001Good evening ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the Amville U School District um combined meeting. Today's date is May 18, 2026 and the time is now 5:43 and I'm calling the meeting the order at the time. And attendance at the meeting tonight is myself board president Lisa Johnson, second vice president Chris Naring, and trustees Carol Seahhoff and um excuse me, Lindsay Cret. It's anticipated that Megan may be coming to the meeting as well and one of the own if Absnap is time. Also in attendance at the meeting is our superintendent Dr. Gina Talbert, our assistant superintendent of of human resources Dr. Londell, our assistant superintendent of finance and operations in excuse me, and our assistant superintendent for Stevens. Also in attendance is um legal counsel tonight um John as well as John Gross. Um the time
002is now 5:44. Can I have a motion to go into executive session um from excuse me for update regarding negotiations CSTA? um any particular person's particular person's employment history >> motion >> second first a second and then also I'm going to say advice from council correct John >> correct >> all those in favor I >> I motion carries 4 we resume open at 7:30 thank you so moment to the Ammonville Union free student board education meeting. Today's date is May 18th and will resume and open now at 7:30 p.m. Please note the exit closest to you and is most local ground and please silence your cell phones and join us in the pledge of allegation. flag United States of America and to theublic turn the meeting over to you. >> Good evening. So before we
003get started with I just want to just say to you that the board of education had scheduled a meeting last week on May 13th. Unfortunately we were unable to obtain a quarum and the cancel the meeting impacted hires of electric workers times sensitive tenure packages and several HR matters. Tonight you have a quum and we're having the minutes limited. So thank you for attending. Tonight we are going to ask if our board members who are present will join us at the table for a very special time of acknowledgement. Tonight we are delighted to celebrate a significant milestone in the careers of several remarkable members of our school community. Achieving tenure is a momentous occasion and we are proud to honor our dedicated educators and leaders. First and foremost, we pay tribute to two of our
004assistant principles. Their visionary leadership and unwavering commitment to our school success have been pivotal in shaping a nurturing and dynamic learning environment. Their profound impact on our students, staff, and families is a testament to their exceptional educational leadership. At this time, our assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction, Miss Mary Stevens, will read a certificate of tenure allow which will be presented by the board of ed president momentarily. We're going to conduct the business regarding the resolutions of table and then we will continue with the celebration board. Can I have a motion to amend the agenda to focus on agenda items 2 A? down through 2K. So motion to amend agenda to move agenda items 2 A to 2K up to 1 B. >> You mean 3B2? >> I'm sorry. Yeah. 3B 3 B2 3 B2
005A and 3B 2 K. Can I move the motion to move up to one C1 C1? Okay. So, the motion is to move the agenda items 3 B 2 A to 3 B 2 K up to 1 C.1 motion. Miss first, Carol second. All those in favor? >> I motion carries 4 Z. I have motion forgenda items 3B 2A to 3 B2K. >> Motion. >> Second. >> Chris is first. Carol second. All those in favor? I. Motion carries for congratulations. At this time we will have the acknowledgement of certificate. >> Good evening for our administrators. who will be awarding certificates that read the Amityville Union 3 School District certifies that and each of their names will be read having demonstrated dedication, professionalism, and a steadfast commitment to the students of the Amityville Union School District
006is hereby awarded tenure with all the rights and responsibilities pertaining thereto in recognition of the outstanding service and enduring commitment to excellence in education. It is with honor we present the first certificate to assistant principal Denise Rata. And just in the nick of time, it was impeccable timing, Mr. Cord. Kenneth Cord assistant. Next, we extend our deepest gratitude and congratulations to our teachers. Their unwavering dedication, innovative methods, and steadfast commitment to our student growth and development are truly awe inspiring. They are the architects of young minds fostering a love of learning that transcend time. At this time, Miss Stevens will read a certificate of tenure aloud and it will be presented by a bed. My apology. Before we move on to ATA, we would like to acknowledge and invite our super president, Mr. Evan Parkers,
007to come up on the floor, please join us. >> Good evening everyone and congratulations to our tender candidate. Mr. Court stood outside for 30 minutes waiting for that moment. So, thank you, Mr. Court. H congratulations to Denise Ragling and Ford on their welldeserved tenure appointments. We are proud to celebrate these two dedicated, inspiring, and hardworking school leaders who commit whose commitment to our student, staff, and school community make a difference every single day. Thank you both for your leadership, passion, and continued dedication to the Amityville community. Wishing you continued success in the years to come. Congratulations. It is with pleasure we award certificates that have the same wording to our members of the Amidville Teachers Association. Starting with Mr. Joseph Damato Garcia. Mr. Garcia was unable to join us tonight, but certainly warrants a round
008of applause for David. Next, Jacqueline Brightell. Melissa Gner Liv, Natalie C. Jennifer Morris, Kristen Dantelli. That's You got clean. At this time, we invite our ATA president, Mr. Niel Wolf, to come up and acknowledge his ATA member superintendent tonight. Good evening everyone and congratulations to all of the evening. Uh tonight we gather to celebrate a very special and meaningful milestone. The achievement of tenure and achievement of education, for our administrators, for our teachers, for our TAs, for all of the staff who happen to be here tonight who are being bestowed um what should be considered a great honor. Earning tenure is not simply about years of service. It represents dedication, consistency, professionalism, and an unwavering commitment to students and the school community. It reflects hard work, perseverance, and passion that educators demonstrate every single day,
009often going above and beyond to ensure that students are supported academically, socially, and emotionally. Throughout this journey, you have made a positive impact on the lives of students, families, and colleagues. I know it's supposed to be for teachers, but this applies to everybody who's being honored tonight. The work of an educator extends far beyond the classroom. The encouragement you provide, the lessons you teach, and the relationships you build help shape futures and inspire the next generation. This milestone is also a reminder that success is never achieved alone. To your families, thank you for your patience, support, and encouragement throughout this journey. Your sacrifices and understanding have helped make this accomplish possible. To your colleagues and peers, thank you for your collaboration, mentorship, and shared commitment to excellence in education. The support educators provide one another
010strengthens not only individuals but their school community. To the administrators and leadership within the district, thank you for your guidance, support, and belief in the important work being done for our students every day. And to all of you honores, achieving tenure is a significant professional accomplishment and a reflection of the trust, the respect and confidence you have earned through your dedication and your service. Um, there were individuals who were honored who uh were bestowed the honor of tenure earlier on this year and I just wanted to take an opportunity to acknowledge them as well. We have uh Antonia Sadi Did you and Amanda ION and melan is actually regulating tonight. We are also honored to acknowledge our teacher assistant. Their hard work, patience, and support are crucial to our student scholars daily learning experiences. They
011are often the unsung heroes in our classrooms providing individualized attention and care that makes a world of difference in the lives of our students. At this time we will acknowledge them with a certificate followed by the invitation of our CSA2 president Christina Seals who will come up and acknowledge members of her team. It is with pleasure we recognize Jada Davis. Arena. Previously appointed tenure in November, Stephanie Deros and awarded tenure in October to Desessa. Good evening everyone. I just wanted to congratulate everyone on receiving your tenure this evening. Thank you all for your dedication to all the children in the Amityville School District every single day. Always remember your dedication will never go unnoticed. Once again, thank you for all your hard work and dedication. At this time, would the families of our tenure candidates
012please stand to be recognized? Congratulations to our tenant assistant principles, teachers, and teaching assistants. Once again, your passion, your dedication, and your hard work, inspire us all, and make our school a better place. So, we celebrate you and you is it okay to stay here? You'd like to take a picture or would you rather >> okay? We don't have a slide for this. Maybe we should >> Chris in front of this cover right over. Thank >> Makes it easier not to be in a bright light. That's Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. We're going to take about a 15 20 minute recess to recognize and honor the individual. >> Thank you, sir. >> I might be replacing >> anytime. I've taken a break. At this time it is now 8:02. Dr. Tal will in the meeting
013with you. So good evening once again to uh staff, colleagues and community. We would like to begin by presenting the superintendent report and share just a little bit across our district. I would like to begin by congratulating our talented scholar artists whose work is featured on our website. the 2026 spring art showcase. Our art teachers created a beautiful virtual presentation highlighting the creativity and talent of students in grades prek through 12. We also congratulate the students who proudly represented our district at the Long Island Youth Summit. A special thank you goes out to all of our art teachers for the time and dedication they put into creating this showcase. Northwest Elementary recently hosted a beautiful spring concert and art show while Northeast Elementary celebrated its annual Mother's Day tea for pre kindergarten family. Northeast also
014held its prek prom, bringing together students, family, PTA members, staff, class parents, and administrators in a heartfelt celebration of this important milestone in our students early educational journey. At the secondary level, Amityville Memorial High School hosted its annual college decision day on May 1st, celebrating the class of 2026 and their future plans. Students proudly wore apparel representing their chosen colleges and universities, while staff joined in by wearing colors from their own alma mater. The event was livereamed by the Amityville Broadcasting Network and showcased our students next step and intended majors as they signed the class of 2026 commemorative billboard. We are also proud of our student athletes who continue signing with colleges and receiving scholarships in sports including soccer, basketball, baseball, and flag football. Congratulations to all students who participated in the MSA this past
015weekend and to our orchestra for earning gold distinction. We also extend congratulations to our track team which will compete in the county championships on May 27th at Kings Park. Districtwide, we have completed most of our grades. Three through eight New York State assessments. Park Elementary and Edmond W. Miles Middle School have been busy focusing on instructional assessments. Advanced placement exams have been underway at the high school and we are now preparing for the upcoming region examination period. Please note that the quarter 4 progress reporting period ends on May 21st and some upcoming events include the high school spring concert and art showcase on May 20th as well as the Northwest Elementary parent workshop at 6 pm that evening. Thank you to our student scholars, our staff, family, and community for their continued support and dedication
016to the Amityville School District. And as a reminder, the board vote and trustee election is held tomorrow. The voting sites are the Amityville High School and Northeast Elementary School, and the polls are open from 7:00 a.m. to 900 p.m. We encourage everyone to come out and cast their vote. Thank you. Thank you, Dr. Pal. At this time, we will have a presentation of the Annal Tide Lobo survey results by our director of health, physical education, and athletics, Mr. Evan Farcus. This has been an ongoing process and tonight is going to let us know where we are, where we've landed, what the voices and feedback has have been in the process. Thank you. >> Good evening. Thank you for the opportunity to present tonight. This is hopefully the final stage of our logo. And I'm hoping
017that tonight we can come to uh an an agreement so that we have a logo moving forward. So these were the 12 options that we had provided on our logo survey to the community. We presented this at the last board of education meeting. During our feedback, the breakdown of participants are as follows. Um you see we have community members, students, parents and staff members who participated. You take a second you can see what the breakdown was. Um the survey was up and running for about two to three weeks. And so um here are the results. So the logo that best represents the identity of you can see the the four got finished with the top votes. I'll go through them slow to take an opportunity to look at them. Uh that best captures the strength
018and energy of the tide mascot with the same result of the previous slide. Most clear and recognizable. See there's a little change at the bottom. Top two remain the same. Simplest and most visually clean. Once again popular bestselling uniforms and apparel without anything. Third one works best across all schools and different programs within the school district and most likely to stand the test of time. You can see the top were very popular. Number one remains the same throughout all the most important factors that people put to drive, duplicity, versatility, strength and tradition. And you can see what how many responses to each category. And here are the key takeaways. Um, logo one was the clear overall favorite across all categories. Uh, logo number six, which I'll show you in in another second, also consistently performed
019strongest. It was number two in all of the different categories. And then logo number 11 appeared in the top four I believe in all the categories. You can see what was important. It was school pride with ability, versatility and a simple simple format and people emphasized the identities of athletics um while also respecting tradition. And the plan is once the logo is approved, we will then finalize the format, we will create what is known as a mascot, almost like a cheat sheet where we'll provide everyone with the different colors. So when people go use the logo, they'll know what if a vendor or you go to to a um a screen printer and they ask what color, you'll know exactly what color to use. We're going to have um one that on there that's approved
020that just says Annieville Tide and then we have our actual logo. So it will be a whole sheet that we will share with the school community that if they ever wanted to use the logo, they'll be able to do that so that we could um start having all of the logos within the district unifi. And here are the top four overall designs. uh says right there top number one logo number one was first overall logo number six in the top right was second logo 11 was third bottom left and logo number five was the fourth of all and those are the four that I present to you today. >> Thank you. Does anyone have any questions about >> No questions. Thank you for putting everything together. >> I'm happy that I was favoring is the
021patient among everybody. It seems like welcome. I won't say which one was my favorite. >> Have a good night. Thank you. >> Thank you. We're going to move along at this point in time if there is any community input on agenda items only. Hi, Wendy. Hold a second, please. Go ahead. >> Hi. Um, okay. A couple of things. I don't see any of these policies. Um, they're not in this they're not what's given to the community. I didn't see it online either. This continues to be an issue that the community is not paying. So, um, there's some on the table now, I believe. That's what the purpose of this dating. >> It's almost 8:30. The meeting started at 7:30. So, they just got there, but we didn't have time to review it. But I did
022um watch the policy committee meeting, the last one. And I have to say about the hiring policy, it's deeply troubling that you want to change um and take away the state court. That happened if you approve it. I would encourage you not to approve it. Um the whole purpose was to bring neutrality um and nonpartisan and make it a more neutral um committee where all stakeholders have a voice. Um the superintendent reviewing resumes first removes that impartiality and maybe the best candidates might not even make it to the committee. So I would encourage you not to do that. That's not in the best interest of the district. Um, the other thing is I see a lot of annual appointments on here. Annual appointments should be made at a reorg meeting. Um, unless there's some dire
023emergency re meeting I mean reason. I'm sorry. Excuse me. I'm sorry. This is falling. That's why I'm it's like falling out of its spot. Okay. Um, so as far as the appointments, appointments supposed to be made at the reorg meeting. Um, unless there's some urgent matter that has to be done now. So what I find is there is just um not protocol like in other districts where that's normal to have it at regular always jumping ahead. Um your board is changing no matter what. Whoever gets elected um somebody will take a seat tomorrow um whoever that may be but uh again this should be waiting until we are. >> Thank you. >> Okay. And also just one thing about the policy that is problematic that almost 8:30 it came when people have been here since
0247:30 they weren't able to review it. I know um in speaking to council too it should be online so that people can read it have questions. It should be redlined or highlighted so the community knows what the proposals are. This has been discussed many many times. >> It's going to be it will be addressed when we get to that item. We're not going to vote on anything this >> No I know there's a first meeting but the thing is is that this has come up so many times and there's been no correction. The community has a right to see what that changes are. >> Yes, we'll be taken. Thank you. >> Any other committee comments on any other items? >> Good evening. Um, first >> uh first and foremost, thank you for the uh appointment
025to all those who were granted tenure this evening. Uh they were everybody in attendance this evening worked extremely hard in order to make sure that they were that they got to this point. um they not only appreciate the trust that it is that you have in them um but they also appreciate the fact that you have acknowledged their hard work and reaching this milestone. Unfortunately, um I will be a little bit remiss if I didn't mention the fact that um of the 13 honores um that received this milestone this year or got to this milestone this year, we had nine people confirmed to come tonight and pretty much over 24 guests um who wanted to join the celebration and that was as of last Wednesday. Um many individuals made commitments uh to be present so
026that they can be here and celebrate with their loved ones. Um and unfortunately those individuals were not able to make it this evening um due to the reschedule. Uh we understand that the board wanted to reschedu this as soon as possible. Um, but I can't ever remember a time where it is that a tenure meeting has ever been rescheduled on the day of or cancelled the day of. Um, in the 26 years that I've been here, I can't remember something like that ever happening. Now, I do understand that things come up. Um, and I would like to think that this had nothing to do with anything else other than, you know, situations and circumstances. Um, but I find it extremely ironic that um that you hear sentiments about the board rushing to get pointless moved
027on and passed um when there wasn't that same consideration to make sure that we had a quorum of individuals to be able to be here contending. I think that everybody who is here tonight um is here tonight because the fact that they wanted to make sure that those individuals who were going to be honored for tenure were going to be able to receive that. But I do question when we have something like tenure which is something that should be selected in our school district one of those occasions. Um, I wonder whether or not people are not going to be able to allow their uh political or or differences impact the ability to understand that we are all one staff and one community. So I hope that moving forward whoever it is that is sitting up
028there uh keeps that in mind because many teachers were extremely disappointed at the fact that um not everyone could be here to celebrate um uh on the original 10. >> Thank you. Any other community input on agenda item? See none. I'm going to move along. I have a motion for agenda item 2 A1 and 2 A2 please. >> M is first a second. Any questions on these two items? Hearing see none. All those in favor? I motion carries 4 Z for agenda item 2B 1 through 7. Please continue to review the the policy and at our next meetings we will have the policies on or either the third meeting for some of them and for the other will be the have a motion for agenda item 2 C one and 2C2 Carol is first second
029any questions or comments on these two divided Hearing seeing none. All those in favor? I >> I motion carries 4 Z. Approval of the district logo. So I'm going to go with the number one. And I have a motion for logo number one. So have a motion for agenda item 3 A1 for approval of the district logo which is logo number first Carol second. I I would say that let me say that I think the voices have spoken and they clearly have identified that reference to logo number one. So I I support both the board and >> I think you would be foolish to go against the >> Yeah. All those in favor >> I motion car motion for agenda item 32 please. This is first second. All those in favor? I motion carries 4.
030Can I do agenda items 3B 1 A through C and then 3 A, 5 A through 5 K all together. So 3 B 1 A 2 C 3 A and it's 5 A through 5K. >> What can I have a motion for those items? Motion Carol is first second. Any questions regarding visas or items? >> All those in favor? >> I motion carries 4. And I have a motion for agenda item 6A down to six. B E B E B E B E B E B E B E B E B E B E B. So motion for 3 B 6 A 3 B 6 A A B second. Any questions on these agenda items? I see none. All those in favor I motion carries. Can I have a motion for can I do agenda
031items 8 A through E 9 A new I 10 a group gone. So eight. So it's going to be three 3 B 8 A through E 9 A through I and 10 A. Miss first second. Any questions on >> all those in favor? >> I carry for you have a question. Yeah, >> I did all the way down. >> I did. >> Yes. >> Can I have a motion? Can I do agenda items 3 C1 and 3C4 all together then have a motion for agenda items 3C1 3C4 please second I do have a question with the the budget transfer you just speak to Sure. There are two transfers we're recommending. One of which is move money from the tax anticipation note interest line to the judgment and claim line. And the reason for that is
032we have had an arbitrage calculation done by our bond council and bond council has found that um of the $285,000 in interest that we earn on the money that we borrow 102,000 that it will be paid because we did not use all of the funs. within the timeline prescribed by the law. Um we must use that we borrow we must use 90% of the funds within the first three months and we did not need that. So we did this calculation. It's not um it's not a penalty. It's just a refund of the interest that we earn above and beyond what we were allowed to draw. A federal government has an interest in not allowing us to to take money from the federal government that would normally be taxable and use it for our own purposes
033unless we meet their requirements. They require me to spend all the money 90% of the money within three months. National gas. What happened was that because we had an exceptionally hard winter this year, we used more natural gas than we had anticipated and Alina and I worked on finding the codes in the budget where we had money that we could transfer to cover that. So we're moving $140,000 from those three codes into the natural fields. >> Thank you. Does anyone else have any questions anyway? Two power racks and four weights. >> Okay. >> For the weight room. Any other questions regarding it? All those in favor? >> I motion carries 4 Z. Can I do 3D one and two together? >> Have a motion for agenda item 3D1 and 3D2. Carol was first. Chris is
034second. Any questions of these? All those in favor carries 4. Can I have a motion for agenda item 3 E1 3 E1 A through 3 E one G is first is second all these contracts have been reviewed Yes. Thank you. Anyone have any questions on this project? >> All those in favor? >> I motion carries. 4 Z. Okay. I have a motion for agenda items 3, F1, and two. Chris is first. Second. Carol second. Any questions on He's I don't know what the scope that will be starting >> and it will run for >> um it's the morning only 9 to 12 >> and for what? >> Thank you. Any other questions in regards to these items? All those in favor? I motion carries 4 Z. Any old business or new business? I do have
035just one reminder for board members in the email that sent out to all the board members about the schedule for the superintendent evaluation. Please review those dates because we need to adhere to those dates. Any other any other new business at this time? community input on non board the items. So, I picked up the policies at the back table and I went through them and I noticed that some of them are marked up. So, thank you for doing that. I noticed that student records is in this packet but it's not listed on the agenda. Is that supposed to be >> at this time though? >> Okay, that was included in the packet. Um, the second thing is the hiring committee policy is not marked up at all. So everything else is marked up except the
036hiring committee policy. So again, the community has no idea what your changes are. I happen to know because I was on the policy committee meeting plus I tuned in. So, I'm just going to point this out for anybody that doesn't know. When the when I was on the board and we did the hiring policy, we had a member of each union. So, it was seven union members um that could attend and five community members. What's different here is they're going to pick five community members, but they're only going to limit two um on the committee at a time. So, you're actually shrinking the community's voice, marginal marginalizing their input. We want more community input, not less of community input. So that's that. The second question that I have is as far as the board, the
037board and their official spokesperson. I'm curious to know if you've designated um Trustee Naring as your spokesperson because he's writing on Facebook and it says Chris Nearing, second vice president of the board of education. I'm releasing statements but not identifying it as his individual um statement. So, I just want to know it's labeled as that. Have you designated him to be your spokesperson? >> Good. >> So, if you look on the description of the page, it states that it is my personal opinion and not a statement of the school district or the board of education. >> But that but that I would ask council to review this. You don't have to do it now, but it does distinguish second vice president of the amidable board of education. So by doing that you're identifying yourself and
038almost pro, you know, trying to position your opinion to weigh more than just a regular person by putting that label on. You know, I've trained a lot of boards of education and, you know, can you post on social media? Certainly. But the rule of thumb is just because you can doesn't mean you should. I'm asking council to please look at that. Thank you. >> Thank you. But I think also just keep in mind that any other >> Thank you. So she was just stating that the policy that's in there was there because it was being referenced in another that's not that part of Thank you. Any other committee input on non good evening Caroline my question for s if the tax levy increase were to go anything above 1.56% would it take super majority or
039just a simple majority for the budget to Yes. >> It would take a super majority. It would require 60% of the voters to approve any increase above 1.56%. >> Okay. So, in essence, 1.56% is the tax cap. >> Yeah. >> Okay. Thank you for clarifying. Newsuesday says the same thing. Unfortunately, the residents who received the district's newsletter, which I believe is everyone in Amityville think 2.23% is a tax cap because the newsletter states the proposed budget carries a tax levy increase of 1.56% which is below the district's allowable cap of 2.23%. I posted about this on Facebook over the weekend. Today the district issued a statement in response to quote misinformation on social media as they call it. But the district statement affirms that the tax cap is 1.56%. So the fact is the misinformation
040is on the district newsletter not social media or my posts like Mr. Drago. Could you clarify at the time the original posting of perhaps tax kept by you saying the timing of the budget letter was as such? So when the community last year approved the levy of um I forgot exactly what the number was, but there was a reserve that had to be used to reduce the levy. It was approximately $400,000 because the energy performance contract was not awarded and therefore the exclusion that the district took for the energy performance capital project was disallowed. We have we have to use that money to reduce the le >> as I explained in my social media posts. Thank you. So the levy increase of 2.33% that the controller reported in his report was misleading in that the
041that levy was never imposed by the community. The levy that was imposed from the community was 1.56% less than the leos next year. For all intents and purposes, when the community think of the levy, they think of what's the limit that can be imposed for you to meet the supermajority. And actually, I'm really happy that the um policies were printed because I just read your budgeting policy and because it has to be put in plain language. >> So the plain understanding and the plain language that the community understands is anything above whatever the levy is is what requires a supermajority. That's not what people understand when they got the newsletter. And I know this for a fact because I've had people say to me, the budget leaves plenty of room. They could have leggied more
042if they wanted to. That's what community members think. They think that you could have levied much more and still only required authority. That is not the that is not proof. So that is why I tried to clarify. I do have another question and it pertains to the half million dollar increase in the budget's projected local revenue. This caught my eye because in March uh Mr. Draon explained that this year's budget would require half a million dollars in ERS reserves even though in his words reserves should only be used in extended living circumstances. I had the opportunity to follow up and ask what are the extended circumstances at the May 4th meeting at the Holy Trinity Baptist Church in North Bangville and his answer was it's because we can't pierce the tax cap. Now, when I
043think of extending circumstances, I think of pandemics and floods and terrorist attacks, all of which we've seen. But I don't think of a district's inability to pierce the tax cut. Two days after that meeting, a new presentation appeared on the board's website >> and half the half a million from the ERS reserve that was included as part of our ready appears to be gone. It's just $1, but suddenly there's an additional half mill in projected local revenue. So where did that fun $200,000 in local revenue result of the finding by the state education department? There are school lunch funds balanced within each test of allowable limit. We have such a successful school lunch program that we actually have no more than three months composed of operating expenses in our fund in the school lunch fund.
044So we were required by the state education department to diminish so that we have no more than three months of operating expenses in the school lunch. What we're doing at that $600,000 is buying new serving lines for two of our cafeterias. We're renovating the wall in the space. We're putting in walk-in freezer in the high school and all of that is included in the transfer to capital line within the budget. >> This is ringing a bell. I I think it was at that same May 4th meeting that I recall hearing about lunch fund. However, at that same meeting, you were still talking about the need to use CRS reserves. You know, we we are using approximately $310,000 of ERS reserves because the current rejection of unexpended funding in this year's funding. The current objection is
045that we will have approximately $2.5 million in the defense. In order for us to stay under the tax cap of 1.56%, we needed to make that number approximately 2.8. And that's why we took an additional $310,000 from the ERF reserve, which is together between those two less than the $2,954,000 that was used in last year's budget to balance it. >> Why would you not just take it from the unassigned fund balance? >> You're just trying to fill the hole. Why do you need it from the ERS? >> That's a that's a possibility that you could do that as well. However, the difference is that unassigned compound could be used for any purpose and I would prefer my recommendation to the board is that we use unassigned for emergency situations like a boiler roof collapse etc
046that we had not anticipated. The ERS board can only be viewed to pay ER liability. >> So when we build the budget of the ERS liability $1 million, we're asking the taxpayers to fund 690,000 tax and to fund the remaining 300. >> Okay. I compared the two presentations, >> the March presentation and the one that followed that meeting, and those details are not spelled out. However, it it sounds like you're using ERS reserves in this year's budget. Correct. >> Absolutely. Yes. >> Okay. We did not use them last year when I was on the board when we were still trying to recover from a deficit. And I'm pretty sure we did not use them the year before when I was an audience paying attention. So I just want to you know repeat what you just
047said. We are using ERS reserves which we have not used recently. Therefore we are increasing our reliance fund reserve not decreasing them. >> No unassigned fund balance. >> The statement was we are reducing our reliance on fund balance and reserves. We are reducing let me say that again. We are reducing our reliance on 1,90. Last year it was 2,954,000. This year it's 2,870,000. That's a reduction. >> It is a reduction. >> Thank you for your time. Thank you. I I just want to say we did receive the policy committee received an email from one of the members of the hiring committee and I just believe that we did receive it and we have an email was shared with any other committee in other motion to ad44 >> motion. All those in favor? All fine. Thank
048you for coming.