001I 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. Okay. Thank you. All right. All right. Could I get a motion to uh accept uh tonight's agenda? A motion. Can I get a second? Second. Any discussion? All those in favor? Okay. Thank you. Now, could I get a motion to open to a public hearing? Move to uh the public hearing portion of the board meeting. Any discussion? All those in favor? Okay. Thank you. I will now introduce Mr. Kellbufo, superintendent, and Moren Lad, school business manager. And they will present the public hearing portion of the board meeting. After the presentation, they will we will be asked if there's any questions from the public. Okay.
002Hello. One more time. I'm going to do this presentation. Looking forward to it. I figured you were. So, tonight is our required public hearing for our revote. This is our new revote timeline. Um the budgets were completed last week. We the next day we started running our legal notices and the p um the budget notice was printed and put in the mail. It should be getting to people's mailboxes in the next two or three days. And tonight over here on June 9th is our public hearing that has to happen seven to 14 days ahead of the vote. The vote is next Tuesday, the 17th. And this timeline is a real is a quick one compared to what we normally do with our budget hearings. This is the public notice that has to go out. The
003requirement and they give us the standard um they give us the form. We have to do it just as it stands. And it is not really um it's not that user friendly which is why we do a lot of different presentations and present it differently at the public hearings. What it is is our our revenues and our expenditures for proposed for next year and this has it laid next to this year's budget that we're currently still in. We're proposing an increase of just over $4 million. Our revenues basically come from state aid in the tax levy. We have apply we apply fund balance and we're applying a couple other sources of monies that are basically coming out of our reserves. This is the expenditure side of the same budget. The two numbers balance the revenue
004numbers again of four point just over $4 million increase. And this shows how it's divided between the expense categories. The six major categories that we report in are salaries, benefits, our BOSI services, debt service which is basically our mortgage payments on our capital projects. Um and everything else along and the utilities and fuels are separate and basically 75% of our our entire budget is made up of salary and benefits. Basically, we're a people service industry. This is the three-part budget. It's the exact same numbers shown in three separate categories that are this is what's required and what's on the budget notice. This one shows our everything in our programming categories, the administrative expenditures and again the capital portion the portions that are part of our budget. Another way, another example, um 75% of all of
005our money is spent on the programming, 16% on capital, and 9% on admin costs. This is our enrollment trends. I think it's important to show that over the last 10 years, we've lost under just under a thousand students, which drives some of the formulas that is one of the reasons that our foundation aid is now at a safe harbor of 2%. some highlights of the budget we're presenting next week. The original one, we want to make clear the differences. The the original one kept all the positions and the programs in place. There weren't any additions, but the goal was to maintain the progress that we had been making. The new one, so I can point it out here. So, the the old one was up here. It was the original budget was a 6.86% 86%
006tax increase and there was no budget cuts needed. So we've we looked through all the different tax increases and have decided to propose a 3% tax increase and it calls for 1.2 million of um expenditures that need to be taken eliminated. Go ahead. I can see you going. Yeah. So I also think it's important anytime we have people in the audience which is is very rare but the fact that we do right now I think it's important that we touch upon this. I've been superintendent here for nine years. During that time the average annual tax increases have been 1.94%. So we've been able to do a lot of great things over the past decade. We've been able to have competitive salaries for our teachers and our administrators that were in the lowest in the county.
007We're at a competitive spot right now. But why does that matter to the community? It matters because I take hundreds of phone calls from parents that want to say how happy they are with their kids' teacher, right? When I started here, I took other phone calls, right, that weren't happy phone calls. But we understand that the family had an expectation that they wanted to have the best teacher in front of that classroom. They wanted to have the best administrator and they wanted a PR superintendent that was also Mckin Vento officer, hearing officer, fully all hands on deck, right? Where if a principal is out sick, I'm covering my assistant superintendent's covering. We never have a building that's not manned. That's so important. But the big glaring issue was what we didn't have prior to the
008COVID money. We didn't have a police officer in every school, right? I think you'd be hardressed to find someone that would say that we don't need that. Unfortunately, in the society that we live in, New York State and across the country with the number of school shootings, with the number of pedophiles sneaking into schools that exists, right? We need to have the police officers there. We did not have that. We didn't have counselors at the elementary level and definitely COVID exacerbated that. There was a stretch during the pandemic, right after the pandemic where within three weeks we sent a fifth grade boy to CPEP for suicidal thoughts. The county is number one in suicide. The county, not school district, the county is number one in suicide. Uh and it has been for quite some time
009in New York State and for feelings of depression, severe severe depression among teenagers and adolescence. So we have definitely we saw the need to have counselors at the elementary. We were one of the rare districts that did not have a counselor at the elementary or a social worker. So when we put all those things in place, more reading AIS teachers, all the research, all the research, not Tom Kalupo's research, but all the research shows that when a kid's not reading on grade level at the end of third grade, they're four times less likely to graduate with their cohort. And then if they come from poverty, it's another 9%. So it's 13% more likely to not graduate on time or graduate at all. And so then the the co money was gone, right? They gave us
010all of this money, but we knew that we couldn't get rid of our police officers. We couldn't get rid of the counselors. We couldn't get rid of our social workers. We increased our FARM. Drug and alcohol is not just a problem in Central Square. It's a problem in all school districts. Um kids are able to get this stuff online. It's easy. So the bottom line is if we didn't go out at 6.86, 86 we would have to make cuts and that that's what keeps us all up at night. Could we have went out at 3% and then made all of those cuts, right? Community wouldn't have liked that. But we understand and it's not lost on us. And I'm not bitter about it. We just know that as we move forward, the state already said
011you're only getting 2%. They call it safe harbor because we could actually be getting less than 2% with our enrollment right now. Micron will save us. That's five, six years out with the numbers we're going to get. But there, you don't they're saying Central Square, you don't have 5,800 students anymore. Get 3,500, maybe 3,600 depending, but you don't have the number. So, you're only going to get 2% increases. That's millions that we're losing. But yet, we have the amount of staff that we have added. So, how are we able to then do this and still com stay competitive with all the other districts so we can hire and retain the best staff? So, I think it's it's really important that that we have community members that are here today that people understand that we did
012a lot of things that were free. We did free sports in the summer. That was a very big cost to the district. We did free band, another huge cost to the district. I'm not saying it wasn't a good idea. I took hundreds of phone calls and I think there's some people in the audience that I had those phone calls saying that it wasn't fair that we were charging families. And I get it. There were a lot of people on the Northshore where there wasn't a lot of stuff there that they can do, but that comes at a cost. We won't be doing that this summer. We can't afford to do those free things. I I think it's rare to find a 530 sports shuttle in any other district in this county or in Anoddog County.
013We added so many things because we wanted to give that stuff to the community, not realizing that we were going to be whacked with state aid. But we also have to be very aware that the community doesn't have an appetite for a 6.86. I understand. Right. So now we're praying to God that the 3% passes because if not now it's a total of 2.2 million. You will see class sizes go up. There's no way to avoid that. You right now our class sizes are good. They're really good at the elementary level, the middle school, high school, but especially at the formative years at the elementary. You've got kindergarten, it's 20, 21, maybe 22, 17 depending on stuff. And then as it gets into like 22 and um third, second and third grade, then 24, 25.
014That's pretty good. I've worked in districts where there's 30 at the elementary. My son with autism when he was in kindergarten, he had 28 kids in his kindergarten class. We don't have that here. But it c there's a cost that's attributed to having those things. And I just want the community if anyone's watching this online to know it's so so very important this next budget. Go ahead morning. Okay. One thing I do want to say on this page, the original tax increase proposed, the 6.86 was not a super majority. That was our property tax cap calculation. Sometimes there's a little bit of a misinformation. I know so high, but it wasn't. It wasn't right. Well, I think last week we are going out next year. It could potentially be depending on what other factors influence
015it. Yep. So for this new proposed budget, we need to reduce the 1.2 million. So we I mean this has been online now for 10 days and we went through it last year, but we have come up with a major all different areas. We have positions, we have Bosei services, we have programming, we have athletics, and we have music. And that would be the 3% that we're asking for the vote on next Tuesday. There's also some transportation and some different supplies that we had been purchasing that we no longer will be. If a contingency bud budget comes into play, if it doesn't pass next week at the 3%, we'll have to do more staff cuts, possible classes size increases, elective courses possibly at the high school, reductions, more reductions in the athletic demands of fine
016art programs, um reducing field trips, and and eliminating the half-day UPK bus run. That was a big um a big ad that we did over the last couple years that's really helped the the lower level with getting them to school and participating. Some of the budget highlights for what we're proposing, it's a tax levy increase of 3%. The budget increase is 4.15%. We're it's includes an interfund transfer out of our debt service of just over half a million. We have health insurance savings that we're going to use towards it next year. $625,000 and we're liquid liquidating the one shot a non-spendable fund that we have that's just over a million dollars. If I could just I've had parents ask me about the health insurance and so I I said that I would just quickly say
017so when I came into the district we had a minimum premium plan that's not the the one step below that is to be fully self-insured which is a very scary thing a district RSIs because there's a lot of things that can swing that. There are some districts out there that have gone up 26% next year in health care costs because they were self-insured. So there could be some years that are pretty good and then it could be some years that are astronomical. We are part of the New York State Healthcare Consortium which allows us to be able to long-term plan where it goes up 6 or 7% every year but we know what it's going to be. I I did say that I would say that. I just wanted to make sure I said it.
018And some of the more um recent savings have come through negotiating. We've had we've got a higher drug card and we have edits and um prescription managements that have been added into there. And when you do that, they make you reserve some money to make sure that your costs are going to come out as expected. So that's what this money is going back in now because we have realized those savings. This is just this is the second page of the budget, but I just like to highlight those one one-time ex revenues because they're not always going to be there. So, it's another item that we're going to have to think about in the future. Also, the um on the budget document just wanted to show where the tax levy increase is of the 3%. Just
019stepping back a minute about the healthare. There's a few people question about negotiations and raises and things like that and I just wanted to take the opportunity to clarify for those that don't know every contract that we have where are two parties come to the table then there's compromises it's the same as any other negotiating scenario in any other department and you know what Tom talked you know benefits all those things kind of come together and when we approach that table you know I don't know if there's a misconception but when we come to the table with respect to the district um trying to get the most of so we're trying to you know get teachers that are qualified and best of the best we're trying to have you know parts of the contract that
020are competitive so for instance We talked about a few times that all of the contracts that was the number that both parties agreed to that was um and vice versa. You know, we don't we want to try to pay not as little because we want the value that they're giving us, but you know, part and parcel with that things are negotiated off. So they may want% and they make concessions with respect to benefits and that's one of the things you're asking them to pay more. So you know it's all a function of exactly here and so I just don't want to think at whatever Yeah. And another thing that I'll add to that that I think is a little bit misunderstood is um unlike private industry, these benefits are in their contracts and need to
021be negotiated. We can't change benefits without negotiating that piece out. I think in the private industry a lot of times they can save money like they just change health insurance plans, but those aren't options for us. And I think that's a big thing because people look at the health insurance costs which are huge and just say like did you go looking? There's got to be cheaper plans out there and it's like we can't go looking. We have to negotiate these things to try to get different items on the table. No. And in the spirit of transparency, the elephant in the room, my contract. So when I was started here, I was 100% healthc care paid for. I I had zero of my own contribution for my family healthcare. I said that's not right. I should
022have I should contribute what the teachers contribute. They contribute 11%. At the same time, that's still a negotiation. But that was part of my 4%. Was the fact that I was also giving up the 10% or the sorry the 11% so I would match in the end. if you look at my nine years here and what I've paid out of pocket that I wouldn't have paid and I have no problem anyone wants to call me full transparency but that plays a key role in it. So I'm glad that that was brought up when people just look at 4% they're not really looking up what was given up to save the district to do that one more clarification going forward obviously considering what we see what happened to us this year with respect to the significant
023change in state and also you know the tolerance of the with respect to their increases. You know, it's going to be a much more difficult conversation because, you know, neighboring districts are are negotiating contracts right now and those contracts are paying four and five% raises and so to remain competitive, you know, it's it's hard to we don't's only so big and we know that now we know that that pot is not going to grow much. It's not going to grow enough for the contract that exist right now. You know, you start going out and decreasing to the other side. That's what I feel like people need to understand that there's a district. We don't get to say, well, you know, in light of what's happening, we're not correct. 4%. So, I mean, that's that's the
024position that we're in. And so, naturally, that's unsustainable. I don't think anyone at this table thinks that we're going to get% more than half of the funding that our district gets. It's going to be interesting to see how knowing that it's not sustainable. So, yep. Correct. The one thing I want to point out about the tax levy increase of 3%. That is not the tax rate and your bill is figured on a tax rate. So the tax levy is our piece of the pie, but that there's also town assessments in there and equalization rates, which we have no control over. So when we put out a levy, that's the total that going to be collected by the district, but it doesn't um it doesn't show how it's going to be divided between all the towns.
025It's like a a pie like this. And we're going to get the same total no matter what, but it can be done differently across the townships that we place our levy over. So the levies are total amount that we get each year from all the property owners, but the rates are calculated by dividing that total amount by the taxable assessed value of each township. And then they're affected differently based on which township they're in and what's what the equalization rate is that New York State Real Property Taxes puts on them. And they're doing that calculation because most towns don't stay at full assessment. So you got three factors going in a lot in there. So, if you look at that, um, there's plenty of people that will have their taxes increased even with a zero
026levy increase. And vice versa, you can get a 3% levy increase, but your actual township won't have a tax increase. This I like to show because I think it's in it's it's very um relevant to what the discussion we're having. So everybody of course wants us to put out an estimate of what is 3% going to be, but we're only using one piece of that three-piece pie. So right now when we are estimating it here in April, but it's May now, we're looking at $13.91 per thousand. It's June 9. Um, which obviously is lower than the estimated rate was last year. But when you take the actual, which is what went out last August against that estimated rate, it's going up 40 cents per thousand. But if you what actually happens if you go across
027the lines here is the actual rates never meet our estimate. So I always think the estimate we put out is high. I think it's important to say that because we only know one factor at this point. So that 40 cents per thousand is an increase of an estimated $40 per $100,000 of assessment. I like to show this because I don't know if people understand but in Central Square where the yellow line our tax rate compared to the other districts in the county there's two districts that are lower than us. There's two districts that are almost the same as us and there's four districts that are higher than us. So if you were to pick your house up and move it over to Phoenix, you're going to pay more based on nothing except the tax rates.
028And this is our own tax rate over the last six years. when you go zeros and zeros and not to the property tax limit, you lose rate. And that's what's been happening to us. It's essentially like I know you all learn at your um what do you your conferences and stuff, but they basically say that money's been left on the table and that's why we're trying to go out to our pro our tax limit this year. So for next Tuesday's vote, proposition is going to just be the number one because everything else passed. So we're asking for 102,658,363. That's basically the expenditure package and all we're voting on is that total. The line items will eb and flow as the year unfolds and hopefully the estimate is high enough to cover everything that we need.
029I want to just reiterate again that we now have three polling stations and those are actually divided by the townships. We have 11 townships in the district. So location number one is at the American Legion. So it's a village of Central Square but the town of Hastings, West Monroe Parish, Trupo, Mexico and Polarmo. Election District number two is out at the Constantia VFW and that's the village of Cleveland, towns of Constantia, Amboy and Vienna. And the new one that we opened this year is at the Burton Fire Department and that's the towns of Clay and Cicero. Also important to note for this this vote which is different than the one cup last month we have a new voting times of 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. So it's a it's couple less hours well one hour
030on the end but two hours or more in the morning. And when you look at our voters there's very few voters that show up between those times. And we have actually we had some difficulty getting people to work the polls again. So, we really tried to consolidate it a little bit. So, we hope that everybody will come out on June 17th and vote. It's been great that we've had such good participation. And now it's time for questions. And it is a public hearing, so people in the audience can raise their hands and ask if anybody has any questions. Hi. Hi. Um, I'm Melissa Ro. I live on the North Shore. There's been a lot of dialogue about what happens next beyond this. She hand you that so that if people are watching this, you don't
031have to get off. She'll hand you the mic because then that way people in the audience at home can hear you. I think they can hear me anyway. Um, I'm Melissa. I live on the Northshore. There's been a lot of dialogue about what happens next beyond this. So, I'm hoping that maybe we can have some clarity about the budget planning process for future years since we have a lot of educated folks now that have learned a lot from this process and what the participation level could be from the community in that budget planning process moving forward. And that's been different over different years. We've had um times in my I've been here for 25 years. I hate to say that, but we've had times where we've had um budget committees and community members in different
032areas and people have got put their input in and that's then brought to the administrative level, the cabinet level, and then we would we present based on those ideas. I think now we know going forward, we never know what our state aid is going to be until basically after our budgets are passed. But if we're looking at 2% on the foundation aids, which is the biggest piece of the budget, we're probably going to always need to be dialing back on some of the items versus doing more. So potentially we could do a different process. We normally do it by department, by building, by admin, um, and then bring it into the cabinet and do it from there. Yeah. During my nine years here, we tried a lot of different things. I would do coffee with
033the superintendent to talk about budget. Any other things they wanted to talk about, I would do that at 6:30 in the morning and then I would have something at 6:00 p.m. I I really only had Randy Hoy would come to those, right? And so I brought donuts, I had coffee, nobody came. I'm not saying this to sound bitter, but we would do those. Um I would travel around into groups in the community. I was in a home for Lions Club in Central Square. There were about 30 people. I broke down the whole budget. I talked about everything. I talked about what the increases have been over the, you know, the 10 years. But Melissa, besides you, at the last hearing, there was nobody else here. So, I I I also understand the way the social
034media works. Somebody could take something and then run with it. And here, and I that's in any district, right? Every district has a parent forum. every district, West Tennessee, ESM, they all have a parent form. I 100% understand that. Not downgrading that. But for all the people out there that would hear something and not call me, this goes off all the time. It's my work cell phone. So I know people have the number weekends, Christmas, I answer the call. But for people not to to I I've gotten hundreds of phone calls in the past 10 days. You can ask Pearl. And they're like, "Well, we didn't know. We're going to come out and vote this time. I want to make sure that we're registered. Here's the thing. I'll do whatever it takes. And it doesn't
035just have to be in the month leading up to it. I will have those breakfast with the superintendent and then after and and answer anybody's questions because I could only answer the questions that I know that people are are having those questions. I don't I don't troll the the the the forums. And I'll tell you why. Because I'm also Mckin Vento officer and I also do superintendent hearings. So, I already have a humongous target on my back when there's an assault or when there's drugs and I have to suspend kids out, right? I know that there are people that don't like me. I get it. It's the job. I have to have thick skin. But I also love going into elementary classrooms and the kids know my name. I didn't know who my superintendent was
036when I was at West Tennessee as a student. But that's my job and that's what all superintendents do. I see Chris Dass in the audience. He's another amazing superintendent. He's everywhere in his district. But that's what it is and that's what we do. But to answer your question, Melissa, what I would like to do more of is have meetings with the sports boosters, has meetings with the band boosters, have meeting with any of the parents that want to meet on their time whenever works best for them and to answer those questions because Moren does a great job. If you look at what we've done over nine years, closing the old district office, we got no aid on closing CSI, we rightsized a lot of things, capital projects that we had not had for 13 years.
037And so we're able to do a lot by having CSI down there as a swing space. It saved millions of dollars when we put out capital projects to bid. So moving forward, I want to be able there's things that the state doesn't allow me to do. I can't say something like, "Hey, vote yes for the budget." Unless the budget goes down, then the state allows me to do this. I'm not allowed to do this for the first budget. I can't say anything that makes it look like I'm trying to get people to vote for the budget, although that's like my job is to get people to support the budget and support programming. But I want to hear from parents. I want I want to hear from community members because we have these events with our
038board. We have times where anybody can come in with work sessions. We talk about these things because moving forward, I want this to be a very informed community. So, a budget doesn't get voted down again that we have to think, okay, what are we going to cut from from last year that's going to impact? I don't want to get rid of I don't want to I I I enjoyed paying for the summer sports and summer band because I didn't want the halves and have nots, right? I I want opportunities for people, but I also know we can't ever go without having a police officer or counselors and the reading teachers. So, there's things that we can't get rid of, but there's a lot of things that parents really like. I hate the fact that it's
039paid for for next year, but I hate the fact that moving forward, we can't pay for elementary supplies. Not a lot of districts do it. On average, it's 75 bucks a kid. If you're if you're a parent that's got two or three kids, that's a lot of money. We were paying for that for the past three years. We can't do that anymore. So, there's things that we were doing to try to offset the cost, but now I realize we we won't be able to do certain things like that. Now, if there's great numbers that come out on uh the 17th and the community steps up and says, "All right, we rightsize this. We're we're going to do this." And we have those meetings throughout the whole year that people say, "You know what? Maybe a
0404% would would would work because we only know we're getting 2% foundation aid." We need to know what the feeling is from the community because it's a crapshoot what we put out. So if we can say, you know what, we we never we didn't our average is 1.94 over 10 years. We think by going two straight years at zero, maybe the community will say, no, we don't want you to cut anything. We were wrong and we I have to learn from that and I have to move forward and we have to put out a budget and a program that's reflective of what we can afford. Thanks, Morin. And one other thing, Melissa, I just had time to think about it now. Come to these board meetings. I start the budget process in September with a
041fund balance analysis and talk about reserves. And then I think it's November, I start doing three-year projections, and then I start I've got revenues, debt, you know, every piece of it going through the entire cycle until we get to the budget time. and and that's kind in like that there's a lot of information there but nobody hears any of it because nobody comes to the Mrs. Pell is up next. You want to hand her your mic. Thank you. Um Jen Pell, a parent but also representation of the um athletic boosters for Central Square. So Tom, when you say the summer programs, I just don't know what the rules are. And I'm asking, can we raise money for these summer programs when the schools can't do it because we do a great job of fundraising, but
042we need to know about that. I know these things happen, but that's where I'm excited to hear from you that you want to meet with the band boosters, the sports boosters, because I really, we do have a great community. We know the value of these extra programs for these kids because listen, if kids don't have something to do, they're not going to go home and read a book. Correct. They're going to be out in the community sometimes not doing great things. So, we got to keep them engaged. So, I encourage you guys to definitely I'm going to call you out next year like if we don't meet with you because it really is needed. Um, and the other thing, and this I had a question for you, Moren, is that I noticed on one of
043the line line items, we have other income. So, there was retail, I think property or something like that. There was donations. Donations went down by an exorbitant amount. like what are we doing as a board and as an administration to look elsewhere besides the state and taxpayers to get us more revenue for these children. Let me take a crack at that. So the for the first one it's not intercolastic. So for summer programs the boosters can you can do all of that. That's that the paytoplay that's not that right. So if it's summer programs like that's how it used to be. Um there's a lot of um sports boosters or band boosters. They fund rate like they do that they and then that money they pay that person. So it's not the district. The second
044thing is we're always looking. Unfortunately, there's really just two main revenue streams, but we've done a lot over nine years. We have a significant number of families in North Syracuse and Liverpool now that are now paying tuition. And I keep giving uh tours to Bishop Grimes families that don't live in the district. Now, that's not huge numbers, but it's $7,700 tuition to send your kid there. Um, if it's a special needs child or even 504, it jumps to like 56,000. So, we don't have any tuition based for that. But, we do have general ed students that are paying tuition that they weren't paying tuition before. And so, one, that's a testament to the program and our staff members that the parents want to pay tuition to send their kids here. That's great. but looking for
045other revenue streams. Um we are looking at what CSI can be, right? So I think you saw um a reduction in custodial staff. We don't actually getting rid of a custodian. There was an open spot one will go into it. We're removing a position because we don't need two custodians with a building that's going to be empty next year, but we are looking at that. problem is do we look to maybe like for like um a teachers college you know like oh is it but the problem is I firmly believe we're going to need that in five years with the enrollment size so it's great to be able to have there but we're also going to need it for Brewerton so we're probably going to end up putting half of Brewerton and the other half
046the lower level of Millard Hawk that hasn't gotten that um the capital project work yet so again that's a savings of us having that building because it's super expensive to try to find an empty school somewhere and pay what the going rate is to rent it. Um, but again, I'm all ears. I go to boards, school boards, I go to Eniscus, um, and we talk about what you're asking because lots of districts are going through this. It's just really hard because as a district, Moren, if you want to touch upon like how it's a lot of that is hard just because we're so regulated and so like I think CSI is a perfect example. it would be logical that we would rent it out and make money on it. Well, that's basically not allowed. It
047can't even be used for for-profit centers because when we bond and have our debt, it's tax exempt. But to be tax exempt, we have to basically remain tax exempt. So like that we can have educational programming in there whether it's a B overseas or possibly a a college that's also a not for-profit style or maybe some daycarees that are not for profofit. But you really can't make money the second we start doing that. We lose our tax exempt status. That's a huge no no problem. And the same thing happens with like advertising and things like that. It's essentially not allowed. We can't we can't profit from our students, their names, our properties, any of that type of stuff. So, it is very very small constraints of where we can get money. Anybody else? Thank you
048very much. We're always available. Oh, I'm sorry. Okay. Hello, my name is Sam Partrick. I'm a Central Square grad. I have two kids in the district, live right here in the village. Um, something I just wanted to bring up to everybody. Uh, Tom, I know that you said that you don't pruise the forums. I tend to do that. The general consensus that I'm hearing from the vast majority of the the voters in the area is they have a very strong feeling about having a almost 7% tax increase and the first thing that they hear when it gets voted down is well you're getting sports and band cut. Now, when I was in this district, you know, almost 20 years ago, we had those 5,000 enrollment numbers, and we didn't have near the amount of administrators
049that we currently have. So, with having lower enrollment numbers yet more administrative numbers, saying that sports and man are the first thing to go does not sit well with the voters. So, I would say, because this is a forum, so I can jump in. I would have to disagree with the number of administrators because the middle school used to have a whole another house, right? They used to have even more administrators there. When you look at district office numbers and you compare our district office numbers to other districts, you'll see you that they don't have a superintendent that's also the McKin Vento officer, which is the homeless status, which is a job in itself, or they're paying Boseies $300 to $400 a pop to do the hearings. So I I do that. When I think
050of the elementary, we don't have assistant principles at the elementary. We just have a principal. Okay. At the at the high school level, our numbers are still strong at about 1100. Here's the biggest difference. I'm not going to guess how old you are. I'm going to say I'm 50 years old. So you look at you're about 35. All right. See, I can work at the fair. Um the biggest thing are all the investigations. So, if you were to come in and see our high school or middle school, the administrators look like they've run a marathon at the end of the day. Yes. Because it's not just drugs. There were no vapes when I was younger, right? Um but perceived bullying. So, at any given day at the high school, we'll have anywhere between 30 to
05140 parents call in and they want an immediate investigation done. They'll bring in volumes of social media. Right? There used to be a time that if a kid wrote something, again before social media, if a kid threatened another kid or did something at home, right, or on a on a a spring break, that was on the parents, maybe police officers, they'd figure that out. Now, the state 100% has it on us. So, if a kid does something with social media, it never even happens at school. New York State Education Department makes us investigate that thoroughly. So if you look at the numbers um that have gone through the roof on DASWA related that didn't even exist back then but dignity for all students act. So for the number of kids that they'll say a racial
052word was used or a homophobic slur was used that it automatically warrants an immediate investigation. So with all that being said something that also changed 20 years ago is the state said you have to do these many um observations of teachers, right? You got to be in classrooms, you got to do all of that. it's the APR. You got to meet with them within a certain contractual time period to give them the feedback, but at the same time, you still have the 10 or 12 investigations that you have to do. And so, we're always mindful of that. And don't get me wrong, if this budget goes down, there will be administrative cuts as well. So, for all those parents that are saying, I I the principal I called this morning, it's now noon. They haven't
053called me back. And I I tell them they will. There's just a lot of parents that are calling. Now to add to that, the governor wants a ban, a belltobell ban. We as a board, the board here adopted and it's working. So now we're trying to figure out what the governor saying, "Well, that's not good enough." So now this is the cafeteria. At any given time, there's 350 kids. So now our admin are going to have to say, "Whoa, you got your cell phone." Right? So that's going to generate even more hours of investigations that are now going to have to go into that. and during uh study halls and things like that. So, you are correct in the fact that a long time ago there wasn't so much put on the administrative plates. Now,
054legally there is. When we said it at 30% um with the 3% um tax increase, we did say there will be some sports, but really it's minimal. It's it's the summer um programs that when you were here, you your families paid for. It's just really within the pandemic that we were paying for those because parents and they were right. They would say, "Tom, this is garbage. Just because I can't afford to pay $250 that kids with the v it's the varsity coach is also happens to be their summer coach. That's an unfair advantage." And they were right. So, we said, you know, we're going to pay this. That was a huge cost. But you asked a good question. I'm glad you asked it because I wanted to be able to have the opportunity to say
055the cuts to sports and band were minimal. If this gets 2.2 million, so if it gets voted on the 17th, you'd be hardressed to find any district that didn't say, "Okay, modified sports are gone across the board." It's hard to make 2.2 million. Um, and still be able to do that. The other thing too is when we were 5800 students strong, our special ed budgets weren't even as high as they are right now because more and more kids get identified with special ed certifices, whether internally or they come from another district. And for some of them, that could be anywhere from 300 to $400,000 a year with all the services that we're legally obligated to provide, not just with teaching assistance, but programs. We could get a kid and this happens. They come in from
056another district. Their program is so restrictive that it costs us $400,000 and the state doesn't say no thank you. We can't take you. You do bring up a good point and that just I have to sell it better. I have to do a better job explaining like when we say there are cuts, sports will be touched, ban will be touched with this proposed budget. Those are minimal. We we will be reducing a lot of our assistant coaches that we just added. So So it's not going to be programming. Even our modified teams were not even because if we did that, that would be 84 less kids. So that same amount of money, we're having the weight room supervisor, that that stipen is gone now. Kids can still go in the weight room with their coaches,
057but we were also providing kids maybe they didn't even play sports and wanted to be able to use the gym. The families maybe couldn't afford a gym membership. But I'm glad that you asked the question. Thank you. Thank you. Yeah. And I think I think it I went to a meeting with Will Barkley with all the superintendents and the superintendent from Asiggo I think put it best when he said that the districts are now required to solve a lot of societal problems. Okay. And and and it's created by law and it's things that that the district has to do. It's not it's not simply just a place to go and learn and get an education is that there's a lot of societal issues that have to be addressed with social workers, police officers, counselors. Those
058things are required by the district now to be done. Now, who's paying the bill? We all are. And it's not being supported. The state, you know, they they they say it's unfunded mandate, but he said it the best. if that if you want us to solve societal communal issues, give us the money. But you're not but you're still requiring us to do that. So it it that that to me that's the handicap of it. And if you have if you want to know about the budget, attend the board meetings because Moren, we look for it. I tease her about her every year. It's all year long we go over the budget. It's important, right? the voters had the final say on it, but ultimately, you know, there's a lot of effort, a lot of work
059goes into it to make sure that we're we're getting, as Christie said earlier, we're getting the biggest bang for the buck for what we have to do and how we have to compete and and provide the services that that, you know, the district requires. It's wonderful to see the room full. at about how much how many hours people spend. Yeah. You can go back and watch meetings, right? And or just, you know, and click off and just watch fast forward to the presentation and go past that. Absolutely. And so, you know, trying to accommodate informed public makes all meetings open. Yes, 100%. They're wide open. Come to the meeting. I think it's also important that people it's what are you getting for your money? So, when I came in the district, we were really only
060sending about 75 kids to city Boseies. We're sending over 175 now. These kids are getting out. And I I do want to say this. I blew a flat tire on 49. Looking at the size of those potholes about two weeks ago. Maybe some of you did as well. Um they did patch those. But when I blew the flat tire, I quickly pulled over into urgent care. I'm looking at the tire, both tires. I'm the my right side gone. And a parent pulled over. Happens to be the uh father of our validictorian. There's no correlation there. I promise you earned that. Wasn't cuz he helped me get my tires off. But his name's Vern Sunday and he pulled over and we both looked at it and we couldn't figure out how to get the lug nuts
061off cuz there was like plastic on it. And then there was a boy now a young man who went to Central Square, graduated. He went through the city Boseies program and auto body. And I remember because we used to have conversations when I used to have to get on that bus sometimes going to Bosei to talk to players or to talk to the students. And he said to me, he said, "There's a tool for that. That's anti- theft. Pop your trunk." Pop the trunk. He saw the tool. He's like, he bent down, popped it off. And I looked at Vern Son and we're like, "Well, I'll be damned." I said, "What do you do?" He goes, "I work at Collision over at Driver's Village." So, that is one of the students that went out of
062the 175 that we send every year that he's making a great living for himself. And I just bring that up because these are the opportunities for me to bring that up because when I was a student at West Tennessee in 1993, they said, "Your only goal is to go to a four-year college. You're you failed if you didn't do that." That's the biggest joke going because college is great and there's a pathway for that. But it's a joke to think it's the only pathway. And so we send students a great number, more than any other uh district, but we should because we're the largest in the county. We have multiple pathways. That is a cost to send that many students to Boseis. All right. It's a cost to have as many college courses that we
063offer here, but we do that. And again, I I the lesson that I learned is I can't wait to be asked. I need to, like I said, go call the sports booster starting in the fall, call the music boosters, have regular meetings, and then start my breakfast with the superintendent, dinner with the superintendent mentality. We do that every other month and hopefully people will come out. I'm loud. I don't think it gets picked up though on the um the recording people that are not okay. It's really quick. Mary Ellen Dodge, I'm a parent. I'm out on the Northshore and from of several people I've told who went to vote late, um there were no ballots. So, I want to make sure we're gonna have enough ballots, especially out there this time, and not writing on
064slips of paper. Yeah, it's a crapshoot. So, our we have been averaging maybe 500 to 800 voters over the last six, seven years. So, we ordered 1,800. We thought, oh, we'll get double. You never know. And it wasn't enough. So, this time we had 1,700. So, I think we ordered 6,000. 6,000. We ordered 6,000. And it wasn't that they were turned away because we were playing the game of getting some, bringing them out. They just couldn't go through the machine. Yeah. But with the number of parents that have said, "We're coming out to vote." We went with 6,000 this time. And it's hard to know because they're also very expensive. So, you hate to take the 3,000 of them and throw them away. We also want to think there were also 700 I think it
065was like 743 yes votes. That's more than the total number of votes last year. And the year prior to that, we only had a total of 420 people came out in the whole district to vote out of 17,000 eligible. So, it it is a guessing game to know, but we're not we're we got 6,000 this time. If I could, could I get a motion to close the public um forum? I get a second. Second. Any discussion? All those in favor. Thank you very much. That concludes that portion of the meeting. Yep. If I could get a motion to open the regular board meeting. A second. Any discussion? All those in favor? Thank you very much. Okay. So, um that leads us to item C, community open forum. I have one blue card that's been filled
066out. Andy, I don't know if Moren left it on or not. Yeah. Can you guys hear me? Okay. Yeah. All right. So, you guys actually covered a lot of what I was going to bring up, but I wanted last week at the end of the meeting, I don't know your name. I'm sorry. David, I'm Randy. Nice to meet you. You turned around and you had said, "This is our money. we've already spent it. So, you're right. We do pay this tax money. So, I made calls this week. Um I've relocated. Um my family u is formerly from outside of Albany where uh we were from a very small town and the district there was dying. They refused to fund. They refused to pay for their teachers. They they just refused to build the school. And
067guess what? The community was dying. My family looked around and we said, "We're not going to raise our children here. we picked up and we moved here because everybody we knew that was out here said, "This is an excellent district. The people here care about this district. We're going to take care of it. This is a great place to have your kids." So, it was quite quite a hard thing to swallow that that budget didn't get passed, that the standard that everybody talked to us about, the reason we came here was going to be lowered now. So, I took your advice. I work in Albany. I live here and I make that commute. I went to Senator Ryan's folks. They're not they were not receptive whatsoever to the problems that we're having. That that 2%
068that they gave us, which is kind of laughable because it's our money they gave us. You didn't give us anything. We gave you that money and you're saying, "Ah, we have other priorities that maybe we need to handle right now." That's nonsense. They came back and they blamed you. They blamed you. They said that you failed economics 101 and that was it. I was there for 20 minutes trying to get a point out to say we are the flagship district out here. We're in an all we're we're in a red county where it's going to be difficult to convince voters that we need this money that if you don't invest this what is it 40 40 per every 100k right which I looked and I think the average home in C in in our district
069is about 220k so we're talking 88 some something like that yeah 100 bucks you can just round it up by the way I spoke to you last week you were awesome thank you Um, so I so I went and they they're not receptive whatsoever. They're like, "You need to go back and you need to tell him to go back to Econ 101. How dare you expect that the money that you got every prior year you were going to get again." Yeah, you're right. That's nonsense. When they told me that I went out zero two years in a row, that I left $5 million on the table. You're 100% right because it said the same thing to me that that was my fault. that I should ne we should never have went out with a zero
070to the community. Okay. So, uh I go to our assemblyman whose name is escaping me right now because it's kind of worthless to know. Um I What's that? Yeah. Well, he he's a member of the party currently lighting the education department on fire. You can guess how receptive they were to me speaking out. They're not interested. The point of this is this is a community problem. This is on us. Don't worry about social media. You brought up social media is not a real place. There are people out there making genuine arguments talking about how we need to fund this system, how it's going to impact their children, how it's going to impact students. And people go, "Yeah, but you're making so much. Our teachers, they're making too much. they can make a disingenuous argument and
071cut you down. Go talk to somebody face to face. Don't go to social media. Go to your neighbors. Go to your friends. Go to your parents. Go to your grandparents. Talk to people face to face. That's how I learned about all this. Some of our friends. I have a six-year-old Miller Hawk. You rock, by the way. And the other parents. That's how I learned about all of this. And shame on me for not showing up. I don't want to hear anything about the teachers get paid too much. You want to pay them not enough money? Well, guess what? There's plenty of other places they can go right now. Plenty of other places they can be. We are currently retiring more teachers than we're putting out there. We We need to attract top talent. We need
072to put that money out there. So, thank you very much for pointing that out. They're not listening. This is not going to be solved at the state level. I actually asked everybody from the people answering the phones to the chiefs of staff, "How does the equation work that got to that 2%." Nobody could explain it. Nobody could. It was hilarious. So, they're like, "Well, currently, you know, they're lighting the federal government on fire. There are other things that are more important right now that we need to worry about. More important than education and healthcare." I don't know. That seems like a disingenuous argument. Seems like we're kind of passing the buck. Thank you for bringing that up. And everybody, this is a problem that we're going to have to solve locally. So get out there,
073tell your friends to vote, parents, grandparents, anybody you see, tell them to vote. We don't need to just pass this budget. We need to pass it with numbers that are convincing enough that the message to you isn't we don't have the appetite for 6 was it 9% or whatever. The message needs to be that next time next year when this budget comes around that you're not going to come out at 1% or 2% that you're going to go all the way with it. I support you guys. You're doing great work to all the teachers. My son is at Miller Hawk. We've had Mrs. Hansen. We have Miss Stalsenberg right now. These are excellent educators. They care about these children. Get out there and let's do our part to support them. Thank you very much. I
074I don't normally respond uh when someone comes up and talks, but I appreciate your involvement. Very well put, and it does have to happen at the local level. So, thanks for coming out and supporting the children. Thanks for bringing that up. I I wouldn't have gone and done that, but it was a good point. And I'll I'll just echo the sentiment from our elected leaders. When I met with them personally, it it wasn't um it wasn't good. So it's it it's you you speak the truth, sir. You speak the truth. Okay. On to item D. Special presentations to the board. Yes. Uh I don't think we have to go for this one first. So being a board member is a thankless job, no doubt. Um contrary to what some may think on the some forums,
075they don't get paid. It is voluntary. And so Randy Hoy collectively has been a board member for 26 years of service to the district. And I just want to say one quick story. I lose track because of the the pandemic. I I I don't This could have been two years ago or it could have been four years ago, but the police had captured somebody that was not a good person and he he got away from the police. I still don't know how that happened, but he slipped out of his cuffs and for about 3 hours the helicopters were flying. It was at night. I was still here and Randy quickly came over because I always let the board know if there's a police presence and he walked each of the girl uh varsity basketball players
076to their car because they didn't know where this person was. So Randy living literally right here. I'll get a phone call on a Sunday. There's kids flying on motorcycles on Millard Hawk thing. He'll call me. I'll get the people out there. So for 26 years he's been our watchdog. His house is literally a stone throw away. 26 years of supporting students and being at uh athletic events and being at band events. Um coming to Boseies to watch the the kids get their accolades over there. Randy, not only for this board, but for all the previous board members and superintendents that stood in this spot because you've been here for a lot of different superintendents and interimm superintendents. We want to thank you starting from July uh 1999 to present time. Thank you for all your
077years of service. We've been very fortunate to have excellent student board representatives in this district. Um, I think I saw a parent out there in the audience, Mrs. Foster, whose kid was one of ours. Stand up. He was amazing and he really set the tone. And I will say this, Matteo, you have done an amazing job, an amazing job as being a student board rep. You what you bring to the table on your reports really show what you said that you would do is connect with all the different groups at Central Square. I've had students that have come to me and sung your praise. So, whatever career path that you're going to go, I already know you're going to be a great public speaker. You're going to be a great communicator. you really took the
078job very seriously and I know one day you will actually be a real board member. I would love for it to be here. That would be excellent for the community. But again, Matteo, thank you so much for being here when other kids they're they're studying, they're at sports, they're doing whatever. But you made a great commitment and we appreciate everything that you have done. Thank you. And we're going to miss you cutting Tom's briefing in half. 100%. 100%. Great job. For those of people in the audience who don't know what she's talking about. So, we always have my board report. His would be done so great. They don't like when I they say that I talk too much, which is true. Um, but he did a great job. And my board reports were super quick
079because of Matteo's really thorough reports. Thorough and shorter. Okay. So, now we can go to the presentation of retirees. Pearl, you ready? Okay. All right. So, we are going to go by school and I have got the first three because um our administrators, Mrs. Hill, I don't think has missed a board meeting yet, but her son had a makeup te-ball game tonight that she had to be at. So, um, Lori Richards has retired. Um, she is currently in Nashville, but what, um, a miss she is. So, for over two decades, Lori had been a steady, caring presence in the school district. As a teaching assistant, she wore many hats. Yes, she did. She was a mentor to many. She helped anywhere she could. She was a cheerleader and a great friend, not just to the
080students she supported, but to all of the lucky enough people to work beside her. She brought patience, compassion, and a quiet strength into every classroom she entered. She had a way of making every student feel seen, every teacher supported, and every challenge feel just a little bit easier. Her positive reach and influence extended well beyond the walls of our schools. She was a fixture in the Northshore community, and her contributions to our students and their families are truly appreciated. We're excited for this next chapter in her life as she lives it down in Tennessee. So Lori Richards, Joanne Wines retired with just a few years um but she is currently back um subbing at Millard Hawk daily. Um but in the fall of 2020 uh AA Cole was in need of a long-term TA sub.
081She came in for the year and then a few days before the start of the school year, she was asked if she would be willing to fill the position and she jumped at it. Her care and compassion for students and colleagues is evident in her everyday action. She's one of the kindest individuals you'll ever meet. Her love and support of students will truly be missed. We wish her all the best as she transitions into the next phase of her life, which for the next 14 or so days will be subbing at Millard Hawk. So, Joanne Wines at Brewerton Elementary. Lisa Tolson is retiring. Um Lisa and I started teaching together when I first came to Central Square and taught out at AA Cole and then um as I transitioned to Breweron, we ended up working
082together there, too. She's always gone above and beyond for students and staff, um the buildings, the families. She has done it all. She was a member of many building committees, district committees, um, and just worked diligently to get her kids to read. That was her main goal always. And what a job she did. So, her experience, um, will be missed and her dedication, but we wish her all the best on the next chapter. And I know one of her big goals is to, um, do some more golfing while she still can. So, I'm sure a hole-in-one will be in her near future. So, Lisa Tolson with 25.7 years of teaching here. Um, Hastings Mallerie, I'm going to Mr. Smolnick could not be here, but I do know that this Are they all here? I know.
083All right. Well, we'll do this one first. All right. Lynn Al um is a special education teacher for has been for 25.2 years. Um, she has brought compassion, patience, and an unwavering commitment to her work. She has been a fierce advocate for her students, always seeing their strengths in helping them reach their fullest potential. Her classroom was a place where every child felt seen, valued, and supported. Lynn's ability to connect with students, families, and colleagues alike is a gift that has left a lasting impression on all of us. She has taught us the power of empathy, perseverance, and the importance of meeting every child where they are. As Lynn steps into retirement, we know she takes with her not just memories, but the gratitude of an entire community. Her legacy will live on in the
084success stories of the students whose lives she changed for the better. Congratulations to Lynn. Caroline is here and she has been with us for 19.9 years. And Mr. Smolnik says, "Just shy of two decades, Carol has been a pillar of Central Square. She has worn many hats. She's also a mentor, a motivator, and an advocate, and a friend. But most of all, she has been a teacher in the truest sense of the word. Her passion for education, her unwavering patience, and her belief in every student's potential have shaped countless lives. Whether it was in the classroom, at school events, or through quiet moments of encouragement, Carol brought a level of dedication and heart that will deeply that will be deeply missed. As Carol begins this next chapter, I hope she realizes her impact will be
085felt for generations. Thank you for everything you've given to this district and congratulations on a well-earned retirement. We have Linda Smith also at Hastings. For 20.5 years, she is a teaching assistant that has served the students and staff of staff of the Central Square School District with dedication, heart, and humility. As a teaching assistant, Linda has b been more than just support in the classroom. She's been a guiding light for students, a trusted colleague to staff, and a quiet voice force for good throughout the district. Linda's ability to connect with students, her study presence, and her unwavering patience. Mr. Small clicks that word unwavering. um have last have left a lasting imprint on everyone she's worked with. She never sought the spotlight, but her impact has been profound and deeply appreciated. May you enjoy a
086muchd deserved retirement. Linda, I am now going to turn this over for Mr. Smolnik to do the next retiree. Not Mr. Smolnick, Mr. Kabou. My god. All right. So, for this next one, and I know she could not be here today, correct, Aaron? There's a lot of people, right? This is a hard one. Um, so Jennifer Smolnik has been a principal. She's been working in our district, first as a teacher, then as a middle school assistant principal, and then she has been the principal at uh Millard Hawk Elementary until this partway through this year. Um she was 21.3 years. Um, I know that I would be remiss if I didn't thank our amazing community for the support that you not only gave uh Jennifer through this extremely challenging time um but also to their entire
087family. They have six children in the district. Um, that's a very difficult card to be dealt for anybody and she has held herself with such amazing class and professionalism. Um, her staff with the small neck strong t-shirts has been an inspiration. um when I have difficult days, it's very easy for me to just pause and to think of everything that that family has gone through and what she has gone through and it's not over and she's going to win. She's going to beat it. And I want to thank uh again not only her staff, I want to thank our board of education, our community for really rallying behind the Small Knicks during their time of need. Um definitely I didn't want to be um having her retire as early as she had to retire. But
088for those of you that never had the opportunity to meet Jennifer, amazing. She's uh she's a warrior. She loves uh love being around kids. She she had to make a very difficult decision with her family and her doctors and that was to retire um early medical. Um but Jen will not be forgotten as she has said she wants to volunteer. She wants to be able to come in uh to the buildings. She is going to beat this. Um how about of a big round of applause for Jennifer Small. Thank you. And now, uh, Jeff King for Central Square Middle School. For the middle school, we have two retirees. Our first one, I tried to come up with a good speech for Chris Browse. I used chap GPT and all it could come up was was
089lucky Missouri leaving nice weather and her laughing at me. Well, besides those things, I've basically been in the district the same amount of time as Chris. She's always been a person that's been a strong advocate for students and not only has an expectations for them to be successful, but also holds herself to that same level and her own children. She has been beyond a positive impact to many, many students that uh we've all been lucky enough to work with. Chris Browse, 24.6 years of service. Our [Applause] other retiree is Liz Stevens who had actually only been with district for two years, but came to us when we had a truly a dire need for a tech teacher in our technology department. And she came over and definitely filled that void and did did a uh
090fine job for us while she was here. Thank you to Liz Stevens and her two years of service here with the district. That's all right. Mr. King is saying he had one job to do and that was to introduce me. That's okay. We're all right. We're all right. Well, good evening everyone and thank you so much for giving us this chance to honor our retirees. I'd like to start by recognizing their collective work. Their employment with Central Square represents nearly 228 years. What an amazing accomplishment that they all have completed. Our first retiree is Martha KS, one of our special ed teachers, 30.2 years with us. And although Martha wasn't able to be with us tonight, I wanted to share that from the moment I met her, she was warm and welcoming. She has fantastic
091style and she's looking forward to spending time with her children and her husband. but her husband isn't retiring yet, so maybe she'll be willing to come back and help us out with some subbing. If you're watching from home, Martha, think about it. Um, congratulations to Martha. Vicky Dale is one of our teaching assistants. She has nearly 20 years of time here with us in Central Square. Vicki is a longtime Red Hawk program teaching assistant who's made wonderful connections with our students. She has great perspective and supports her fellow teaching assistants as our co-building TA representative. I appreciate our conversations and I'd like to thank her for all of her help. Congratulations to Vicki. I love Congratulations. Next, our retiree is Heather Gulo, social studies teacher, 25.5 years with us. While I don't have a song
092about Heather, I know we'll be singing some at our end of year party on the 27th. Heather has personality galore if you have not met her. She is supportive and kind to all of our students. Heather does a wonderful work with our one act play program if you've had the pleasure of coming to see our performances. And she's a great supporter for unified sports. She is so dedicated to our school community. Congratulations to Heather. Congratulations. [Music] Thank you so much. [Laughter] [Applause] Our next retiree is Mr. Ron Halddederman, music teacher, 23 years with the school district. Ron is such a talented musician and teacher. He is wonderfully organized, which I greatly appreciate, with so many music events that happen throughout the school year. And I know if he tells me that the Red Hawks are
093performing at 237, they will start exactly at that time. He's a recent inductee into the Fine Arts Hall of Fame and was invited to play at Carnegie Hall. Amazing accomplishments throughout his career. Congratulations, Ron. I think it's also important to note that he's always here. Whether I have to make a decision at 3:45 in the morning to send our band kids on a trip, he always answers the phone. Or at 10:00 at night when I'm like, "It's a complete white out. We've got to get the band kids home." He always makes that answer. I don't know how Our next retiree is Katherine Kola Jasich, teaching assistant with 18 years of service with us. Kathy is affectionately known as Kathy Kay and my first interaction with Kathy was try to pronounce her last name to give
094her an anniversary service pin. It was a struggle for sure and she I don't believe she's with us this evening but we're very grateful for her years of service and her work with all sorts of our students. Congratulations and we hope she enjoys her retirement. Frederick Kowanas is next. Woohoo! Science teacher, 32 years. Matt and I are both science teachers, so we have a particular place in our heart for a fellow science teacher. Matt says he's a great guy and would be fun to hang out with. Really, Matt said have a beverage with, but we'll keep it PG at school. Along with Vicki, Red Fred has been a Red Hawk teacher for a number of years. He is very active as a runner and he's an avid cyclist. He's an outdoors lover and is looking
095forward to being able to spend more time with his family. Congratulations, Fred. Rock on. Little science humor for you. Can I say a word? I've over 40 years ago as a student, I hated school. I would show up here with knots in my stomach. I was, but I had the most phenomenal earth science teacher, Paul Cardinelli, my teacher, and then to work with him as my mentor. And my whole career has been trying to like live up to his legacy. Um, and thank you for your words. It's a community here and it's it's special. So, thank you. the same as you did 30 years ago. Good job. Good job. Stephen Perry is up next, social studies teacher with 30.3 years of service. When we asked his colleagues for some thoughts about Steve's career, it was
096mentioned that if a lesson can be taught using a yard sale find or with an old 45 record, he's figured out how to do it. We appreciate your willingness to teach our students a little something about economics and that you're always willing to be a detention supervisor. Thank you for that. Congratulations, Steve. We hope you have a wonderful retirement. [Applause] Melissa Scramali, teaching assistant, 17.8 years. Melissa is a pretty quiet person, typically around us, at least, but I've seen her make the best connections with students. She's incredibly patient and doesn't take too much offense to what our teenagers sometimes come out with. She has been so appreciated and we wish her the best in her coming retirement. Congratulations, Melissa. Congratulations and good job always. Kyrie Missy Stats, art education teacher with 31 years of service.
097Missy is the first one to greet and welcome someone to Central Square. She is funny, kind, and thinks the best about all of our students. And she's bossy enough to keep our students in line when it cames to NHS and graduation. and we appreciate your organization. Missy will know your birthday. All of them. Everybody's. And she'll come up with the most thoughtful gifts. My son moved to Texas and she got me this lovely New York, Texas necklace, and it's just usually out of the blue that she'll think of something like that. Her friends have commented about how loyal she is, how she is so talented, and she finds just the right reading car, greeting card, and sticker for the occasion. Along with Ron, Missy is also a recent inductee into the Fine Arts Hall of
098Fame, and we are so very proud of her career. You don't often see her without her sidekick. What? Where is she? God, I got in trouble the other night. Oh, stop it. Dolly and they are both a delight. Congratulations, Missy. Enjoy your coming retirement. Matt just said, "Maybe the sidekick is Chris tonight." Yeah, there are people that are clearly not replaceable. Missy Stats is one of them. Having our district here at the high school. You hear students say all the time they're going into college for the arts because of her. So, I can't tell you echoing what Dr. Sweeney said, the impact that she has had on generations of students has been amazing. [Music] [Laughter] Good job. And now I'd like to introduce Mr. Paul Brassette, our director of facilities. Good evening. My first retiree
099tonight is John Landers. John started working for the district in 2013 as a full-time second shift custodian at the middle school. John worked at the middle school for a short time and then moved to Hastings Mallerie Elementary. John worked at Hastings Mallerie as a night lead cleaner or night cleaner for over four years when a daytime lead custodian position presented itself at Central Square Intermediate School. John was awarded that position and worked there for over a year until the lead position at Hastings Mallerie opened. John decided to go back to finish his career at Hastings Mallerie as a lead custodian and we thank him for his 11.4 years of service. [Applause] My second retiree this evening is Maryanne Smith. She started work for the district in 2002 as a second shift custodian at Paul Demore
100High School. In 2009, Maryanne decided she needed to change needed a change and accepted the position at AA Elementary Building. She worked at AAL as a second shift custodian until 2014 when she decided to go back to the high school where she finished her career. We thank her for her 21.8 years of service. Now, I'd like to introduce our transportation supervisor/park ranger John Pierce and our transportation supervisor Jason Phel. Good evening everyone. So, tonight is uh I'm not making it about me, but last year, of course, I retired and come back for the year, and now it's uh I think this is going to be my last public uh event for the district, and it's uh it's it's bittersweet. It's it's finally it's finally coming around. this is the time and now I'm getting nervous
101but uh Jason Fellows 25 years with the district uh has taken my place and he's been on on staff now for a little while doing a great job and uh transportation's in great hands. So it's not winter yet. This is true. Five months of the year. John's on the phone with me starting at 3:30 a.m. And that's what you have to look forward. Oh yeah. So tonight, uh, we honor five retirees, uh, with a combined, uh, years 76.1. So tonight, we're going to start with Kim Bachman. Kim has devoted 17.1 years behind the wheel, safely trans transporting countless students through every season, every challenge that come her way. Known for her great communication skills with parents and her great attendance, and very reliable, very reliable. She was there all the time. Kim uh exemplified what
102it means to be a trust and caring professional. Her presence will surely be missed by the students, the parents, especially the colleagues. So, congratulations, Kim. Kim's not here tonight. Next, we uh recognize one of our mechanics, um Michael, but we call him by Scott. So, Michael Scott Vura, an auto mechanic with 20.3 years of service. Uh Scott has been a pillar in our garage, someone who's uh we all depended on and uh kept our fleet in top shape. His attend attention to detail, commitment to excellence was uh especially evident in his works. He did all of our New York State DOT inspections and he had a high 90s pass rate for the years that he was here. So congratulations on that. And he also stepped up to uh do some subdriving for us. So thank
103you very much, Scott. Congratulations. Our next retiree is uh Frederick Bayeno uh who served as an auto mechanic for 10.2 years. Uh his skill, his skill, precision, dedication. That guy, he was the go-to guy for everything. He could he could uh fabricate parts, complete engine builds, uh tackling transmission replacement. uh whenever there was a there there was a tough uh need we we put Larry on him and also he did a lot of the buildings and grounds and uh work for Paul. So uh Larry, thank you very much for your service. We really miss you. And he also subrove driver Deb Jac is another shining example of a dedication and her professionalism with an impressive 22 years of service as a school bus driver. Deb's career has been defined as reliable, compassionate, and unwavering commitment
104to student safety. Through early mornings, icy icy roads, and all the challenges that come with the job, she showed up with a positive attitude, a steady hand at the wheel, and always had a quick story to tell us in the morning when we handed out the keys. She still does. And she still does. Uh so, uh she built a lot of strong relationships with the students. And uh she's going to be sorely missed. So, thank you, Deb, for everything. Congratulations. Finally, uh, Bill Tyson. He had 6.5 years uh of driving. And he he had a shorter career, but uh he made a meaningful meaningful contribution every day. He was dep dependable, kind to his students, and respected by his peers. And his cheerful attitude and team spirit is going to be missed. So congratulations, Bill.
105Thank you. We don't have to introduce anybody. I think we turn it back over. Thank you guys for everything for your support. So, at this point, there is cake and I know there's going to be pictures for all of our retirees and everybody welcome the cake over here on the other side. Sorry. Thank you. [Applause] Can I have a picture of the retirees? I have three to six six-year-old son and I have a three-year-old that good luck. time we both Well, that's on us. That's on us. But we weren't talking to each other. We weren't communicating about it. Let's all this whole system is incredible. One of the things that really struck me is we had like one day this year we did like remote instruction and I was listening to like going through the
106students and [Music] every child has to teach them, where she has to meet them. And I I was just blown away like how incredible this is. So beautiful. There's a so a bunch of the younger parents like I guess we had to figure out like what the engagement look like but like now we started working with one another and like we we were being invested Yeah, that's a drop. [Music] She was a teacher at seven years ago. There should be [Music] one years now and it gets me because there's so many that like get zero reputation. retire, you will never know why. But like I cared and but like the people that we elected go up there that like actually were getting it just they didn't want to report ahead. They didn't care that was
107going through a moment. It's so frustrating that they doing a terrible job. He should he should come out 2% because that's what Oh my god. [Music] That's it. [Music] like we realize like we're not getting money from the top anymore. That's gone and don't for three more years don't expect anything's going to happen. The state government is currently reeling I was I impacted by that too. We're currently reeling trying to figure out what is our reality right now. Can we not let this at the local level? We not let the quality of this slip because like this is what the community is built on. If we didn't have those we would have watch. [Music] Thank you very much. I'm I like I said, we're all talking now. Like we're all starting to be like, "Oh,
108wait a minute. We all have to advocate. We all have to do something about this because if we don't [Music] Goodbye. around. This is what we're going through right now. We're trying to keep your quality. [Music] It's our money. Like it's our money. You are anything. We're asking taxpayers to pay more and as a taxpayer Yes. Also, I guess we got into that automatically happen now all of a sudden didn't work and we're all like oh wait a I didn't know this entire process. How many more? [Music] We had a choice. [Music] Maybe [Music] we're kind of like driving a little Right now, I have a three and a six-year-old, so I'm a little occupied. And at the moment you're like this child but we're working on getting more like we picked I moved my
109family out there and actually just because like I remember so my when they were her husband was stationed down in Jersey we were best friends we were on the swim team with him she her son doesn't like so That's how I knew about this area was like nothing but the most amazing things to say about the district. So when relocate I wasn't going to put my son in that school. It was like well we can either have a bad education or I have a bad commute and I chose the bad for you. I said there's a lot of connection. So we're limiting the time that we have. trying to figure out where I can place that time where I'm going to get the most value. My kids are going to get the best value over
110the years. I reached out. I reached out to Tom. He was he was talking to me, but I like to be able to be like, "Hey, here I'll give you [Music] a question." She was excellent. [Music] Done. [Music] Got one roll call or two roll calls? One roll call. She's amazing. So there's only Thank you very much. If you need anything, let me know. Okay. I'm here to stay. Where are you going? Oh my god. Oh my god. Okay, Randy. I think I got the bum one. There's like one There's like a one dud. Okay, Randy. Um, we need you to finish up. Yeah. Okay. I want to thank everybody and boy, we cleared out the room. Grab some cake on the way out. Okay. If I could, I'll get a motion for item E.
111Any discussion? All those in favor? If I could get a motion for item F in its entirety? Any discussion? All those in favor? On to item G. Matteo, last report. No. Let's go. Okay. Clear out Tom's thing. I'm You're counting on. Oh, fingers. Okay. The top 100 event took place in the Palmore Auditorium celebrating the academic achievements of the top 25 students from each grade. Congratulations to all those recognized for their dedication. The Paul V. Moore Gymnasium hosted signing day where 17 amazing student athletes pledged to continue their athletic journeys in college. Congrats to each of them. Congratulations to the students representing Paul Vmore High School on being inducted into the city Bosey's National Technical Honor Society. These students demonstrated academic excellence, character, and leadership meeting specific eligibility criteria. The student government talent show was
112held in the Paul Vmore High School auditorium featuring 50 students across 20 performances. Isaac Young won the solo category with his cover of Frank Sinatra's My Way. Eli Connor and Preston Lacy won the duo category with Stay Gold from the Outsiders. The band Lazy Bones, consisting of Jonah Martinez, Will Card, Andrew Card, and Alex Papaleo won the group category with their rendition of Led Zeppelin's Stairway to Heaven. At the senior awards, 73 graduating senior, excuse me, seniors were honored with over $400,000 in scholarships distributed through 141 awards. The event took place in the auditorium with generous scholarship donors making these achievements possible. Congratulations to all awardees. The high school parade band had a great day at Darien Lake this past weekend. They took first place in the parade scoring a 99.3 among the two high
113school bands that performed. The band also got to spend some time and join the park. Congratulations to everyone involved. Congratulations to our outdoor track and field sectionals champions. Abby Tetr took first place in the class A1 discus with a throw of 102 ft. Charlie Raymond won the 800 meter with a time of 1 minute and 57 seconds. The girls 4x400 team consisting of Hayden Crosafi, Stella Bronasio, Cadence Williams, and Rachel Ganzer also secured a victory with a time of 4 minutes 11 seconds. I also wanted to recognize Aubrey Green for qualifying for the 2025 states in pole vault at 10 feet that will take place this weekend and Cadence Williams for breaking the 40-year-old 800 meter record with an impressive time of 2 minutes and 15 seconds. And lastly, congratulations to girls varsity softball player
114Caitlyn Redeye for breaking the school strikeout record with 577 career strikeouts. and to girls varsity softball player Payton St. Clair for breaking both the triple record with 11 triples and the RBI record with 63 runs batted in. And that's all for me and thank you guys for being so welcoming this year. [Applause] Board members report then you can have it. He's up on the mic there mister Um, does anybody have anything to uh they'd like to report out? Speak. No, I am. But it wasn't my turn. It wasn't his turn. Um, I sent out the email. So, if you want to run for board president or vice president, send it your name and into Pearl and she'll put you on the list. It's the only thing that I have. And we'll turn it over to
115Tom. Okay, Matteo, awesome job. Couple things I just want to add. Um, from the athletic department, sincere congratulations to our first year flag football program gaining a sectional championship in its first year of existence. Um, they were the only team in class B, but their dedication to a brand new sport and an excitement that they played shown every single time that they played. They were a great pride to our community. Um the team will travel to Morrisville State College on May 31st for a regional contest verse Columbia out of section two. In addition to the flag football team, our softball team won their sectional game on Saturday and takes on West Jennese in a sectional semifinal tonight at 700 p.m. at Carrier Park, which find out how well they did. Uh, the varsity girls lacrosse
116team opened sectional play last night with a dominating might want to said that before I started reading it, Pearl, but uh, the boys baseball lost. Okay, one. That's what Callie just told me. Fantastic. All right, Pearl. All right, here we go. Thank god there's so many people. Here we go. Level one board achievement award goes to Mr. David Tacman from the New York State School Boards Association. Congratulations, sir. And the last one, we have Mrs. Casey my earning level one board achievement award from the New York State School Boards Association. Congratulations, [Applause] That concludes superintendent report. Okay, we'll try this one. If I could get um a motion for H1, two, three, four, and five. I'll motion. I'll second. Any discussion? All those in favor? Can I get a motion for H6? Approval of the
117bus bond resolution. Roll call vote required. Second. Any discussion. Take it away. Pearl. Yes. Thank you for that. Then could I get a motion for H7 H8? A motion? I'll second. Any discussion? All those in favor? Now I will make a motion that the Central Square School District Board of Education hereby move into executive session to discuss matters leading up to the tenure of four particular people with action to follow. Second. Any discussion? All those in favor? We will be back. crunchy. [Music] I got Walmart. You're out there. Right now I'm taking my cake and going. [Music] It takes a while to build to the fiber. should be on the table. Okay. Can I get a motion to return back to open session? I'll second. Any discussion? All those in favor? And I'm going to
118make a recommended resolution that the Central Square School District Board of Education approves the extension of the time of Beth Nava's probationary period to September 5, 2026. Can I get a second? I'll second. Any discussion? All those in favor? Now, can I get a motion for adjournment? Motion. Any discussion? All those in favor? Thank you very much, Randy. Thanks. Thank you, Randy. Yeah.