >> Thank you. >> Well, it's important um for a superintendent to be worried about safety, but it's good for a person who can live, breathe, sleep, safety other than the superintendent. [laughter] So, it was the goal to um be sure and we we do some things well. Um, but I I think one of the things that I've always said is that we are one district and we are supposed to be consistent in our practices, especially because we have staff members who

068travel from building to building. They shouldn't wonder, you know, what do I do in this building versus that building. So, consistency of practice, making sure that we are proactive when it comes to district safety, making sure that we are paying attention to every single possible threat in every place. Making sure that every person that works for the district is safety conscious, right? Including students because there are things that we do such as leaving doors propped open and and all of those things. Those are the things that we are talking to James about so that we can cease. When it comes to safety, it's serious business and therefore when we see things that are not in alignment to keep us safe, we're going to make sure that we address them um right away. So, but it's

069good to have him. So, he's going to, like you said, Kristen, he's going to be a great addition and he'll work on the gaps that we have seen. All right. Now health >> our nurse practitioner Carolyn. >> Good evening. Um my name is Carolyn Gel. I'm honored to be here as the new district's nurse practitioner and I wanted to start by saying how grateful I am to be have been given this opportunity. Um when I first heard about this position, I immediately thought it would be the perfect fit. Although the majority of my experience is in urgent care and emergency medicine, I did graduate from Cornell with a minor in education, thinking that I would teach earth science um as a career. I did it. I did teach earth science and math in the Albany

070area for a short time, but I really missed the hands-on and um the type of work in in more health services and working with the community to make the community healthier. So, I ended up working my way back into uh health services and and worked my way up to be a nurse practitioner. And so when I saw this position was posted, I thought that it would be a perfect opportunity for me to mix my passions and experiences and bring it back to my home community because Rome is where I grew up as well and I was a student in the Rome City School District. So, it really felt like a good fit for me. Um, this role is evolving and I anticipate that it's going to continually grow as we figure out new ways to

071help the students um and dig deeper into the possibilities. Um, but even in the first few weeks that I've been here, I've already um begun to shape what it can become. I've been doing everything from meeting with administration at the district level to working with individual families and um students to try to set them up for success. One of the most um rewarding aspects so far though has been working with the incredible team of nurses that have been here for a long time already and they've been really good at helping me with the transition and also helping me to identify students and families that might need a little bit extra from me right now. So they've been really great in helping me to bridge some of those gaps. Um, one of the first things that

072I really wanted to do when I started here was to bring free dental care into the schools. Working in urgent care and emergency medicine, I've seen that our area lacks with dental services. It's unbelievable um the lack of access to dental care in our region. And so that was one of the first things that I wanted to try to remedy. and we're about halfway through that process. I've found a program and I'm working to actively implement it. So, I'm really excited about that. Um, another one of my focuses so far has been on um immunization compliance. I was astounded at the number of students that were excluded the first couple of weeks of school for something as simple as not being fully immunized. Um, so I'm really gonna work hard in the spring to avoid

073that from happening again next fall. But, um, for the first few weeks of school, I worked really closely with, um, individual families and our local health departments and a lot of the pediatricians in the area just to connect kids with um, the ability and the opportunity to get the vaccinations and get back in school. Um, I've also started working with our director of food services, Chris Witmore, and we're trying to reinvigorate the wellness committee. Um, we are planning a series of initiatives aimed at promoting health and wellness and involving families and the broader community in that as well. So, more to come on that in the months ahead. And in the next few weeks, I'm going to be um spending a lot of time doing sports physicals for the winter athletic programs. Um I've already

074started doing some physicals for our transportation staff as well, which I think I'll be doing a lot more of most likely over the summer um to get into the new year. And then I plan to um become certified as a CPR instructor. We already attempted to do that once in my uh training. I was pulled out of my training a little early, but I'm going to re I'm going to get back into another training and um I'll be able to reertify our nurses every couple of years in uh CPR and I really would like to be able to offer it to staff and teachers as well. So, I'm going to work on that. Um, and then I'm doing a lot of work with individual students and and helping to review 504 plans and creating individual

075health plans. Um, reviewing homebound applications with social social services and working on concussion clearance and return to play return to play protocols. Um, and I've spent some time working with individual families trying to make our facilities more inclusive and accessible to students who have either temporary or more permanent um, medical challenges. But ultimately, my role is just to support students and staff in whatever whatever they need um, healthwise. And I'd like to just be a reliable resource for teachers, staff, administrators, anyone who has any concerns or questions. Um, and the goal would be to just build some successful, healthy futures for our students. So, thank you for your time tonight, and I'm open to any ideas that anybody has or um any concerns for for ways that we can try to make the district a

076healthier place for our students. But does anybody have any questions? Um, the only thing I wanted to add was, um, I serve on the Cornell Cooperative Extension Board for Onidita County and they have a program that I know they're looking for places to put into for the wellness um, the eat well, play hard program. So, that might be a place you might want to look at. >> They're on my draft list of people to talk to with Chris for the wellness. >> So, that's they're looking. >> Thank you. Well, I want to thank you all. So, >> my you answered my one question was oral hygiene. So, I was um going to ask if we plan on that is a big huge piece that I think is going to make a big difference for a

077lot of people. >> I think that was day two that um one of the nurses and I started working on it. um the nurse is Katie Peach and >> so she is someone I know very well and she had brought it up to me and it was in the back of my head but like once she said it I said I'm sorry once she had said that to me um I said you know you're right because that is something even if you have healthcare always dental isn't always the best anyway so >> no and even if you have dental care you have to travel to Syracuse or Rochester or Albany to find a provider and that's just not feasible for a lot of our families So, >> thank you. >> The the only good portion

078to that is with MVCC here in Rome setting up their dental hygienist program, >> which won't be active. They have had to push that out, I believe, one more year. So, that won't be active for until 2027, I believe. So, but I mean it's going to be right here in Rome. So, that will be a big benefit to us. >> Hopefully, that helps a little. Yeah. >> Yeah. >> Thank you. And that was that, right? That's that's the vision. And and we hope that not only did we talk about the vision and the goal of these three positions, but now to hear from the individuals who are actually doing the work, hopefully that you will see that things are going to begin to take root and we'll be able to support and sustain more kids.

079One of the the pieces that the nurse practitioner didn't talk about is, you know, in New York State there is free health insurance for students. Sometimes it's the paperwork that is the barrier for some families, right? Whether it's the language barrier, whether is just the paperwork is so long. And that's a piece that she will be helping families with as well to make sure that anyone who doesn't have insurance get the insurance that they need in New York. And that's the difference between having a person in house versus a third-party contractor. All right. Lastly, we promised we thought it was going to be a short meeting. >> Yeah. What happened? >> Quick m Hey, updates, right? Quick maintenance and operation. I told her five minutes. [laughter] >> She doesn't want to be. >> Good evening.

080Um, as you know, back in July, I took over the um, operations portion of the school district as well as overseeing business. Um, so I thought tonight I would not only talk a little bit about the maintenance and um, operations piece, but actually all the different departments that fall under operations. I promise I'll still keep it to five minutes. So under the um operations we have facilities which is part of our operations but we also have maintenance. As part of that maintenance we oversee all of the capital projects within the district. We also oversee transportation, school lunch and safety and security. Alex Rodriguez is our director of facilities. And as um the director, he oversees a large portion of our uh improvement and renovations. He helps provide information to me regarding capital projects or different

081things that he sees within the buildings that maybe need um some type of capital improvement. We work through a budget process that determines whether we can include it in a general fund or maybe it's a larger project that we need to actually set up a capital project for. He also monitors all of our energy and utilities to ensure that we're getting the best pricing, making sure that our nice um contract is being followed and that our pricing is being met every month. Um we also oversee some of the safety and emergency preparedness within the buildings. That's ensuring that the doors lock properly and so forth. Um now that we have a new uh director of safety and security, they'll be working hand in hand to ensure that if there's needs within the buildings that um

082we are fixing those things timely because again safety is our number one concern. Tim Safeen oversees our maintenance portion of facilities. He is the person who oversees both of our custodial staff and all of our maintenance staff. He ensures that um if we have hiring that needs to be done, he oversees that. He follows through with substitutes that maybe need to come in and fill another person's position. He also ensures that all work orders are either met or he identifies why they cannot be met. And then he ensures that we have all the inventory necessary to make those um adjustments or those repairs within the buildings. Um he also makes sure that during the winter that any snow that we have on the ground is being removed for sidewalks. Again for safety purposes. Um he

083actually will go around during the winter months and ensure that our district is safe um in terms in front of our buildings and so forth um at 4:00 in the morning so that we know that we can actually open up our schools. Um he is also um very helpful in part of the capital project piece. He's been meeting with us on a regular basis to identify areas of HVAC or other systems that may be failing um that his custodial or maintenance staff have identified with him. And so we're putting um a an all-inclusive list together so that as we build capital projects moving forward, we don't have to keep coming back to the table and say we need money for this or that. We already have identified that beforehand. So, um, new this year, there's

084a couple things from the state that have come down. Um, the first one is, um, as you're maybe aware that we're not allowed to purchase any new fuel related appliances, um, starting in the 2026 school year. Um, so we are identifying what areas that may um, hurt us on or what areas that may be a problem on. Um, this mostly will entail areas such as school lunch, uh, where we may have fuel related um, ovens and so forth instead of electric, but anything in the district moving forward that we purchase new, even some of our lawnmowers and so forth will have to be electric. >> I have a question with that. Um now what? >> So if it doesn't break okay how long is there a continu is there a date of continuence or do

085they have to be replaced by a certain date or are we allowed to go until you purchase? >> So this is different than the transportation which is saying that by a certain date we have to have all electric buses. Um, right now the way the regulation is reading is that if you don't need to replace it, if it's not broken, that you can continue to use it. However, we are expecting that that will likely change um within the next 10 years. So, we are starting to address those things now. Um, there is some push back from a lot of uh townships and counties across the state. Um, there have been um city legislation in other areas. I know where I live. Um they actually put together from the township a um a policy and a

086resolution saying that they would not move forward with what the state is asking. Um I'm not saying that we necessarily have that ability to do that, but I know that there will be some changes um as the state uh has to deal with some of the electrical requirements that are coming down. Um but as of right now, we are required if we do purchase anything new in the 2026 school year or um further ahead that it will have to be electric. So, we're starting to plan for those things now. Um, as part of that, um, we've always had this, um, FB form, which allows us to purchase up to $35,000 worth of, um, cameras or door hardening or anything like that. We are identifying some of those areas with um, Mr. Soja and with our

087facilities department to be able to plan for that in the 2627 school year. um in that process, we can purchase those things as our part of our general fund and the following year receive that 35,000 back. So, it's not like other capital projects where you have to um receive it back over 35 years. It's an immediate response. So, we're we're hoping to um utilize that. Um as you're aware, we also had the heat mitigation policy that came through this year, which means that we're not able to have um rooms be over a certain temperature. We are going through training on all of those things to ensure that um our rooms are being um temperatureized the same way in each room because there is a method to how the temperatures are taken. It's not just uh

088the temperature the thermometer on the wall. Um and then part of the HVAC um facility upgrade that the state has put into place. Um we're still working through what that looks like, but they are willing to put in $27.6 $6 million across the state to help our energy and efficiency um in our school system. So, we're looking at how we might be able to use some of that funding or at least apply for some of that funding in our school district um in different buildings to help with our HVACs, especially knowing that we have this new regulation with the temperature. So, um we will continue to look for those opportunities. >> I do have Sorry, you're going to kill me. You're all going to choke me. That five minutes went out the window. So, do

089we have a procedure in place because the state did say that you have to evacuate that building just not the room. >> So that's not what the state is. So the state requirement is that if that room goes over a certain temperature that they cannot stay in that room. Um but >> but they go to another room. >> They can go to another room, but we also have specific thermometers. Again, they can't be just the ones on the wall. So we have three people that are identified within the district that will go in and take that temperature. If a um teacher or another individual believe that that classroom or that space is over a certain temperature, they can come in and they will take the reading in the middle of the room is a certain

090set off the floor and so forth to ensure that it's not above that temperature. >> So we're not just going by >> Exactly. >> Okay. Thank you. That's what I was just make wondering. Yep. Absolutely. And for the public. Thank you. >> Yep. Um so um moving into capital projects, we are still working through our 2022 vestibule project. Um we do expect to be done completely with that project by the end of December. We have four buildings currently that are nearing um finalization. Um we expect to have all staff members back in those uh main offices no later than October 31st, which is just two short weeks away. We did actually um visit today and do a punch list, a final punch list of all those spaces. Um and so we believe that timeline will

091um be accurate. The RFA fields are well underway as well. Um we have um one or two things left in the fields that we're trying to finalize in terms of lighting and some of the PA systems there, but again they will definitely be ready to use in the spring. So those of you who are uh baseball and softball enthusiasts, uh we will be playing out there in the spring. One question I have though, >> it isn't just baseball and softball, aren't they? There's tennis for also other two sports. >> Yep. So, there's baseball, softball, tennis, and Aaron, what else was out there? >> We can utilize the fields for fall sports >> for for soccer. They won't be played games out there, but they will um have what we called uh temporary paint lines for

092practice. >> Thank you. >> Um [clears throat] so, we are >> some seconds. Yeah, go ahead. Um, when that RFA fields is done, we want people to know that we are in conversation right now to do a little ribbon cutting ceremony obviously with the board. The board will be doing that. Um, and families will be invited and other dignitaries. So, um, I spoke to our board clerk today. I gave her a list of things. She's like, can we put a pin on that? Um, so we are going to be working on that. So, as soon as they are done, we have identified a particular date, but we'll be sending out invitation just so you know because I think it's a nice little celebration. >> Georgia, I have to thank you as a sports mother and

093as someone that takes softball very dear to my heart for everything you are doing, working very hard to make sure that some other things that weren't done are being taken care of. you've done a fantastic job and everyone needs to know that it's not going un the girls aren't being unseen. So, I appreciate that. >> Absolutely. Thank you. And because we're talking about it, we did have an opportunity with the company that we had rented the bleachers from in the fall um I'm sorry, in the spring for graduation. They did come back and they had a set of bleachers that they were willing to sell us that are movable. So, we have put that PO together. We will take possession of those bleachers in March. Um we double checked with Aaron just to make sure

094that um softball does not start before that date. Um and we will be able to move those onto the softball um fields or at least you know on the the spectator side um and then be able to use those for graduation. So we are looking um to have that here in March and potentially another set so that you'll have both the visitor and the home bleachers um for our softball fields. um because I do agree I think that our um girls deserve the um the bleachers just as much as the the baseball side does. So, we will continue to work on that. Um moving into the 2024 club renovation, we have had stakeholder meetings um to determine how we're going to renovate the current building that is here. Um that work will start in June

095of 2026. That's what it's slated for right now. Um, we are finishing some design work and we hope to have that out to the state no later than December of 2025. Um, with a bid date sometime in March, um, so that way the biders can or the successful bidder would be able to get most of those supplies here and start right into the work so that our students would be able to be in this building um, no later than September of 2027, at least the sixth graders. With that, I'm going to skip down to number four just because that kind of plays um, into that cluff renovation. We expect to do a vote in May of 2026 as part of the 2025 capital project which was voted on um for reserve last year. Um that

096voter approval will um ask the voters to approve a club addition which would then house our fifth grade so that this building would be fifth and sixth grade um ready. And that addition would occur so that students would be able to be in here in September of 2028. Um, from there we've been working on our capital outlay project. As you may recall, as part of the budget this year, we asked uh the voters to approve $100,000 capital outlay. We have finalized the digital design work for um all six signs. Um we're still working on RFA, but this year we're going to complete the design and the um implementation at Genzor and Bellamy with the foundation to go in at Stokes. And then the following um fall, so next fall, we will be putting in Stokes

097and Denty's uh digital sign. And then the last two elementary schools would go in in the year three. RFA will take a little longer because there's so many access points. So we'll have um probably two or three different digital signs for that location. And that will happen in year four. Um as um Superintendent Ansaw mentioned earlier, we are still working with Staley and trying to determine um how and when we can work on that building and um what the FEMA requirements are in order to move forward with that space. And um at stadium support, specifically with the bleachers or the stadium portion of that building, um what we're looking to do to demolish that side and then potentially have bleachers put in. So, those are the ongoing projects and the things that are consistently on

098my mind right now for capital projects and I know they are on Superintendent Anom's mind as well. Um, so for the transportation, Tom Waldron is our director of transportation. Um, he works on all these different things including routing, scheduling. Um, he makes sure that our drivers are hired and trained. Um, they have to be 19A compliant before they can be on the bus and drive the the school vehicle. He makes sure the field trips are scheduled. Um he works with first student to um communicate any delays or any schedule changes or any emergencies that might occur. He's also our first responder. If it happens that there's an incident on the the bus, he does go to that location. Um if there's police that need to be called in, you know, they're called as well, but

099he is the first responder from the district to make sure that everything is recorded. Um if nurses need to be called out to the scene. He checks for damage to the vehicle, checks for any issues that students um might have had on the bus, all those wonderful things. Um and then he just makes sure that we're in compliance with all vehicle inspections and all safety. So this year for the state update, um we are still working through that zero emission that um everyone is looking forward to by the year 2027. Um, we did receive notice that we are able to file twice for a 2-year extension each time, but um, as part of that, we have various things that we need to go through to show why we need that waiver or that extension. So

100um we are going to start working with a company um in probably December January time frame to give us a study of what we would be able to put in place, how many buses we'd be able to have and also including first student in that as they are our third party uh vendor currently um to ensure that we're at least meeting the requirements to file the extension by 2027. Um [clears throat] and then we also have the ongoing um eligibility rules. Rome is well below what the requirement is for New York State. New York State requires that um any student in grades K through eight um be able to travel up to 2 miles to get to their bus stop um and 3 miles for 9 through 12. We are depending on the location somewhere

101between 3 and.5 miles for K through 5th and.5 to 1.5 miles for 6 through 12. And that's our policy dependent upon whether they're inside or outside of the district. um outside the city limits. Um and then we're required by law to provide transportation to anyone up to 15 miles away from their school. Um if they're more than that, technically we don't have to provide transportation to that student, but I believe um most districts, including Rome, we probably do. And of course, this year, like last year, we're going to continue with the winter transportation. Um we've already had discussions with first student and we will continue to maintain that in poor weather um especially you know um windchill factors below a certain temperature we will ensure that students have that access to transportation again >> sidewalks

102because of snow. >> Absolutely. Yep. Exactly. >> I'm with her. Um so I also oversee school lunch as part of that. Um Chris Whitmore is the director of our our school pro uh school launch program. Um he does a great job ensuring that we're following all USDA guidelines that we're making sure that we're um within compliance of our health and wellness, all those wonderful things. He ensures training scheduling. Um he puts together the menus. Um he also oversees his own budget. He puts his own budget together that is not part of general fund. it's completely separate and is required to run on its own without um surplus or without money from uh general funds. So, he does a great job with doing all of that and oftent times he has um some funds that he

103helps the different buildings with seating or other things that might pertain to their cafeteria space. So, um he does a great job ensuring that the revenue that he has is going as far as it can with our school lunch program. This year we've had a couple updates on the um state side of things. Um we are part of the national school lunch program and as such this year all students regardless of whether a C school or not, we receive um free lunch, not necessarily free breakfast, but free lunch for everyone. Um regardless of whether or not they have um a high income, low income. This helps to take away any of that um negativity towards being a student that has a lower income. Um they've also put in a number of other things that we

104have to follow this year included the flavored milk fat-free or 1% um that would be available 6th through 12th grade. Um our yogurt must be you know certain um added sugars per 6. Breakfast cereals have to be below a certain amount. Um, probably the biggest thing that I would say out of this update is also the additional 30% that New York State initiative um that they're putting out for farmtot which is if we are producing locally that they will give us an additional 30% incentive to purchase that locally. Um there's been a lot of debate about this because right now they're only allowing for that initiative for school lunch whereas a lot of our fruits and vegetables that we potentially eat would also be for breakfast. So, this is something that I know the school

105business officials across the state are kind of advocating for in the future to ensure that we would receive that extra 30% for both breakfast and lunch. Um, I was hoping not to take away too much from Mr. Soja, so I'm uh [laughter] going to just briefly kind of go over this stuff, but by and large, we will be um trying to accomplish many of these things. Um, some of it because it's a new position. We'll see what makes sense in this position and and what may need to go elsewhere. But by and large, he will be overseeing a lot of the threat assessments, um security systems. He'll be looking at our emergency response plan. He will also be helping the buildings with their emergency response plans. Um he will be working directly with first responders

106um to some degree. He'll oversee or at least work with our IT department on cyber security and some of those threats that may occur um online. And he'll be the one who will help to communicate some of this information to our families and to our students and staff um with the training and so forth that will occur throughout the the year. Um this year um for the safety and security update from the state, we had the cell phone policy that went into place um which we're all aware of that happened back in August. We also um you know are still required to complete the emergency and building level plans. Um next year they will be requesting that we also complete a transportation piece um that was not required this year. Um so um Mr. Soja

107and I will be working on the indexes that are required for that piece uh along with our buildings. Um and those are really the big things that have occurred. Um they are requesting more information for our floor plans inter um in the interior schematics for um New York State. Um and we are hoping to put together something with our architects for that piece. >> Have one question on safety and security. when you were talking about a lot of our schools, especially RFA, a lot of the cameras that were in place are like 20 plus years old now. So as we go to replace some of that, is that will there be an opportunity or will we have to put in new systems or is there ways to connect the old systems with some new type

108of cameras that are out there because the new cameras have much more capabilities. Phil >> Sure. So, we work pretty closely with a company by the name of Day Automation. And so, they have a lot of the software and the hardware that would allow us to interconnect what we already have. Um, again, part of that 35,000 that I was mentioning earlier is is exactly what that's for, those cameras. So, we would be looking to see what we could get um based on what we already have and moving to the next technology. A piece of security um that myself [clears throat] and Mr. Soulja has talked about is really in terms of extracurricular activities, right? Like when we have games at home and people are coming into our buildings, what are the mechanism to be able

109to, you know, vet folks, right? Like when we go to big stadiums now, there are things where you just walk through and people are monitoring you. So, those are things that we will also be talking about as we move along in this safety and security cuz it's not only for doing the school day, but it's also doing those extracurricular activities um that occur in our buildings for example to make sure that you know folks who are coming in, we know where they are at all times and we know what they are bringing or not bringing in. >> Absolutely. >> Just a quick point on that. I just want as we bigger picture here to familiarize staff staff and students with their response to this um because again we can vet single points of entry. We

110can um have a lot of uh things that are ahead of the game to protect our our students families. But we also want to um you know you don't rise to the level of uh or you don't rise to the occasion you fall to the level of your training. And when I taught in the academy, those were things that we talked about. So just getting the students, coaches, uh, adults, people to understand if there something happens, you know, how do we react? What's the safest way to react? So those are all ongoing things. I don't really have answers for those now, but we're going to take a look at those things moving forward. And the last thing that I wanted to mention is um as part of the new operations team, what we would like

111to do is ensure that the board of education and the community is receiving the most up-to-date information on a regular basis. So I will um have one of our directors or supervisors come in monthly. One will come in each month for, you know, period of six months to help provide updates from their lens. so that way you know what's going on um within their departments and then it's not just George up here talking all the time. Um [snorts] and then we will also provide a um weekly report once a month from each one of them. So that way you're seeing um in the weekly newsletter what's kind of excuse me what's going on from um their perspective and you know some of the day-to-day operations and so forth because I think that that will help

112to understand where we're moving, why something might cost so much or why you know we're doing certain things within the the building or within the district. So, do you have any questions or is there anything that you would like me to include in our future updates? >> Only comment I would make is last Thursday night, I believe it was, I was on the resolution committee for New York State School Boards and it was a five and a half hour video conference to go through each one of those resolutions. But one of them that came up, is this a new electric? Um, I believe NISBA had an amendment that came forward that they're presenting that says this timeline is not operational or even given the fact that some tariffs might affect some of the equipment coming

113in that it wouldn't even be something that would be attainable. So, I do believe that was an amendment that got passed. >> So, just so you know, that would go through now. So, >> absolutely. And again, we'll keep an eye on some of those things because I had a retreat last week and that was part it was a huge conversation just in general about what does it look like for the extensions and what do you have to have in place in order to get the extension. So um they're making it pretty clear the first one will be easy to get or relatively easy but you will have to have certain things in place that you've done as a district like the study to ensure that um you could get another extension. >> This isn't the

114buses. This is for anything electric. They were saying they were having a very difficult time. >> Yeah. and and we're not sure where that's going to go. Um because even at a state level, they may have had that conversation, but from a school district perspective, we still have to plan for those things because even if it's kicked down the road 5 years, we have to have that f future planning. And if we're going to be forced to go in that direction anyway, then we want to make sure that we either purchase as much that is not electric beforehand or we start planning in that direction and and how many that would require, you know, how many different lawnmowers would we need and how many batteries would we need and all of those things. So, we're

115just planning for it. Worst case scenario, we go that direction and if not, then we can plan accordingly. You're welcome. Workshop portion. Moving on to our consent agenda that goes from page two through and including page seven. Can I have a motion to approve the consent agenda? >> Second. >> Okay. Moved by Kirsten, seconded by Jen. Any discussion on any of the items? All in favor? >> I. >> Motion's carried. Okay. Finance has no action items. I would say though we are hopefully um we have an audit committee meeting right now scheduled for 3:30 on 3:00. >> 3 o'clock, right? What did we say? 3 >> Well, well, we said 3:30 for the >> for on November 6, 3:30 here in this room, but it is dependent upon our auditors. So, we're waiting to hear

116back on that. Um we do have a finance committee meeting though that same day right after the um audit committee or at 4:30 because normally the audit takes about that. So and that concludes the finance committee. Moving on to educational programs. There are no action items. Human resources. The action item number one, resolution to accept a separation agreement resolved that upon the recommendation of the superintendent of schools, the board of education hereby accepts a separation agreement and general release between the Rome City School District, CSEA, ATAMCU, and a probationary employee. Number two, resolution to accept the resignation resolved that upon the recommendation of the superintendent of schools, the board of education hereby accepts the resignation of Thomas Herbert, a teacher aid effective October 20th, 2025. I have a motion to approve. >> Moved by Paula.

117Have a second. >> Seconded by Nadia. Any discussion? >> Did you have to do one? Oh wow. >> Yeah. So, okay. Can I have um for number one? Can I have a motion to approve >> Paul? Second by Nadia. Okay. All in favor on number one. >> I motion's carried number two. >> I Paula Nadia, right? Paula and Nadia and all in favor I. >> Okay, that motion's carried. I apologize. That's why Jeff was looking at me strangely. Yeah. Okay. Uh, resolution three, resolution authorizing a salary adjustment. Whereas Patrick Sullivan was hired by the Rome City School District as a director of information and technology on September 12th, 2016 as a full-time employee. And whereas Mr. Sullivan has been a dedicated employee serving within the non-negotiating and administrator unit and has continued to provide valuable

118support services to the district since his hiring. And whereas upon review of his salary history, it has been determined that discrepancies in salary payments occurred in the fiscal years of 2022 to 2025. And whereas the total num amount owed to Mr. Sullivan due to salary underpayment has been calculated as $1,485.84. Now therefore, be it resolved that the board of education of the Rome City School District hereby authorizes and directs the superintendent of and business offices in the amount of $1,485.84 to Mr. Patrick Sullivan to rectify the salary discre discrepancies and be a further resolve that effective July 1st 2025 Patrick Sullivan's new base salary shall be adjusted to $115,55162 reflecting his entitlement increases on base as stipulation in the non-negotiating administrators agreement can can I have a motion okay moved by Jen seconded by Nadia

119Yeah. Any discussion? All in favor? I. >> Any opposed? Motion's carried. Number four, resolution to accept a jewel agreement. Resolve that upon the recommendation of the superintendent of schools, the agreement dated October 15, 2025 to extend the probationary period of Michael Jardino serving as the instructional tenure area of social studies 7 to 12 is hereby approved. and the teachers probationary period is hereby extended to and in including November 28, 2026 unless extended in accordance with the law. I have a motion to approve. Move. >> So move. >> Moved by Paula. >> Seconded by Jen. Any discussion? >> Why do >> So why would you extend? >> No. Okay. No, >> we're ready. Dr. Carter, >> sorry. Oh, I'm sorry. Good question, Dr. Connie. We're ready. >> Thank you. >> Hi. [laughter] >> So, and from

120a probationary perspective, when the board approved the probationary period when they were first hired, we would need board approval as well as employee and superintendent acceptance of the extension of that probationary period to give the faculty member additional time resources for growth and development. Okay. before the determination of tenure and not being tenure is being made. [clears throat] >> Got you. Thank you very much for that explanation. >> Absolutely. >> Okay. So, we had a motion and a second. All in favor? >> I. Motion is carried. >> Resolution to approve tenure. Resolve that upon the re recommendation of the superintendent of schools the board of education hereby approves tenure for the following individuals. Dr. Christine Chachia, director of special education, director and it was effective 11:05 2025. Can I have a motion? >> Moved by

121Jen, seconded by Paula. Any discussion? All in favor? I. Motion's approved. >> Policy. There you go. Uh, action item number one, resolution to accept the first reading of policies. Resolve that upon the recommendation of the superintendent of schools, the board of education hereby accepts the first reading of the following policies. Number 5500, Student Records 5500-R, Student Records Regulation. 5550 student privacy under protection of pupil rights uh amendment number 8635 information and data privacy security breach and notification um 8635-R information and data privacy security breach and notification regulation and lastly number 8635-E bill of right for student data privacy and security I move to resolution So move >> second >> any >> seconded by >> any more discussion? >> All in favor Mike >> Mike. >> Any more discussion? All in favor? >> I. >> Motion's

122carried. >> And the next policy meeting is November 5th um at the district office at 4:45. business. Resolution to appoint individual to district-wide safety committee resolved that upon the recommendation of the superintendent of schools, the board of education hereby appoints James Soja, director of district safety and security to the districtwide safety committee effective October 6, 2025. >> Moved by Jen, second by Nadia. Any discussion? All in favor? I. Motion's carried. Resolution to combine with Central Clinton Central School District's girls ice hockey. Resolve that upon the recommendation of the superintendent of schools, the board of education hereby approves of the Rome City School District and the Clinton Central School District combining their girls ice hockey for the 2526 school year. So move. >> Okay. Moved by Paula. >> Second by Jen. Any discussion? All in favor?

123>> I. Motion's carried. Discussion items. Upcoming events. We will Jonathan, Jen, myself, and superintendent will be at the NISSBA convention starting Wednesday through Saturday. Um, we will be establishing retreat dates. So, we'll have a discussion going forward. >> Yeah. For for you guys with the retreat dates. Yeah. >> Okay. We'll be we'll work together to make >> Okay. We'll be working together for those. >> Yeah. >> Uh we have no old business and any public comment on non-aggenda items. Okay. There is none >> and executive session. True. [laughter] >> So we will have a motion to adjourn and after we adjourn the regular meeting we will be going into executive session and will not be returning. It's okay. >> Can I have a motion to adjurnn the regular meeting? >> Okay. Moved by Kirsten. >>

124Did you say what did >> I know? I have to We're just taking the >> We're ending one, right? >> We're ending the one and then I'll do the other. >> Can I have a second? >> Second by Nadia. All in favor? >> No. >> You want to move into move to move into session? >> Right. I'm going That was a motion to end the regular meeting. Now I need a motion. We'll end the regular meeting at the end of the >> Oh, okay. I'm sorry. Okay. So, those were we're having going into executive session is called for the purpose of to discuss matters made confidential by attorney client privilege >> made. Okay. For to discuss matters made confidential by attorney private >> client privilege. Sorry, it wasn't written on here. [laughter] So, can I

125have a motion for that? We're taking Kirsten and Nadia. All in favor? I >> I motion's carried. >> Good night everybody. >> Good [laughter] night.