001Okay, welcome to our work session. Hope everybody got a chance to go out and vote. Uh let me have a uh motion to go into work session, please. Second. All in favor? I opposed. So carried. We will start off with uh Mr. Agustinino. A little out of order for good reason though. Yes. A little out of order for good reason. I I appreciate it and and I I apologize to Fifth Avenue. I'm sure it's going to be amazing, but I have to get out to a playoff uh lacrosse game. So, I was asked by my my cheerleading coach about having a a USCA cheerleading camp. She was originally going to go to the camp, which was in Pennsylvania. It would have cost the the students roughly $350 each. That's without transportation. They had to do
002the fundraising for that. And then she said, "Well, the other option is we can host a camp here." And I said, "Okay, well, what that what would that cost us?" So, it's it's it would only cost us $240 a kid for the camp. So, they'd come, they'd send their experts to it to the camp. They teach our kids um you know, all the moves that they need to know to compete in the highest competition possible, which is what they want to go to is in Florida. So, they're starting that process. So, you have to go to get to Florida, and I'm sure Miss Cove can share this with you, to get to Florida, you have to compete with you have to train with UCA. So that's varsity runs that. So what I you know I
003thought the idea would be best to let them come here, let them work in our gym in the small gym and run the camp from that point on. And when is that? Uh I believe the date is August 21st to 23rd. Yeah. Yeah. It's like a Thursday, Friday, Saturday. Originally it was a Sunday and I told her we can't do it on Sunday. We want to do it on a Saturday. So they moved everything. Is there anything else they would need from us? um like just equipment, mats, nothing. It's all it's all we have everything. It's all here. They're just going to send their experts to train them. Just a use of facilities. That's it. They filled out all the paperwork and everything, insurance and everything. And Chris, is it going to be Bashore kids
004only? Only Bashore kids. I'm good with it. I'm good with it. Thank you. It's fine. Okay. Thanks. Enjoy. That was easy. Good luck. Ask Dr. Sters to come in as you're leaving. other sheets. Good evening. Hello. Good evening. Hello. Um before they begin, and this is going to be very exciting. They're very excited to come in here and and present to you, I just want to say thank you, Board of Education, for doing all that you do for for all of our schools. We have a wonderful district and um so lucky to be here. We do have first and second grade students from Fifth Avenue School who will be in shortly. We just had This is getting exciting. I love the reveal. We just had our Fifth Avenue International Night program in April and we're
005just going to talk about what it was and they have a special a quick performance for you. And here are some of the students who performed that evening. Some of them are dressed in special attire and you can welcome guys. Good evening. Wow. This is awesome. I like all the smiles. How you guys doing? Good. Love the hats. Awesome. International Night. This is actually our 10th year. It started in 2015. And the first year that we we had this program in at Fifth Avenue School, I was a teacher there. and Channel 12 News came to Fifth Avenue School to celebrate with us. I don't know if I'm supposed to This is a clip from 10 years ago. students around the world took part in the first everth school. It's very low. I was told not
006to touch the volume on the computer. I don't want to mess up the rest of the presentation tonight. But as you can see, we hold the program in the gymnasium and it it brings [Music] This student is Peter Rybeck. He's in 11th grade right now. I checked. So, this was 10 years ago. And the students get to get together with families. And our students, they share in the celebration. They learn how to make pasta here. They learn about different cultures and people in the Fifth Avenue community and in the Bayore community. that took some young students around. Okay. So, Fifth Avenue School celebrating 10 years of connecting members of our school community. I don't think this is the program started because staff wanted to celebrate the diversity in our community. question. It brings together people
007from different cultures, backgrounds, and different traditions. And it creates an atmosphere of unity, respect, and understanding. It brings the world to Fifth Avenue School by utilizing our own resources. Cultural performances, food stations, arts and crafts, and a cultural fashion show are what we highlight. And it also highlights the beauty and diverse cultures making it a memorable experience for all. Right now we have a quick performance from some of our second grade students. And I'm hoping we have enough room. Yes, we split it into two circles today. Second grade Irish students circle up. Two circles. [Music] Heat. Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. Heat. [Music] Don [Music] [Applause] [Music] Hey, hey, hey. [Music] Great job once again. Um, and to culminate our presentation, there's three students who are just going to tell you what international, why they
008like it, and what it means to them. So, we have [Applause] Dearis, International Night makes me happy because it makes me proud to be from Guatemala. I get to wear my flag. [Applause] Grace, you can actually take it off if you want. You can move right down to them. Yeah. Yeah, you can pick up. Just pick it right up. I like international night because we got to see a bunch of other kids dressed in their cultures clothes. It made me feel proud to see my sister dressed up in a Filipino outfit. A and Elena. We have Elena. I liked international night because we tasted the food from all different countries and it was yummy. It made me feel happy because I got to present where I'm from. [Applause] Thank you very much. And before I
009end, we also have staff members that dedicate a lot of time to this program. Um, as stated by Miss Motto, who is standing right there, international night shows how diverse we are. It is amazing to see everyone excited to show off their cultures and bring delicious dishes and artifacts to share with our community. And Mrs. Yarm, one of our Fifth Avenue School teachers, said, "It's a celebration where rich cultures, beaming pride, and community intertwined together to highlight our diversity. It's a relaxing environment where sharing and learning about the beauty of our students, their families, and staff bring awareness to the vastly different ways we are alike. I'd like to thank you. And as we leave and exit, the students are going to just turn around and show you what they have on as they process
010uh off and out to the back door. So, they're going to follow Mrs. Bush and Demaris. You're going to turn and follow Mrs. Bush. And we're just going to turn and follow Mrs. Bush. Thank you, friends. Next year hopefully um we we will give you personal invites to come when we have that event. We'd love for you to come. Thank you for all you do. Thank you. Fabulous. Thank you. Thank you. It's okay. I'm sorry. You like Thank you. Thanks for coming. Thank you everybody. Thank you parents. This is Moren. No, this is just shows how you all get along. That's the biggest thing you ask. I got I got to ask that question to meet the candidate. That's that's next we have uh the key right 2526 special education program placements sendies Dr. Wendy's
011I mean she's not even and Miss Feringer well we're fortunate in Bayore to have programs and services that meet the needs of the children that we serve. Now our special education department has done a phenomenal job in designing programs that align with the board's mission of supporting students and not just some students all students. So this evening Dr. Andies and Miss Ba are outlining some program adjustments for the upcoming school year so that we are able to continue providing the support in the best way possible. So Dr. Andy and Miss Rivera, I turn it over. That's a hard act to follow. Exactly. Yeah. Good evening. Um, no. So, um, there are some changes that are coming to our district for, um, to just really accommodate for space as we have some growth in some of
012our programs. And also, we're happy that, um, we're going to have some programs in other buildings that have not been there um, as of yet, which I know brings some families uh, joy to have some students in some of their children in some zone schools. As much as we uh are trying to do that for all our students, we were able to accomplish this for most. Um so at the UPK center, we are opening a another 811 class to accommodate for some of the incoming kindergarten classes and the class sizes that we have for next school year. Four. Four in total. Ask how many schools. So that'll go to four. That will go to four. The Mary G. Clarkson School will have our K2 developmental 12-11 program back. Um, for the past few years, we
013have not had the numbers to support that program at the K2 level. However, we do have a large number of students for next school year slotted for that program. Approximately 11 at this point. So, that that's a full class. Starting pretty full. And in addition, we are moving our 1211, I'm going to call it um our general assessment regions based kindergarten class over to Mary G. Clarkson because it just builds better programming because that that classroom now is with the first grade, second grade so the teachers can collaborate and they're talking about the same type of thing for the continuum of service and that's a regular track. Exactly. Yes. And that class is presently at the UPK center. That class will be going over to Mary G. Clarkson so they're first grade and second grade
014counterparts uh for the teacher as well as the students. Is the 121 K2 development class um already slotted as a non um region track? Well, we make that determination uh in second grade going into third grade, but they do use the separate curriculum from and then the families are you know we we do describe it as where um you know what the needs of the students are and and how we're going to address them. At Brook Avenue, we are um moving uh we're two ABA classes there. all the students who are going to be attending Brook Avenue zone um for the ABA classes are Brook Avenue zone students. So that's the nice thing where kids are starting to go to their zone and it's just not, you know, just one particular building. So we're starting
015to spread these programs out. So hopefully, you know, you know, over time we can get kids where their their own schools are. Sometimes they have siblings and what have you to make it um collective whole. One of the sections on Mary G. Clarkson 811 is um so we have three presently there. We will have two next year. One would be um going over to uh Brook Avenue. What are you going to I said that's great. I'm home. So can I just ask you in in Mary G. Clarkson then you'll have two 1211 classes and two 811 classes. I do you mean in total altogether we will have two 811 classes, one K2 developmental 12 and three 1211 classes general assessment because we're moving that other class from UPK over to to do that. What else
016do we have? South Country School will be getting a third 811 class. So there are two existing there. We do have um more than 16 children um for those classrooms for next school year. So there will be a third class there. But uh it at the middle school we currently have two eight uh 811s. We're going down to one for the year. That position is going over to um the to South Country. And it makes sense to start that process now because in the following year we will be up to enough students to really fill all the the 811s. I mean we're going to be close to fill but it's going to um start to be tight um when the the the second graders moving into third grade a year from now. So, it just
017makes sense to start developing those classrooms. We're also having some changes at Guard Manor, which we're excited about as well. Um, we will be bringing back a few years ago we had uh 121's third, fourth, and fifth grade in there in that building. And now we're going to be having a 1211 third grade class at Garden Manor. Um, and then we're also going to have our third graders who will be attending the 1211 developmental program at Guard Manor as well as we've had some growth in um in that program also. And regardless of zone, they will be so I think the probably the what we're looking at is um South Country eventually we'll have our 811s and then going into Gardener Manor it'll be our developmental classes there. Um so since the the second grade
018students are they have to change schools anyway regardless they'll go to garden of matter and then build that up and then the other one will start to phase down as they start to uh transition to the middle school. So it all makes sense. It's just going to take probably about two or three years to get to there. But it it's a nice balance I I think overall where we're going and also de balancing all of our resources so everyone has an adequate amount of support because these build these these programs require a lot of just not the teacher it's the behavioral consultants the speech therapists occupational therapists physical therapists so yeah and space so you can't just have it all in one building it becomes very topheavy and that that doesn't work either so I
019think that this is a nice plan it all it all makes sense um And it's uh we're doing it at at a at a at a very good pace. In the in the garden man that third grade developmental class, is it it says five students. Will there be more students? Because that's a 121, right? So the for the developmental class, we we were trying to be very careful to not disrupt um children that were already in South Country. Yeah. Um so after many many plans many many times um the best way that we could impact the least amount of students um was to make it a pure third grade class because they will all be transitioning into third grade. So, the Garden Manor 121 developmental, it is a a combination of students that are zoned
020for South as well as Garden Manor because we wanted it to be clean um for the students to minimize transitions for for our students because we didn't think that that was best for them. South right in South Country will have approximately 11 students. So, is that a fuller class? Yes. But over time, it will start to just, you know, again, phase one out and then that will be So, it'll start with five. Exactly. Yes. and we will grow um that class over time. That's for sure. Can you remind me what the difference between um the 811 121 and the developmental are? Yes. So in our 811 programs um our students get individualized instruction where um they we design curriculum for each individual child in the program so that we are teaching them at their level.
021um most often filling uh developmental gaps that may be um with all the learning, social emotional academics um and as well as communication. Our 811 programs are very heavily supported in communication because we are working with some students that are non-verbal communicators as well as verbal communicators and obviously always working towards that verbal communication. Um in our 121 developmental programs, we use um uh performance-based alternate performance-based curriculum for them for all content areas. We teach the students in those programs in more small group instruction uh rather than whole class. A lot of uh centerbased learning um in the program. Um, and in our 1201 general assessment classes, it's a modified regular curriculum model so that the teachers are teaching what all the general education teachers are, but at a slower pace with um more modifications,
022more repetition. Um, and the reason that we wanted to have the 121 class from UPK go into the Mary G. Clarkson school um is because although they've been doing a great job working together across the schools, living there, you know, is more beneficial, I think, for the teacher and the the students and visiting there. Um so now that we have so much growth in so many programs, we're trying to create embedded supports in our buildings so that programs have other classes like them to work collaboratively and support each other for what's best for our kids. And and when you kind of build it up to the curriculum where the really continuum where our eights go over time will be our win program at the high school and our WOW program is really our 1211 developmental
023classes. So just kind of like where they all kind of link up and the different types of programs we set up as as young adults. This is where we start as those little guys. I think the collegial piece is so important to have somebody to go to that really understands what you're going through um more than a regular ed more than elementary ed teacher. Like you need that I need to sound something off you. Yes. It's a big deal. Yes. Between buildings and in in in buildings. Yeah. Yeah. We're trying to be strategic in just embedding supports as much as possible that are naturally occurring um within the buildings by having the teachers have those groups with them and counterparts. Awesome. Good stuff. Thank you very much. You still got time to dance. It's very
024rewarding job, but it is uh it is a lot of work and there are so many pieces. A lot of movie pieces. Yes. so many pieces and you know it's like a domino. We'll get it. But well, you presented clearly. Thank you. Thank you. Thanks. That's it for our uh work work session agenda. Executive. Yep. Yes. We're going to come back for uh public session at 6:00. And for now, we'll go back into executive session. Can I have a motion to go out of work session? Motion. Second. All in favor? I opposed. So carried. We can do that inside. Motion to go into executive session. Motion. She bled me into it. All in favor? I You mean follow procedure? Yes, that's right. Bed into following procedure. You're following procedure. This is awesome. Freezing. Welcome everybody
025to our public session. Before we get going, all stand up. Pledge. Pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. If I could have a motion to go into public session. Motion. Second. All in favor? I opposed. So carried. Before we get going here, uh, couple of comments quickly. If anybody has any questions on agenda items, we can take those now. No. Any comments uh on items that are not on the agenda will be after the meeting. If you can keep them to three minutes, we would appreciate it. Uh before we get started, we have some recognition. Couple of recognition. We're first going to start with uh starting July 1st, all school districts in
026New York State need to have a student board member as part of the board. Um uh non- voting and cannot attend executive session, but it is really a great opportunity for a student within Beayshore to participate with the board. We think it's a great civic responsibility. Um in our policy when we developed it, u Mr. Pashkin, Mr. Gordon, were trying to develop uh something that would really capture the essence of what a stu student board member would be like. So, we're actually very very pleased this evening that we're going to have our first student board member. He is a junior will be a senior next year. U Mr. Gordon has described him just as an amazing young man. um involved in all of the different activities in the school district. Um an officer and someone
027that really just is a a great student. So I want to welcome tonight our board member effective July 1st even though he will be approved tonight, David Birdie. He's with us. We we met David yesterday in cabinet and everything Mr. Gordon said about this young man and he was 100% correct. Hello. Hi. Hi. I'm a little nervous. Um I just want to say thank you Mr. Gordon for nominating me. Um and I'm really excited to serve on the you know part of the board as a student and I think this is a great idea. uh especially to be student representative and yeah I don't I didn't really plan much to say but I want to say thank you and David just so you know the board is enthusiastic about your uh being part of this
028should be a great opportunity for us to learn from you also thank you everybody take a picture with you everybody This is the hard part of the job. Congratulations from here. And we have more. Do that. We'll do it right at the end. Um, we also, it's very exciting time for us. Again, that I've been in Basha 31 years. I don't think we've ever had five building principles um, retire at once. So, again, it is a lot of change, but we have some outstanding candidates that are with us this evening, which we're going to call up shortly, who went through a very, very rigorous process to be um, considered for our building principles. I think it was a committee of 12 to 13 uh administrators, teachers um that went through asked some challenging questions, but
029we really found some outstanding candidates to replace uh our you know John Agasso who's been a building principal for 24 years, Letty Garcia 23 years, Colton Brown I think 27 or 28 years and Jackie Rivera five years at UPK. So we are, you know, replacing about 80 years worth of experience with some outstanding people. And I want to call him up right now and we'll take a picture with the board as well. We have a gift for you guys for starting, but I want to start with uh Miss Claudia Rivera. Come right up. Miss Miss Rivera will be taking over at the UPK Center. She has worked with us as the assistant director for special ed for about 11 years. So, we're very very fortunate to have Miss Rivera moving into a new role. Uh,
030next I'd like to call up Miss Eron Lentini. Miss L Miss Lentini has been an outstanding educator in Beayshore over 15 years working at South Country and in believe in Fifth Avenue as an elementary teacher. This past year, we she became the assistant principal at Brooke and Mary G and Dr. Lenky and Miss Garcia cannot say enough about her in terms of her her ability as an administrator. So, we're very very pleased to have Miss Lentini becoming the Mary G. Clarkson principal for next year. Next call, Miss Mattie Padilla. Miss Padilla has been with us since 2001. You're saying why do I know that? Because anytime Maddie would talk about her first experience was in 9/11. Uh tells a very very emotional story, personal story about how uh I guess supported she was during a
031very very challenging time. Um so again, I know this is 2001, but she served in so many different roles for us within the Bayer School District. Starting out as a social studies teacher in the high school, she was an assistant principal at Gardener Manor, assistant director for ESL world language and dual language. Came back as the director of social studies. And we're very, very pleased that Miss Padilla will be taking over next year at Garden of Manor. I'm going to ask Miss Jen Moore to come up. Miss Mar has been another uh lifelong Beayshore faculty member. Was an elementary teacher in Fifth Avenue for over 20 years about four years ago. Um we hired Miss Meyer as a assistant principal at Brook and at Fifth Avenue. Did an outstanding job this past year. She we
032split Miss Maher at South Country and at Fifth Avenue. and again has done an outstanding job and she will be taking over at South Country July 1st. And our last uh principal again he was he mentioned when we met with the board earlier that he entered the middle school in '94 and again that's 31 years ago when I entered the middle school Mr. McDougall and I had actually Duncan as a student um so I can tell a lot of stories about Mr. McDougall, but but I won't. Um, but again, he's been a graduate of 2001 Basher graduate. Um, he's been an English teacher, middle school, high school. He's been an assistant principal, Mary G. South Country. Uh, this past year, he moved over to the middle school as assistant principal. And we're very, very proud
033to have Mr. McDougall taking over at the middle school July 1st. I will say this is really an outstanding group and we met with them earlier and uh the collegiality between the the five of them again they have a group text that we're not on but they are sharing a lot of different ideas u but again they're supporting one another so we're really really looking forward to all the great things they're going to do for our students in Beayore so we're gonna actually take a picture with the board but also we'd like to give all of you a little gift for your offices when you start out and South Country with Miss Maher. Picture of South Country Garden of Manor for Miss Padilla. It's a beautiful picture of the UPK Center, our newest building. Mary
034G, Miss Lentini Middle School and Mr. McD Middle School. And again, we're looking forward to all the great things you're going to do. So, thank you. I go in the middle behind. [Applause] Mr. Gordon and Mrs. Gordon Good evening everyone. Thank you once again for having me back. It's always an honor to be here and especially on a night like this. It's a celebratory season obviously. Congratulations to my colleagues. I look forward to working with you in your new capacities as principles. And David, they are correct. You were you were the choice and congratulations. I think you're going to do a fantastic job. But the main reason I'm here tonight is to share with you two extraordinary members of the class of 2025. It's this time of year where I have the honor of recognizing
035two students and tonight we have two fantastic young women who have done a lot not only within our high school but within this community and we're here to celebrate them. So we're going to start it off with our saludiatoran from the class of 2025. I'm going to ask her to join me up here. Miss Lama [Applause] Ali. So before I jump in, um I also want to thank all of the faculty members and the family members who helped me with uh putting together tonight's presentation. We had many former teachers um reach out and share some anecdotes. So As I go along and I share some of the accomplishments of our two honories this evening, I'm going to share some anecdotes from their from their journey through Beayshore schools as well. So, LaMia Ali, the saludiatoran
036for the class of 2025. She will finish this school year with a a GPA of 104.62. She is separated from our validictorian by just 05. Lema is also an AP scholar with distinction. The college board recognizes students for their performance on AP exams. She will be earning an advanced regent diploma with honors with a mastery in math and science. And she's just one of our students who will be graduating this year. Additionally, with a seal of civic readiness. We're going to go go a little bit back in time. Now, something interesting about LA. She became a marauder in sixth grade. She joined the Beayshore family in sixth grade. So, we're going to go back to the middle school. Miss Mley says, "Watching you grow from a curious, determined middle schooler into an incredible leader and
037scholar you are today is an unbelievable moment for you and for all of your teachers. Your drive, your work, your ability to push yourself beyond expectations have always stood out. Even back then, we all knew you were going places and now here you are. I hope you take a moment to be proud of all you accomplished. We are keep reaching higher. This is just your beginning. With pride, Mrs. Mley, formerly Miss Pollock. Also from the middle school, Miss Ingold, social studies. Lemma has already made history. As an eighth grader, she exemplified how the best version of ourselves emerges through what we can achieve, regardless of limitations, challenges, or circumstances. During the 2021 school year, Lema wrote a compelling letter to a member of the board of regents sharing her experience as a fully virtual student.
038In it, she offered thoughtful recommendations on how incorporating more diverse cultural perspectives, particularly those of Asian and African-American communities, could enrich the educational experience for all students in New York State. Her letter received a deeply meaningful response. What struck me most was her authenticity and willingness to be completely genuine and authentic. Lema along with her classmates defy the odds and now serve as role models of resilience, leaving behind a powerful legacy of what is truly possible in the face of adversity. I am incredibly proud to have been her teacher, Mrs. Ingold. Lemma will finish uh her high school career a having averaged uh 96% on all of her regent exams. Of the 80, excuse me, of the 38 course grades that she will have received, 34 of them range between a 98 and 100%. 16
039of her course grades, she has scored a perfect 100. She will also have completed 13 higher level AP or IB courses by the end of this year. Dr. Herpst. Her Latin teacher shares, "For the past three years, every time I've handed out an assignment in class, I've noticed that Lema always has a pencil case on her desk that says, "Good vibes only in bold font." In addition to carrying this case every day, she has also consistently brought to our class an intellectual curiosity that is genuinely rare among students her age, an incredible work ethic, an impressive level of academic achievement, and yes, absolutely nothing but good vibes, and kindness when assisting her fellow students who sometimes find the material challenging. From Dr. Herpst. Miss Curtis from the middle school actually was one of the first
040to respond to me and she shared the email from Miss Lapid that was announcing your arrival Lema. And in that email it states that Lema was a high honor role student whose lowest grade at the time was a 98. And Miss Curtis's response was her lowest grade is a 98. I remember feeling excited and concerned all at the same time. I needed more than a day to prepare for this amazing student. Lema came in the next day so meek and mild, but raised her hand multiple times to easily participate in the lesson. I was tremendously impressed. I would soon learn more about amazing Lama. Notice her dream flag poem in the photo. She created beautiful metaphors to describe the power of dreams. While at the high school, Lama has been on the principal's list and
041earned high honor role all marking periods in high school. She's a national merit scholar and she's been recognized as an honore at breakfast for champions. She's also the recipient of an honorary science award from Bowshan Lam. Speaking of science, Miss Eglund penned this. Lema has told me that she plans to major in chemical engineering, and there's absolutely no doubt in my mind that she will thrive in that field. When I reflect on my most exceptional students I've had the privilege of teaching, Lema is the first who comes to mind. I have been fortunate enough to teach Lema not once, but twice, and each year, she continues to impress me. From the moment she entered honors chemistry, she set the bar high, earning a perfect 100 every marking period and a coveted 100 on the New
042York State chemistry regents. This year in AP Chem, Lema continues to lead the pack, holding the highest average in a course that even challenged me. This is my first year teaching AP Chemistry, and I'll admit, there were times I found the content difficult to tackle without another teacher to confer with. I often found myself navigating the course solo. Lema doesn't know this, but her work was so consistently accurate and precise that she became my unofficial co-teer. Quite often during independent practice, I'd walk around the room with my answer key in hand to help students with their work. However, my first stop was always at me. I'd crouch beside her, scanning her paper under the guise of offering help. But in truth, I was comparing my answers to her. In a classroom full of strong students,
043Lema stood out as someone whose brilliance, confidence, and meticulous attention to detail I could rely on. In many ways, she became my compass in the classroom. Lama is also more than just an academic. While at the high school, she's been involved in the women's empowerment group and serving as their social media manager, which is a a role that I believe she created. She's also a member of the Hello Ambassadors, the award-winning Hello Ambassadors program. She's participated in Compassion Without Borders with other students from high schools around Suffach County. She's a member of the Interact Club, environmental club, and the Make the Road New York Youth Power Project. Her AP US history teacher, Mr. Jones, states, "Lema is a diligent and responsible student who met the challenge of a push course, the A push course, with
044great enthusiasm. She consistently completed her assignments in a comprehensive and insightful manner. She participated in class on a regular basis, posing provocative questions and offering a unique perspective on many historical and contemporary issues. The nature of the advanced placement course consistently requires students to be self-motivated and inquisitive to optimize their learning experience. Lame seemed to thrive in this environment with the onus largely on the student to evaluate historical events in preparation for classroom discussions and debates. She cons consist consistently articulated well-prepared arguments and was adept at anticipating counterpoints as a result of carefully analyzing multiple perspectives surrounding key historical events. She has excelled in numerous AP classes and has remained a model of consistency. Most importantly, Lama was a true delight to have in class. Mr. Jones, Mr. Carr adds in class, Lema demonstrates a
045quick wit, a dry humor, and an incisive mind that sees concepts that few other students can. It's not simply about understanding the definition and procedures. Lema can see the mathematics around her in a way that is truly rare. Mr. Carr. So before I share my final slide, I think probably one of the people who has truly taken to Ulma is our adviser for the women's empowerment group, Miss Indo. And I know she's here tonight to celebrate you. So I want to share her statement last. Since joining the women's empowerment group as a sophomore, Lema has played a key role in shaping a supportive and respectful environment where members feel safe, valued, and cared for. She gives space for others to speak even when she may already know the answer or hold a different opinion. It
046is evident that she listens not to reply but to understand and that subtle difference has transformed many discussions and as she has helped to open minds and foster empathy. Lema has shown that leadership is not always about being in front but about lifting others up alongside you. More than once I found myself reflecting on her words and actions and realizing that I too had something to learn from her. In that way, she has reminded me that teaching is not a one-way street and that some of the most important lessons come from those we were meant to guide. Miss India. So once again, ladies and gentlemen, come on up. Lema Lemia in the fall she will be heading off to Bingington University where she plans to study engineering chemical engineering according to Miss Eglund maybe. Um
047we are extremely proud of you. Our 2025 saludiatoran Miss Lama Ali You want me in Congratulations. [Applause] Wow. Before we jump into the introducing the valadictorian, any teachers that are here to celebrate LAMIA and our valadictorian, who I'll introduce momentarily afterwards, if you can come to the lobby for a group photo, that would be fantastic. Thank you. So this year, our validictorian is Miss Amelia Mia Casten. [Applause] Mia will finish this school year ranked first in the class of 2025 with a grade point average of 104.67. She too has she too has been on the principal's list and high honor role all marking periods while her during her tenure in high school. She is also an AP scholar with distinction and will graduate in June with an advanced regent diploma with honors with mastery in
048science and math. Mia, we're going to go all the way back to kindergarten. Miss Roki. Yes. It is an honor to write about Mia Casten. She was a delightful member of my kindergarten class at Fifth Avenue School. Mia was quiet but determined and well-liked by her classmates. My par professional at the time, Marian Oliviera, remembers Mia's sweet nature and loved working with her. What a great year we spent together reading stories, singing songs, and learning how to be kind to each other. Congratulations on being validictorian Mia. I wish you happiness and good fortune in all your future endeavors. Miss Roki. Mia will finish her high school career having averaged 96% on all of her readance exams. Of her 39 course grades, 38 of them range between a 96 and 100, 15 final grades of 100%.
049She will finish this school year having completed 13 higher level courses, AP or IB course uh classes in our most challenging uh programs at the high school. Some teachers from South Country also shared some thoughts. Miss Ellis, I had the privilege of having Mia in my third grade accelerated math class. As a third grader, she worked diligently and was already demonstrating incredible skills as a problem solver. However, what I remember most is her kindness and positivity. Mia came to class with a smile on her face each day. She was exceptionally sweet and kind to all. She had a caring and supportive family. Mia was the kind of student you looked forward to seeing and who you knew you would hear more about in the future. And here we are. Congratulations, Mia. I'm so happy for
050all you have accomplished and look forward to hearing what's to come. Mrs. Ellis, formerly Miss Ramundi. Another teacher from South Country, Mrs. Christristando. I was so honored and proud when I received the letter inviting me to celebrate Mia. I will always remember being so lucky to be her teacher and especially during our third grade wax museum. That sweet face dressed up as Amelia Heheart. So, I'd like to quote her and say, "Adventure is worthwhile in itself. I am sure that Mia will succeed in all of her adventures and I will be here on the ground watching her soar." Mrs. Cristano. Mia too has been involved in quite a bit at the high school. She's been a member of the National Honor Society in her junior and senior year. She is co-editor of the Maroon Echo,
051our school newspaper. She has served in leadership roles within our Interact Club in 11th grade, serving as the treasurer and this year serving as co-president. She's also a member of the Best Buddies uh club, which you can see they were featured uh over the weekend on CBS Mornings. That's them down there on the bottom left side of the screen. Uh they were doing a Best Buddies walk this past weekend. She serves as treasurer of the Best Buddies Club. She's also been a member of the math team uh all four years of high school and a law day participant with Miss Marziliano and Mr. Selzer. This next anecdote comes from Mrs. Mayott in the middle school. I am not surprised in the least that Ame Amelia Casten is graduating this year as Basher High School's valadictorian.
052Although my time as her eighth grade teacher was somewhat different due to our hybrid return to school after the CO 19 lockdown, I was lucky enough to have already had a connection with Amelia through her older sister who was in my class a few years prior. As an honor student, Amelia was very quiet and unassuming, but she was always observing and thinking. She didn't miss anything. This this stands out to me because her silence was her strength. It did not detract from her creativity and inquisitive nature, but rather enhanced it. While other students would constantly seek out assistance and require assurance that they were doing it right, Amelia often sat hushed, working hard to find answers on her own. Then, if she felt like she needed it, she would seek me out. Clearly, this has
053served her well, as she has no doubt used these skills to be able to graduate at the top of her class. I am very proud to have had had the opportunity to work with someone who cared about her education but did not need attention, prompt or circumstance around her to excel. Now though, it is time to celebrate her. Congratulations, Amelia from Miss Mayot. Oh, I have to share one more from the middle school as well. This is from Mrs. Ford. The way in which I describe the 2021 school year is like the Charles is likened to Charles Dickens. It was the best of times. It was the worst of times. A tale of two cities. Thrust into a new reality. No time to adjust. We will we will make them along the way. Amelia's patience
054and kindness will always stand out to me most. With the sweetest of personalities, she is the type of individual who, no matter what, sought to stay steady as she continued to thrive towards excellence. She'd asked questions, took risks, and smiled while doing it. She stood out then, so I'm not surprised at her validictorian status now. Her patience and kindness will always stand out to me most. However, I will never forget when at the end of the year, after the awards day at the breakfast in the large cafeteria, out of the blue, Amelia bestowed the biggest hug upon me. It still remains with me today. When I think of you, Mia, the 2021 school year certainly was the best of times. Congratulations. My wish for you is to experiencing experience everything that is good in this
055world. Mrs. Ford Hurt, our valadictorian, is also a student athlete. She's been a member of the varsity field hockey team in her junior and senior years. She was named an NHCA academic all-American. She's also participated in varsity golf in her sophomore through senior years. She dabbled in crew in her freshman year and this year she's also a member of our brand new inaugural varsity unified basketball team which will play another home game tomorrow at 4 p.m. Come on out and support them. Mia has also been named the NYSHAA scholar athlete in her junior year here at the high school. Miss Mor Pergo, when you hear the word valadictorian, qualities like intelligence, ambition, hard work, and leadership often come to mind. Mia embodies all of these. But what truly sets her apart is her kindness, thoughtfulness,
056approachability, and humility. I consider myself incredibly lucky to have had her as my student. Mrs. Berggo, Mr. Carr, Mia, is that rare student who not only demonstrates a true love of learning, but also has a genuine kindness and concern for others that is evident in everything she does. At the end of every lesson, you can always expect a thank you from her as she leaves the classroom. In all honesty, I should be thanking her for being the very definition of a model student. And up there on the previous slide, you saw that Mia is a has been a participant in law day. And and I really love this anecdote from Miss Marziliano. I think you'll like it, too. In our law program, the magic happens in the courtroom. Mia has been part of the magic
057for four years, taking law classes and competing in Beayshore's Beayshore's law day mock trial competition with her team. While mock trial is an adversarial process, her opponents could never be angry at her except for one time in criminal justice class. Mia stunned with her opening statement for the prosecution, leading to cries of how unfair it was that Mia was so good. I had to calm everyone else down and explain that Mia was an example of the sweet spot where talent meets effort and preparation. She set the bar high and her opponents had to really stretch to reach it. Mr. Seski is here tonight. When I first met Mia as a student in IB History of the Americas, she was a very quiet student. However, after a few weeks, she started to participate in class discussion
058and really impressed me. What struck me first was her insight. She always seemed to have a deep grasp of historical events. She proved again and again to be equally strong in group discussions, especially when the students were cooperatively learning in groups. Mia equally distinguished herself in group projects where she also took on leadership roles. The extensive research Mia and her groupmates undertook truly showed that in their presentations. Above all, she demonstrated a tireless work ethic to go above and beyond on her academic endeavors. We are very proud of her achievements and happy to be a small part of her academic journey. And I know there's a lot here. I have one more anecdote I think is important as a I'll go back one slide here because I think it pertains to this and this is
059from coach Drago. Mia Casten is truly one of a kind. Throughout my entire coaching career, I've never encountered a player as sweet, kind, and thoughtful as she is. Mia's gratitude shines through every single day, always taking the time to thank me and show appreci appreciation, something I deeply value and find so refreshing. Beyond her heart of gold, Mia is an incredibly hard worker, a strong leader, and a phenomenal teammate. Her commitment to the team, combined with her leadership and work ethic, make her a pillar of our squad. Not only is she brilliant on and off the field, but she is also beautiful inside and out. Mia has set the bar for what it means to be an exceptional athlete and a truly remarkable person. Her growth, leadership, and character this season were truly something special.
060In addition to her athletic achievements, Mia's academic success speaks volumes about her character. She was named the SCFHCA all academic player for Beayshore and F an an NFC NFHCA academic all-American and a scholar of distinction. Accolades that reflect her excellence both on and off the field. Mia is a role model and I am so proud of everything she's accomplished. She truly exemplifies what it means to be a dedicated student athlete and an extraordinary human being. From Miss Drago May, would you come back up and join me here? In the fall, Mia will be heading to the University of Virginia where she will she plans on studying economics and mathematics. Ladies and gentlemen, your 2025 valadictorian, Mia Casten. Thank you. What? Come on. No, I just want to take pictures. So once again, thank you board
061of education for bestowing this honor on me to present these two extraordinary students. to you each year. So, thank you and have a good evening. Thank you. Doesn't get any better than that. We're all set to go on. We'll proceed with the rest of our agenda now. What's up? Well, yes, of course. Actually, before we go on, if family members, whatnot want to go out and take pictures, you welcome to go do your thing. The teachers. Yeah, the teachers also welcome. Absolutely. No, that was Thank you. All right, with that we'll get going here on the agenda. We have uh page A1, motion to approve the minutes of the executive session of April 17, 2025. Executive work and public sessions of April 23, 2025, executive and public sessions of May 2nd, 2025. executive and work
062sessions of May 12, 2025 and meet the candidates and budget hearing of May 12, 2025. Have a motion. Motion second. Any questions? All in favor? I opposed. So carried. Mr. Peskin B1. On page B1, the board will find a motion to approve the professional staff resignations and retirements as listed. We recommend its approval. Motion second. Any questions? All in favor? I opposed. So carried. B2. On page B2, we the board will find a motion to approve the professional staff resignations and retirements as listed. We recommend its approval. Motion. Second. Any questions? All in favor? I opposed. So carried. B3. On page B3, the board will find a motion to approve professional staff request for leave as listed. We recommend it approval. Motion. Second. All in favor? I opposed. So, uh, any questions? No. Sorry, guys.
063Wrong order, but it's so carried. Go to B5. B4. Twisted here. B4. B4A. On page B4 and B4A, the board of finding a motion to appro to to approve the professional staff appointments as listed. We recommend its approval. Motion. Second. Any questions? All in favor? I. Sorry. I got you. Opposed? So carried. Let's see if we can do this right now. B5, B5 A through C. On page B5 and B5 A through C, the board will find a motion to approve the professional staff tenure appointments as listed. We recommend its approval. Motion. Second. Any questions? All in favor? I opposed. So carried. We just have those that are receiving tenure. Please stand. So just recognize you one more time. This is a great long list. Yes. Congratulations everybody. Another nice group. You guys had a
064group chat too. I bet right there going. I see it. I would have loved to been part of that. Okay. B6. B6A. On page B6 and B6A, the board will find a motion to approve the civil service resignations and retirements as listed. We recommend its approval. Motion. Second. Any questions? All in favor? Opposed? So carried. B7. B7A. On page B7 and B7A, the board will find a motion to approve the civil service request for leaves as listed. We recommend its approval. Motion. Second. Any questions? All in favor? I opposed. So carried. Page B8, B8A. On page B8 and B8A, the board of find a motion to approve the civil service reinstates as listed. We recommend its approval. Motion. Second. Any questions? All in favor? I opposed. So carried. Page B9, B9A. On page B9 and
065B9A, the board of find a motion to approve the civil service appointments as listed. We recommend approval. Motion. Second. Any questions? All in favor? I opposed. So carried. Page B10, B10A. On page B10 to B10A, the board find a motion to approve the substitute appointments as listed. We recommend its approval. Motion. Second. Any questions? All in favor? I opposed. So carried. Page B11, B11A. On page B11 and B1 A, the board will find a motion to approve the civil service summer appointments as listed. We recommend its approval. Motion. Second. Any questions? All in favor? I opposed. So carried. Page B12, B12A. On page B12, B12A, the board a motion to approve the civil service change in assignments as listed. We recommend it approval. Motion. Second. Any questions? All in favor? I I opposed. So carried.
066Page B13. On page B13, the board find a motion to approve the coach for the department of health, physical education, athletic for the 2425 school year as listed. We recommend its approval. Motion. Second. Any questions? All in favor? I opposed. So carried. Miss Finger, page C1, C1 A through N. On pages C1 and C1 A through N, the board will find a motion to accept and place on file the financial and claims auditor reports for February and March of 2025. We recommend its approval. Motion. Second. Any questions? All in favor? I opposed. So carried. on page uh C2 C2 A through D. And if you would, we ask for it every year, a brief explanation of what exactly we're doing here. On pages C2 and C2 A through D, the board will find a motion
067to authorize the issuance of an amount not to exceed $40 million in tax anticipation notes uh in anticipation of the receipt of taxes to be levied for the fiscal year commencing July 1, 2025. We recommend its approval and then I'll give you the motion. Second. Any questions I have for that question? Uh so we take out tax anticipation notes every year because of the timing of our receipts that fund operations. Our uh primary receipt is uh property taxes representing 61% of our total budget. Uh in Suffach County, currently you pay your tax you you pay your taxes in January, but our fiscal operations start July 1 of the prior year. So we need to fund operations. We need cash to fund operations and pay our employees from July 1 until December 31st each year. Um,
068state aid as well. We don't receive a dollar from state aid and believe it or not until about December 31st when we get our star payment each year. That's that is the first cash we take in. Uh then in January we receive half of the tax levy and then we don't receive the other half of the tax levy until June. Uh, and by June the we're closing operations for the year. Um, and we're 12 months in. So, we need to borrow in order to fund the first half of the school year. Uh, so that is what this is all about, our tax anticipation notes. And you'll correct me if I'm wrong here, but every school district in the state has to do this to operate. That is not true. Uh, in upstate that is a
069Suffach County phenomenon. Oh, just Long Island. That's just want to make sure I have that straight. In upstate New York, you they start they begin to collect taxes in September. They pay directly to the school, too. They pay it right to the school. September, October, November. Yeah. So, we're the lucky ones. Yeah. All right. All in favor? I opposed. So, carry page C3, C3, uh, A through H. On pages C3 and C3 A through H, the bo the board will find a motion to approve the Boseis shared services contract anticipated for the 202526 school year. We recommend its approval. Motion. Second. Any questions? All in favor? I opposed. So carried. Page C4. On page C4, the board will find a motion to approve the extension of the refu removal contract with Majio Environmental Services for
070the 202526 school year at an increase of 1.9%. We recommend its approval. Motion second. Any questions? All in favor? Opposed? So carried. Page C5. On page C5, the board will find a motion to accept and place on file the asbestous hazard emergency response act or ahira trienal reinspection summary reports uh produced by JC Brick and Associates. We recommend its approval. Motion second. Any questions? All in favor? I opposed. So carried. Page C6, C6A. On pages C6 and C6A, the board will find a motion to declare as obsolete the kitchen the kitchen equipment as listed. We recommend its approval. Motion second. Any questions? All in favor? I opposed. So carried page C7, C7A. On pages C7 and C7A, the board want a motion to declare as obsolete the treadmills as listed from the the Beashore Middle
071School. We recommend its approval. Motion. Second. Any questions? All in favor? I opposed. So carried. And page C8 C8 A throughB. And on pages C8 and C8 A through B, the board will find a motion to declare as obsolete the attached list of library books from the Brook Avenue School Library. We recommend its approval. Motion. Second. Any questions? All in favor? I opposed. So carried. Dr. On page D1, the board will find a motion to adopt the actions taken by the Bayro Committee on Special Education pertaining to students being considered for services in the minutes listed as well as referrals for April and May of 2025. We recommend its approval. Motion second. Any questions? All in favor? I opposed. So carried. Page D2. On page D2, the board will find a motion to adopt the
072actions taken by the committee on preschool special education in the minutes on the dates as listed. We recommend its approval. Motion second. Any questions? All in favor? I opposed. So carried. Page D3. On page D3, the board will find a motion to adopt the individualized home instruction plans on behalf of the students listed for the 2425 school year. We recommend its approval. Motion second. Any questions? All in favor? I opposed. So carry. Page D4. And on D4, the board will find a motion to approve and appoint as the new exeicio board member. David Birdie for the 2526 school year to be sworn in on July 1 during the reorg meeting. We recommend its approval. Motion. Second. Any questions, David? All in favor? I opposed. So carried and to Dr. Maloney. On page E1, the board
073of find a motion to approve the written request to defend and endemnify the parties as listed and appoints Lewis R. Silverman of Silverman Associates to represent the same employees of the Vasia Union School District. We recommend it approval. Motion. Second. Any questions? All in favor? I opposed. So carry. This completes our formal agenda for the evening. We have anybody who'd like to speak. Uh, Mark and Heather. Um, I hope I pronounced this right. Please correct me. Botan, you got it. There you go. Hi. Good evening. Good evening. Um, thank you, uh, board for hearing us. Um, I had sent a letter last week um, regarding my daughter, our daughter, and a request to attend the uh, Long Island High School for the Arts. Um, so I'm going to let you read. Sure. So, dear members
074of the board of education district, hold on just a second. individual students. Yeah, we can't address uh individual students at at board meetings. Uh it's not the proper venue, but we can take the letter and I can make sure that this was sent and we're just waiting for a response. We haven't received the response yet. Okay. Well, we we uh I can say I've read the letter. I'm quite sure everybody's read the letter. We're aware of it and we will be responding to to the letter. Okay. Just, you know, hoping in a timely manner. That's Yes. Absolutely. Thank you. Thank you. Uh, anybody else? That's okay. You don't have to. Hi, Betsy Flanigan. Um, first of all, this is my favorite board meeting um of the year. Congratulations to the validictorian and saludiatoran. I love
075the presentation. It's I love hearing the words from the former teachers. Um, I think it's an amazing presentation that you guys do. So, thank you for doing that and please continue to do it. Congratulations to our new admin. My children have been fortunate enough to have had some of them for teachers. They're truly outstanding. Our uh staff, I always say this, it's the backbone of this district. It's what's holding us up during this really difficult time. We have so much to offer. When you hear about all of these courses, the clubs, the events, the sports that are validictorian and saludiatoran participated in, it's really exciting to see what is ahead for my children. It's exciting, but we also know there are a lot of issues and we come here often as often as we can
076and we share what the community wants and keep getting met with resistance and I don't know why the latest ask from me was a more clear brochure and explanate and to explain the budget. I sent an email to all of you and explained that I understood the budget. I did. I am I'm in the know. I get it. But my point was there's a lot of community members who don't. It's not clear. It's not even you can't even read it. So your response, Steve, was that if I didn't understand it that I could come to the board meeting and ask questions, but you knew that wasn't the point of my email. So, I don't know why you responded like that. We are continually let down and disappointed. It doesn't have to be this way. It
077doesn't. We are We ask for communication. We're asking for stuff. We've asked in the beginning of the year for a town hall on updates, on policies, on what the district is doing to keep our kids currently safe because we know we know there's stuff that's being done, but the community needs to know. But none of that is being done. I don't understand why. It seems like there is this wall put up between us. And it was addressed at another board meeting that when we send emails to the board of education, it was stated that the clerk sends it to central admin and then they decide what happens. I don't think that's how it should work. If we need to communicate with the board, our email to the board of education should go to the board
078of education. So it does all letter all letters that are sent to the clerk come to us because about five meetings ago it was stated in the board meeting that the district clerk sends them to central who then decides what to do. No no five meetings ago they they are sent to the board and the board is not necessarily going to respond to each individual letter. The administrator who would oversee that will respond to the letter. Well, that's that's actually good to hear because that was a really big misconception for a lot of us at that board meeting. Maybe that was not made clear. Many people left that board meeting really confused. And I'm not sure if you remember it. Um there was a little bit of a back and forth about um people who
079had gotten up and were asking like when I send this email, what happens and where does it go? And that's what a lot of people took from it was that it does not go. So, I am happy to hear that it actually does go to the board of education because that it just feels like there is this wall up between the community and the board and central and I we don't want it to be that way. We want more open. We don't want it to be that way either. And just so you know, the last letter that you sent regarding the budget was after the budget had been posted online. I assume that's where you saw it. Yeah. And it was already in the printers to go out. Uh we did all receive that letter.
080We received the materials you sent. I personally went through them very I went through them very closely and uh they spurred discussion among uh Steve and I about possibility of presenting them in a different way. Uh I like you thought that everything that should be in that uh budget review was there. It's not uh didn't have the bells and whistles that the Huntington uh stuff that you sent us did, but there were certain pie charts and stuff like that that you know may may lend themselves to a more clear understanding and and we'll look at it. Thank you. That response would have been much better than the come to the board meeting to ask questions if you don't understand because I do. But I also go to I split my time between our board meetings
081and the district that I work for. So I can't always first of all I can't always come and ask questions but I do understand the budget. That's not everybody in our community. And I think the purpose should be that everybody understands it. There wasn't even the percent increase on anything. So that that should be one of that's the most important thing that people want to know. What's the percent that that our budget is increasing and and and well so you guys get it but opening up like maybe finding ways that we can break down that wall. And I think a good first step, this was a good first step, but another a second step would be taking into consideration some of these things that we've asked for um to help educate the community about things
082that are currently ongoing to keep our kids safe in the schools with the current things that are going on and that we've discussed. Thanks. Thank you. You you also can send you also can send your questions before the board meeting to the district clerk so maybe we could have answers for you when we come because you know it's sometimes you don't want to answer off the cuff because you might say the wrong thing or whatever we don't know what we're saying. So sometimes if you really have a big question, call a district clerk. She'll get it out to all of us and we can do our research before we come here because we get our Friday, we get our Friday letter at home on Friday and we discover we go through all of this stuff
083and we go through all of this stuff and then we come to board meetings usually on a Wednesday. So we got our Friday letter on Thursday this week. So when if somebody has a question, which has happened a couple of times, you call the district clerk. District clerk gets it out to us before and then we can have some kind of answers if we know you're coming. That's great. That's That's another good way. That's a great thing to hear. All right. Yep. All right. Thank you. Thank you. Anybody else? All right. With that, we'll say good night. Hope you all got a chance to vote. The polls are still open. And uh this was a great meeting. It was nice to have you all here. Congratulations. Motion. This is a motion. Accept the nap girl.
084Oh, sorry. Did I say that? Let's go