001Good evening and welcome to the May 6th Board of Education meeting for the Chester Union Free School District. This is Iannuzzi, can you please take roll? Yes, please respond present when I call your name. Mrs. Carcio. Present. Mrs. Neresian? Mrs. Herman? Present. Mrs. Johnson? Present. Kenyon? Present. Quorum is present, we can now proceed with the meeting. Thank you. Can we please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance? I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Can I please have a motion to adopt tonight's agenda? I'll make that motion. >> Second. All in favor? Aye. Motion carries. Can I please have a motion to approve board meeting minutes of April 21st, 2026? I'll make
002the motion. I'll second. All in favor? Aye. Motion passed. That brings us to this evening's presentation. Mr. Flanagan. Good evening, everybody. I'm excited to be here tonight. Um I'm not used to going first. I feel like this is a lot of pressure here. Um we're going to get to I have I have a presentation of some students here in in just a few minutes. We'll get to it. I just want to review a few things uh that are going on in the building and some some things from our board. We did uh I do believe Jake was just in contact with Brooke. She was really working hard to get out of work. We told her just don't don't rush. You'll be you're fine. You just do your thing. Don't get in trouble at work. Um
003but she's always making an effort. And Danny's here tonight, too. So, we're we're covered tonight. Um The prom is only a little over a week away. So, we're excited. Um a few thank yous cuz there's a lot that goes into the prom beyond the prom. Um so I I one I want to thank Ms. Pellicano and and some of her students. Uh Aiden and Jake are here. They've done a they've been doing a lot, you know, for the uh for the prom here. Um ticket sales, I believe over 150. So, we went from selling basically like five, you know, for the first you know, the first 80% of the ticket sale dates to now being over 150. So, thank you to all the students and everybody who got that in. It's going to be a
004great prom. Um as you know, it's at the West Hills Country Club in Middletown, which is a beautiful venue. It's a great right on the golf course there. Um that morning, we do our pre-prom assembly before we have our mock accident out in the front lot there. And so, a lot goes into that. Jen Barreto helps organize that with the Town of Chester Police Department, our SRO. Uh you know, everybody everybody puts a lot of work into that organization. Uh fire department's involved. We have the Town of Chester involved, the uh highway department's involved. There's a lot of factors that help bring that all together. Also, we have a that morning a guest speaker, Chris Devitt, will be back. He spoke about 3 or 4 years ago here to share his story about making really
005good decisions with the students. So, we're appreciative that Chris will be here. John Nowitsky from Garnet will be back as he usually starts off the program and kind of, you know, gives them a very real life about, you know, making good decisions and and how it could be scary, you know, if if you're you do get into an accident and and so on. So, to really, you know, the focus on the they call this the the 100 deadliest days and we don't like to, you know, we don't like to scare people, we don't like to sugarcoat that. It's not just them on, they could be perfectly doing everything the right way and and there could be somebody else on the road that's not. So, just about really being aware, really being safe while they're out
006there. And the town of Chester Police Department then after Mr. Nowitsky goes, they they run the students through different drills. They they bring out and they show what, you know, sobriety checkpoints look like and all and all those other things to educate. They talk to the students about what it's like when they have to respond to a call. So, there's a lot that goes into that assembly. So, that's going to be on that morning between 8:00 and 10:30. Um It is mental health awareness month and once again, Miss Daly, you know, she always does a great job getting students involved and having different themes to bring awareness to mental health. Today, everybody wore their green ribbons, which is appreciated. Sahara has her her still on now, which which we thank you for. Every morning starts
007with an announcement. Different students come down and give the different announcement regarding, you know, you know, observing your own mental health. So, we thank Miss Daly for continuing to bring that awareness. The concerts are coming up Monday and Tuesday. Middle School on Monday, High School on Tuesday. So, anybody that's around and wants to check out the concerts, I know some of you are at multiple or all of you will will see you at the concerts. We're excited about that. Our students are working hard. Um We did have day one of our math test today, which went better than day one of our ELA exam, which is great. Um and many of you were aware, we did send an email. There was a statewide uh disruption with the ELA exam, just logging on. And uh I
008will say this, I'm not too down or or or upset with New York State, but this is the first time in 7 years that I've been doing it here that we've actually ever encountered an issue with it. So, I feel like everybody gets everybody gets one chance with me, you know, I won't be too upset with it and and everything's been running very smoothly. So, um we're we're we're appreciative. Tomorrow, we'll finish up with math. Um we'll round up our remaining makeup exams, which we don't have too many of them to do. And then next week on the 13th, our eighth graders will conclude with three-through-eight testing with the science exam, which is now in CBT format. So, um And then finally, just you know, this is Teacher Appreciation Week, and a big thank you
009to some different organizations and some parent groups that have been very involved. The PTSA put on a great lunch yesterday. I mean, people I mean, people know and at this point when the PTSA puts on lunch, it's like get there early. I'm like I'm looking at people and thinking like, "Don't you have class? Like, is it say Did you get coverage?" You know, everyone wants to get up there and get part of the sandwich or the desserts, which were delicious. So, thank you to PTSA for an amazing uh an amazing lunch yesterday. And then today, SEPSA uh had a hydration station for the teachers, which which was awesome. Um I know tomorrow, Ms. Bessons uh I believe the advanced foods class is putting together breakfast, and then I ShopRite is donating some lunch items for
010us. So, we've had a lot of really good things, and our teachers deserve it, and they they work hard, and I and I really, you know, appreciate that. And then finally, uh so I know it seems like we just got back from Disney. I feel like the school's constantly sending me to Disney and I'm I'm totally appreciative of that. Um so we are and I say Disney, I mean Orlando, Universal, primarily where where we're staying. So one of the things we started last year compared to what we used to do with the senior trip is we decided it would be helpful to our students to get the trip approved sooner. It allows them time to save over the summer. We don't sugarcoat that this is an expensive trip. Save over the summer, be able to
011put their payments down, not have a bulk of their payments due when we're getting to late December when things get very expensive for many people. So we try still an expensive trip but we try and break that down. So this year we are once again seeking approval. I'm going to bring a couple people up here in just a moment. A little earlier this year and then this will be followed up by a parent meeting within the next couple of weeks to go over all of this. So our agenda we've learned over the years is more of a loose agenda as to where what we're doing because sometimes the days will change, you know, we'll we'll change a Disney day or we'll you know, we'll do something different rather we'll go to Epic Universe rather than
012Universal Studios. Um the exact costs we didn't put in the presentation just yet. They're they're very similar to last year but there are a lot of waning factors right now when we're talking about airlines and flights and things. Right now the airlines just so everyone knows because I'll be transparent. Right now the airline flights are right where they were what we paid last year. So that's a good sign. But you know, I don't want to speak too soon and in 3 weeks something changes. So we didn't put that part in the presentation. But Mrs. Pelicano's here tonight. She's in the back over there and I'm going to bring up Jake Dinofrio and Aiden Dilo who are going to take us through our our presentation here. Thank you guys for being here. Good evening board. Before
013start, I just want to thank um Mr. Flanagan, Mr. Aguilar, and you guys for taking the time to watch our presentation, and a big thank you to Ms. Balcano um for all of her hard work, also. So, if you could just turn to the projector behind you. Uh the class of 2027 is planning their senior trip to Orlando, Florida. We anticipate 40 to 45 students, four chaperones, the class advisor, and administrator will also be there to attend uh the trip. All rules and regulations for the school district will be enforced while on the trip. Any students breaking any of these rules will be sent home at their own expense. The trip is self-funded by the students attending. Any student failing more than one subject at [cough] the time payment is due will not be permitted
014to attend the trip. The student attending must not have any major disciplinary issues. Um the tour company is Let's Go Freedom Travel. We've been working with them for 3 years now. So, we're staying at Universal's Cabana Bay Resort. The dates of the trip will be March 11th to March 15th. We'll be spending 3 days at Universal and Epic Universe using the park hopper, and we'll also have a one day of the Disney park hopper. Uh the cost is similar to last year's. Um as Mr. Flanagan stated, we don't have an exact total due to airfare and stuff. Uh we'll be using a charter bus to and from the airport and to and from Disney. Universal transportation included from hotel to all Universal parks. Uh the daily food is stipend for breakfast. An approved parent meeting
015will be scheduled shortly to review the itinerary and go over the cost of the trip and the payment options. This is um as Mr. Flanagan said, the loose itinerary and what we project to have. Um March 11th, which is a Thursday, we'll be leaving the school in the afternoon for the flight out of one of the New York City airports. Uh we select flights based on what's a based on the best available price once we have collected deposits from the students. March 11th, we'll also check into the Cabana Bay that night. And then March 12th, we start the trip at Universal Parks. March 13th, we'll be using Disney Park Park Hopper. March 14th, back to Universal. March 15th, Universal also. And then March 15th, we'll be having our flight home in the evening. Thank you
016very much. Any questions? No? Does anyone have questions? No? It's good. Sounds fun. Thank you. Thank you for your time. Thank you. >> Any questions? We're good? Okay. Um I think we need to vote whether or not we're going to approve that for them to proceed. All in favor of allowing the senior trip to move forward, the senior class with their senior trip, say aye. Aye. Aye. Looks like you have the start of a senior trip. Good luck. You guys, and just so you the variation where we said the costs are very similar, the only difference right now of any price is that Disney, I believe, raised the price of the the one-day park hopper by $20 a person. So, that's what's worked into everyone's price. So, it's about $20 more right now on paper.
017So. But uh but we're looking forward to it. It is a return to Cabana Bay, which we stayed at 2 years ago, which is a great hotel. It's right in the heart of the the Universal um City Walk area. So, it it it's a 2-minute bus ride from there, which it which is really convenient. Especially, it's also convenient for and some of you I know some of you had students that have gone on the trip. Your feet start hurting after a few days, and sometimes people need a little extra time at the hotel. This hotel gives us that flexibility compared to where we were last year, which was a great hotel, but it was a lot more of a logistic to get to that area of of Universal, and even to Epic Universe, which we
018were close to, it was still a 10-minute walk. Um even though we were right across the street, it was a long a long a long across the street. Uh but it Does anybody have any questions for me on anything in the presentation? Any questions? No, thank you. Thank you so much. Thank you, everybody. I'll blow her up. Put her in a Tinkerbell flying around. Mr. Aguilar. Thank you. Good evening, everyone. Once again, I I I can't believe it's May. Um as as I look at my report, you know, the first thing that jumps out, of course, was our uh no cell phone personal device policy. And coming into the school year, as you know, boy, this is going to be tough. But uh our kids, our faculty, the support rose to the occasion. As you
019can see, for the past month, slight uptick. I'll I'll take that any day uh in comparison to where we were. Uh but even then, uh the numbers were low for a school our size. I want to thank again our students uh for listening to uh the message. And and it's a constant reminder. And and we're just about there. I I especially want to thank our seniors, um our faculty staff, again, to uh holding everyone accountable. And and that's greatly appreciated. And again, the numbers are there. And just to have that slight uptick, uh I'll take it. And again, uh the end is almost here. And uh you know, I'm looking forward to what we end up with. And then uh come up with more strategies for next year. Moving forward, our our kids, um it
020it was great to see as we we recognized our top 10 Hamiltonians are of our senior class and where they've made a commitment to. As you can see, um digital cards were made for them. Uh we sent them to the parents. And it's up on our uh main lobby. But uh I had an interesting conversation with my wife several nights ago. Cuz she asked like, "Where are the kids from Chester going?" And I was like, "Oh, glad you asked." You know, and I said, "Joe, um I said one of our kids is going to North Carolina at Chapel Hill and we went to go see that school over the summer. Uh Tulane University. Um we we have a friend that graduated from Tulane University. Uh University of Maryland. Uh it's it's just phenomenal and then
021I have to be uh loyal as uh Alex Mandola has committed to go to Manhattan University. I'm a graduate of uh Manhattan uh Jasper. I did my graduate studies. But again, you know, look at where our kids are going here within the state. Stu- uh Stony Brook, Albany. Uh uh again for our kids, Sacred Heart. Uh it's just great that, you know, again, this school, our community, gave these tools to our kids so that they can achieve their goals and look where they're going. And it's just amazing and we should all be proud, but most of all for our kids. And again, it speaks volumes for a school this size. So, uh I get so proud of our kids. I ask our seniors to continue to update the Google Classroom of where they've committed so
022that we can also recognize all students. Uh and I would like to send a card to all parents because it is a great a great achievement. And then lastly, I want to conclude with with great news again. Uh I have to tell you this year alone, uh it's back where our kids are giving back to the community. And it's just great to see. Um last uh report I mentioned to you that, you know, our kids participated in the Chester cleanup. And uh that went well and and again, in the past we've only had a small segment of kids from the high school. This time, we had a couple kids from uh the middle school help out and it was a phenomenal. Just to help. I also want to give kudos to Alex Taggart who's uh
023taken upon a leadership role uh at the food pantry where he has gathered a couple of the kids from his teams uh and gotten them involved where now this is pretty much his project. And it's not two or three friends. He's got a crew of five to seven kids that show up and help for several hours to help out the with at the at the pantry. So again, it's great to see that and uh I will tell you that my middle school kids will also be coming back and helping out during lunch time again as we did earlier in the school year uh just to pitch in and help keep our back clean so that we're all everyone to enjoy especially during recess. And that concludes my report. It's been a quick month. I I
024can't believe here we are in May. It was just yesterday that we did September and I was concerned about the cell phone policy, but uh you know, our kids once again have risen to the occasion. Anyone have questions for Mr. Aguilar? I just want to say um I know they did the the top 10, but I really have enjoyed the social media. I don't know who's the magic behind the social media with the commitment with the baby pictures and where the students are committed. I like watching it every day because it is something to really celebrate >> Yes. >> and to see where each you know, who's going where and I'm like oh they're going to do great things and what they're majoring. So Yeah. whoever's the magic behind that social media page, kudos. It
025is so nice to see as as as one of the moms in this journey this year. Absolutely. Yeah. Yeah. And and if you're able to see on Instagram too, our kids celebrating. They uh the kids wore decision day shirts. So yes, it was great to see. You know, so uh again, we want to celebrate everyone. So uh I'm hoping by the next time uh we meet again that uh that list would and long so that everyone can look up and be proud most of all. Uh one final thing I want to add today we did recognize our top students in every grade level for the third quarter. Digital cards were sent to the students this time and to the parents and uh you know, it's just it's it's just great when you hear the great
026news, you know, how how your son or daughter has done and to be number one in the grade level and watching our students look up at the at the the TV monitor in between classes like did I get it? Did I get it? We even had one young man brought his parents in and said, "I want you to see this." So, it was great to see. But again, thank you again everyone. Thank you once again for always highlighting the you know, the good stuff whether it's in the classroom, on the athletic field, or out in the community. It's always nice to bring all together and like my fellow board members have said, it's nice I found myself in the evening unwinding watching and seeing the baby pet I just get the biggest >> Sure. chuckle
027>> of you know, well, your face hasn't changed any. You're much bigger, but so keep it going. It's been wonderful. You got it. Thank you again everyone. We move to our first public comment. Anyone wishing to come down and share seeing that we do not have anyone with us here, we're going to move to round table discussion. I'll move to this side of the table first. Miss O'Hara. Okay, just have a few updates. The April edition of the CUFSD newsletter was shared with families via Parent Square on May 5th. All monthly district newsletters can be found on our district website under the district tab and we encourage everyone to visit the website regularly to stay connected to highlights, programs, and student accomplishments taking a place taking place across our schools. As Mr. Flanagan mentioned, Teacher
028Appreciation Week is here. So, please join us in celebrating our incredible teachers who support, challenge, and inspire our students each day. Many thanks to our parent PTA and PTSA for their efforts in making this week special in recognition of our teachers and staff. As a part of this week's celebration of excellence in education, this evening, as a matter of fact, we are proud to share that Chester Elementary School third-grade teacher Amy Corolla is being honored with a Mid-Hudson School Study Council Teacher of Excellence Award. So, congratulations to Amy on this well-deserved recognition. May, as also Mr. Flanagan mentioned, is Mental Health Awareness Month, recognizing the important work of our counselors, social workers, school psychologists, teachers, and staff who support our students and school community each day. Last week, we actually recognized Principals Day, and we
029have one here, so wanted to acknowledge the leadership of CES Principal Mary-Kate Bosch, attending the awards ceremony this evening. And also in the house, CA Principal John Flanagan. Thank you so much. Uh today, it's a lot. So, today is National School Nurse Day. So, we thank our Chester Elementary School Nurse, Denise Rydell, and Chester Academy Nurse, Gina Strough, for the care and support they provide to our students and staff. These recognitions reflect the dedicated teacher, staff, and leaders who support our students each day and our continued investment in educational excellence. That commitment is reflected in the proposed 2026-2027 budget, which will be uh shared with you shortly. The Hambletonian news, highlighting the proposal or the proposed budget, will be mailed this Friday with the budget vote on May 19th from 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.
030in the Chester Academy band room. And finally, we invite our community to join us for the Art and STEM Expo on May 19th from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. at Chester Academy. An opportunity to experience the creativity, innovation, and talent of our students from elementary through high school. So, I have the round table. Thank you, Mr. Harris. Anything for round table from this side? If anything to share with us, Kevin? >> I have one thing, actually. >> Sure. Uh since it is Teacher Appreciation Week, uh NHS will be having making cookies tomorrow after school, giving them out to teachers. And they're also planning a Arcadia cleanup. I don't know any other details yet, but it is being planned. That's all I have. >> Thank you. It's a nice segue. On behalf of the Board of Education,
031we'd like to wish all um our teachers a very happy uh Teacher Appreciation Week. Um you are the boots on the ground, and we are so incredibly appreciative of the long hours and the care you give our students on daily basis. We'll move to consent agenda. Can I have a motion to approve consent agenda items 5.1 to 5.7? Second. All in favor? I. Consent agenda items pass. That moves us to our second public comments. Seeing that no one has come in since our first public comments, can I have a motion to enter the legal budget hearing? I'll make that motion. Second. All in favor? I. I. Motion passed. We are now in the legal budget portion of our meeting. Mr. Sousa, you're going to start us off. Yes. Good evening, everyone. Tonight is our annual
032public budget hearing for the '26-'27 school year. Um so, you'll see here on this slide, this gives you the big picture of the '26-'27 budget adopted by the board at the April 21st meeting. Our total appropriations are just over 41 million, which is an increase of 7.27% over the current year. We have a 2.89% increase to the tax levy, bringing it to 21 million, 945885. So, a home with a full market value of 300,000 with basic star would see an estimated increase of $119 per year, or about $10 per month. If you'd like to see the estimated impact at additional home values, you can find that information in our budget newsletter, which is being mailed out tomorrow morning, and will also be available on our district website tomorrow. >> [clears throat] >> Looking at our
033expenditure budget broken into the three-part components, our admin component is 8.94% of the total budget at 3.6 million. Our program component, which is our largest component, is 78.3% at 32.1 million. And our capital component is at 12.6% at 5.1 million. And looking at our revenue sources, our real property tax items take up 53.9% of the budget at 22.1 million. Our state aid is 36.3% at 14.8 million. We have other items at 3.1% Our appropriated fund balance for next year is 5.85% of the budget at 2.4 million. We are appropriating our reserve ERS reserved at $100,000, which is 0.24% and we are also have a transfer from our debt service fund of 200,000, which is 0.49%. And with that, I will pass it to Ms. O'Hara. Thank you, Ms. De Sousa. I appreciate your work. Honestly,
034as our concluding presentation, your leadership throughout this budget development process, also want to thank uh we have our district treasurer in the house, Susan Tedesco, who's been uh phenomenal in um supporting um business office and the budget process as well. So, as highlighted throughout our budget presentations, the proposed 2026-2027 budget reflects our district mission, vision, and portrait of a graduate. Our priorities remain focused on investing in excellence through strong academic programs and staffing, advancing college and career pathways, partnerships, and communication, and optimizing infrastructure for safety, security, and sustainability. Okay. Following tonight's legal budget hearing, the Hamiltonian news six-day notice will be mailed to district residents this Friday, May 7th. I apologize. The Hamiltonian news will be mailed this Thursday, May 7th. Thursday is May 7th. Today is Wednesday, May 6th. The newsletter provides an overview
035of the proposed budget, district priorities, and information related to the annual budget vote. This year's edition also includes a Spanish version to support communication and accessibility for our families and community members. In addition to the mailed newsletter, all budget presentations, Board of Education meeting presentations, and supporting information remain available to you on the Chester UFSD website under the budget and finance section. And so, we encourage our families and community members to review the materials and stay informed throughout our budget process. The annual vote and Board of Education election will take place on Tuesday, May 19th from 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. in the Chester Academy band room. We thank our school community for staying engaged and encourage all eligible residents to participate [clears throat] in the May 19th vote as every vote helps shape the
036future of our students and our schools. Thank you. Okay. Can I have a motion to adjourn? I'll make that motion. Second. All in favor. I. I. Before signing off this evening, I want to make um the public aware of two very important dates as Miss O'Hara shared, on May 19th is our our district budget vote as well as one seat for the Board of Education. The following day, May 20th, will be our next Board of Education meeting. Everyone have a good night and thank you.