001Hey, good evening everybody. Thank you for coming this evening. Appreciate it. I will call the meeting to order this evening at 6:31 p.m. Beginning with the pledge of allegiance. Okay, we're going to start our evening as we always do with some recognitions. Um, if you've been if you've joined us before, you know, oh, I clicked the wrong button here. Uh, that we like to recognize students and employees and community members that go above and beyond um and whose generosity and efforts are greatly appreciated. So, this evening, we are pleased to recognize three groups. Um, the first is our robotics competition update. Last week, the robotics club participated in a three-day regional competition for first robot robotics at the MVP Arena in Albany. Since January, students have been hard at work designing, building, and programming a
002robot to compete in this year's game, Rebuild, which challenged teams to collect 6-in foam balls and shoot them into an elevated goal. The team included 15 to 20 students in grades 7 through 12 who collaborated throughout the season to bring the robot robot to life. During the competition, the team placed 30th out of 62 teams, an impressive showing in a highly competitive field. Notably, they are one of the one of only approximately 120 teams in New York State that participate in this competition and the only team representing Skenctity County. So, well done to our robotics team. We also have a shout out that this past Saturday, the Dwayneburg Community PTA hosted the color funr run event at the upper soccer field at the high school. It was a great turnout. Um, and everyone had a
003great time and a fun time. Thankfully, we had better weather on Saturday than on Sunday. Um, all elementary participants were entered into a drawing for a chance to win principal for the day. And the winner, who's a fifth grade student, will take on that special role next month. So, we're excited about that. Um, and then finally, excuse [clears throat] me, the outing club traveled to Brazil during spring break from Friday, April 3rd through Sunday, April 12th. Um, the trip included 14 students, four parents and teachers, Mrs. Bliss and Mrs. Hoffman, and Mr. Dando um a former teacher here at DCS um who had started the process of this whole um this whole program and this whole trip and so he accompanied our kids as well. Um the group is going to provide us with a
004presentation on their on their experience at the May 5th meeting. So please mark your calendars if you want to hear about that. Okay. Uh any questions or discussion of any agenda items from the board? Okay. And then, excuse me, [clears throat] any agenda changes. I will note that um I will be reading on behalf of the environmental club and the elementary school service club um because their adviser couldn't be here. [clears throat] Uh all right. So with that said, be it resolved upon the recommendation of the superintendent that the board of education approves the agenda for the regular meeting this evening, April 21st, 2026. May I have a motion? >> Thank you, Sarah. A second. >> I'll second. >> Thank you, Lissa. Comments or questions? All in favor? I. Any opposed? Any abstension? Okay. Next
005item is [clears throat] the board of education minutes from our last meeting. Be it resolved upon the recommendation of the superintendent that the board of education approves the minutes of the executive meeting and regular meeting on March 24th, 2026. May I have a motion? Thank you, Tony. A second. >> Thank you, Ray. Comments or questions? All in favor? I. Any opposed? Any abstensions? Okay. So, we'll move on to presentations and reports. Um, as I mentioned, uh, Mrs. Goodwin is the advisor for the elementary school environmental club and the community service club, but she wasn't able to come. So, she provided me with um sort of an overview for everyone. So, I will read that to you and then we will move on to our other presentations as well. So [clears throat] she says the environmental
006club includes students in grades five, excuse me, three through five who are committed to environmental stewardship. They have been um working on some recycling initiatives. Club members have been collecting clean plastic film and other eligible plastic items for the Trex recycling challenge with the goal of earning a free bench for our school. It's called the Next Trex program. Um they have had some fundraising. Students have collected bottles and cans to support student council in their fundraising efforts. They have provided some education and service. Club activities have focused on practices that promote a healthier, cleaner planet, including organized litter cleanups on school grounds and in nearby areas. And they are asking for some community engagement because on May 15th, the club will participate in the second annual trash parade in downtown Skenctity. Students will join a
007procession featuring art, costumes, and puppets created from repurposed materials to raise awareness about waste reduction and creative reuse. So, they welcome any questions. I can't really answer any questions, so if anybody has any questions about the environmental club, I would direct you to Mrs. Goodwin. Um, she I expect would switch hats now and then talk about the community service club which again at the elementary school include students in grades three through five who are committed to helping the less fortunate in our local community and the capital region. Uh, a few of their activities and initiatives they have a little free library. Last year a grant funded the little free library next to the dees playground and club members regularly restock it. A dedication sign notes the donation from the Dwayneburg Education Foundation and commemorates former
008aid Robera Hill [clears throat] Helen Brandt. Uh they also um managed the Turkey Trot, the fourth annual turkey trot in November raised $74 and collected canned goods for the Dwayne community and the funds were donated to the Dwayneburg elementary school backpack program through Our Lady of Fatima Church. They also uh put together holiday gifts in December. The club coordinated donated gifts with support from volunteer helper elves and the Dwayneburg community for families needing extra support during the holiday season. And then finally, uh the Ronald McDonald Readathon. This is the most successful fundraiser to date. The original $2,000 goal was exceeded and students and families raised $4,425 for Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Capital Region. as a community building reward. Select teachers will participate in an inflatable obstacle course on field day. So, congratulations to
009the community service club for initiating that and for all of the students at Dwayneburg Elementary for raising all of that money um for such a special cause. Um so, active student involvement across multiple grades, strengthened community partnerships, and increased fundraising success um has supported local family focused programs through their community service club. So, Um, we are grateful for them and I am grateful that Mrs. Goodwin provided me such a nice summary. So, all that being said, I'm going to invite the elementary school Odyssey of the mind team to talk to us. All right. Thank you. My name is Rose Gangster and I was the elementary school Odyssey Odyssey of the Mind Coordinator and we had three teams at the elementary school this year. Thanks to thanks to the generous volunteer time of some parents. I'd
010like to thank Margaret Ryenberg, Andy Hugh, and Tom and Stephanie Cashdoll. Without them, we would not have had three teams. And so, if you're interested in helping next year, I would be very grateful. That means we can have more teams. Um, with three teams, I still had to turn away quite a few students, which was um kind of sad. I love Odyssey. I really want Odyssey to be accessible to everybody. So, the more parent volunteers we have, the more teams we can have. um with our three teams. Each team had to uh choose a different problem to solve and one of our teams made a train and a track for it to go on and the train had to pick up different cars and put things in the cars. Uh one team had to fit
011all of their props inside two suitcases, everything they brought onto the stage, and one team had to uh write an epic poem and go on a quest. Uh, one of our teams did make it to states. Um, and I'd like to turn it over to the students to talk about their experience. >> Good evening everyone. Um, my name is Karina and I was in elementary Odyssey of the mind. Um, my favorite prop we made prop we made was palm trees. To make them, we first had to find a few tall tube like pieces of cardboard. Then we had to paint them brown. Those were the trunks of our trees. To make the tops, we had to draw the shapes on a large flat pieces of cardboard. Then we cut them out, painted them green, and
012decorated the tops with green crepe paper. Next, we hot glued green mesh onto the trucks onto the trunks for moss. Finally, we glued the tops onto the trunks. Our palm trees were done. One of my favorite parts of Odyssey of the Mind was the acting. Um, one of the most unusual or funniest element of our performance was I wanted bugs, not adventure when someone said that in our skit. A prop we made was a golden shield. We made it by cutting cardboard. My favorite part of Odyssey was the creativity of the props and the script. [applause] My favorite thing in Odyssey was um making palm trees. Um it was my first year doing in the mind. And I love to um help people and make um stuff out of cardboard, paint, and I had so
013much fun and watch other teams did really, really, really good. >> [applause] [cheering] >> Hi, my name is Brad and this is my second year doing Odyssey of the Mine. And one of the props that we made is the steering wheel. And um and I had really f fun doing Odyssey. [applause] And this is the team trophy. They made it to states. Here's a trophy. >> [applause] >> Congratulations everyone. Before everyone runs away, is there anybody that has any questions for our elementary school team? How was it at States? Were there a lot of people there? A lot of people at states. Yeah, that trophy is pretty cool. Where was States? Was it local or do we have Oh, so it was a road trip. Awesome. Very good. >> A very early morning road trip
014if I understand correctly. Yes. >> Great. >> All right. Awesome. Thank you so much everybody and thank you Mrs. Gangster for um providing that information for us. Uh with that I would like to invite the high school Odyssey of the mind team um advised by Mrs. Mrs. Spore. Hello Vivad. >> This is majority of the high school Odyssey team. We only have one team of five members. We have participants all the way up from grade 8 to grade 12. So really welcoming program for everyone. I think everyone feels as if they have a space. So um Odyssey the mind is a creative team-based creative thinking program. So each team is presented with a series of problems and are chosen assigned to choose one and we chose problem three >> three which >> the the epic
015quest which made us create a quest of epic proportions. So our story follows Patricia the painter who has failed her AP exam which I'm sure some some of us can rep like feel failing an exam and she's put in depression. that sucks all the color out of her life and she has to go on a quest to get her color back with her paintbrush. Painty the paintbrush epically sized paintbrush and she faces challenges along the way and through Odyssey we're able to creatively think of solutions of how to get this skit on the ground. We only have like five months to do it all and it has to be all done in eight minutes and we can't have any help from any adult. Only the five of us can work on it. So, it's a
016lot of trial and error to get to where we are now. You got you guys can talk to them. [laughter] >> So, we made our own costumes. So, I sewed I was a paintbrush. So, I saw this paintbrush outfit. >> Yeah, it was my first time actually sewing clothes. So, I learned how to do that. >> And then we put up my hair like a paintbrush >> with a bottle of lotion. [laughter] >> NOT EVEN AN EMPTY BOTTLE FOR OURSELVES. >> Do you want to go? >> Yeah, sure. Um, I was in our skit. I was imagination. So, um, during our epic quest, you there had to be a rescue. So, they had to rescue Patricia painter had to rescue her imagination from the AP art exam, which is our beast. And something that I'm
017really proud that I did, Michaela did all the cutting out and painting, but we had this like collage theme that went with all of our um sets. So, all of our props and all of our sets. So, it's like magazine clippings and like canvas clippings, and I think it looks really cool. So, one of the big parts of Odyssey is that we only have a budget of $145. So, a lot of the stuff we make is garbage. Absolute trash. Like, we pull it out of dumpsters. My entire dress was made out of a paint stained piece of canvas and a curtain that we used as a tablecloth during travel club. >> Yeah. >> So, and we learned a ton of skills through all of this. And we were wondering if the board of education wanted
018to try out one of these skills. Okay. So, one of the big scoring components is there's three scoring components. We get scored on our long-term, which is our big solution. This is everything we're showing you right now. Our style, which is how all of this looks, which is probably the harshest one because I think everything here looks great. >> Yeah. And then spontaneous, which is 100 points of our score. So spontaneous is we're put in a room. We have no clue what's going on. And they ask us either hands-on stuff, verbal stuff, or verbal hands. And we just have to go in there and think of the most creative responses to anything we're handing. So I want to give you guys a verbal one for any five of you that want to do it. I
019want to ask you guys name. Give me the most creative response for something with a coat. Something with a coat. >> Yes. >> Um, coat of paint. >> I like that word. >> Yeah. >> Mhm. >> Judges would not say this. >> No. No. They'd be silent. >> A coat of arms. [laughter] >> We're keeping these. >> A mink coat. Come on, Dad. >> Teamwork makes the dream work, guys. >> Yeah, come on. Dad, >> we get scored on teamwork. >> Well, how's it go? Work together. >> Oh, >> and you still get points for saying uncreative stuff. [laughter] >> Yeah, it's like three points compared to one point. trench coat. >> Okay. >> Yeah, >> there were several coats of paint on my main coat and on my trench coat. >> Therefore, I had
020to create a coat of arms. [laughter] >> He's pulling out. He's pulling out the coat. But those are just some of the skills we learned on Odyssey. I've had people before I I'm not the coach, but we've had team members before who've never worked a drill before and they learned how to do that on Odyssey. And people take these skills to college. There's college teams, but like you're not going to learn the fundamentals of teamwork unless you're put in a situation that Odyssey provides. And that's why I think it's so important and that's why I think it should be preserved. Um, that's the high school team. At a high school level, it's a lot more difficult. We did also get a trophy and we went to states. We placed second at regionals. >> At regionals,
021>> I think we did pretty good. And we beat couple skills. >> And we beat couple skills. We beat coal skill. So that's it from us. You guys have Do you guys have any questions? We have to clean up. >> Yeah, I Yeah, I have a question since one of my children are up there. >> Um you guys did a tremendous job with the um the mobile set. Do you want to explain how you came up with that idea on such a low budget? >> Yeah, go ahead. >> Yeah. So our set was like a it was um oh gosh, what's the word? a pyramid. Um, so it was foldable and it was very portable, which that's the I think I've never done Odyssey before, so this was my first year. But I think that
022was one of our main goals this year was to make sure that our set was very portable and that we could move it around because I know in years past they've had some difficulties with moving the set and fitting it through doorways. Um [laughter] so um we decided before we decided any designs, we decided that our set would be very lightweight, very compact and it and then for the design of our set, we went with three different like art. Yeah, three different art movements uh just to more tie in the symbolicness of the progression of art, the progression of imagination. So um for the first one it was very surrealist. That's when imagination was lost. It was black and white. Um it was very uh yeah it was very dull. And then the next one
023we decided to go with like an the impressionist impressionist movement. Um more more colors. It was definitely more colorful, but it was not bright rainbow as in the last side which was um like yeah contemporary modern art where we had polka dots that were like rainbow and they were cascading up when imagination came back. So I [clears throat] if anything that might be the most the biggest part that I'm proud of because it was it was a really good set. >> It was our highest scoring part. Yeah, it was it was good. >> Oh, and then should we tell them about this part of the set? >> Yeah, >> Richard's hat. Sorry, we named our set Richard. Um, it's just we got inspiration from like the art pieces on Greek pottery. So, it kind of
024sh tells the tale of um what was happening at our quest. Yeah. >> Yeah, >> that's everything. It's really cool. We had a lot to talk about. >> I have one more question. I know Lucy M, you just said that you this is your first year. So, I'm wondering Lucy S. and Michaela, how many years have you been doing Odyssey? >> Well, each of you. >> No, let's [laughter] >> Yeah. So this is my eighth year in Odyssey because there was no co eighth or ninth >> combined the team has 28 years altogether. Um and then I know I know there's also some people in the audience who have done odyssey before and have enjoyed the experience. And then Mickey. >> Okay. I think this is my uh fifth or sixth year. Um you know.
025>> Yeah. >> My second year on the high school team and it's just been really fun. >> Yeah. >> Any fifth graders going into sixth grade? >> Yeah. >> If we get enough of you, maybe we could have two high school teams. Any other any other questions from anyone on the board? Thank you ladies very much. That was quite fun. >> That was I think the longest [applause and cheering] thing I know. >> Okay. >> All right. And last up for our presentations, but certainly not least, um is our Dungeons and Dragons Club, which is um advised by Mr. Gilmeister. Come on up, guys. >> Okay, >> microphone. >> Okay. Okay, buddy. Watch out. >> All right. So, got to protect the microphone for a moment. I should have like had them plan what they're
026going to say, but I was like, "No, this is about improv." the fact that these kids uh they come to D and D club which is a tabletop role playing game because they love stories because they love just being together. And I love D and D club because it gives people a place to belong. Doesn't matter who you are. It doesn't matter what you're into. Um D and D club is a place for you just to come gather, hang out, spend time with your friends, and experience a story. So before I talk too long, as is my habit, I'm going to turn it over to the kids and they can tell you what they enjoy about D and D club. So with that being said, be careful. >> Um, >> so as Mr. Gilmeister said,
027this is improv. And luckily for me, I am very good at improv. one of the skills that you will learn at D and D club because um you know uh but D and D club it D and D in general it just really helps you explore your creativity and uh your passion for a lot of things. Um [cough and clears throat] uh for uh there's multiple groups. Um there's for uh younger kids, uh older kids, and there's just a mixed group, too. We meet twice a week. [laughter] Um, we have a lot of new members, but um, it's it's it really helps you share like what's going on in your head really because you have your own character and you get to go on these amazing adventures or create your own adventures with your friends.
028It's really good for bonding. Um, Uh, a lot of my friends are here. Oh, and Luffy, I guess. Um, >> like she's your sister or something. >> And And it it really helps you uh see another side of people. Good side. Um, >> [cough and clears throat] >> Um, so yeah, it's just awesome. I've been talking for a lot, so I'm gonna >> Okay. Um, I'm also part of D and D club. I'm currently in the high school groups and I'm actively um leading the campaign for my friend group who's actively doing it. >> Wow. >> Yeah. Well, this is my being up here. >> Um you know, going off of what Noah said, D and D Club is a very safe space that I'm sure everybody in D and D club can vouch for.
029It lets you express yourself and what you want to be and what you actively are. You get to explore your imagination and other people's imagination very easily through D and D club. It definitely lets you see, as Noah said, other sides of people, good and or bad. Hopefully not bad, but you know what? Um, yeah. No, I was just asked by him to be here. It's It's a very fun club and be a definite shame to see it go. It is I It's It's just very fun. I'm going to hand it off to people who actually know how to talk. >> All right. Hello. My name is Zoe D'Angelus and I have been a part of D&D Club for I think three or four years now. And ultimately, it has been a wonderful experience. Um,
030I have um played with students across different grade levels and different ages and it has just been wonderful. We've gotten to know new people who are always welcoming to new players because this is an amazing experience and we want to share with everybody and um again it's very creative. It's very it's very fun. It's a great experience and I look forward to every session. It has been wonderful and >> sure I'm back again. Okay, I'll make this one short because my last one was not my last spiel, but um I've been doing DN D for a long time. My dad is a giant D and D nerd. He is. Don't let him fool you with his professional attire and stuff. Um he really is. But we've been playing D and D uh ever since me
031and Noah were little. We were like I'm sure we were not playing it with the actual rules. Five. Okay. Five. I was five. Um I'm sure we were not playing it with actual rules. It was but it was just it's just this memory I experienced. I remember I also remember like painting these D and D minifigures with him. And overall, DND has been such a positive uh in my life. And then when I got up to the high school, well, I was in middle school, but and I heard that there was a DND club, I joined immediately because it just brings back a lot of really good memories for me. And I mean, I was not able to do it often. I'm very busy. But the great part about D&D is that everyone's flexible and
032everyone's super creative. So, we are able to work things out and we're always able to get through the story eventually. And I just love the creativity of everything as well. You're able to create your own characters. You're able, if you want, you can create your own story lines. And that's my favorite part about DN D. Okay, if I had to be here, name every possible combination of characters, we'd be here for a while. So, I'm I'm going to shorten it down for you. Basically, there's a whole lot of class, a whole lot of character sets you can do. Really fun game. However, there's one thing I wouldn't recommend is having Noah as a dungeon master and getting D20 rolled on you. That's not fun. [applause] >> I'm not going to lie, it was very nerve-wracking
033there when I realized they could say anything they wanted into a microphone. Um, but no, like you guys can tell I have there's a great group of kids here for this D and D club. They're uh they make my week every week and the fact that they get to be there and have fun is the icing on the cake. So, I don't know if anyone on the board has questions for these kids because they're going to be answering anything you want to ask them. So, they're contractually obligated. >> I know. >> Look at this nerd. That's my dad. questions. >> Noah, what kind of character do you have right now? Do you have a hero or a villain? >> Um uh it's more like um it's a thing. So my my character's personality um most
034of the people characters ities in the group I'm in is more of oh somebody dropped their wallet um let me give it back to them but take a quick Benjamin >> good things you steal the entire >> we have a lot of different kind of characters is what you're telling me right they're complex characters yeah >> yeah complex um any more questions Thank you everybody for being here and telling us about DND. [applause and cheering] All right. Right. Thank you again everybody. Thanks for coming. [laughter] Bye. All right. Just really quickly, [clears throat] I wanted to mention that um last week the board of education participated in a virtual uh retreat with uh Mark Snyder, who is the leadership development manager for the New York State Board School Boards Association. Um he uh was kind
035enough to give us his time and give us just sort of a recap of um sort of roles and responsibilities of the board. Um and and uh just again just to keep keep us fresh and and aware of what our our jobs are. So I thought I'd give you a couple of highlights from um I do have the whole uh he did provide us with his whole presentation and I can give that up upon request if anybody wants to see it. I wasn't going to do all 20 slides here tonight but um he started by sort of just reminding us that there are sometimes some misconceptions about um what school boards can and can't do. Um, so he had a top five, some of the misconceptions that people might have about what we are here
036for, um, and what we do. Um, he gave us a nice overview of what we are responsible for in terms of oversight. We're really looking for outcomes, student outcomes. We want to improve student outcomes. That's ultimately our our our goal and our purpose for being here. Um we have our vision and our mission and our goals that we review each year. We don't change our mission obviously um year-over-year but our goals might change from year to year. Uh we are here to provide resources financially mostly to meet those goals to make informed decisions on behalf of our school community. Um we do approve curriculum and textbooks but it's it's important to understand that we don't select them. um the the the experts in their classrooms are the ones that select the curriculum and the textbooks
037and our job is to um approve them so that they can get in the hands of of students. Um we do make again personnel decisions but again those are also made on recommendation. Um we're not generally part of an interview committee for um new hires. We are relying on the um on the opinions and the and the work of our committees that do hiring. Um, and then to try to communicate between the district and the community what we're doing and what we're working on. And then lastly, again, this was not we we were we were together for about 90 minutes. Um, so it was quite a lot longer than just this, but I thought these might be the highlights. Just sort of what what are the roles of a board of education versus the roles
038of a superintendent. Um, and and that ours are really oversight. Um, it's policy driven. It is budget driven. um where the superintendent's roles are the how like how are we going to implement things and how do we create action plans to make sure that we can achieve the goals that the board puts forth at the beginning of each year. Um, so I just wanted to provide that. Um, just very quick update again um or recap rather. We do have his whole presentation if anybody wants to look at it. They're very welcome to. I can send it to you. Um, but that was last Tuesday. So I wanted to let you know about that. And other than that, I think that's I think that's all I've got. Do you guys have anything you wanted to add?
039That's it. Well, I just wanted to add that um although it was it was a 90minute virtual meeting which we hadn't had since co I was I was uncomfortable simply because um I felt like we could have all been together. It was useful information. Um it was a reminder of our responsibility as board members also as um members of the community. Um it was a it was a valuable retreat and uh and I felt that um we definitely um I thank you for it. I didn't show appreciation for it at first but um it it did add value to the the the strength of this board which I feel is um very thoughtful and community based. >> Thanks Ray. I will I will mention that part of the reason that we did it virtually was
040that um Mark Snyder volunteered his time. Um if we had asked him to come here in person and deliver a whole you know threeh hour or four hour retreat then we probably would have had to pay them. So um thankfully he was willing to do a pro bono for us um and and we went with the virtual route for that but I agree with you. I think you know inerson meetings are always um a little bit more personal um but um but yeah thank you. Anybody else? I think we're all set then. All right. And we don't have any board student board members with us this evening. My guess is because they are all at the track meet. [laughter] So hopefully they're doing well. Um so that brings us to public comment. [snorts] I don't
041I don't need my glasses. I'm prepared to. All right. So again, um, as I usually do, I'll just review our public participation policy. Thank you, Dean. Um, the board encourages public participation at board meetings during the specific portion of the agenda called privilege of the floor, public comment. Um, the public comment section is an opportunity for residents and residents only to address the board of education. Um, it is only only takes place during the time of the portion of the agenda that's designated. Um, we do ask that folks wishing to address the board ate their desire to speak on the signup sheet. Um we do uh ask that speakers confine their comments to three minutes given that we have a lot of things to get through in any given board meeting. Um and to remember
042that the board will not address specific questions or comments. Um we are not permitted to. So we will listen attentively um but we cannot um we cannot respond to anyone uh during that time. So, um, we do ask that everyone remembers that we do not permit in public session discussion of individual personnel or students. Um, anyone wishing to discuss matters involving personnel or students should present those concerns to the superintendent. Uh, and I think with that I will start uh with Amy Walsh. Good evening. Can you guys hear me? Okay. It's been eight weeks since the destructive and damaging Gazette article was published about our school. And yet just last week there was another incident where our student athletes were targeted and our own administrators words were used against them. During the Scary and Dwayneburg
043varsity baseball game some Skari players took the standard heckling to an extreme calling our athletes racists. Allow me to give you a quick run through of the profile of the varsity baseball team. Many are two and three sport athletes. Many are scholar athletes. Some participate in student government. Some are involved in band. Many volunteer regularly at various community and religious events. So even though some of you may not care about sports, I can assure you that these student athletes, like many of our athletes who make up about 50% of our student population, are well-rounded and participate in many activities outside of athletics. regardless of their interests. I can assure you that this group is not the quote kiddos that have normalized using racial slurs or anti-semitic remarks or sexual comments to the opposite sex as
044our administrator has so falsely labeled them. But just like the boys varsity basketball team experienced in February, it's now the varsity baseball players that pay for her massive lapse in judgment. When this incident was reported to our district leader, she responded and said she would investigate and be in touch with the Skahari superintendent. Okay. But I've learned that the best leadership comes with proactive action rather than reactive. And yet this administrator remains in the reactive state, waiting for something unfortunate to happen to our students before mitigating the issue. Last month, she'd received reports from students about the group of Skhari students creating a similar hostile environment at the community gym and separately at local AAOU basketball triyouts. So, she was aware that Skahari students might cause problems well in advance of last Wednesday's baseball game.
045Wasn't it just two board meetings ago that a fellow community member said in response to the article, "What's next? What will you do to protect pro, excuse me, what will you do to protect our kids? You all must acknowledge that the continual missteps by our school leader are damaging to our kids. Teachers, students, and community members have spoken to this point. You've received countless emails stating the same. I'll ask you again, what else has to happen to our kids before you'll take action? I also want to remind you board members that your public officials elected to your community to represent their interests at this school in the school district. A board must act independently of the superintendent, maintaining a professional relationship with some distance so that proper checks and balances occur. It's not the board's
046job to run interference for the superintendent, nor should personal friendships create biases or favoritism within the school setting. So, I'm asking you as my representatives, as my children's representatives, please take your duty of oversight with the utmost care and responsibility. Thank you. >> [applause] >> Next person I have, excuse me, the next person I have on my list is Marcy. Um, forgive me. Uh, Mr. Spor is at the hospital with his dad and I don't have the paddles, so I'm just holding up a paper that says you have 30 seconds left. I apologize. >> Good evening. I am Marceline Fuselair of Dwayneburg Road. I appreciate the dedication of Dwayneburg's teachers, staff, bus drivers, and support personnel. I also appreciate receiving a response to my foil request. With the budget vote approaching, I am asking for
047greater financial transparency and stronger alignment of spending with student needs. The foil request shows that nearly $30,000 was paid by this school this year to the consulting firm first called I'm Human 360 and later Rising to Greatness for listening tour sessions and workshops. However, the contract described activities rather than specific outcomes or measurable deliverables. At the same time, there are important needs in our district. The elementary school library needs improvement. The district struggles to find substitute bus drivers because the pay is so low. The administrative staff is stretched thin. I'm asking the board to provide a clear explanation of three things. One, what specific goals and measurable results were expected from this consulting work? Two, whether th those results were achieved. Three, whether why near nearly $30,000 was spent on this program while other urgent
048needs remain unmet. The district is asking the community to support a new budget at a time when school districts across New York are becoming increasingly dependent on local taxpayers. Community trust matters more than ever. If the board believes this consulting was a good use of funds, then please explain clearly what the district received for that money. If the board re believes the spending was not justified, then I ask the board to explore ways to recover those funds or redirect future spending toward priorities that directly benefit students. I want our district to succeed. I believe openness and accountability will strengthen public confidence and improve the chances that the budget will pass. Thank you everyone for listening. [applause] [cheering] Thank you. Uh, the next person, excuse me, I have on my list is Brandy Fall. Hi, Numerous
049people have told me not to speak for fear of retaliation, but one thing I hate most is fake people. If you know me, you know I speak my mind quite frequently and my children and their well-being are the most important thing to me and I cannot continue to bite my tongue any longer. This hasn't gone away like you all hoped it would. Some of you have made it very clear that you're not here to support our athletes. However, as board members, you should be here for every child. I am here tonight to express serious concern regarding remarks made by an administrator in which students were characterized as racist among other things. Labeling students in this way, particularly without clear context or any evidence, can have lasting negative effects. Schools should be environments where all students
050feel supported, understood, and not broadly judged or categorized. My son is a senior this year. He's gone to Dwayneburg since kindergarten. We purposely bought a house and moved to this community because of all the good things we were told about this school and community. My boys have proudly represented the school with Dwayneburg on their jerseys. Unfortunately, due to the comments that were put out by our administrator, my son, who's now a senior, has been called a racist, among many other horrible labels and characteristics that he is not nor has ever been. During his last senior high school basketball game, as he and his teammates were out on the court in a sectional game representing this school, he was called a racist homophobe among many other terrible things. My son, being the individual that he is,
051tried his best to ignore the comments and represent his school. He did not retaliate. It was bad enough that this happened, and I hoped that it would be the end of it. Unfortunately, it was not. This last week at my son's first home game again of his senior and final season of baseball, as he was out on the mound pitching, again, just representing his school, he again was called racist, among other things, and was continuously harassed by members of the opposing team. I know some people don't seem to think it's a big deal, but I can guarantee if it was your child standing out there on that court, that mound, or wherever, just trying to represent their school and they were being called horrible things that they are not, but because of someone's remarks that
052were put in the paper, you would care. My child and many others are now suffering the consequences of something they had nothing to do with. I'm sure this will not be the last time either. On top of that, when it was reported to the administrator, the decision was made to reach out to the opposing team superintendent to make sure that those kids saying the insults were held accountable. I find it very ironic and hypocritical that we are expecting other schools to hold their children accountable for things that they are saying that their own own admin that our own administrator has said about our students and has suffered no consequences. There were no consequences. not even at least an apology or a retra retraction to the paper for other communities to see that this was not
053okay and it was very clear by your inaction [clears throat] that there is no support for these students from the board that is supposed to be here to protect them all. How is this acceptable? >> Sorry Brandy, your time is up. >> Yep. You I have one last sentence. Maybe you all need a reminder that you're supposed to be here for all of the children and not just personal agendas. >> [applause] >> Okay, next person that I have um indicated on the list is Diana Fox. I'm taller than everyone. All right. I'm Diana Fox on Weaver Road and I can report that Santino and Ari are doing very well as are all the kids at track. I think we set some personal records and some state qual times today. So that just emphasizes how important
054our student athletes are um as other people have said today. Um, so I've had plenty of conversations with people on the board and administrators and about a topic that has been presented in these meetings and in other meetings, um, which is restorative justice. And I think that it's a term that gets thrown around a lot and it's not understood by this board. Part of restorative justice is that offenders understand and make amends for the things that they do in hope that they don't do them again. So it seems that we want to hold students responsible for the things that they do but there's no adults being held responsible for the things that they do. So I think many people here today as many people in the past have also said uh certain individuals certain students
055children are being asked to be held responsible while the role models the examples that we should be setting for them as adults are not being held responsible for their choices and their actions. Another part of restorative justice is that there is responsibility, there is um maybe not punishment, but we haven't issued punishment anyway, but there isn't any responsibility. So, what is restorative here? I don't see it. The other thing I hope you'll consider is that there are certain decisions about contracts that need to be made by the end of May and new board members won't be taking their terms until after that point. So, I hope that because we might have two new board members uh participating on the board and working with administrators or other personnel after those people leave that whoever comes in
056as new board members might have a say in contract decisions. Obviously, they can't have a vote, but they have a voice. So, I hope that you'll consider what they have to say and how they might appreciate working with somebody in the future. Thank you. >> [applause] >> We have one per one more person in the list um who indicated they wish to speak which is Laura Ays. Oh, I'm sorry Dana you didn't check off. You wanted to speak but I'll I'll have you go after Laura. Is that okay? Okay. >> Good evening. My name is Laura. I live on Delivan Road in the Lanson Williamsburg I guess technically. Um I'm actually here to um let you know that I was one of the parent chaperons for the Brazil trip and I had a great time
057with the kids and I'm so eager to tell you about it next week. I just thought this was the meeting we were going to talk about it at. [laughter] So, um I'm a little premature, but it was a great experience for the kids to um go internationally, see something beyond Dwsburg, to see the different in difference in culture, to see that there's a different standard of living in Brazil, and that they really are fortunate to be here in Dwayne'sburg, uh notwithstanding everything else. Um so, I'll be back on the 5th [laughter] to help present the Brazil trip. Thanks, Okay. Um, then Dana, sorry about that. >> Hi, I'm Dana Mik. I live at 146 Newton Street in Delansen. Um, we moved out here 28 years ago because we love this community and love this school
058district. I had four kids graduate through here and we just love the experience for them and us. We now are going to have a grandchild coming here in a couple years and I got to tell you, I don't like the experience of this district right now. So, I am running for the board. I want to know why we have a $ 1.4 4 million deficit that's not being talked about and we have some real environmental issues in these buildings that need to be looked at. And I think the board really should be walking the grounds once a month and walking those buildings and seeing it for yourself because I got to tell you, we're all part of making sure that this works and it's not working. So that's all I had to say for today.
059There's more issues, but we'll we'll handle them as we need to. >> Thank you, Dana. Was there anyone else that had wished to speak but they didn't sign up or they didn't check the box? Okay. All right. And next up is our superintendent report. Okay. So no formal presentation. Just want to make some announcements. So, on the agenda, you're going to see there is another crossroads consultation agreement. Um, if you remember last meeting, you resolved for the 2627 school year that they're going to support our anticipated 812 special ed special class. Um, we're actually requesting to start this a little earlier because we have a student who um meets the criteria and slated for this learning environment. So, um the agenda item, if you're unsure, is just having them start a little earlier earlier so
060that we can create the best learning environment for these these students. Um I am honored uh to have been asked to serve on some local committee. So had our first last Friday national night out planning committee. Um this is in partnership with the Skenctity County Sheriff's Department. It's a community event that's done nationwide and they'd like to bring it to Dwayneburg. It's slated for August 4th in Schaefer Park. um working on vendors and activities for kids and and music and food. So um we had our kickoff meeting last week. Um again, I was also asked to join the Memorial Day parade planning committee. Um that's why I was run running into the room today because I was finishing that up. Um that's on May 19th. Um, I know it's always a challenge with our budget
061vote, but we have to work around all the different emergency response crews, the fire departments, because they are um a hot commodity this time of year. Um, the lineup is going to return back to Forever Bots. And, um, just so folks know, the roads will close at 4:30. Um, another um, the last Oh, nope. I I do have some uh dates to remind everyone, but I I'm happy to report that we interviewed candidates um for the new inschool suspension room in uh at our next meeting, we'll be requesting resolution from the board. Um we have a very detailed structure plan put in place. Um over break, myself and some other folks helped me build an inschool suspension toolkit. Um, I've, you know, my experiences working in schools since 1997 is that it can be a
062holding ground and you want to make sure that it's not just an adult and students sitting in silence um because that never goes well. And so this toolkit outlines um, you know, it challenges the traditional setting of inschool and it's more reflective and supportive. So students will be obviously tutored, but then there is the restorative practice piece where students will be walked through prompts about reflecting and um moving forward to be able to return back to the classroom. Um the dates, just to remind everyone, tomorrow's the talent show at 6:30. Monday, April 27th is community feedback for our code of conduct. Wednesday, April 20 um sorry, April 20 29th, yep, is um the feedback from internal staff right after school. Saturday, May 2nd, um we are in partnership with DVAC and other local emergency organizations.
063We're going to be conducting a drill at the elementary school very very early in the morning. Uh Christiey's smiling because that's going to be a tough morning. Um Thursday, May 14th, is our art show and NHS induction. Saturday, May 16th is the prom. And Friday, May 22nd, a reminder, there is no school. It's the Friday before Memorial Day because that is our give back day, meaning we only use two emergency closing days. And so, contractually, we give back a day uh the Friday before Memorial Day. That's all I have. Questions? Okay. Uh I think Mr. Vber, you're up next. >> [laughter] >> Look, while I open up my presentation, I also wanted to say one more uh one thing. Uh so we recently were um audited uh for our driver records uh at transportation and
064uh we got a um notice uh last week that we came back clean and that there were no issues with uh with the state and our records. So, um I would like to compliment our 19A people, um Tammy Tammy Bra and um and Lori Cass who uh managed that desk audit and uh everything went well. So, uh so tonight uh the on the agenda is for the board to accept the proposed budget. So, um, tonight I prepared a presentation that, uh, gives you a full look at everything that we've talked about over the past few sessions, uh, and a, um, a look at all of our numbers and and what you're actually about to accept tonight for the, uh, present or yeah, for the budget. So, uh, I set some goals to basically just, you
065know, uh, make sure that we restore or I'm sorry, that we maintain, uh, core academic and extracurricular programs. Um, maintain, uh, resources, programs, opportunities, and and facilities for strong education. And then, of course, that we remain under the tax cap while navigating the New York State's uh, budget uncertainty, which the budget is still not finished at this time. Uh just a quick overview uh and we'll we'll dive into these uh these sections a little bit more as uh as they move forward. So the expansions expenses and the revenues uh with an overall total proposed budget uh at $22,998,000. Uh first off, the three-part budget that we had talked about in each each one of the sessions we talked about administrative, capital, and program. Uh so each of those uh the program uh portion of the
066budget of course which makes up a um a large portion of the instructional side of the budget uh is uh 68% a little more than 68% of the budget. And then the administrative portion of the budget, a very small portion of the budget which is uh seven a little over 7% of the budget. And then the capital side of the budget, 23%. That's that's the one section of the budget that we really saw uh accelerate this year and it's because of the the bonds for the capital work that's that's being done. Um so the program portion of the budget and the administrative uh they both increased at a less than 5% uh for each of them uh kind of reasonable in this uh state of uh the economy right now. So, um, this is where
067we, so we're looking at an overall budget increase of over $2 million to $2.3 million. Um, but again, there's a large portion of that that is uh attributed to the uh to the bond repay or to the uh to the bonds for the capital work. Uh, so this is a look at the uh administrative budget. I had shared a a similar view of this uh at at our prior work sessions and again you'll see that for capital and and program uh but we've uh we're we're keeping our partnership with uh Skenctity County uh for our school resource officer. So you can see that that's a large uh increase and it's because they had actually been funding the uh the second resource officer for for absolutely nothing and a part of our agreement was that we
068were going to start funding that. So uh moving forward we have that partnership. We have to start to pay for that that uh school resource officer. Another thing that um everyone all the other districts our neighboring districts are also seeing too is insurance and that's the insurance also for the buildings uh for buildings vehicles uh assets uh that we have here and um so the overall for the administrative portion of the budget 83,905 then the uh the capital portion of the budget which is the uh the largest increase that we're seeing And again, this is for uh for bond and ban uh payments. And that, you know, that amounts to a total of 1.5 one 1,544,757. Uh and then program portion of the budget uh which is everything else that we uh we provide for
069students and the opportunities that are for students. Uh so did some uh budget realignment too with the uh 2110 code and the two uh 2250 code. On the top there you'll see that uh teaching regular school and uh special education. That was just some of the uh adjustments you see actually in the negative in the 2110 was to reduce uh a teacher realignment that should have been uh aligned in the uh special education code uh and moving forward. So we've budgeted for our special education. It it is uh continuing uh and and talking to other uh business officials in other schools, they're also seeing the uh the costs go way up for uh students with disabilities. So um that's that's not as just just a Dwayneburg challenge. Uh we then have uh some realignments too
070in the uh the guidance regular day uh and social worker uh services that is a realignment of salaries uh one for one for another. And then uh district transportation uh you'll see a large portion of that the increase would come from fuel costs uh energy costs and all that to keep our buses rolling and then health insurance. So uh I did some real looking at the health insurance uh and you know when we had discussed uh the health insurance it was a 10% increase. Um I am confident that we can go out with uh less little less than 5% on our health insurance uh just to make sure that we're not overbudgeted in our health insurance line. So uh it makes a lot of sense and um we're going to move forward with uh with
071that budget line. And then uh so the proposed uh budget revenue >> Hey Jeff, I'm sorry. Can you go back to that slide? Just >> absolutely. >> Did I did I miss it or why is our social work services I mean great with taking expenses away but what is that? What's >> that's going So there was uh there was a teacher salary that was in one line in that and it's going to another one which is in it's based on certifications for teachers. >> You're welcome. Hey Jeff, one question on this on this slide. >> On the 2259 line, I'm assuming that the percent difference is zero there. It's not zero, but it's undefined >> considering it's >> that that is correct. Yes. Apologize for that. >> I only mentioned it because it's a significant
072amount. >> It is right. Um it is a it's an amount that um came from uh just the fact that we didn't have the EL ENL line. So uh I could show that differently and show nothing but uh yeah that so we now have uh English as a new language and if you look at like our district for five years ago we didn't have ENL we didn't have that challenge and um we had to add that teacher to make sure that we provide those services for uh kids who need uh the English language and um so the budgeted revenues um the uh state aid uh again the state finish their budget. So, um, in balancing that with, uh, property taxes because property taxes and your state aid are the two largest sources of of revenue.
073Um, and then our other revenues are uh, I'll show you a little bit more on the other revenues in just a moment. And then balancing the budget with uh, with fund balance and reserves. So, we did have a good budget year last year uh and we are able to uh roll some of that into uh this year uh to help out to balance that gap. Uh we do have a budget gap and it's unfortunate but um we are not alone and it's because uh the challenges of the economic times and uh the state not funding us the way that we used to be funded. Can I do you want us to still wait till the end? Okay. >> No, you can go ahead. >> So, the state aid went up 1.7 million year over. Correct.
074>> Yes, that is correct. >> Well, that seems like quite a substantial increase that we've seen in the past. What is that attributed to this year? >> So, I will I actually will dive into that in a future slides. So, that's a lot of it's the the building aid, but we'll take a look at that in just a moment. >> All right. So, um, here's a look at all of our state aid. And again, uh, this this has not changed since, uh, even since the last couple times, uh, that we had discussed. It is based on our, uh, our most recent, uh, state aid runs, uh, because we haven't seen anything from our from our state. Uh so the largest portion and I'll point that right out Sarah that you had um that you had
075been asking about is that on the bottom line there we're seeing an increase of about 1 a little over 1.4 million to support that that building cost. So that's going to go back into to cover that increase that we're seeing in our budget that balances that back out. Um so that's why we're seeing such a large increase on our on our state aid. And then uh everything else is made up of uh one of our largest portions is because we utilize Boseies for a lot of our services. And of course we're getting a $22,000 increase on our Boseies aid. Uh so it it makes sense to utilize Boseies for any services that we're doing. Foundation aid uh stuck on that 1%. It's it's uh really killing me. Um $54,000 isn't even enough to cover cover
076a cost cost of a teacher. Um so it's really uh it's really a low low blow. Uh and then so the uh proposed tax levy at 2.9% or 2 point or 268,757 which uh is is actually less than um less than this current year. This is just an estimate of approximate values. Uh I've listed here on the presentation if anybody wants to take a look at uh what they might see as their their increase on their taxes for for next year for 2627. These are based on though these are based on uh the uh the taxes for the 2526 school year obviously because numbers are not provided yet for the 2627 school year from the state yet. So um this is just uh basically so you can get an idea as to what it would
077look like for you. Tax levy history uh just showing also that uh we have uh we have followed in a path of of making sure that we either either um tax at the cap or below the cap uh for several years. Last year uh or I'm sorry for 25 26 for the current year was probably closest we came to actually going out at the cap um at 3.2. Uh and then moving forward for 2627 we'll be at uh 2.9 which is low lower than the cap which was calculated at 2 point or 2.93%. some other revenues. Uh I uh I just wanted to show that there are other local revenues that go into the budget and uh some of that uh is the interest in investments. I I love the interest on on New York
078Glass. Uh it it helps the district out especially um especially when interest rates were were higher last year. They're still actually over 3% right now. So, uh, we'll keep the money invested so that we can actually balance some of the budget with with fund balance and reserves. Uh, tuition sources, interest and penalties. Uh, OC's revenues like DLC class, we actually get money back for that. Uh, if we sell um when we sell a bus, this is where the uh the money goes into this portion of the the revenue. Um, insurance recoveries. If we do have a uh we do have a mishap with uh with the bus, the insurance goes back into into the budget to pay for pay for the bus damage um or any loss for that matter if it could be it
079could also be for building as well. Uh so overall estimating uh a flat of 516,000 for those those lo local revenues and we do have a a pilot that is coming on uh for the first year at uh 16,250 and that's with the Oakhill Solar that had um engaged with us in 2018 or 19. So those will be coming on. they finally got to a point where they reported back to the town and said that they're they're they're uh in in they're in operation. Uh so just to share how we're balancing the budget with the appropriated fund balance and reserves uh uh balancing the budget with uh 1 1 million 396 365 and uh upping the uh the reserve appropriation for 150,000 and uh just showing the uh the steady flow of how we've we
080have balanced the budget uh pretty close to that over over the past few years it's gone up a little bit. Um but I would say that this year has uh with the projections that we've got seems like a a difficult year. Um my experience with this is my 11th budget cycle. Uh so seeing this year with uh with the state aid other than the fact that we're projecting building uh building aid to balance the budget with or I'm sorry to balance with uh with bonds and vans. Um state aid just seems kind of low. especially with that foundation aid calculation. Uh so some of the budget challenges uh were the benefits uh health insurance was was one and we kind of uh overcame that that hurdle by you know diving into into that budget line
081and just finding out that we can float with uh with 5% instead of 10%. Uh we can expect though that there are going to be future years that we're going to have those challenges with insurance. operating costs, utilities, as we saw uh the gas prices go uh extremely high recently. Um I think recently I bought a gallon of gas at like $5 or something like that. It was insane, right? So I guess I'm stopping at the wrong gas station. I don't know. Um and then uh general liability insurance, we saw that as 20% increase. Uh and supplies, supplies and contractual things are also increasing at a uh very substantial rate. salaries. Uh we're keeping the uh the increases on salary and contracts. We have to be able to fund those uh to pay for Popes
082and in order to uh to make sure that we maintain program. And then uh our state aid numbers uh of course the state aid budget the state budget uh not being finalized creates another uh hurdle to get get over. So our state aid numbers are uh based on estimates um from our most latest runs over a month ago. Uh some funding notes just the building debt increases at about 1.4 million and then um a little over 1.4 million and then estimated that we are seeing that building aid come in uh just from uh bands bonds and it's not just the uh the one that's coming on. There's also existing debt uh small amounts of debt that that that balances out with. foundation aid increasing it to 1% and then uh the budget increases I just
083wanted to point this out that the budget increases um not part of debt service are only 94,8667. So um it's only 39% of the uh the actual overall budget increase. So it's it actually we can see that um a majority of that increase comes from the uh from that capital portion of the budget. state aid increases uh the building aid u I'm sorry building building state aid increases for the budget that are not part of the debt service um 2939 911 or 17% of the state aid increase. So, uh, summary of the budget. Uh, we're adding that school monitor to increase, uh, increase the non-instructural side. Um, adding that new position for inschool suspension hall monitor. Uh, a special education teacher that will uh house be housed in the uh 812 class in the elementary
084school instead of sending students to outplacements. So, that's going to reduce our uh our outplacement costs. And then um transportation efficiencies. Uh we're also expanding the uh transportation a little bit to uh make sure that we have a uh helper for uh a mechanic's helper for for Jeremy. Um can't really do that stuff all of it alone and keep up. So uh that person would would help in the garage and also hopefully drive the bus um because we need more substitutes. We need more drivers. So um I drove today and tomorrow. Uh so uh maintenance equipment the uh a one-tonon uh pickup truck uh to replace an old aged uh 2009 uh suburban school bus that we have uh still kind of limping along. Um it's we will rotate our um our fleet our maintenance
085fleet through um and make sure that the uh transportation department has a pickup truck to plow that parking lot. to make sure that we can open on time. Part-time part-time cleaner uh to full-time. We right now have a uh two part-time or two full-time cleaners and a part-time cleaner at the elementary school. This would be to establish a current um a part-time position at the elementary school to become full-time. That person would also help to clean the the new transportation offices. We do have more additional square footage over there um that will have to be covered. And currently um It's it's uh the the older um building was not getting cleaned well because we didn't really have a custodian assigned to that. Absorbs the health insurance cost. We came over overcame that that 10% and
086moved it to five. And then our contractual obligations for existing staffing. A um prop uh proposition for for only two school buses. We've evaluated for next year that we um we would only be looking purchase either a 65 65 or 71 passenger um bus and a 30 passenger bus. So, this would be uh the second proposition on the uh on the budget vote. I put a uh an example down below just of what we actually would pay for um pay for the buses over the over the years. So, a uh estimated cost of bus borrowing. So if you were to borrow 295 uh overall the estimated district cost over five years would only be about 82,199. So um we take advantage of that building or that uh transportation aid when we uh you know when
087we buy uh buses and then uh so tonight community budget presentation and board uh budget adoption and then the uh public budget hearing will be on May 5th. Overall look at the budget 22,998,000 and budget to budget 2,312,000 or 11.18%. Uh looking at a tax levby increase of uh 2.9% 268,758 and uh the budget vote will be on May 19th. It'll be at the new transportation office at 9225 Dwayneburg Road in Delansen. Uh the office is currently not open yet, but it will be in May. Questions from the board. Um back on the page that says capital um function A9711 bond for construction um we is that a deficit of $284,300? >> No, it's a it's a reduction um from one budget line. >> Okay. >> So that's that's good. >> Yeah. >> All right.
088And then so therefore um the other two that are showing red as well for a lot less 60,000 and 64,000 right >> okay I just wanted to understand that >> I'm just going to ask because I feel like maybe somebody else may have the question but um since it looks like we're getting nearly 2 million more in state aid and we're looking to raise our budget about two million more. Those are those are kind of big numbers and it almost feels like it would be a wash as to why do we still have to raise the property taxes almost at the cap because we are getting substantially a lot more aid and then year over with the budget increase being over 11%. It's just it's very steep number that Dwayne hasn't seen before in their
089financials. So the the increase in state aid is a majority of it is is coming for um it's building aid and that that covers the cost of our of this slide actually of the uh the capital expenses for for bonds and bands for construction. So uh you'll see that on the sorry I went the wrong way. Um on our revenue side um the the majority of that that state aid that 1.4 million is is to cover the the bonds or the construction. So we have other costs that are increasing like uh so anything in program or uh in administrative also has to be covered. So we don't get we don't get aid in in those other than the Boseies. So you get Bosey's aid to cover program services but program program services are increasing over
090600,000 and Bosey's aid is only increasing at 200,000. So if we don't continue to utilize our tax uh levy at our tax cap, we continue to get behind and then we end up having a further and further gap and then eventually when you start to fund the budget with your savings, you eventually will could run out of money. We've seen another school in the region recently that um they were not able to fund their budget and they had to merge. Um so if we if you leave money on the table, it's money you will never get back. It's not like we could go out with an 8% tax levy increase if we realize that we didn't tax enough uh the year prior. So this is a this is also a a strategic way of making
091sure that we have a longevity of the district. Um, do you have like a finger on the pulse of what exactly could potentially be an issue as far as the state budget um where changes could be made? I know that's a really tough ask. >> I'm gonna let him um >> it's not going to be less. We know that for sure. >> Um the they're stuck in as politics do it right like one person wants one thing and you know until they get what they want and so they did another extender but um as I shared with the board in weekly updates the legislative committees in him and strong who are the lobbyists who update us weekly have said that the legislators want more um but the second floor of the governor's office is is
092is holding out for what the current formula is. So, long story short, you know, we're told rest assured districts won't see less for sure. Um, which is, you know, gives us a little bit of relief because then we can budget, you know, at least worst case scenario. >> Um, I have a question, Jeff. I have a couple questions, but I think um sort of in in um not necessarily response to, but sort of maybe the opposite side of of the coin from what Sarah was asking you, um is that so if I'm understanding you correctly, uh the the the two plus million dollars that we are getting back in aid, the building aid just washes out the debt. Correct. >> The debt payments rather. Yeah, excuse me. >> The 1.4 the 1.4. >> So that's
093that's almost like a neutral, right? The the that and so this 2.3 that we're looking at for the budget increase doesn't include that. It's it's all the other expenses that we have. Is that >> it does include that. So the if you look at um the total increase, >> let me find the right slide. I'm sorry. Um so the the this is the revenue side of the budget which also shows that we're increasing the revenues. So the uh you'll you would find that that 1.4 for the bond construction would actually is actually in there in that 1.7. >> So it's within that. So um everything above the 1.4 Everything above the 1.4 is is making up that that 1.7. So there's the state aid right right there. So you got 22,000 that's projected for Bosey's
094aid >> which is pretty good. >> Um and then the high cost ex excess cost. I love that word right Kim. It's great. [laughter] >> Okay. So then my concern is that our what we're taking out of our fund [snorts] balance is more than 10 times what we're asking for from the community. Correct. As far as to balance this budget. >> Yeah. >> Should we be worried moving forward that we're taking out $2 something million from our >> if this pattern continues? Yes. >> Okay. >> Absolutely. Um but I I've seen I've seen uh budget years where it's good and it's challenging. Um we we did okay last year so it kind of es and flows and I think this year is is obviously a challenge. Um in talking to other school districts uh they
095seem to be having the same challenges. Um we have a we have neighboring school districts that are going through these very same challenges and um unfortunately they're at a point where they're cutting programs. So, um, we we balance our budget this year, our first 26 27 and and continue to look for opportunities to to save money in the future and um continue to try and balance this out, you know, in the in the long run. Um, as I mentioned last year, we had we did have a good budget year and I think that this is a this that actually presented us with a the opportunity to be able to make sure that uh carries forward and that we continue to work on strategies uh moving forward for 27 28. >> So that I I want
096to come back to what you said that we're not so we're not in a position where we're cutting anything whereas other districts may be. >> Correct. Um, and the fact that we had a good budget year last year may be what's saving some of our positions and and programs. >> Absolutely. >> Um, all right. And then the only other thing I wanted to mention, I I know there has been some um discussion in the community that that Dwayneburg was not going to maintain our SRO program or didn't want to maintain our SRO program. Um, that's not at all true. Um we have a really good relationship with the sheriff's office and um and and just pointing out that that is but that is something we have to pick up this year because they were very
097generous in in giving us in giving us that second officer. But it is our intention to carry on with a an officer in each building. >> Yep. >> It's not really an ad. It's sort of an absorption I guess right because it was provided to us and now we have to pay for it. >> Yeah. Because it's either we end up losing it if we don't want to fund it. So we didn't want to do that. I think the we heard from the community was yeah, we're going to have to fund it. Um there is a line by line appropriation status report in the uh in board docs uh if anybody is interested in diving into that a little bit deeper but um this is uh yeah I don't know if you have any other
098questions. >> Thanks Jeff. >> You're welcome. curious grant-wise, where do we stand with grants and where would that fall in this conversation? >> Uh, so our federal grants typically don't they don't so we don't show the federal grants and the general budget is actually comes out of another budget line. Um, it's it's actually falls under the grants. We have a separate grants uh code. So, some things that are that are um that are funded by the district like title one funds, we actually are able to fund uh some uh staffing in in title one um 611 619 grants, federal grants that we we receive. Uh we don't show those in the general budget because those are um simply grants. They're not uh they're not they're not something that we that we are required to take
099to the public to vote on. maybe thinking more in addition to like other available grants that are there for us to take, you know, take advantage of and win to help us in our financial position. >> Sure. So, I it's funny. It's funny you mentioned that. I actually just received a message the other day about a it was like a rural schools uh grant and I thought, "Oh, I'm going to take a look at this and see if there's anything." I did started doing some reading and then realized that we are just not on their list. And yeah, so And I think it's, you know, some of it's got something to do with the fact that Dwayneburg has done well and we are not on that that low in that, you know, the low income
100or the low are the, you know, the high needs lists. Um, so we don't end up getting uh getting on the list to actually earn more grants. >> So what we do is we continually look just to piggyback what he's saying. So you know, writing grants Um, previously it's a point system for, you know, there's smaller grants, $1,500 like Stewards does their grants. But then those big ticket grants, it's through a point system. So if you're lower economic, um, you get higher points. If you're lower achieving, you get more points. And so I think that's what Jeff was trying to, you know, say that um we both got the rural schools one and um uh the emails they keep asking us, but we don't qualify for it. Um the bigger ticket items are more competitive
101and more challenging um because that system, but Jeff and I are continually looking for okay and so not being tethered to grants um how can we generate revenue. So, for example, that 812 classroom. Next year is our pilot year. Um, but we only have four or five students slated for it, the um the first year is to get, you know, our feet under us and then after that we can tuition children in. So, how can we generate revenue without necessarily um being tethered to a competitive grant that is sustainable? >> Jeeoff, I have a question. [clears throat] Okay. How would you characterize our fund balance relative to the fund balance that we are allowed to maintain in terms of health? Uh okay. So in terms of health, I would say that currently we're healthy. Um
102it's because we've we've we have done well at saving. Um I that's why I am I am actually comfortable in saying that 26 27 and balancing our budget with the current you know with the current proposal that it is uh it is a healthy risk to take um because we you know we may end up spending some of that may end up spending a a portion of it. Um but we we continue to look also for um for ways to save and invest our our funs. Um so in order to to keep maintaining that the fund balance and reserves um so we will continue to to do that uh as moving forward to make sure that we can see that balance even you know for the next five years out uh to use you know
103maybe if we have to use fund balance that you know kind of project that we're only going to use a little bit at a time until we get additional funding or find other programs that might fade um or maybe um you know if staff uh staff positions may be cut during um in through attrition too. So there's other things that there's other ways that'll save and kind of create that additional balance. So did answer your question? >> Yes. Thank you. All right. >> We're good. >> Okay. >> Thank you. >> Okay. Next up, we have a capital project report. Hi, CJ. I apologize. I don't have any pictures today. Um, so I apologize for that. But for the next meeting, I'll make sure that I uh bring something good to look at, especially with it
104being a budget vote p time at that point. Um, but I'm just going to run through a quick update and then a couple of concerns, issues we've had. Um, and then I'll leave it up for some questions. So, I'll start with the bus garage. So, the bus garage is the closest to being done. We're pushing for a May 1st completion. Right now, I think the only thing we're really tracking that's of a concern as we're waiting on some lockers that need to go into those spaces. That won't really stop it from being able to be turned over and occupied, but it will affect obviously the use of the lockers and things like that. Um, that's the closest to being there. We are having one issue that still seems to be a little bit continuous and
105uh Jeff and I actually sat down and called the monitoring company about it last week. Um we replaced the fire alarm system there. We're still getting some gremlins somewhere that continues to sort of dial out and create a problem where it's uh creating a trouble in the system. Um so thankfully right now it's still an unoccupied buildings. So we're still working through trying to figure out why that is happening. Um, we have a sense that it may be a cellular dialer that is either maybe losing charge or losing connection with maybe the internet service provider or the cellular company. So, we're trying to figure that out. Um, but outside of that, that's approaching the closest to being done and uh tracking for early May. We're shooting for May 1. Over at the high school, we
106are continuing work in the cafeteria. We'll talk about a couple of things with the floor in there. We did the abatement of the roof over the spring break a couple weeks ago. That was over what was the art rooms and uh the cafeteria below that. So that has been completing. The thing that's left there is they've got some flashing and things to do details and things like that to wrap up. Um but the abatement piece of that was done during break that was completed before anybody came back to school. Sorry, excuse me. Um, we are having an issue with the floor in the cafeteria. I don't know if anybody has walked through there. There's a substantial amount of cracks through there. So, right now, we're working with Ashley McGra. They issued us some information and
107some ways to address those cracks. We sent those to the contractor and we're sort of pushing them through the process of we didn't pour the concrete, you guys did. This is sort of your responsibility to make sure that you work out. They've got a litany of questions, I'm sure, as I'm sure you would expect. So, we're working on guiding them through that process and trying to get to a resolution there. So, that's why you see a little bit of a standstill at the cafeteria right now. The last conversation we had with them was trying to install some of the kitchen equipment in areas where there is not flooring that needs to be done so that we can kind of get a jump start on that to try to get that ready. So, we're in process
108of working through that as well. And um I don't know if you saw over break, but we did replace the three windows that were in 106, seven, and eight as well. They've got some trimmed to finish over there. Um, but then then they have to wrap up what are the emergency egress doors that are sort of adjacent on either side of those. They're going to repoint those in, take those out, and patch them on the inside. Um, over at the elementary school, um, we have gotten through a good chunk of the demolition of the existing cafeteria. They've also gone through and put in the spray acoustic treatment that's on the ceiling. Most of that you won't see once the ceiling goes up. But they've also got probably 50ish to 60ish% of the new duct work
109going in. They've got a lot of the rough and roof leaders and um mechanical connections, hot water, supply piping and things like that completed. And then they did a little bit of abatement again in the ceiling outside of that hallway where they have a installed a new wall and they've sort of got a tile backer board up there waiting for finishes there. So, we have had a couple of concerns and questions of smell and odor and things like that at the elementary school. Um, which I hope everybody knows we take seriously every time. Um, it's not honestly a bother. It's one of those unfortunate processes of trying to coexist. Um, I did a deep dive, I think it was last Thursday, just to kind of run through everything. I've been doing this for probably about
11020 years at this point and products [snorts] change all the time. products aren't necessarily truthful about what they put in their products. We find that out through news and things like that. They issue material safety data sheets with products and that lists a litany of things that are inside of or part of products and those are a bit to get through if you've ever looked at one. You also have to be a little bit careful because and I've shared with the school, you can read some that sound absolutely terrible and then you get to the information they send you for product information and it's a Green Guard certified product. So, you're reading through a material safety data sheet that's really telling you, here's a substance we use, but it's actually in powder form that's is
111it's really bad for you. We use it in a liquid form, so it's not bad for you. It's very counterintuitive. I agree. I can see it happening on your face. It's one of those things that as you read through, I go, "This sounds awful." And then you get to the next page, Greenguard certified. So, the other part of that that's really hard is just because something is green guard certified, considered safe or anything like doesn't mean that somebody can't have a negative reaction to it. So that's why I tell all of our guys or anybody on site, when we hear a concern, we've got to run those down. I don't care if it's the seventh time we've had to run it down. It will be the one time where there is something that somebody missed
112or something squeaked through or we found something that we didn't realize we had. And whether it's something new from a product that's been approved as part of this process or something that's been in this building since 1940, you know, it's just one of those things that we accomp or try to accommodate. But it's also one of those things that you could have a peanut allergy and this person doesn't and just the smell of it obviously is a thing that people react to. And so we try to do our best to accommodate that and give you guys whatever information we can. Um, I think that's really been the biggest thing over probably the last two or three weeks is there's just been an increase now with I think the weather changing and people kind of getting
113in and out. And we've also started to remove the facade on the elementary school. So, it's kind of everywhere. Um, but we've gone through all of those products. So far, we haven't found anything that is concerning whether it be new or existing. Does anybody have any questions? That can't be true. I'm not that good. >> CJ, I just want to thank you and your team, Henry. Um >> Henry's fantastic. >> He is. He is. Um you know, anything and I know I I can be a pain and God bless you and Henry for it, but he means it when he says he everything that I say, "Hey, this is a concern." They don't question it. They run with it. they are patient with all my questions that I have. So, and um things that have
114popped up >> and if ever they don't, >> that's not okay. You know, and they know that like I tell them that all the time, too. And I know they talk with Christy and Jod, too. >> And >> if at any point you feel like, >> hey, I don't think he's take, >> tell me because I'll we'll go back through it all again. >> And >> there's no point in trying to avoid. There's nothing to avoid. There's nothing you're going to hide. there's no reason to even try. Just let's get the information and figure out what's going on. >> Right. So, I just want to thank you and your team um you know, Henry, Paul, and Mark for just being so responsive when concerns come up and taking each and every one of them very
115seriously. And I like to remind the board that Labor Day weekend last year with kids coming in the building all all weekend Labor Day CJ and Henry were vacuuming and mopping and cleaning to make sure that the building the new construction because it wasn't done was as clean as possible. So that's dedication and we appreciate you. >> Absolutely. No other questions. All right. Thank you everybody. DJ. Okay. Next up, we have our financial items and I am going to do them all at once. Uh, yes. >> Can I request that we have budget adoption 10.08? >> Oh, yes, certainly. Thank you. Yes, >> absolutely. Uh, so I will do items 10.01 through 10.07 together. So, um, be it resolved based upon the recommendation of the superintendent that the board of education approves the financial items
11610.01 through 10.07. May I have a motion? >> I'll motion. Thank you, Alyssa. A second. >> I'll second. >> Thank you, Ray. Comments or questions? I will just remind us to draw our attention to the Crossroads Center. I know we approved that before, but we're having them come in a couple a couple months early. a month early. Okay. All right. All in favor? >> I. Any opposed? Any abstensions? Okay. For item 10.08, adopting the 2026 2027 budget and property tax report card. recommendation that the board of education adopt the 2026 2027 school year budget in the amount of 22,998,000. Adopt the 2026 2027 property tax report card and to levy the necessary 2.9% tax thereof as recommended by the superintendent and the assistant superintendent of management services. May I have a motion? >> So move.
117>> Thank you, Michael. A second. Thank you, Alyssa. Comments or questions? All in favor? >> I. >> Any opposed? >> I. >> Any abstensions? Our next items are instructional personnel. Be it resolved based upon the recommendation of the superintendent that the board of education approves instructional personnel items 11.01 and 11.02. 2. May I have a motion? Thank you, Tony. A second. >> I'll second. >> Thank you, Michael. Comments or questions? All in favor? >> I. Any opposed? Any abstensions? Next item is non-instructional person, excuse me, personnel. Be it resolved based upon the recommendation of the superintendent that the board of education approve one ECA appointment as listed. May I have a motion? >> Thank you, Sarah. A second. >> I'll second. >> Oh, thank you, Ray. Comments or questions? All in favor? I. >> Any
118opposed? Any abstensions? And our last item up for vote is to approve the 2026 2027 school calendar. Be it resolved based upon the recommendation of the superintendent. The board of education approves the 2026 2027 school year calendar. May I have a motion? Thank you, Tony. A second. >> Thank you, Sarah. Comments or questions on the calendar? All in favor? I. >> Any opposed? Any abstensions? couple of pieces of information for everyone and a correction for you. Um, one is that a correction that the staff meeting for the code of conduct review is April 30th, not the 29th. Um, we do have a board meeting on the 29th if anyone wants to come for that. Uh, which is the Bosey's uh budget vote and Bosey's um board of education vote. Um, other pieces of information, we
119are going to add a special meeting on May 26th at 6:30 to recognize and grant tenure to eight of our staff members. Um, so that is in addition to the uh the calendar of our meetings. And then lastly, uh just a reminder that we will be hosting the community forum to discuss the district's code of conduct with the community um on April 27th, which is uh this coming Monday at 6:30. It will be right here. And we welcome everyone to come and offer their their suggestions and their comments. Yes. >> Just really really quick that the proposed version of code of conducts going out tomorrow through Parent Square. If um you don't aren't a part of Parent Square and you'd like to see it, please just shoot me an email or call so I can
120get you a copy. It's our easiest way to get it out. Um again, if you're not part of Parent Square and you still want a copy of it, just let me know. I think that's all we have for information. I don't believe we are requiring an executive session. Does anyone have a reason to call for one? Okay, then I will ask for a motion to adjourn our meeting at 8:21 p.m. I have a motion. Motion. >> Thank you, Alyssa. A second. >> A second. >> Thank you, Michael. Comments or questions? All in favor? >> I. >> Any opposed? >> Any abstensions? Thank you very much for coming, everyone. Have a great night.