001of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> I would just like to note that we have one board member that is absent tonight um due to a personal issue and another board member who should be here momentarily. So, all right. I'd like a motion to approve the minutes of our regular meeting of September 22nd. >> So, move. >> Okay. Moved by Kirsten. Second. >> Second by Paula. >> Any discussion? All in favor? >> Motion's carried. Are there any additions, Delicious, to the agenda? >> No executive session. That's >> So, no executive session >> at all. So, on the bottom? >> Nope. >> Yeah. So, at the end, no executive. >> Yes. When we leave, we're leaving. >>
002Yes. >> All right, moving on to our board recognition. New York State School Boards Association presentation. >> Thank you very much. Uh, I'm William Miller. I am the area five director for the New York State School Boards and we have a program that's called Champions for Change. It's been around a while. And what it is is that we recogize districts that are doing something different with students maybe different than you know other districts have done so that it that it actually says maybe this will be something another district will do. I read all your information on this uh leadership uh council and I was just I was amazed at some of the stuff that I saw. I think the thing that stuck out with me is when you ask kids or students about what they
003feel, you're going to get an honest reaction. You might not like it, but it might be something good. And it might be something you never thought about would be helpful for students in school. The one that really struck me, and maybe it's a little silly, but that students that said that other students were get weren't getting ice cream because they couldn't afford to buy it. And they they felt bad about that. And is there was there something that the school could do, you know, to make it possible for these students to do? And I guess you're going to do a once a month free ice cream. And I mean, it's just I I see the students sitting here and I just I just remark about how they want to make their school better. And there's
004no better way to find out than the kids that are in the school because they're the ones that know what works and what doesn't work. And maybe there's things that you could just have to say, you know, that's just not we can't do that. We'd love to, but you know, it's just not something that we can do. So that's why I'm here tonight is to present this banner to your district and we'd like to have some students >> Yes. >> Yeah. >> come forward and we we're going to do some pictures. We'll have an article in uh our paper on board with all the students. And I've got a couple little kids right in front of me that will hold this banner. >> And they are not shy about speaking. So you can if if
005they want they can say something too. >> Look at all those gallons. All right. Thank you. >> And can we have some of the adults who helps out throughout the year? Miss Dela Prey, Miss Sandy Russell, Mrs. Deperno, Miss Dana Benzo, and our director of secondary programs, Miss Cisco. So they can join too to make sure because they made it all happen. [Laughter] No. No. Go. No. This is This is all you. >> Good thing I just got my nail. [Applause] [Music] And this is really the better part of my job >> is to be able to come and do something like this. I've done a few at other districts for entirely different reasons, but this one because it's involving the students, they're just amazing. It's amazing. You guys are doing a great job and
006I hope you continue to listen to kids and I certainly think you're too >> Yes. >> from the >> Yes. >> student body and that was another nice thing too is and I know districts have thought about it but you know until they made it a law nobody wanted to do it. >> We've had them for years. >> So yes really our board has had them. >> I was the student. Yeah, we've had them for years on our board. >> Yeah. Well, this is what makes because people say to me, you know, when I'm out amongst the districts or I'm at some of our functions and stuff, I do look around and say, you know, we're aging out here. Who's going to take over? This is a way to get people to take over. >>
007You get students involved. You get young kids involved. That's right. And their district and stuff. And when they get older, they say, "I'd like to sit on that board. Somebody's got to take over. >> So, great job. I want to congratulate you very much. >> Thank you. >> If any of the students would like to step forward and tell us a little bit about your experience, we'd really appreciate it if you're comfortable doing that. Could you go over right over here then? Yeah. >> Oh, okay. My name is Jordan Roger. I'm a junior at RFA and I'm so excited to be in this program because it has empowered me to have a voice and I'm really really glad and I feel like it's made a big difference and I'm very grateful to participate and I
008want to thank Miss A for giving me the opportunity because it means a lot to me. Thank you. >> Thank you. Come on, my elementary young people. I remember when we said grades 2 to 12, people are like, "Grades 2 to 12?" I'm like, "Yes, young people have something to say." So, elementary, who's representing elementary tonight? Come on. Don't be shy. >> You want me to bring you the microphone? >> Yeah, we can bring it to you. >> Yeah. anybody >> parents I promise you they are not shy when they are with us they're just playing shy but I'll tell you when we started the superintendent student leadership council it is not for show it is not for recognition it is really truly about making sure that we hear from the students that we serve
009because a lot of times we may think that we know what young people want but sometimes we fail to ask them and As I've said to the community the day I walked in here, we are very student centered. This district is about students. And if we're going to say that we are about students, we have to have them have an opportunity to have a voice. So, first of all, thank you to all of the parents cuz there are times where you come and you come on time to pick them up and they don't want to leave because they're having so much fun. So, we thank you for taking the time to drop them off in the afternoon after school is over. And if you haven't had a chance to really watch what these young people
010from grades 2 to 12 have done last year in terms of really articulating our mission, vision, and values. So, let me be clear. The mission and vision and value statements that you see on our district website, they were developed by this group of students. No adult input. This group of students developed them. And we wanted to make sure that we didn't change one word. And when we were going through the process, they were like, "No, no, remember safety is a priority. Make sure you keep it in there." And so there is power when we give students the opportunity to partake, to be a part of. So I just want to say to the students, I am very proud of each and every one of you. I've said over and over in this community, there is
011brilliance here. You are awesome. You are phenomenal. and you deserve to always be the priority in this district. And as long as I am here, you will be at the forefront of everything that we do. Thank you for serving and I know you cannot wait for us to start again. And we are preparing to get us started. We have fun. We do work, but we also have fun. And my Jack will know that because he have captured some of the fun that we have had. And so we appreciate you coming out tonight. Thank you for allowing your children to serve. And yes, they are champion of change. And that's what we all about here in Rome City. We are rising. Rome is rising. We you deserve excellence in education. And that's what we are committed
012to doing for each and every one of you. Thank you. [Applause] Okay, moving on now to some more recognitions and honors. We'd just would really like to thank the Rome Fire Department and the Rome Police Department and Rome Health. While we as a community understand that it's their job to come when an situation arises when we had a situation at RFI a week ago, they were there and they provided the leadership and perfectly helped us with a situation. So, we wanted to thank them for their hard work and dedication to us as a school district. And I also want to thank the Stra 1860 election debate. They did an exceptional job and Erlan attended it. So if you'd like to say a few words. >> Absolutely. >> Um you know I saw Mr. Venold at
013one of our uh football uh uh games, the first football game, and he said, you know, would you come to my classroom because the students wanted to do a debate, an 1860s debate, so we would really love for you to come. And lo and behold, again, when we give students the opportunity to really take uh uh uh the leadership role, they do step up. So, I do want to acknowledge him and also acknowledge Tracy or because without the principal's leadership, sometimes these things don't happen. And so, Mr. Venold, I don't know if you want to talk about what happened and how the students really led this. So, I'm going to pass the baton on to you because it was such an such an incredible event that I really want people to have an opportunity to
014hear. Thank you. You got me on the mic here, guys. All right. So, uh, good evening, members of the board, administrators, and community members. So, I want to thank you guys for the opportunity to speak tonight real quick and show you what our kids can actually do. Uh, I do want to begin by giving a quick shout out to my team Emerald Family at Stout Middle School. They are an incredible group of educators who constantly go above and beyond to support not only student growth, but innovation. I wouldn't be standing here tonight without their collaboration and encouragement. This past month, my eighth grade US history honor students took a journey back to one of the most pivotal moments in American history, which was the presidential election of 1860. Instead of just reading about Abraham Lincoln,
015Steven Douglas, John Breenidge, and John Bell, my students actually became them. They researched each candidate's platform. They wrote speeches in authentic 19th century language. They designed campaign posters and debated before their peers and community in a live studentled recreation of the 1860 election. Every slogan, every argument, every visual was crafted by the students themselves. My role was not to lecture, but to guide, to give them the tools and context and then step aside so that they could take ownership. And that they did. Students who had never spoken up in class before stood behind podiums and defended complex political positions. Others stepped into leadership roles, moderated debates, managed campaign teams, and even coached their peers on speech delivery. One student in particular even stepped up the night before the debate to deliver a campaign speech when
016the original speaker was not going to be able to attend. It is moments like these that make the hard days worth it. While TED talks and other motivational speakers are great, you need not look far to find inspiration sitting in your own classroom. Through this experience, they didn't just memorize history. They lived it. They began to understand what was truly at stake in that election. The tension between freedom and division, between progress and preservation. They experienced firsthand how democracy depends on dialogue, courage, and yes, empathy. What impressed me most was not their their performance, however, was their engagement. They stayed after class to refine speeches. They argued passionately, trust me, passionately, over historical accuracy and even practiced rhetorical comebacks in the hallway. The excitement was real. I genuinely could not be more proud of them.
017This project taught far more than just historical facts, however. It built public speaking, research, writing, and teamwork skills. It created confidence. It gave students agency. Most importantly, it showed them that history isn't as just a set of dates. It's a living conversation about who we currently are and who we wish to become. As educators, we know that learning is most powerful when it's student driven and hands-on. When students debate, create, and take ownership of their learning, they don't just absorb absorb knowledge, they internalize it. As Abraham Lincoln is once attributed as saying, the philosophy of the schoolroom is one gener in one generation will be the philosophy of government in the next. That quote reminds me why this kind of learning actually matters. When students are given space to think critically, collaborate, and engage deeply
018with ideas, they aren't just studying democracy, they're preparing to lead it. I want to thank everybody for their time and for supporting classrooms where learning feels alive, student voices are indeed celebrated, and the next generation of leaders begin to take shape. Thank you very much. Thank you, Mr. Vernold. And that really helps we as a board to support what you do every single day and we couldn't thank you more. Thank you. >> Appreciate it. >> Okay, moving on now to public comment. Okay, no public comment. Superintendent report. >> All right. Well, thank you for staying. you guys continue to stay here after the recognition. So, I really appreciate it. Um, it is October and there's a lot of things that happens in October. First, October 2nd was custodian recognition day and I really want to
019take a moment to express our gratitude to our custodial uh team districtwide. Every single day, their hard work uh keeps our building safe, clean, and welcoming for students, staff, and families. Um they truly are the backbone of our schools and we appreciate all they do often behind the scenes to keep everything running smoothly. Um second October is National Principal Month. We know that leadership matters. We talk about that at this table. This is a wonderful opportunity to recognize our principles and of course our assistant principles or sometimes I call them aspiring principles for their leadership, dedication and care. They set the tone for school culture, guide instructional practices, and support staff and students in countless ways. We are definitely grateful for their steady leadership and commitment to our district's mission, vision, and values that our
020students developed. Next, I'm excited to share that on Friday, October 10 at 5:00 a.m. in the morning, Rome will be featured on News Channel 9's Friday Morning Lights segment. This is a fantastic opportunity for our students to showcase their school spirit and pride in front of a regional audience. It's essential it's it's essentially like a live morning pep rally as we had on Friday. Um celebrating our school community and we want to thank our athletic director Mr. Al Bangs um and our RFA building principal for coordinating this effort and helping our students to shine on this platform. We're also pleased to announce that as you know, we had indicated that our commissioner, Dr. Betty Rosa, the commissioner of education, was supposed to be here with us on September 4th. Unfortunately, she had a death on
021in her family around that time. That has been rescheduled. She will be visiting Rome City School District on October 29th. We are deeply appreciative to Senator Griffo for his efforts in making this visit possible and this will be a wonderful opportunity to highlight the great work happening in our district and at the same time we will be hosting other area superintendent so that they can participate in a round table um with hearing from our commissioner and also her team. Lastly, a quick reminder about our upcoming schedule. This Friday will be superintendent conference day. So, there will be no school even though we do want students to come for 5:00 a.m. And on Monday, October 13 will be uh we will observe Indigenous People's Day and schools will be closed. As always, it is um I'm
022always grateful and thankful to our board and our entire school community for your continued support as we continue together to provide the best for our students and for our community. That concludes my report for the evening. Um, I have a question. So, um, on this one for October 10th, where which school are are they doing? The board office >> Sandy >> Stadium, >> it'll be at the stadium. Um, the plan was originally to be out on the field. However, it looks like it's going to >> quite quite chilly. Um, so they did email today and they're anticipating right now having to be inside in the gym, but it will still be over at stadium support. >> Awesome. Thank you. Sorry. And I and I'm sure I have an email that states that and that I
023did not read yet. Thank you. I appreciate it. >> Word report. >> Hi, new people here. I'm going to introduce myself. I'm Ariel Bortal. Um, at the last meeting, I did talk about school spirit and seeing an increase in school spirit due to the cell phone ban because people aren't aren't worried about bullying. Um, I'm just going to touch on that really quick. As staff president, I do help make the themes for the spirit weeks leading up to homecoming and I helped plan the pep rally. I actually helped run the pep rally on the microphone. Um, and I just want want to say I'm so happy that admin let us have an indoor pep rally this year. It went amazing. I absolutely loved it. I felt energy from the crowd. It it was amazing. Um,
024I've never seen or been in a room like that with that much school spirit in my life. Um, and it was just a great amazing experience to take all that in and it really set the tone for the football game and the dance and yeah that was it was just amazing and I really am very very happy and thankful to the admin for letting that happen. I'm going to pass this to Joanna. Hello everyone. I'm Joanna Hampy. I want to talk a little bit about the game. Not to overanalyze it but I am going to. I thought that the amount of community we had in both the competition, the game, the parents, the custodians that were at the game was a beautiful display of our community. So many people were both competing and also just
025just showing so much energy to all the people who were competing. And I thought it was beautiful. I loved the amount of different groups of people that got together and that does bring me to the homecoming dance. Although there were some things that we could work on for more upcoming dances, coming from a first-person standpoint, I thought the amount of people who were together this year was a crazy accomplishment. Even though I don't think we will ever be able to fully overcome the stigmatism of clicks in high school, I believe progress is progress and I think progress was made and I think people were celebrating each other finally. Thank you >> ladies. Um I just have one more thing to say. I completely forgot to say this. So at the dance I do completely understand.
026I did win homecoming queen, not to bloat, guys, but um I did I saw a lot of people celebrating me and all the people on court and it was a very very diverse amazing court and it wasn't just one click of popular people and I'm very very very very happy about that. I thought it was amazing and that's all >> we did >> and I joined in. >> Yes, >> I think and I want to thank you guys. Um I I was at the game also um at homecoming and it was a great homecoming. It was a great turnout as I'm still fighting for those bleachers. Um, sorry, Georgia. I know you're working on them. I don't see her. She's hiding from me. Um, I I do I I know people were still standing. We
027are working on all of those things. I know the community is very upset about this the other part, which not going to get into. Um, congratulations to the seniors for winning the float. Although, I will say, and I'm a senior mother. >> The junior's float was pretty good. They were very actually was I loved yours, but theirs was great, too. Everyone did a great job. Um, with that said, girls, I want to, um, just really quick, and this has been a huge thing. Um, if you need my help with it, I'll help you. But we got to remember, so you just spoke about clicks, you spoke about diversity, we have to remember when we're doing dances and we're getting dates ready, which you're not always, it's not you. I'm not saying it's you guys picking
028the dates and stuff. We have to be mindful and work with athletics, with band, work with everybody to make sure and ensure that we are not ever in a situation that we were in last year. So we do never want a dance whether it's a junior prom, senior ball to fall on states, sectionals, region, regionals, if you need any help and and andrew will get with you. I know, but if you need I will volunteer my help with you. I don't ever want to see anybody have to ever make that decision again. Um, it was hard, it was difficult, it was sad. Um, it wouldn't have changed the outcome of any of the winning or losing, but you know what? We have to be mindful of everybody. So, we have to be mindful of the
029arts, sports. We have to make sure that we do everything in our power to make sure that no one ever has to make those decisions. Um, and congratulations for winning the court. And you guys, you guys did an amazing job. But like I said, if you need anything, you know, I'll get with you. I'll work with Andrew. I will help you do whatever you need. Okay. Thank you very much for all you're doing. >> I want to add is and I heard today from someone that the younger students really looked up to the more senior students at the high school and I think that's an incredible combination. You can offer so much help and support to those kids and we thank you for doing that because that's what leadership is all about including our junior
030here that's here. So, please keep it up and you're doing a great job. >> Okay, working on moving up to our workshop, our budget development process and timeline. Georgia. >> Good evening everyone. So today I'm going to speak a little bit about the project uh the budget timeline um what the role is of the board of education and what the role of the finance committee is. Um if you were on the board last year a lot of this is very similar. We're going to continue to follow the three pillars that we had last year. Those three pillars will continue to um align program and services. It will continue to be fiscally responsible and it will continue to be equitable uh with resources. What we mean by that is we are going to determine what the
031needs are in each of our different departments in each of our buildings and we're going to allocate resources based on those needs. Um we will not continue again this year to put money into buildings or in departments just to put money there. Um there will have to be a purpose and an explan excuse me and an explanation as to why they need money in those different areas. Um this is very similar to how we went about building the budget last year. So it shouldn't be any different or news to anybody in this room. We have adjusted the timeline a little bit this year compared to last year. um partially because our own staff has gotten excited or at least recognized that they don't want to work in January putting that proposal together. So um within
032the next week or so I will be providing that proposal to um the directors and to the principles so that they can begin thinking about how they want those proposals to be sent to us. We'll still start putting those con uh together, compiling those and then um we will provide all of that information at our cabinet meeting that will happen in January. Um I will sit down with the principles and the directors again um probably in November to start going over what their budget was this year for the 2526 year and then comparing that to some of the things that they want for next year. And that way we're both on the same page. We have that communication going back and forth. We do have a number of new individuals this year um at the
033administration level and so I want to make sure that they understand what's in their current budget and that way as they're prepare uh preparing for next year they know what they need to add in terms of proposals for next year. As I mentioned, in December, um, we'll finish some of those reviews, but, uh, the first couple of weeks in January is when I will start putting together the payroll pieces based on proposals that they put together, um, in terms of new individuals that they think we need for next year. I'll start reviewing contracts to see what those raise increases look like, and we'll start putting together the benefits in terms of insuranceances, um, what ERS, TRS, and some of those other fringe benefits look like. at that point in January. They're rough drafts um because
034we don't usually get final numbers until March or April, but this gives us a good idea of where we're going to start when we have some of the conversations in our finance committee on January 21st. Um that is actually a cabinet meeting unless there's a snow day for any reason, but at this point we plan to meet on January 21st as an executive team and we'll go through all the proposals that we've received up to that point. Um the executive team will decide what are things that are necessary and what are some of those things that are nice to have. And similar to last year, the things that are a necessity, we'll put that list together and build for in the budget. Those things that are nice to haves, we'll still put into a list,
035but those will be secondary. And if we have some extra funds put together, then we'll be able to purchase those things. Otherwise, again, they'll continue on a list and as we are able to add them into a budget over the next few years, we will add them in. Um the finance committee will start in February also reviewing um based on what the executive team comes up with for plans. And that way the finance committee can add any additional proposals or anything that they're aware of that maybe the teams haven't thought about. Um we know that we have some capital projects that we're considering that maybe the board is aware of that they would like to include. Um and so we will plan for that in February. In the first couple of weeks of February, we
036usually receive the governor's run and that is what will provide me with the information to put together the revenue budget. Um, I will provide that to the board of education on the February 9th uh board meeting and that way this team can review that um and approve it hopefully so that on March 1st I can file the paperwork with New York State for the tax levy limit uh calculation. Then in March we will have between the finance committee and the um executive committee and all the proposals that we've received up to that point. In March we will finalize the budget. I will present that to um the board of education and we will start preparing to um finalize our budget to the public. We do have to have our um information out to the voters
037no later than May 4th. Um and we will begin planning um in the next couple of months with the finance committee on the exact public uh community forums that we did last year. Last year we did them four days in a row. We're looking to spread those out a little bit over um two weeks instead of four days in a row. Um and we're looking at different locations. Um some were very successful last year, some not as much. So we want to make sure that we are addressing as much of the community as possible. On May 11th, that is currently a um a board meeting night. So I would be looking to try and do it on the same night that we already have a board meeting set up. Um we will have the public
038hearing on that night. Um, so that way it's early enough to have the budget vote on May 19th, which is a statemandated date. So that is what will happen for all of our budget information and then we start going right into audit. Um, once the vote happens, then we start preparing July 1st for all of our um, audit information. um our treasurer and some of our other business um individuals will begin putting together the preliminary audit the first couple of weeks in May. Um and then we will put together um a review with our auditors the um ending part of May. We'll start doing closing entries um throughout the month of July. And right now we are planning to have our auditors come in the last week in August. um we will try to have
039that finalized the week of um October 5th which will allow for the board of education to be able to meet um with L whoever the finance committee is or the audit committee is um so that we can approve for our October 15th deadline which again is a statemandated date. Um, similar to this year, we will be planning to have our corrective action plan completed sometime in November so that we can submit it no later than um, the end of November. Although it is not due until January, we do try to um, have that in well in advance of the New York date. Um, so that's everything that I have for the budget timeline and what that process looks like. Um, are there any questions? I did put out a couple questions in case um you'd
040like to reach out to me about anything you'd like me to include in future budget presentations um or anything that you'd like me to clarify further in this um presentation. Not at this time. We probably don't have any, but as we as you continue presenting to the finance committee, we might have more questions then. No >> problem. Okay. >> Thank you. Connected Community Schools, our partner. We'd enjoy having you here for us. >> I can't pace the room as usual. >> She won't be able to capture you. >> All right. I'll try to stay I'll try to stay stable. So, thank you. I'm sure not. There's no point standing here if the mic's not on. Gotcha. Um, so thank you for the invite to come in. Um, we come about once or twice a year
041and Matt's going to hand out some stuff to you. Matt is our director for our Rome specific project. Um, I think last year we brought beer nuts um because we had a surplus of beer nuts which were not necessarily appropriate for our schools. Um, >> so today we have um dinosaur gummies by the thousands. If anyone enjoys them, just stop at the building and pick up a few thousand more. So, um, I think most of you know the gist, but Rome was our first community school. In fact, Rome was the first community school in central New York. Um, it's gained a tremendous amount of attention. It's gained national attention. We just um had some national attention just a few weeks ago again from AFT, the American Federation of Teachers highlighting our work. Um and we
042keep rolling. So if I'll bring you back in history for one second. We started with Bellamy Elementary, created a community school there. And a community school in 30 seconds is basically taking that community, everyone here, everyone outside, businesses, organizations, service providers, and really inviting them into the school to help um and make our schools better. And it's worked. Um we went from Bellamy to all 10 schools very quickly in Rome. And today we are in 53 schools in seven counties, uh 13 districts. So, and I thank you. I thank you because if Rome wasn't the catalyst to it all, it really was. And Rome was so accepting and continues to be accepting of this philosophy of being a community schools district. And then, of course, we couldn't call all of our community schools Rome. So,
043we rebranded to connected. So, can I take one second to recognize Joanna Hempy? So Joanna has been with our project since I want to say third or fourth grade. Um so Joanna during um COVID handed out 1.6 million pounds of food with us. Every single day she was with us. She continued to work with us with many many many projects, continue to volunteer. Um you couldn't have a better person representing uh the community and students. So it's great seeing you and great seeing you where you are. So, side note. Um, yeah, you got a good one. Um, I don't know you otherwise. I would say nice things about you, too. >> I'm sure you're just as lovely. >> Otherwise, if you wanted to um Okay, so Oh, I have the clicker. Okay, so uh we're
044on about uh year seven, eight, going on to year eight. And at the heart of our mission being a community school um creating community schools is really we wanted to focus on ensuring that students were ready to learn. We have amazing schools, we have amazing teachers, we have amazing uh I was principles, uh amazing admin, everything else. But if a child shows up and they are tired and they are hungry and they have been homeless or they have a toothache or they have mental health struggles or I could go on for days, they are not going to learn. no matter how well our how great our technology is, how beautiful our rooms are, how great our teachers are. So, we really took a step back years ago to really um come up and over the
045struggles that students were having even before they made it to the classroom. This year, our link referral system, which takes care of struggles and hurdles that students have, reached um in excess of 3,300 link referrals. That means 3,000. These are duplicated numbers obviously. Um 3,300 students have a had a struggle that my team um helped overcome that struggle and that struggle is everything from homelessness. I think that uh everyone who lives in Rome realizes homelessness is uh growing unfortunately. Um and we do have families who live in their cars. um food insecurity, dental, mental health supports, primary care, insurance, care coordination, legal resources, uh care management, educational support, laundry assistance, clothing, holiday assistance, on and on and on. And those are the the the struggles and the hurdles that prevent kids from actually learning and
046participating. Number one, we have to get the kids into class, right, and ready for them to learn. So, that's number that's a really um unfortunate number, but impressive number for the amount of work we did. We are not dentists although uh Matt may look like a dentist or a a counselor or a doctor. Um so obviously the the philosophy of a community school is we partner with 4 or 500 agency service providers businesses organizations. So from those 3,300 link referrals struggles hurdles we connected to 185,697 connections. So I'll let I'll explain this to you. uh a child came in that was struggling with food insecurity. After our team worked with them, sat down, engaged them, talked to the parents what's going on, had some coffee with them, what ended up happening was probably five, six,
047seven more struggles were identified. So they had food insecurity, then they also had mental health issues, they also had employment issues, they also had homelessness issues. So that is why that number just grows and grows and grows and grows because typically families and students just don't carry one struggle into school. Usually they're carrying a bag full of struggles into school. So um so but the connections were there and the resources were there and the services were there. So that's so that's really great. >> That's who your connected team is. They are the experts and the resources in your community and will help guide families to get connected to those. >> Yes. This is another big number. So, we returned 14,625,591. Where's your finance person? >> Here, take this down. >> Return on investment. >> It's
048your return on investment. And how does this work? Um besides our services in being the catalyst to create the community school, um the district drives aid on whatever is paid through Boseies, which is really complicated and you'd have to ask her to come back to explain all that. But every dollar that comes to us, we turn over. We spend locally. We have purchasing power. We have inind services. Um we have donations such as gummies. We have donations of clothing. We have donations of numerous things. We get financial donations. That's all added to the pot. It's all added to the pot. And and we are one of the fewest in the nation and have been highlighted for this that the average community school turns $1 into seven. Our project has continually turned $1 into $14. Um
049and we do this local. Uh CNY food bank is obviously one of our um largest contributors to that number. Um we work with community foundation. We work with everyone and we're constantly turning over bringing back more than we've ever taken from the school. So 1,51674 of tangible items were sent to the hubs. In each of your school districts, some larger than others, um we have spaces called hubs. And that is where a child or a family can come into that space, find a safe place, fun activities, etc., etc. But it also is full of what they need. And it started at Bellamy, it grew over to Ganzavort, and then uh very quickly we had hubs set up in every building. And it's if you forgot your pencil, if you are hungry, if you need a
050snack, if you need hygiene supplies, especially in our middle school, um specifically we go through I half that number is probably deodorant like soid >> solid deodorant. So, um if you need anything, kids can go in there, grab and go, no questions asked. And families can access that hub at any point in time. And we have openHub uh every couple of weeks where families come in and basically can shop for what they need um those items. Um those are also uh donation um purchasing power, whatever we can get to get those in there. And we're so thankful for such a giving community that has supported all of that because we can't keep up with what kids need. That was also developed very very very early on because we did a very quick survey with the
051teachers over at Bellamy Elementary and they were hitting the same average nationally that the average teacher was spending upwards of $ 35 to $40 a week and we're like on what what are you taking out of your pocket? And they said four snacks, four jackets, four socks, four toothbrushes, etc., etc. And so we said stop. you know, we have to again in, you know, take those lifts off our teachers so our teachers can teach and especially the financial lift. So, um, I really think that we've done a pretty good job with that. Um, okay. I keep looking at >> True. I see it personally. >> It's a lot. It's a lot of needs. >> Okay. And that's the end. >> no, it's not the end. >> It's just the beginning. >> Thank you. Okay. So,
052who do we do it with? We do it with everyone. Um, in Rome, we have many, many, many. I could have been here for days putting logos of who our real strong partners are, but certainly our Salvation uh, Army, our First Source, our MVHS, our Rome Health, our Jervis Library, our wise uh, Chobani, thank goodness Chobani is going to be our neighbor. We had a we've always had a partnership with Chobani. Chobani's always given free yogurt to us. We went into a formal partnership with Chobani in the spring. In the very first month in our 53 schools, we uh distributed 360,000 cups of yogurt. So, healthy snacks, healthier than the gummies you got. Um and they continue to um give as much as we need. National Grid is fairly new. They sponsored our back to
053school bash this summer. Um uh on and on and on. So, we don't do this alone. What we do is we're not competitive. We're collaborative and we invite everyone to the table and continue to invite everyone to the table. So the more makes us all better. Uh just some highlights. If I put everything we did, we would be here for days. But I did put some highlights. The back to school bash. Um we had over,400 Rome students who came. If anyone was there, it was the coldest day of August. It was a whopping 37° I think and rainy. Um but and the lines went from outside of our building which were on North James all the way up past the police department for hours. And families came in though they got every single thing they
054needed. We really worked with getting those teachers lists, ensuring that everything from headphones to crayons to everything was on those lists, backpacks, um, food, and all of our pro providers were outside with other resources and services, etc. Beautiful day. Um, a ton of people. We had over 3,000 people there, and it was it was humbling. It was humbling. It was cold. It was very cold, but it was very humbling. Um and National Grid was came through as the sponsor for that which was phenomenal. We also uh to uh created sorry we also created a sixth and seventh grade level up. um we really have been putting a lot of effort into to looking at our um our effects of COVID on students as well as our effects of transition on students. And Matt and his
055team really looked at this transition between um elementary school to middle school and next year as well as middle school to high school. And some of the common anxiety was simply about how to open the locker, how to make new friends, how to navigate the building, etc., etc. the the the level up project took a couple of weeks. They had 30 students participate. I think next year we'll see double if not triple. Um it was fun. I believe our superintendent joined us as well. So a familiar face. Um and it was really practical stuff and they ran a lot of it out of the hub and it was just fun and exciting. Um we also had a remembrance to our tornado last year. Um I want to thank people. I see some familiar faces. Um
056during the tornado last year, our building was hit. Um we went down for the count but got right back up that next morning and started serving hot meals. We served 46,000 hot meals in two weeks. And I see very familiar faces in here of people that came and donated food and supplies and batteries and flashlights. And um that was a real coming together of the community. Once again, I have to put out a shout out for our teachers. Uh Jessica Latimore, a retired teacher, put out a call for teachers to come and assist with volunteering and you did again. And COVID was the same and I will always always take that story everywhere as I can as our teachers show up and I'm so thankful for that and our principles and superintendent and everyone. So
057so thankful. Um summer activities happened all over the place. >> Can I ask one question on the sixth to seventh grade level up though? Yeah, I didn't know if have you contacted the kids who actually are in the seventh grade now to see how the transition if it helped them. I mean, I'm just curious. >> Today, I was over at Strow in the hub and they >> can you talk on into the mic? I'm sorry. >> Sorry, Sue. Yeah, I talked to four or five of them today alone. Just faces I had seen throughout the summer while I was over at Stra in the hub. They come to the hub almost every day. Um, they've formed wonderful bonds with the the team in the hub and they formed wonderful bonds with each other. So, they
058sort of have themselves as a support system to >> um they went through a similar experience, now they're all doing this together and they're really just seem to be flourishing. >> Yeah. Yeah. I like that that they, you know, had each other, too. So, that's good. A step up. Um throughout the summer, Matt's team um hit the road running um in school, out of school, in the parks, at our building, everywhere as we really just tried to provide those activities, educational opportunities, supports, link was still going. We are a 12month project. Um we certainly don't go home um because our families struggle in summer, you know, just like they do in the winter and anything else. And our kids want to have fun. And so we continued, he did a lot of um work on
059really having a wonderful summer for everyone. Uh thousands of hours throughout the school year. I would have been here for days putting everything that happened but classroom programming um family nights uh participated in uh taste of black history month healthy homes event SIDS awareness Rome free academy mental health fair which is huge if you haven't been up there it's held every year we attract hundreds of of service providers and families and students come in um we will continue to have the remembrance fair I think that was great um to bring back the community for that Um, bookworms was actually a tiny tiny project that was supposed to be run this summer through some McKenna Vento funds. It was so successful we are continue to run it as literacy is such an important part of success
060in our students. So, um, that's every Tuesday night. We've had some familiar faces stop by to be a reader. One of which is Mr. Rob Wood from RFA continues to show up on Tuesdays and read, which is adorable. um and a few other teachers have stopped in and helped. So that's been great. That's every Tuesday at our building centrally located on North James. Um open hubs, as I said, happen all the time. We run mental health first aid fe free to all um district employees once a month. That is really essential. Um as well as all just everything, movie nights, classroom programming, on and on and on. So we're just always really busy. And you can find out what we're doing by giving Matt a call or following us on our Facebook page. >> Opening
061your folders. >> La two years ago, not last year, two years ago, we went into a partnership with Onida County. It's called the resiliency project. We have been working non-stop with Onidita County to really prevent fires. So when a family has a fire, um one of sometimes the only resource we feel that is available is CPS and a called CPS often um is not always the best avenue for some of our families. So we really have went in a different direction. Uh we've collaborated with CPS. Um we're refacing its preventative services, put the fire out before the phone call has to be made. We have exceeded over 500 families running through the resiliency project. In the end, it has prevented and decreased CPS calls. We show up to the door with a food box and
062sit and have coffee and talk about struggles. Struggles are typically temporary, but families aren't always aware of the resources and services that are out there to help them out of whatever the struggle is. Um, families have received over $160,000 in emergency tangible needs items such as rental assistance, food, clothing, transportation. Um, families have received a team approach to support. Uh, students receive person and in-person support within the school day. Success of the projects led to an expansion into Holland patent and aderondex central school district. This again is being researched by Berkeley in California. the success of a school district uh nonprofit team and the and a county working together collaboratively to support families. Let's just, you know, let's put the fires out before we have a fire. So, um and this was an inind project
063to the Rome City School District for $1.2 million. Um so, we brought on a team. I think there's a picture of the team next. um absolutely at no cost to the district and all of those services go directly to the family. I think there's like a team of 12. Um the other thing that's been really successful last couple years is our SEAL social emotional academic learning supports. Up until this year it was one person and that was our um project manager Kenitra. Um since then we were given the opportunity to come back with a proposal to expand this throughout all the schools and we have um we've just started implementing this um there's some numbers on there um deescalation um again kind of preventive work um transitioning students back into the classroom um uh deescalation
064and prevention um and it shifted. So do you want to say anything quick about that? >> Absolutely. So the focus of this initially started with uh helping students experiencing homelessness with coping skills. Certainly if your your your home life is disrupted, your school life will be impacted. And if we could help these students who often were experiencing behavioral and other issues within the classroom resulting in being removed, uh if we could help uh foster some coping skills and give them the tools to be able to self-regulate, um it certainly uh led to an increase in students successfully returning to the classroom and then over the last three years successfully returning to the classroom faster, resulting in uh fewer disruptions to instructional time. >> Yeah, very successful. And I think we will obviously see that grow
065this year and um have such impact on our classrooms and our teachers. Connectors. Connectors was a wild idea a couple years ago and it worked. Um these are men and women who um who are really engaging our students in hallways. um preventing um chaos in bathrooms, often used as escorts, um often used as role models, encouraging positive behavior. Um these really these men and women I have gotten more phone calls from parents or emails from parents saying, "Thank goodness your connector such and such is in our school building because that is why my kid goes to school." So connectors have been a phenomenal extra resource um level of support to both RFA and Strow. Um, and I think that, um, it can it only gets better as our team is is embedded there, um, further
066and longer and continue to offer safe spaces within our schools and our hubs um, for students and and Okay, so this is a little teaser. So, we are always looking for other ways for diverse funding, right? because we have more and more people who are struggling and it's costly and we get donations that aren't always available. So, we are opening up a thrift and gift shop. Um, it's on route five. Look for us. That'll be open in another month or so. Um, and it will have donations in there and it has artwork and consignment. It'll be fun. It'll be colorful. Um, we're actually working with a couple of parents for consignment for their kids, their kids stuff. Um, so that's coming and every single dollar that's a profit out of that building will go back
067into our schools and our hubs and buy toothbrushes and deodorant and food and etc. So, um, we're trying to be creative with with finances these day. I will also give you another secret that's in the mix that is not public whatsoever. Um, we're going into a partnership with Ride for Missing Children. Um, so yes, Ride for Missing Children has been around for 25 years. I think it's 25 years this year. Um, they needed some extra support. They needed infrastructure. So, we are going to kind of adopt the ride for missing children. You will see an educator come out and in our classrooms and doing assemblies and classroom work. Um, you will see that happen within the next couple of months. So, um, we're really excited about that project as well. That's our team. That's part
068of our team, at least part of our most of our Rome team. We send out a newsletter every month, one during the summer. Uh I think Matt handed out some flyers, etc. going on. We are extremely approachable. Our building is open. 207 North James. Stop in, get a tour, say hi, invite me to lunch. I just looked at Sue. Invite me to lunch. Um or drop off lunch. I think Nerd dropped off lunch the other day. So, um yeah, we we're open. We want people to come in. We have a huge central hub with everything in it. We have delivery trucks. Um it's good to see it, feel it, you know, smell it. Um we're here to support the community and make things better and have impact. And we can't thank the community enough for
069embracing. Not every district has embraced this philosophy of becoming a community school. And Rome, I want to say, is one of the top in the nation. So, thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Oh. Oh, one last thing. This bin right here is for holiday assistants. They're all throughout the city cuz I delivered them today. Um, these are where we collect all the toys and presents and gifts, etc. For holidays, we typically assist 3,500 students um with our holiday assistance and it's shopping experience, etc. And you can come down. So, if you see these bins, drop a gift or something in them. Or if you want to get involved, give us a call. So, those are the bins. Thank you. >> Yeah. Anybody who wanted to leave. Yeah,
070that's what we were going to say. Please don't feel like you have to stay. We thank you for coming. >> Can I say something? >> One sec. >> Yeah. Just let them go. Bye. See you later. >> Okay, Melissa, I just wanted to go back to one thing that you were speaking of before. So when you had the kids who you were trying to help reintegrate back into school, say after they have an issue at the high school, >> um h how do you do that? Do you have social workers that you work with or is that embedded within? >> Can you can you Yeah. Can I'm sorry you need to speak into that. Oh jeez. >> Uh right. So team approach if the parents aren't on board, right? So we have we have to
071engage those parents and the with resiliency this is the first time in a long time I don't know if anybody remembers spiffy was a county program years ago and that was successful until it wasn't successful but that bridge to the actual school to the living room actually in the home had been missing for years and resiliency provides that now um being a community school yes we went to homes but not not regularly um we do most of our work in the school. So that was our first thing is get into the home, make a plan and have a team where someone is designated to the student, someone is designated to the parent, someone acts as a liaison and everyone's working together and that's really been our approach and it's been extremely successful. Um when Berkeley
072comes in to do their work and and we'll sit with the district and go over that what they're looking for is that needle to move. on absenteeism, truency, and actual calls made by teachers, um, mandated reporting calls. And we're not saying don't make CPS calls by any means. But if there's a CPS call where you're like, I feel I have no choice but to make a CPS call, but it really hasn't gotten to that level, then let's not make the call at support. And um, the impact has been tremendous. I wish I had brought more data to show specifically on that resiliency project. So, and I'd be curious to know if it has affected absenteeism and intruency, too. I know that many of our team, which we have about six, I think, that work with
073the students drive kids to school every morning. You know, they'll pick them up um because we got to get them here first, right? So, yeah. Yeah. >> Um I have a a question and then a comment. Um my first question is with you know the high school and even with middle school how there's some semiformals and formals and stuff like that if there are gently used like dresses or suits do we bring them to you or donate them somewhere else? >> So usually I mention this because people love to hear this but just last year two years ago Ava Tulo donated 200 300 tuxedos to us. So, in our hubs, you don't see them because they're in every size, shape, you know, um, but they're in our central hub. And if you were to come
074and say, "I want to rent a tuxedo." We actually have a form and we measure the kit, etc. And a tuxedo is delivered to the hub. We um, rent a couple hundred tuxedos a year. Our prom dresses, same thing. When the season comes around, they're at Central Hub or in our hubs or we have events. Some of our hubs in some of our districts are enormous and we can have everything and then others because of size more is stored at 207 instead. But yes, if you have stuff to donate, bring it to 207 and then within all of the schools, you have 13 districts, they every email will say, I have a girl who came in who's a size eight who's looking for a purple dress and it's shared in seven counties. So they typically
075find what they need. Yeah. So, if you flip to the second to last flyer in your packet, it's for our homecoming dress and suit giveaway. We hosted at RFA all last week leading up to homecoming. Um, Miss Maya had set that up in the small auditorium and students were able to come in and shop for dresses and suits. And >> um we also are assisting the school by organizing and running the clothing closet over at RFA as well. So, >> So, does RFA now have a whole does RFA now have a clothing closet? Yes. Okay. Yes, they have had it. >> They've had it. It's just >> we we're providing oversight for it now. >> Okay. >> Yep. >> Um we also in that whole line of kind of dress and etc. We also host
076um haircut events >> right before and during Yeah. >> I used to take all my daughter's stuff and bring them to the nurse and then she would hold but now I mean >> you can bring it to the hub, you can bring us, you can bring the nurse. The nurse often comes into the hubs and grabs things too. So we're all sharing. Yeah. Yeah. And >> my last comment are about your connectors. I love your connectors. I adore them. Last year I had the opportunity to go to the heat of fusion at RFA as a board member and your connectors, they got into it with them. They were right there with the kids. They absolutely loved competing um and being very much a part of it. And the the way the students reacted to them,
077it's amazing. It's such a good >> positive influence for them and the smiles and >> I mean I'm sure that these two can probably speak to about the connectors more than I could cuz I was only with them for the short period of time but it was amazing to see and how much respect these students have and look up to them. I believe and if they were here today they could tell you almost every single connector that we've hired in the last couple years comes with a story about school right how school was the one area one person in that school that saved them and um I just I could tear up thinking of the interviews that they you know maybe they don't come with this huge resume and and education etc but they knew
078how important that one person in school is and and that's what we really encourage is it only takes one person and you could make a heck of a lot of difference. So, so thank you for saying that because they are a little rowdy of a group. Um, and we appreciate that. Yeah, they're fun. So, thank you. So, Melissa, last year because of the tornado, you didn't get an opportunity to come here. So I although I know all of the pieces because you and your team have done a great job with teaching me especially as a person who did not come from a district that had community connected school. I first want to say thank you for to your team and you for all the things that you do. You said it best. We don't do
079this work alone. And not only do you do the work but you also do it with heart. You know, there's a lot of people that are doing a lot of things, but to take the time to listen to each person, to meet that person where they are at, it takes special people. And you guys do it every single day, not only on James Street, but in every school building that I've been at. I was so amazed. I'm like, community connected school does that? Because um as an assistant when I served as an assistant superintendent for people personnel services, I was the one that was leading the charge to find these things to help students. And to know that we had a district, a community full of people to be able to just serve and work
080alongside our team to do what's right for kids, it is beautiful. First of all, thank you for serving our community. Thank you for serving our children. and thank you for being my friend. >> Thank you. Thank you. It's my pleasure. It's been my pleasure. So, I owe a lot to Rome. If if several people hadn't opened the door and said come on in, we wouldn't be here where we are today. So, I'm always grateful. So, thank you. >> Thank you. >> Was home and I just bought a home in Rome this year. So, >> I pay my taxes. Yeah. >> Well, thank you very much for a great presentation. >> Thank you. >> All right. And now we will move on to the consent agenda. Can I have a resolution to accept the consent agenda
081that upon the recommendation of the superintendent of schools, the consent agenda be accepted by the board of education? >> So move. >> Okay. Moved by Jen. Can I have a second? >> Seconded by Jonathan. Any discussion? All in favor? I I motion is carried. Okay. Moving on to finance on page 109. >> Yeah, that's consent. >> Oh, you did consent. >> And we are going to turn it over to Kirsten. >> So we did the Oh, no. Resolution. We have to do the resolution first, right? >> Yep. >> So resolution to >> Sorry. Resolution to declare equipment obsolete for sale. That was part of the All right. I apologize. Resolution to accept contract for clin clinical supervision services. Whereas the Rome City School District, RCSD, recognizes the importance of providing licensed social workers with clinical
082supervision that supports professional development, enhances the quality of services provided to students and families, and helps fulfill New York State requirement toward obligating a licensed clinical social worker LCSSW credential. And whereas RCSD seeks to enter an agreement with Diana T. Derso, LCSW-R, a duly licensed clinical social worker in the state of New York to provide group and individual clinical supervision services up to eight master of social work MSW employees employed by the district. And whereas the scope of services under this agreement includes two monthly group supervision sessions, 2 hours each, quarterly individual record review sessions, assistance in documenting supervision in accordance with the New York State Education Department requires and submission of verification forms necessary for employments pursuing LCSW lensure. And now therefore, be it resolved that the board of education of the city of
083Rome of the Rome City School District, I'm sorry, hereby authorizes the superintendent of schools or designate to enter into an agreement with Diane T. Derso, LCSW-R, for the provision of clinical supervision services in accordance with the terms outlined in the proposal. Two, resolution to accept Colleen. Oh, sorry. >> Sorry. >> May I have a motion to move it? >> Move by Paul. Can I have a second? >> Second by Kirsten. Any discussion? All in favor? >> So, okay. And number two, resolution to accept Colleen West Worst, sorry, contract resolved that upon recommendation of the superintendent of schools, the board of education hereby accepts the agreement between Colleen Worst, L-P, MS, CCC, and the Rome City School District to provide internet speech therapy services to prek per rates in the contract. May I have a motion
084to move >> by Paula? Second by >> Nadia. Any discussion? All in favor? Number three, resolution to accept Onida County contract. Whereas the board of education recognizes its obligation under section 4410 of the New York State Education Law to provide appropriate related services to preschool children with disabilities. And whereas Onidita County has offered a contract to the district to provide reimbursement for the provision of related services, including but not limited to speech therapy, occupational therapy, physical therapy, and other approved support services as defined in the individualized education program, IEP, of each eligible preschool student. And whereas the terms of set contract have been reviewed by the ad administration and found to be consistent with the goals and policies of the district and accept informal substance. Now therefore be it resolved that the board of education
085hereby approves and accepts the contract offered by the Onida County for the provision of related services to preschool children with disabilities from July 1st, 2025 to June 30th, 2030. And be it further resolved that the superintendent of schools or their designate is hereby authorized and directed to execut ex execute said contract on behalf of the board of education and to take any and all necessary actions to implement provisions of this resolution. >> Motion by Paula second by Nadia. Any discussion? All in favor? I couldn't do that if I tried. Resolution to accept uh CABVI contract. Cabb. Did you say cabb? >> Okay. Whereas the board of education recognizes the need to provide appropriate educational and rehabilitation services to students with visual impairments in accordance with the individualized education program IEPs and ex applicable federal and
086state laws. And whereas the central association for the blind and visually impaired, CABVI provides specialized services including teacher of the visually impaired, TVI instruction, TVI consultant, vision therapy, occupational therapy services and whereas the district has identified 19 students requiring such services for the 2025 2026 school year. Now, therefore, be it resolved that the board of education hereby approves and authorizes the acceptance of contracts with CABVI to provide the above listed services for the 2025 2026 school year in a total amount not to exceed $40,000 for such services and mileages. Have a motion to approve. So, move by John. Second by Nadia. >> All in favor? >> All right. Number five, resolution to accept an amendment to the Stra Chiller proposal. Whereas the board of education previously approved funding for the Straoud Chiller project to address
087Havoc HVAC infrastructure needs within the district. And whereas additional evaluation of the system has identified the need for replacement of the 11 coils to ensure optimal performance and energy efficiency. And whereas the estimated cost for the coils replacement is not to exceed $280,000. And whereas the inclusion of the scope of work brings the total revised cost to of the Stra Chiller and Coils project to $630,000. Now therefore, be it resolved that the board of education hereby authorize an increase in the Stra Chiller and Coils project in an amount not to exceed $280,000 for the replacement of the 11 coils. And be it further resolved that the total authorized budget for Stout Chiller and Coils project is hereby set at $630,000 to be funded from phase two of the 200 2000. Oh my gosh, I'm sorry.
088The 2022 capital project motion to move by second by Nadia. Any discussion? >> All right. So, our audit committee >> all >> Oh, sorry. I >> trying to really rush it. Sorry, guys. So, our audit committee, um, we do have the November 6 for that and finance, but the time is to be to be determined. We may change it. Okay. So, um, the date is set, time is not for both, >> right? We're still waiting to make sure Angela, our can on that day. Um I will continue with the community report for the finance committee. We did discuss at length the um the chiller situation at SC so we understood why >> Mike oh sorry why it was we had to change the amount um and honestly we are all in favor of making sure
089everything is done 100% at this point in time and we are very happy that they found those coils ahead of time so we don't have to go back to it. So that was part of the discussion. Um we also went through some of the overages right now showing in our financials but a lot of that is salaries that need to be moved to the grants and we're still determining how much those dollar amounts and those journal entries obviously will be made so the auditors can continue to close the books. Um, we have hired a float now who's going to help in our business office with insurance and AP. Um, that is a very needed position. So, I'm very happy that finally came to fruition. Um, we also had some billings from the city for our
090security services which were from 2022 and 2023 and 2024 which we had to verify there. Obviously, we had to verify that they were correct before we could pay them. And so, we went did our due diligence, and I really do would like to congratulate Dr. Gonzalez because she really did a good job of making sure that was all correct with the city before we move forward with that. Um, I believe the total sum of that was around $44,000 that we have to pay out now. >> 48,000. So, and again, we're just very appreciative that we were able to figure out what that was all for going back because obviously everybody sitting on this board was not here then. Neither were our business official or our superintendent. So, it was good that we were able to
091kind sit down and get that all taken care of. And we also talked about the audit that's going on right now. Um, again, we're waiting for the auditors to we're waiting for the district to finish our um closing of the books and once that's done, then the audit can continue on. So, that was the committee report. Um, again, we will be looking as a finance committee looking at the budget process as it continues to go forward and we'll continue to look go through with the audit as it comes to our attention. So that concludes the committee report for finance. Moving forward to educational programs. Action item number one, resolution for the approval of OMH funding and coordinated care services incorporated training. Whereas the Rome City School District has been awarded funding from the New York
092State Office of Mental Health, mental health, OMH, to support initiatives that enhance student wellness and access to mental health services. And whereas an amount not to exceed $34,750 will be used from September 1st, 2025 through June 30th, 2026 to engage coordinated care services incorporated, CCSI, to provide specialized professional training for district staff. And whereas the training is specifically designed to equip staff to respond effectively and appropriately to situations involving trauma, illness, and grief, including providing participants with curated resources and handouts to assist students during times of grief or crisis. And whereas the training will also allow participants to evaluate potential trauma, illness, and grief, TIG, strategies for alignment with school, district, or regional approaches. And whereas CCSI will collaborate with the district crisis team to review, refine, and align the district-wide crisis response plan with
093best practices, ensuring clearly defined roles for building in district teams, structured response steps that scale with the degree of impact, documentation procedures, evaluation of the response and care for the team members and responders. Now therefore, be it resolved that the board of education approves the use of OM funding to contract with Coordinated Care Services Incorporated for this targeted training and crisis response plan consultation. Can I get a motion to move the resolution? >> So moved by Kirsten. Can I get a second? Second by Paula. Any discussion? I just want to say that I just think it's so mental health in general and I'm very appreciative that we have this for our school district. >> Yeah, this service is really mainly about training individuals so that when we do have a trauma or illness or grief
094situation that occurs because we know we have staff members and we have students who sometimes experience things, let's say the death of a student. It's like consistently it will give you a clear articulated plan on how we respond. So it won't be left to the buildings to determine how but every building will be able to respond consistently to different trauma depending on the level of the trauma. Right? There's level one, there's level two, there's level three. So we want to start with that. But eventually, you know, I look at the bigger scope of this. Eventually, it would be awesome if every district that is part of Madison or Naid Boseies can get that same training because the way we did it in Monroe County is if for example there's a situation in Camden where people
095are so distraught that they can't provide the support necessary, they can call upon Rome to go and provide that support and vice versa. And so we're looking eventually, we want to start with Rome, our district of course, and eventually I want to be able to talk to my uh superintendent colleagues to ensure that we have a consortium of districts that provide that support to each other because we always talk about it's not a matter of if, it's when. And so when something happens, we want to be sure to be available to provide that type of therapeutic response that a district may need. So, thank you for saying that and and so we're starting with us of schools. The board of education hereby approves tenure for the following individual. Carrie Citroen needed AIS reading teacher um
096tenure area as reading effective date 109 2025. Sarah Scott from Denty Ridge PE teacher physical education and her effective date is 1012 2025. Can I have a motion to move it? >> So move so moved by Jen, seconded by Paula. Any more discussion? All in favor? >> I. Tenure is granted. Policy action item. No agenda items, but a resolution to approve the second reading and adoption of policies resolved that upon the recommendation of the superintendent of schools. The board of education hereby approves a second reading and adoption of the following policies. Uh 011, sexual harassment grievances under title 9. 0111-E sexual harassment grievances under title nine definitions 1120-R school district records regulation 2245 exeicio student member of the board can I get a motion to move >> moved by Kirsten can I get a second
097>> seconded by Nadia any discussion all in favor I motion's carried next committee meeting for policy is oto October 8th at 4:45 at 266 West Dominic Street and miscellaneous business resolution to accept the revised contract for New York State uh NYC that the board of resolved that the board of education of the Rome City School District hereby approves the updated language of the agreement authorizing participation in cooperative energy purchasing services NISMAC for electricity and natural gas. Can I get a motion to move? >> Moved by Kirsten. Okay. Seconded by Nadia. Any discussion? All in favor? I. Motion's carried. Discussion items. Upcoming events. Obviously, the NISPA convention which we've been talking about that Jonathan, myself, Jen, and Niron will be at and board meeting after action review. Um the comments I received after our last board
098meeting is um everybody was uh participating really well. It was um everybody reading something and um the way it flowed seemed to work work nice. So and um just in general as a board I think that we are always looking at the positive side of things and um you know always looking to improve. So thank you. Okay. Um, the only other comment that I would have is I have asked the board, please remember that if you're going to be out and you know ahead of time for a board meeting, please let Sandy and myself in LAN know ahead of time if you know the date. And if not, if you're not didn't know about it ahead of time and you are going to be out, please just let us know and please give there's obviously
099reasons, vacation, sickness, personal, whatever. just let us know so we can mark that down. Thank you. And the only other thing I would like to mention is Madison and Iabosce's fall open house is this Thursday, October or next Thursday, October 16th from 5:30 to 7:30. Um, if anyone in the community is interested in seeing what goes on at Boseis, it's a great opportunity to go and visit students firsthand, see what they're doing. They love showing off and so it's a great time. So that is next Thursday. And if there is no no public comment on non-aggenda items, can I have a motion to adjurnn? >> So moved. >> Moved by Kirsten. I got a second. Second by Nadia. All in favor? I. Thank you.