03-24-2026 BOE Meeting

001Hey everybody, thank you for being here. We're going to call the meeting to order this evening at 6:30 p.m. beginning with a pledge of allegiance. Okay. If you've been to a board meeting recently, you know that we like to start them with our recognitions. Um, students and staff, employees, teachers, um, community members whose generosity is appreciated, whose time is appreciated. Um, so this month we are very excited to recognize uh, our two Odyssey of the Mind teams that competed at the statewide tournament in Syracuse last weekend, last weekend, I believe. Um, our high school Odyssey of the Mind team delivered a very strong performance placing ninth out of 17 teams in their division fitting in Excuse me, finishing in the middle of a very competitive field. And our elementary Odyssey of the Mind team placed

00217th out of 17. However, they demonstrated notable improvement by increasing their score from their regional competition, which was a few weeks prior to that reflecting growth and a lot of continued effort. So, congratulations to them. Um, that's that's many years in a row now that we've sent our Odyssey teams to uh, state competition. So, that's awesome. Um, also an announcement. Uh, maybe last month, I think, um, Mr. Gauthier's was here to let us know that robotics competition tournament is coming up in April. So, just a note that our robotics team is busy at work um, getting their robot ready to I believe it was pick up a lot of a lot of balls. Yeah, which it looks like it's going to be pretty challenging. So, uh, that is coming up on April 16th, 17th, and

00318th at the MV MVP Arena. And um, it is live streamed. So, I'm sure he'll be sharing um, information with us so we can share it out to you if people want to watch uh, parts of that competition. And then lastly this evening, I have to give a shout out to uh, our elementary school reading initiative. They the students um, did uh, the read for Ronald McDonald House this month, I'm sorry, last month, right? February. Um, and collaboratively raised over $3,500 for um, the Ronald which is the most they've ever raised. So, congratulations to our elementary school readers. Um, that is amazing and for an amazing cause. >> [snorts] >> Okay. Uh, any questions or discussion for our agenda for this evening from the board? Okay. All right, we'll begin with a resolution. Upon the

004recommendation of the superintendent, the Board of Education approves the agenda for the regular meeting with budget discussion for this evening, March 24th, 2026. May I have a motion? Thank you, Tony. A second? I'll second. Thank you, Francis. Comments or questions? All in favor? I. Any opposed? Any abstentions? Okay, our next item is our minutes from our March 10th meeting. Be it resolved upon the recommendation of the superintendent, the Board of Education approves the minutes of the executive meeting and regular meeting on March 10th, 2026. May I have a motion? I'll motion. Thank you, Alyssa. A second? I'll second. Thank you, Ray. Comments or questions on that meeting's minutes? All in favor? I. Any opposed? Any abstentions? Next item. Be it resolved upon the recommendation of the superintendent that the Board of Education approves the minutes

005of the executive session Excuse me, executive meeting on March 19th, 2026. May I have a motion? Thank you, Francis. A second? Thank you, Sarah. Comments or questions? All in favor? I. Any opposed? Any abstentions? Okay, we're going to kick off the substance of our meeting this evening with a presentation about our WEB program, where everyone belongs. So, I have Thank Mrs. Hopkins and Mrs. Crane and some students. Welcome. All right. Okay, I probably don't need this, but in case. All right, so we run the WEB program. This is our first year doing the WEB program here at Duanesburg. Um, and we brought two friends with us. All right, so what is WEB? WEB is a middle school program that welcomes sixth graders and makes them feel comfortable throughout the first year of middle school. Um,

006it's built on the belief that students can help students succeed. And the trained mentors We train mentors from the current seventh to be future eighth graders and that's the year they become a WEB leader is the eighth grade year. Um, they're positive role models. WEB leaders are mentors and student leaders who guide the sixth graders to discover what it takes to be successful during the transition to middle school cuz it is slightly different from elementary school. And, you know, these are the things we look for when we look for a WEB leader. We don't look for always a straight A student. We don't look for the star athlete. Um, we try to find a mix of people to try to make sure every sixth grader feels like they could connect to somebody because not everybody

007has the same interest. So, those are the big things. Um, we really really really just our biggest thing is kind people. We need people who are kind, people who are going to see somebody sitting alone at lunch and saying, "Hey, come sit with us." Or hey, you need help with your locker? I'll help you. Because it does take a lot for a kid to leave their group of friends that they have been friends with for 3 years to go ask a sixth grader to come sit with them or to leave and go sit with that sixth grader alone. So, um, that's really the biggest thing that we push is we just want kind people so those sixth graders feel welcome and not afraid to ask you know, for help if needed. Okay, so we wanted

008to go kind of through um, what we've done so far and what what it is um, like from beginning to end. So, we'll kind of loop around. We won't we won't start with where we started um, with with our application process. We'll we'll end with that. But um, this summer was our first training. Um, we had we ended up with four 13. We had 14, but um, 13 showed up. Um, so we have 13 WEB leaders. Um, this was probably the most like amazing experience with I know Laura and I we were really excited that um, the students really like they dove right in. They were really excited about it. Um, they were very engaged during the um, training process. It's two What did we do? Four five-hour days? Um, and I mean it was

009intense and they at no point grumbled. They were really excited. They wanted to make sure that they were prepared and they were really excited to have the sixth grade um, come in and you know, be their leaders. Um, so the sixth grade orientation went amazing. They did such a good job. It was our first time, so that was our first time leading them as well. Um, we actually didn't we didn't plan for enough events, like enough games and every single group of of WEB leaders came up with different things that they've done as icebreakers in their own classrooms without us even asking. It's really like a student driven um, day and we we really did not like go into the rooms very much. We were there in case they needed us. Um, but it really

010was altogether a really great outcome and especially for our first time, like that was They really they really did a great job. Um, so throughout the year, this will only get better as the years go on. Um, but we um, collaborated with the guidance counselors who usually go in for um, they go into the Normally it's the sixth grade the the seventh grade classes in our building, but now we have sixth grade, so um, that's why we have the WEB program. They are for sixth graders. So, so they did go into the sixth grade classrooms and they actually led the lessons that the guidance counselors usually do. Um, they thought that they like the WEB leaders said that they would have loved as sixth graders to be taught by other students, so they thought that

011was great. We did try to have them go into the seventh grade classrooms, um, which just kind of further made the point that this is this is a sixth grade program. Um, the the the the grades that they were too close together, they were friends, so it didn't go as great, but it was good experience and it was nice so that the seventh graders, who hopefully will want to be WEB leaders, um, know what what it would take to be a WEB leader. So, that was also nice for them to see. So, we hope to expand on that next year. Um, so we are coming to the the WEB leader application process. So, this is just all of the all of the dates that we have and kind of how intensive it is. So, we

012of course will be on um, a committee to to to interview all all of the seventh graders who apply to be WEB leaders. Um, we'll have a a teacher panel that will also be in those interviews. Um, if you feel like asking them uh, their experience with that, you absolutely can. Um, cuz they did a great job, so the bar is really set high so far. Um, but that is where we're at so far. Um, and then this is so it's the Spring Play Day the web program does have this already, but we are going to kind of do our own rendition at Duanesburg since it's such a small school and we have only we only really need 10 to 12 web leaders based off of our numbers coming up which was similar to this

013year. So what we are going to do normally the Spring Play Day is just for the newly appointed web leaders. What we're going to do is we're going to make it current web leaders with the new web leaders and make it like a passing of the torch type thing. Again, we'll see how it goes. We felt that it would probably be best to have 20 kids in the room rather than 10 kids in the room. We we since we did this so towards the end of the year we made the shirts ourselves. So the the goal is that they design their own shirts that they get to wear. We'll play like one or two of the games that will be at sixth grade orientation so they can see what that entails. We'll you know share

014stories and whatever they want and they'll give some words of encouragement. And they'll do that right now. So we have Ellen and Kendra that are just going to kind of just tell you um how they how they feel that the year has gone so far. Or whatever you want to say. >> [laughter] >> Okay. Um Um I feel like this year was really good for WEB. I was new to the school last year so I feel like for me to help some of the younger kids through their first year of middle school it was helpful to see them feel more comfortable through middle school. Um and I also feel like I would have loved to have someone help me feel more comfortable as well. Um but I really enjoyed seeing them enjoy their first year

015of middle school and see them improve through the year. It was really cool. Um so I was Sorry. Um I think it created really good bonds between the eighth graders and the sixth graders that will definitely continue on through the grades. And I think it's good to know that they have someone with them through their journey through like high school and middle school and I think it's just like really cool to see how like they feel about everything that we're doing and like helping them. So. Uh I think one positive there there was a lot less drama throughout the grades. Nice job. And that's all we have. So if you got if you guys have any questions for anybody? It sounds like for your first Oh, I'm sorry Sarah. Just that for your first year

016it was really really awesome. What what have you learned that you might do differently you know for for next year or like add, right? I mean extra games it sounds like, but it also sounds like they were really good improvisers which is awesome. Yeah. Um I mean our biggest thing is we were hoping to do more activities with their small group of like so each each mentor there was two in a mentor group in a group and there was probably about 10 sixth graders. Because of the building project we were kind of limited on space and timing. So we would like to strengthen that relationship going forward. So like you know I would hope every sixth grader could say who but if they didn't come to the orientation in August they may not actually really

017even know who their direct web leader is. They just know that there are 10 to 12 eighth graders that are here to help. So I'd like to try We'd like to try to strengthen that relationship. Try to find more time more activities I guess and Christina's going to add to it. Well I'll also add that so if a if a sixth grader didn't come to the sixth grade orientation they didn't ever really got the chance to meet their web leaders. So we'll definitely make sure and again with the building project it was a little hard with like proximity wise, but we'll definitely try next year to do more like even like once a quarter or something so they can like meet with their little small groups. And I'm just going Is this on? Hello? Okay.

018So this is exclusively like the eighth graders mentoring the sixth graders, correct? Yes. We especially for this year we did ask when we were at training if we could just for this one year do it for sixth and seventh graders just because they technically both were transitioning this year. They highly suggested that we did not do that and like I said when we did it with the seventh grade we they were probably right. But yes the the point of it is really to like focus on that middle school model. So you think of like these are the incoming sixth graders and then the eighth graders are kind of at their end of their middle school. So they're they're like you know a freshman with a senior. That's kind of the same thing. And and high

019school does have the link program which a lot of high schools actually have I think I've heard of that more than I ever heard of WEB, but that's very similar like when you have these a couple middle schools coming together you have a link program for high school. So that that's something it is really designed for sixth graders. The the the lessons, the the games they're just I don't know I don't know what it is between sixth and seventh grade, but it really it really doesn't make a difference and and it it does it it definitely is for sixth grade. Okay. So that link program you're talking about that would be like our ninth graders with like 11th graders theoretically? Or 12. I'm not sure. >> or 12. Okay. Just like a mentorship program of

020sorts. Yes. Great. Thank you. I love that. So quickly um maybe I missed it, but if we have a student coming in mid-year are they they're assigned a web leader as well? Well we just had a brand new student start last last week. So we will be hooking them up with one this week. We just had to I didn't want to throw everything at them at one time. It's a lot. Um but yeah so we would if we knew there was a new sixth grader that came to the building and we were notified. We don't teach sixth grade so if we weren't notified we wouldn't have known, but if we are notified then yes we would we would add them to a a group and just let a web leader pop in and say like

021hey you need help with your locker. Yeah because coming in mid-years is tough. It you know because of the social relationships have already been established. And this is a good sort of bridge to help that individual student start somewhere. And I think this is a good program. Thank you very much for this. >> And guidance does a really good job of pairing them up with a student in their grade who has been here to help them with like their schedule and their lockers. So we let them kind of do that first and then we would like have an eighth grader. You don't know me, but hi. So we've trained up 13 eighth graders that are going to be moving on from this program. Do we have I know we're not part of the link program

022and I don't even know if it necessarily makes sense because we're not multiple middle schools come together. But do we have a peer leadership or peer mediation program that we can then graduate these kids into support each other, the staff or not the staff, but the the the rest of the student body? Not that I know of. Not yet. All right. Is that the right answer? Not yet. >> [laughter] >> I think we talked about them getting their you know feet on the ground, start kicking it off this year cuz we don't you know they're new to it. They went to the training Laura and Christina and hands down enjoyed it. Um I think over a period of time once they're solid at the middle level that we can explore the the high school level

023as well, but we don't want to overwhelm Well I'm not suggesting this group or this program, but more you have 13 kids that have gone through this training that have already reached out to their fellow students. It would be best not to lose that. Right. Agreed. Any other questions? Thank you so very much for being here and sharing your experiences with us. We really appreciate it. Okay. >> [applause] >> Okay. Next up we have Coach Simpson with our athletics winter recap. So this this winter we had 10 total teams with 96 total student athletes. I'll get to the numbers more in a second, but something we're always proud of are scholar athletes team. Being an athlete is tough. Being a student is tough. When you're a student athlete combine it even harder. Having four out

024of our five varsity teams having a 90% or higher GPA we're always very proud of. Um so we had three total modified teams with two JV teams and I always talk about how it's amazing how they grow. Um something that's going to be interesting moving forward is what are going to happen to the numbers across the board. Um cuz you look at the high school numbers that junior senior group are a little bit of sophomore too down just a little bit. That's that kind of COVID cohort where they lost those last couple years of youth sports. Some of them didn't come back. Some did. But if you look at modified numbers really across the board are pretty high in the youth numbers, especially the youth programs here are very high. So, we're looking hopefully we

025added JV baseball. We'll talk about that when I get to the spring sports towards the end of the year. But adding back some of those JV teams as the numbers grow, which is always the hope to get them all back. But I think what you're going to see with how high our youth numbers are right now, a lot of these numbers continuing to grow. But we got to wait and see cuz these kids get to start some of our programs in first grade and now they're not losing those couple years that may not have them come back. So, I know youth numbers are very high. Hoping to grow our numbers across the board. Um starting with wrestling, they had a heck of a postseason run. Six out of the nine wrestlers placed at the Class

026D tournament. Um in the whack for the All-Stars, Hunter and Wyatt got first team All-Stars. Zack, AJ, Will, and Max got second team All-Stars. And then Wyatt and Hunter made it to the state tournament. Um Wyatt was a sectional title winner, made it to the state tournament, and finished fifth. Um and if you've never been to a I'll talk about our wrestling duels, too, but any type of postseason tournament for wrestling, 10 mats going at once. If you're not big into the sport, you don't know what the heck is happening. These guys wrestle like six matches in one day sometimes. What they do is amazing. Um so, Wyatt finishing fifth, second time at states is just incredible. And he's got two more years. So, what's he going to do with those two more years? I

027think that fifth is going to continue to climb. And shout out I don't know if I'm supposed to do this, but Sean being first-year wrestling head coach, having all these placements for first-year teacher, first-year coach is amazing. Cheer, um lots of moving pieces with the low numbers. I can tell you that um Kelsey wanted me to put in there that the fact that we got to use the mascot outfit all the time, they were beyond excited about, which you can see in the photo. And with the low numbers there and you know, really trying to form a team, they had four first-year members. So, it was basically starting from scratch, trying to build this up. Bowling, Chris Wyanski was extremely proud of this bowling group because they are pretty young. They had the two seniors.

028Um but the rest, you look at that picture, you got some middle schools in there, too, on our varsity team. Five-match win streak, all eight bowlers at some point had their best career um score. They bowled over 900 three times in matches, which means every bowler that gets to score is pushing the 200. Now, I got to ask Chris if Mayfield is the rival in bowling. I'm not quite sure, but he wanted me to put in there they beat him for the first time in 5 years. I will figure that out if that's one we got to circle on our calendars. But he was very excited they beat him in 5 years. And then in the league, they finished third in the regular season, fourth at uh league tournament. And our league has I think

029we're up to I don't want to misquote either 14 or 15 league schools now in the whack. So, small school with a young team finishing that high is a great season for a young team. Girls basketball, low numbers this year. They only had eight, um four of which were eighth graders. And I know Chris was somewhere in here at one point, but where they started the year in that first game in our tip-off tournament to where they finished, they reached the semifinals in sectionals. Um the strides they made as a young team were tremendous. Um very proud of that young group with having four eighth graders on our varsity team. And then for some inner recognition, Stella got to play in the senior All-Star game last week. And then Edith was second team All-Whack. And

030when you make the semifinals in more in sectionals in basketball, they have they vote the it's not even us, it's the committee that votes for All-Stars for each team. And Edith was selected as our All-Star for the final four for sectionals. Boys basketball, we finished with the best record in Class C with 17 and 3. Um we earned the two seed for sectionals. We um were the co-division champs. And league honors, second team JJ, which is pretty cool as a sophomore. Um senior Cody made third team, and he was also um at the senior All-Star game and represented us um last week at that game. And the last thing that I wanted to end with was couple large events that we had this year. Um every year the wrestling always hosted the two um big

031wrestling duels here. And once again, if you haven't been to those things, wild days. We got matches all day right there in Joe Benham. Um with chairs set up, you got two mats in the gym. And once again, these kids are wrestling five, six times in one day if they get the matches. Um a lot of coordinating between youth wrestling, the varsity team, JV kids, modified kids, booster club, the parents. I think they're here. I always ask Serena at 5:30 in the morning. I think some of them get in here in the booster club room to get that going. And I know she's up earlier than that to get the breakfast sandwiches going. Um great events for us. And then this year, as you guys know, we talked about it at the beginning of the

032year, hosting that tip-off tournament. Ended up being a huge success, but as always, everything we do in the winter, big plans. There was a snowstorm. Um we had the booster club shoveling out there, kids, coaches. We made it work. And the great thing is, and I always put that out there cuz it might have been the basketball teams that kind of hosted it, but it was a booster club event that the money gets to go to whoever in athletics. And we raised just under 3,000. All right, Serena? At just that two-day event. And that's just going to go back to whatever student athlete needs it or team. Um so, it was a great success overall for us to have it. And that is what I have for winter athletics. Any questions? >> Any questions? I

033think so. Congratulations to all of our athletes. That's amazing. >> [applause] >> I got off and I didn't turn it back on. Okay. Uh next up we have uh item 4.01, a Board of Education statement. Mr. Bailey. Good evening. The Board of Education has heard and takes seriously the concerns raised by our community following recent remarks and media coverage related to student conduct and school climate. We want to start by being clear about what guides us. Every student deserves to learn in a safe, respectful, and inclusive environment. The decision to examine concerns about inappropriate language and behavior was not made lightly. It comes from our responsibility to listen to students and to continually improve our schools. At the same time, we recognize that the way in which this information was shared publicly caused real hurt

034and frustration. We understand why. The engagement by Ms. Ross with the media led to broad characterizations that do not reflect the full context of our schools or the values of this community. This is not a characterization the board supports. The approach to media engagement also fell short of the level of care and oversight our community expects. The board acknowledges this, and we are taking action. We are revising our policies for media engagement to ensure clear protocols and stronger review before any information involving our school is shared publicly. The superintendent has been directed to work with the board to implement these changes and will be expected to meet these strengthened standards moving forward. We know that rebuilding trust takes time. We are committed to listening, to learning from this experience, and to doing better. We will

035continue to support a thoughtful review of school climate while ensuring that our communication reflects the care, accuracy, and respect that this community deserves. Thank you, Mike. Um our next item is our ex officio student board member's report. So, I'll leave it to you, Santino. All right. So, um there was a last board meeting was pretty recent, so it's but informal today, but Ariana, due to scheduling conflicts with the board meeting being moved, she couldn't attend today, sadly. But um uh I send her best regards. She does. And um for events going on in the school, uh first of all, I wanted to talk about the Elevating Student Voices program. If for those who are not aware, it's a program run by Miss Shedina. Um and it helps uh educate students on topics relating to um

036social issues plaguing the district, like um for example, neurodiversity um and uh the struggles that bilingual students or new uh English language learners face in the district. Because there are um there's people with those um there's new English language learners in the district, and it's something that people have to be aware of, how to uh make those people fit in, especially. And there's been a lot of compassion amongst students with the people who are here I've noticed and it's been very helpful to the students that have been participated. And along with that Mr. Simpson he went over the winter athletics and spring athletics now starting up again with track, softball, baseball, that sort of thing. And especially for a lot of the uh multi-school mergers for sports like with lacrosse and track I believe. It's

037been a very useful for student athletes who are exceptional in their sport. Like for especially for lacrosse there's some exceptional athletes from our school were able to participate at the school level. Due to the new mergers place now and they're tremendously appreciative of that program. And along with that the NHS is currently working on a recycling project to improve recycling in the district and it's kind of in the early stages right now but we're working on getting bins and labeling them and that sort of thing and it's going very well. And that's about it. That's all I have. Santino can I just mention to you that there is an environmental club in the elementary school that I bet would love to collaborate with the National Honor Society. >> We are working on that. That's part

038of it. Are there any questions? Yeah quickly how many uh in the elevating student voices how many participants do we have? Is it Uh it's been growing in recent times. I think at the last uh BOCES meeting we had there was approximately around five of them. Mhm. But we held regular meetings in school during lunch periods and I've seen as many as like uh eight seven or eight. And this is something we plan on growing as we continue. >> been growing recently and anticipated. >> can you kind of explain to the board it's a regional approach? Yes. >> With BOCES so it's not just Duanesburg students. It's collaborative with multiple schools for information sessions and like those talks I mentioned before. And then when is your the big date in April where you all come

039together at Proctor's? I'm not sure of the exact date but >> though I think. It is in April yes that's correct. And we work together to service projects for our school to push those or help those social issues that we talk about in a lot of those info sessions. Anything else? All right. Thank you. >> Uh Could you pass me that? Okay. Our next item on the agenda is public comment. I will just remind everyone that there are some expectations for public comment and that is that public comment is not the time to register specific complaints about individuals by name or title that haven't already been addressed through the proper channels. We ask that it's it's residents and residents only that can address the Board of Education. Um Let me see. We have you signed

040up on the sign-up sheet. Um We ask that uh when participating in privilege of the floor we ask that folks are courteous and respectful that we're modeling for our students how how one can participate and have their voice heard in situations where there is agreement or disagreement with other people's views. Uh so I will with that being said I have one person that's signed up Mrs. Misick. I'll invite you up. Hi. I'm sure you guys all know me. Um I just kind of wanted to come up here. I appreciate the statement from the board. Um I will say as far as the community is concerned I don't think you heard them. I'm sure you're going to hear from them in the future. Um but I wanted to address a statement that I heard last last

041board meeting which was that um a particular member stated that they have been here their whole life has gone to school here and nothing has changed in the time that they've gone to school here and now have kids here. And what I pose to you as the board is to ask yourself if that's true and nothing has changed why has it not changed? Because the most advantaged seats in this entire room are right there to make a change. You are the ones that write the policies and the code of conduct. So why it hasn't changed in all this time as was stated is beyond me if that's if that's the way you truly feel. I'm going to tell you personally I've I've raised four boys. I've graduated them all from this district. Three of them

042have gone on to serve this country. Okay? And have gone to some very nasty places. And when they got home they appreciated this community and the people that live here much more than they ever did when they were in school. So I I just I just want you to take the time to think about that. Why have have has nothing changed if you're the ones that write the policies and you're the ones that write the code of conduct. So I appreciate that. Thank you Mrs. Misick. Thank you. [applause] Normally we have to have a sign-up if there was anybody else that did not have an opportunity to sign up though but had intended to speak I will open that up. Just ask you to state your name and thank you. Hi. I'm Marlena Sequero. Live

043over in Duanesburg. And I'm just going to say I'm not I'm not from this community came in recently me and my husband moved here cuz we love it. But I did come from a school that had a race war. Back in 1996 if you don't remember Amsterdam school district had it. It's extremely scary to live through. Second I'm going to address the board directly. Why aren't we looking at the violence happening in our elementary school? The bullying that's going on there. Cuz my daughter is coming home with bruises on her from other students touching her. Don't look at me like that like you don't know you don't answer my emails. So we need to start addressing this problem as a whole from the bottom up. It starts with our administration. Thank you Mrs. Sequero. Okay.

044Our next item on the agenda is our superintendent's report. Sorry I didn't see you back there. Again we have a sign-in so if you could just state your name and your Yes. My name is James Simon. I live on Van Patten Road. Been here for 13 years. I have four boys three in the school district and I'm just here to read a letter on behalf of a fellow community member. Dear Board of Education I'm writing out of concern about what it truly means to be an effective and outstanding leader and how the leadership within our district reflects those expectations. This concern is specifically directed towards someone who can't be named. When we talk about the leadership in our schools we're not simply referring to titles or positions we're talking about impact. Leadership is not about

045being in charge it's about [snorts] being someone others trust to follow especially in moments of uncertainty or difficulty. Effective leadership requires integrity doing what we all say we will do and being honest even when it's uncomfortable. Owning our mistakes when we get it wrong and we will get it wrong sometimes it's part of growth. What matters how we respond. Growth depends not on perfection but on how we respond when things go wrong. Leadership also demands accountability. When challenges arise we don't point fingers we take responsibility and when things go right we recognize the people who made it happen our teachers our staff and our students. Strong [snorts] leaders are decisive. They do not avoid difficult choices or delay action when it is needed. They listen consider and then lead. When new information arises they're willing

046to adjust not as a sign of weakness but of wisdom. Equally important is how leaders treat people. Emotional intelligence is essential. Our schools are built on relationships and those relationships require respect, consistency, and understanding. Students must feel safe. Staff must feel supported. Families must feel heard. Clear and honest communication is critical. Say what needs to be said clearly, honestly, and respectfully. Uncertainty grows in silence but trust grows in transparency. Great leaders are consistent. They show up with the same values and expectations each day creating stability in an environment where it is deeply needed especially for our students. Finally outstanding leaders build others up not by instilling fear. Leadership is not just about today it's about developing future leaders. By doing this right we are creating a culture where people feel empowered rather than diminished. At

047its core leadership in our schools is about more than decisions it's about people. It's about creating an environment where students can learn, grow, and feel safe where educators are supported to do their best work. That's the standard and that's what our students deserve. I do not feel that our current person who can't be named reflects these qualities. Instead of fostering a culture of trust and empowerment there's a sense of fear among teachers and staff. In critical moments accountability has been lacking. When soon as attempt to share their thoughts and perspectives, um they avoid direct engagement and at times appear to hide from these conversations rather than face them openly. If our community had truly been heard, there would have been a clear, sincere apology followed by immediate, meaningful action to demonstrate that commitment. Instead, responsibility

048was deflected. Communication has felt inconsistent between staff and the broader communica- uh community. >> [snorts] >> And the response has not reflected the level of sincerity our students who are still hurting deserve. Lastly, Duanesburg deserves better. Our teachers and staff deserve better. Most importantly, our students deserve better. Thank you. Thank you. >> [applause] >> Okay, I'm going to move to our next item on the agenda, which is our superintendent's report. Is this on? Okay. I don't want to stand behind a a screen. Um there are some updates I do want want to share with the public, but um I wanted to take a minute um just to begin tonight with something simple and and sincere. I am sorry. My recent remarks in the media and in the district communications caused hurt for students, staff, and

049families. And I take responsibility for that. I know my words were received in ways I did not intend, and I'm truly sorry for the frustration, the disappointment, and the hurt they created. When I spoke, my goal was to acknowledge concerns that some of our students have bravely shared about their experiences. But I understand that the way I communicated those concerns felt much broader, as if I was speaking about all of our students or questioning the dedication of our educators. This is not how I see this community, and it does not reflect the deep respect I have for the people who make Duanesburg what it is. This district is filled with remarkable young people and adults who care deeply about them. And as someone who lives here and who's proud to call this my community, my

050home, I see every day kindness, strength, and commitment that define Duanesburg. My comments did not reflect that really, and I regret that deeply. Over the past several weeks, I've had the opportunity to listen, really listen, to the students, the staffs, and families. These conversations have been honest, sometimes emotional, and incredibly meaningful. I am grateful to everyone who shared their perspectives with me. Your voices have helped me better understand the impact of my words and the work I need to do to rebuild trust. These moments have reminded me how important and that my communication reflects the values of this district, respect, clarity, and partnership. I'm committed to growing from this experience and showing that my commitment through my actions. As we move forward, um here's what I will continue to focus on. Creating more intentional spaces

051for students to share their experiences and ensuring their voices shape the work ahead. Working closely with staff to understand where they feel >> [snorts] >> uh where they feel unheard and unsupported and addressing those concerns honestly and with care. Strengthening our partnership with the broader Duanesburg community, ensuring that our work around school climate is shaped not only by the experiences of those in our buildings, but also by the voices, values, and hopes of the [snorts] families and neighbors who support our schools every day. Keeping our shared mission at the center. Ensuring that every student feels safe, valued, and connected to our school. >> [snorts] >> I'm learning from this moment, and I'm committed to doing better. My hope is that together, we can use this experience to strengthen our relationships and deepen our shared focus

052on what matters most, our children. As the board works to strengthen the communication policy, I'm committed to walking alongside them and alongside all of you as we move forward with clarity, care, and a shared focus on our students. Thank you for your continued partnership and for the grace so many of you have shown me. I'm proud to be part of this community, and I look forward to moving ahead together. Okay, um is it on? >> [snorts] >> Um excuse me. Just want to give a a shout out and a uh and a thanks to so many community members. Today [snorts] was the college fair at the elementary school, um led by Dana Kamer. Um [snorts] so many great folks in this community came out. The kids were adorable >> [snorts] >> running around to the

053tables and talking with um uh different occupations. So, just to let you know that we had Isaiah Johnson uh as a union operator, Jen Nightingale, who's a vet, uh Michael Nadeau, who was a pest control wildlife. I have to say his his sons were adorable explaining how they catch the animals and they release them and how proud they are. Uh Ben Yakler uh as a firefighter. Again, the kids were happy to try on his his gear. Amanda Frost uh with as a physical therapist. Um we had Schenectady Police Department. Um we had Gary Relation and Andrew Dannible. We had Michael Sargent, the building construction program manager. Rose Our own Rose Ganster was geologist. We had some hairdressers and business owners, Heather Hines and Becca Cleary. We had a publisher, Remley, and I'm sorry if I

054mispronounce this, Gorsuch. Yeah. And then we had our own Francis Spore, video game production. >> [snorts] >> We had our own SROs, uh Officers Gomez and Leary. They as they're uh new to us um over the past few weeks, they really enjoyed getting to know the kids. And another geologist, Nathan Graber. And then we also had Robert Beddow, who was a bridge bridge construction. So, thank you to all these community members who came out, spent some time with our kids at the elementary building this morning. Um it was well received um by by students and staff. And that's all I got. You said college fair, you meant career fair. Just want to point that out. Yes, you said college, but we're not quite there that with the elementary school, but it sounds pretty cool. It

055is always a lot of fun. And I do have to say the elementary school is more fun >> [laughter] >> than the high schools because the high schools, they just they want to know how much money they can make. Not necessarily interested in sort of, you know, "What do you get to do?" and how So, you made Fall Guys all by yourself? Like, no, you know, so. Yeah. It's such a great program. And pre-K, that was a very quiet 15 minutes. Okay, our next item on the agenda is our assistant superintendent of management services report, Mr. Ravenburg. We're going to talk budget. Okay. Uh so, tonight we will uh discuss the uh the third uh component of the uh the budget that we have not talked about so far, being the uh the program portion

056of the budget. So, it includes salaries and benefits uh of all teachers and staff who deliver uh pupil services, guidance, health, library media, post these programs, special education services, uh textbooks, equipment, uh athletics, and transportation costs. So, it's a pretty big part of the budget uh except for bus purchases. Although, I did actually include uh information about the buses uh towards the end of this presentation just because it was not ready at the uh time that we talked about capital. So, this is a uh overview of the uh the program budget. Um there are some of the lines that uh we will see some fluctuations because I've gone through and done a deep dive on some of the budget items our budget lines and uh adjusted uh teacher salaries and made sure that I'm sorry,

057made sure that teachers were in the right budget line. Uh so, there are some adjustments there. Um so, overall though for the for the program budget looking at a 5.02% increase on that section. Again, that's about 3/4 of the portion of the budget. So, pretty large portion of the budget there including So, you'll see that the teaching regular school section the 2110 section actually looks like it decreased but it's because some of the teachers that were in that section actually were supposed to be in special education. So, that is reflected a little bit better now moving forward. So, instruction I'm sorry. What's that? Do you want us to hold questions till the end? Yes, and we'll then we'll dive back into that. Yeah. So, instructional budget realignment so done some corrections as I just said

058the 2110 to 2250 just decrease that regular school expenses and then moved students with disabilities. Then created a new ENL line for the 2259 code and that that covers the the new English as new language teacher which currently serves now six students. So, if you look back just a couple years ago we had no students for ENL and now we have six. So, we have to continue to serve those students as they move into the district. And so the the budget line has created been created for that. And then some guidance realignment just basically to reallocate as a staff member from one section one section of the budget to another based on certification because we have to report people as they're certified under their correct budget line. Instructional additions to the budget to add a

059school monitor to increase a non-instructional salary line for for that person to serve as in school suspension / hall monitor. Or a building building aid whatever title we choose to carry that on. And then BOCES services again that continues to increase though we did pretty well with this year with our our BOCES aid. Our actually going into 2627 you know, the projections look pretty good for that too. So, continuing to use that BOCES services for the for some of the you know, educational services that we need here in the district. It makes it makes it better to get that aid back the following year. Special education teacher this will be to add a teacher position for an 812 class in the elementary school and this would be instead of sending students out to outplacements which

060in the theory would cost an exorbitant amount of money compared to what you're saving by starting it with one teacher and and setting it with a one teacher and and an aid or two aids. So, then some transportation efficiency to expand and restructure the uh the full-time mechanic / maybe a bus driver position to address our our fleet maintenance. It's it's very hard for one person to to manage the fleet. And it's it's definitely necessary that Jeremy has somebody to to help out in the garage in order to keep our fleet running. There were a few times there where we thought we weren't going to have enough buses to get through because we had buses down. They just break down and when you have the simplest thing you have to take it out of service

061just because there's so many important inspections that have to be made you know, before you roll it on the road. Health insurance premiums we're looking right now at a 10% increase for using the the full mind health trust. This was originally it started as a 15% increase but the health trust has creatively found a way to navigate down to a 10%. So, while other health insurance trusts are facing much larger increases you know, we've managed to make ours come down for next year. So, this is just a snapshot of what BOCES aid is is doing for our BOCES is doing for the district as we continue to you know, a large portion of our budget is is actually with with BOCES. The the aid generated based off of the school year budget for 2526 924,498.

062The district budget is comprised of BOCES services actually 10%. So, uh it's a large portion of budget and then also for every dollar spent what the average is is estimated about 53% on the dollar for for services that we purchase through BOCES. The district share of the BOCES administration budget administrative budget is 1.03. And we are sending 36 kids to career and technical education and three of them and then we are sending three for special locations within the BOCES. The state aid estimations have not changed since we just talked a couple weeks ago. So, it's just a recap again the 1% increase on foundation aid. There there's still might be hope or or not. I'm not really sure. >> [laughter] >> But as you can see 1% is not does not help districts where you

063know, we're faced with you know, 10% increases on health insurance 4% increases on staff staffing and then other increases that are well above 5% on just contractual things that districts have to participate in and buy. And then some of our other larger aid aid portions are the BOCES there and so an increase there on BOCES aid and then high excess cost and the building the the building aid based on the the capital project the bonds. So, that's why we're seeing our budget increased so so much for 2627 that large portion of the budget. So, but it's also balanced out with that state aid that's coming in. So, that covers that that portion of the cost there. These are the differences from the uh from the earlier portions from the early estimates of the state aid.

064So, it actually went down a little bit but again we're we're going to have to wait wait it out until state figures out their budget. Calculated tax cap hasn't changed again 2.93%. And then uh we're assuming a 2.9% increase on the the tax levy for for next year for 20 2627. And then to to bond out only for two buses this year or for 2627 to purchase two gasoline power buses. One large 65 passenger and a 30 passenger and this will be to replace buses that are determined to not be road ready or not going to pass DOT. So, DOT inspections are actually every six months on a school bus. So, they are inspected very thoroughly. I'm I'm sure probably a lot more thoroughly than our cars. But there's there's a lot of things that

065are important with an inspection and it comes to it comes to you know, when it comes to rust on the buses for some reason they just keep rusting away and we got to replace them. So, here's a just a look at what our um what our fleet looks like. So, in in September of 25 we actually removed 65 passenger from our fleet. In March at the last meeting we removed a six passenger suburban and a 30 passenger from our fleet. So, for 2627 we're only looking for that for for two buses the 65 passenger and uh and the 20 passenger are going to get removed from from the fleet. Those are both at uh they're 157 is rusting right out from the frame and then 159 has definitely served its life. It has got high

066mileage and has also rusting out and will be tough to pass DOT inspections in the future. So, over the years over the past few years we've actually reduced our fleet down from from 30 buses at one point just after COVID we had 30 buses on the fleet. And down to down to 27. I don't know if any of you remember back a few years ago we were actually we had so many buses that were actually getting repaired and uh service that we actually had to borrow a bus from Mohonasen at one point. So, um 27 we're so we're reducing that down though a little bit and we should be should be good to to move on. So, part of that that number that's there would be those those buses that are getting replaced for next

067year. So, the budget status this is not really changed much just in you you an increase on the uh building aid for the construction debt. Foundation aid uh just still started at 1%. Currently assuming that 2.9% increase on the tax levy. Uh contractual and supply costs went up. Uh no program cuts. So, this is a a look at both the expect expense budget and uh revenue budget, just a summary uh to show what we're looking at for our budget increases and um and our revenues. So, also I will highlight that a large portion of the budget increase is in that capital section of the budget because of the building debt. And then uh we will talk again for the uh budget for the budget adoption on April 21st. And uh just to highlight, you know,

068we're continuing continuing all to support all student programs in this budget. No staffing No staffing cuts. Uh the uh tax levy increase proposed at 2.9%. And to uh adopt the budget on the 21st and then uh don't forget the budget vote is Tuesday, May 19th. My uh monitor keeps phasing out here. And I'll take questions from the board. Yeah. Um I guess kind of the obvious, you know, we're looking at 11.5% increase this year year over from last year's budget budget. Yep. But again, that's you know, a large portion of that is that that building debt that's in there. Right. But >> So, like that's So, let's help help people wrap their head around it cuz we are proposing that as being tax neutral, but now we're saying that's the biggest part of our tax

069increase. No. Okay, then That that's not the So, the building debt is not is not what's causing the tax increase. It's the the increase for for other uh like you're going to go looking at staffing uh staffing contractual. Uh you're looking at contractual obligations for the district. Uh programs and services. That's That's what the you're seeing the increase on on the tax levy uh because ultimately the the state aid that's coming through for the for the building debt is uh fairly high and uh almost So, you're looking at a uh 1.4 uh million dollars in in increase uh assumed for building for building aid. So, then when you look at So, then we would have to account for that. Understood. >> Yeah. But I just I I feel like there's a little bit of a

070possible misunderstanding how this could come up just in the English language of how this is an increase but we're saying it's tax neutral. Do you see what I'm saying? Yeah. I mean, so it's Yeah, but you again, like so looking at at the capital section of the budget, you're 1.5% or 1.5 million on an increase on the on the capital budget. And then you know, that's also including um uh bus debt as well. Uh and then you've got you've got that aid coming back in to to balance that back out. So, what what we're really seeing the increase on the tax levy increase uh I'm saying increase one more time, right? Uh is the program section of the budget. Um and that's that's the uh you know, the five 5% increase to the budget, but

071again, that's to continue programs for kids. Um So, there's there's higher expenses like special education services are not getting any cheaper. Okay. And then I guess the only other thing that really kind of sticks out is our reserve appropriation fund that's quite a bit more than we've ever had. Yep. So, I also I um would recommend that you know, if we get into that situation where we you know, instead of asking for more money or whatever, then uh we need to start we're going to have to start using our reserves, especially if budget is going to be tight um in order to pay for services cuz otherwise the next the next step is to start cutting programs and I know we don't want to do that. So, in order to to uh make sure that

072we stay afloat you're going to use your savings a little bit more. Um and and last year we did have a good we had a good finished year. So, remember during audit we did talk about how we finished last year um had a had a good year and it was because we had uh additional interest that came in because we invest our our funds. Um we had uh health insurance trust that had closed out and we had extra extra money that came to us. That was That was definitely a a one-hit wonder there because you know, we didn't know how much was going to come to us. We didn't know how much the health insurance uh company was going to actually take take back. So, it's hard to budget for something like that when you

073don't know and when the health insurance trust is going to close. So, we got that, too. Um so that that gives us that that balance. So, for next year um in order to maintain staff and programs uh this seems like we're going to have to dig into our pockets a little bit more into the savings account and use either fund balance or reserves. Um What was my question? Oh, it's impressive that health insurance is only 10%. It's not great, but it's impressive. I I do I like the I mean, how What How am I trying to phrase this? Obviously, we have a bus problem with Jeremy. And that if he gets hit by a bus we're in a lot of trouble. Sure. Um so, I think it's very valid and valuable employee. Um so, I

074do think it's great that we're looking finally at providing him support. Yeah. Similar to what Jeremy was for for Harry. Correct. So, I I think that's that's great that we're looking to do that. Um Where was I going with my story? I've completely forgotten. Um so, I I think that's amazing. You said we're down to 27 buses. How many routes do we run a day? Right. Uh How many routes we drive in a day? That's a really tough question. I mean, there's what? Nine? Well, there's So, there's nine Yeah, I mean, there's nine uh regular runs. Then there's uh Transportation to Albany BOCES. >> yeah, there's Yeah, so there's transportation to BOCES to both BOCES. So, you got Schoharie CTE, Albany CTE. Um several other private school locations. Um and then we have uh some

075kids that we pick up due to uh McKinney-Vento. So, we have to send buses out and at the same time that we're sending those out, we can't send the same driver. So, we've got a lot of splitting up to do. Um and then there's also midday runs. There's uh there's the CTE, then you got to pick them back up and then bring the kids for the PM runs out for the PM programs out um at both locations. Um and then private school placements as well. So, uh parentally parentally placed uh private school kids are also uh a part of that mix. Um so, we have to go and pick up and transport those kids and bring them to their programs uh both in the morning and the afternoon. So. Do you know roughly how many

076miles you drive a year? I actually do know the number. You know? Yeah, cuz it was in the electric report. Oh. Wait, was this pop quiz night or Yeah, I'm I'm pushing you. [laughter] I want to know. No, I don't. It's like 380,000 miles. Okay. Which is just an incredible number for we keep telling ourselves how small we are. Right. Um We do have 60 square miles that we cover in the district, so. Yeah. And well, and we go as far as Colonie. Mhm. So. Um Yeah. So, I think that the the transport I'm glad that there's a real focus on sort of maintaining our transportation fleet um and providing some support there. And I'm happy to see a a line item to sort of build out the the monitoring and discipline support system that

077the board's interested in. Thank you. Um quick question about the uh health insurance trust. Yeah. Um the budget the projection went from 15 down to 10. Okay. Is Is that a firm projection or is will it come back like 12% and would there have to be a remittance back to the insurance company on this or is that a firm projection? It's It's a firm projection, yeah. Okay. Cuz that's that's I mean, that's that's that's pretty good. That's Yeah, so the the health insurance trust will um settle everything. They're expected to settle this Friday, so. So, we're not going to come back with a a new projection of like 12% and no rebates back to the district. There's a 99.999% chance that that will not happen. Good to know. Good to know. >> [laughter] >> Thank

078you. I have a couple questions about [snorts] um fuel assumptions. Um for transportation's a big a big number. How do you model and predict fuel expenses um for the budgeting for when budgeting for fuel expense? Uh so, looking at trends both from uh past past couple years and also what our current fleet uh what we have. So, uh it's important to consider how many um how many propane buses we have and how many gasoline buses we have. Um and also um what the current current prices are, but also doing a little research on, you know, what what the gas prices are actually doing, too. Um got to plan for that, but uh there's been years though when we when we can't really predict some some of the large increases back uh I want to say

079um I think it was like 12 years ago. I remember the district going through uh a difficult time when the uh the gas prices really increased uh a severe amount after the budget had already been settled and then um you know, the district is faced with trying to dig into other budget lines and try and transfer the money to make sure that we have enough gasoline and uh heating fuel, too. So, heating fuel is the same on the same boat. So, um because we use heating oil for our for our school buildings, um that's another thing that we have to consider. So, looking at just all of the economic conditions and you know, what prices are at the time uh just to best predict. It's It's really a a shot in the dark. Um you

080know, an estimate based on what you know. I I ask because fuel costs are quite unpredictable right now. Yeah. Um do we employ any hedging strategies uh like forward contracts or anything like that in order to limit our downside risk on fuel? So, we do use the uh state contract um pricing. So, they do lock in um you know, lock in cost, but there are times when they have market adjustments, too. So, um we will continue to use uh those resources as a a way to at least, you know, somehow have a a solid you know, an estimate, but if they do make their uh mid-market adjustments, which we've seen happen, um then, you know, we have to be prepared for that, too. Okay. That and that applies to both diesel fuel and propane? Yeah,

081well, we don't have any we actually don't have any diesel buses. So, we only have gasoline and um and propane. The only thing that uses diesel in our in our district now are our um tractors. Maintenance equipment. Thank you. Yep. I want to ask more about buses. I love buses. Um you mentioned that we transport students for private school. Is there [snorts] like a range on that? What's what's the deal there? Cuz that's actually not new, but not something that lives in the forefront of my mind to me. Uh 15 15 miles. So, as long as the school is within 15 miles uh of the pickup point, it's it would be travel and we travel to that private school. I have a couple questions, Jeff. Um uh you went I know you don't know this,

082but like when do you think we'll get the state numbers? Like what do they tell you? Is that they have to we have to wait for that budget to pass and then Yeah, I mean, last year so, last year we >> time cuz I I I know. So, last year we actually we ended up passing our budget um we ended up passing our budget before the state budget >> Right. because of the state taking so long to adopt their budget. And um there there was some wise crack that was made somewhere along the line that I was here that I heard at some meeting like, oh, you know, it's going to happen again. Um so, we we may have to be prepared to take our best guess again this year and uh and and kind

083of guess at where we're going to be. Um although, you know, as we get closer to budget, there may be some more information. Um we do have advocacy uh through many of our groups that will kind of you know, give us that information as to what what what it looks like the governor is going to do. So, um we'll continue to kind of speculate right now, but um Okay. regardless, we still have to adopt Right. for some reason, you know, we're we're held to the higher standard and need to adopt our budget on time. So, um hopefully the state will this year, but um Okay. Yeah. So, who knows? Who knows? >> question. So, that's the answer to the question. >> to guess. All right, I have a couple more. Sorry. Um uh I know

084now this being my fifth year on the on the board that special education costs are um a a big driving force of our expenditures. Um and so, just from for my education but then also for others, you know, to understand um what the savings like when we when we have to send students outside of district, what is the range of cost for one student? It can range anywhere from 60 to $100,000 depending on what the services are that the kid needs. Okay. And sometimes even over that. Um so, we've we've also been faced with having to send a kid to a residential placement, which is a very very expensive bill. Yeah. Um so, those kinds of expenses are, you know, if you can keep it in-house, you're you're saving significant amount of money. Yeah. But

085that's the high cost excess cost line, right? Is that last year we paid or this year we're paying quite a bit for some of our placements. >> Well, it was last it was last Yeah. >> Yeah. [snorts] Okay. And then I want to come back to um Sarah's question. No, it's fine. Um to Sarah's question. So, I I think maybe if it was on a not that you can do this right now cuz you're flipping back and forth, but like on a you know, comparison of of uh revenue versus expenditures. I I think if I'm understanding you correctly, Jeff, that we are we are anticipating $1.4 million in revenue to offset the $1.5 million in expenditure Mhm. on those two different slides. Yes. And so, it we're we're looking at a $100,000 difference and that

086that also is Can you point to other lines that make up that 100,000 cuz you mentioned that had to do with buses or is that is that something that we have to make up in our in our own like out of our reserves? So, um I think you're asking a couple different questions there, but No, it's okay, but um what I would say to that is that if we look at um this, for instance, you will see that um there are several lines that have to be increased. So, $262,000 just in the health insurance, um which is what we're obligated to do. Uh and that's that's the part where that's unfortunately that's where our tax levy is going. Um so, >> No, I understand that. I think what I'm what I'm asking is that the

087our revenue line for what we expect from state aid is is 1.4 and then our expenditure line is 1.5. So, there's a $100,000 difference there. Um and I and I think I'm just trying to understand, right? So, in capital, it's 1.5. And I'm just trying to understand that. Where that >> So, the Does that make sense? I'm maybe I'm just confusing myself, but Yeah, so, in capital, it perfectly balance it out, I guess is what I'm saying. >> No, it doesn't because you're still um we also have uh bond costs, too. So, that's what I wanted to clarify. That's what was adding that 100 grand. Right. And our building aid isn't 100%. It's it's 79.8%. So, we still have to we have to pay for a portion of the bond for for capital projects, but

088um we get a large portion back. Um but we still have to pay for that that small portion. Okay, perfect. Thank you. And then lastly, just a just a comment that um it with this budget uh there's no staffing cuts. No staffing cuts. faculty cuts. There's no none of that and no programming cuts at all. Nope. No cuts to any resources or anything like like that for students or programs. Thank you. For people. No people. We're not losing any people. Great. Thank you. Any other questions? I have one more question. >> [clears throat] >> The BOCES increase um is pretty significant, approximately 20%. Um is that is that due to enrollment or additional services or is there anything interesting in that number that accounts for the increase? It It's You're talking about the aid, BOCES

089aid? That's okay. Yeah, so, it's Yeah, it's revenue. Okay. >> [laughter] >> Your microphone's off. >> I know. Just as a reminder, um with BOCES aid, it is a a lap year. Right? So, the services that we subscribe to, we get the money the the year. And we do I mean, this is actually really great for our community, our kids. We have a really good increase in kids attending like CTE, um which we're happy to offer those opportunities. Um every year Jeff and I have to go through and look at both these services and we get usage reports. We actually made quite a few delete and you know, we deleted quite a few things that we were that year after year we would prescribe or subscribe to and no one was really using. So, I

090think um part of that reflective cost is um with um also students with disabilities, right? If they're attending a BOCES program, CTE, right? Those those costs as well and that's reflective in that $900,000 money coming to us from BOCES. I have one last question, which is has nothing to do with this, but Santino raised a question last time and I want to make sure that we address his question, which was with regard to well, Santino raised a question from a community member's question. So, and I see you gave us some information, but I thought it would be really good for you to share that with everyone as well. So, >> so, Santino, did you get this paper? I Fantastic. Oh, sorry. I didn't mean to steal your thunder there, buddy. I will also say this

091that it was a it's also a part of a of a FOIL request, so that one will be answered um fairly shortly because it's um it it's very relevant to the same question that was asked. I don't have a copy of it. So, uh do you want me to like read all these lines? Do you want me to read each of these or Yes? All right, go ahead. Uh there's been a lot of community concerns about consultant costs in the district. And on the sheet there, you can see so we're totals over $32,000 for uh four different consultants, with the majority being from one Lisa Paterna, which totals over $29,000. I think what a lot of people are wondering is what kind of services do they provide to the district and what um why do

092we need this, basically? So, that Yeah, so um she had provided a a listening tour and uh sessions and workshops. Um I don't know. And then we also are Kim, do you want to elaborate on that? I don't know. I always get that line the circle. Okay, so Dr. Paterna had come in um the board. She had presented to the board last over the summer and over the summer um in an effort to have a deeper understanding and make recommendations to the board. So, she has done multiple visits um both individual coaching as well as group. Um I think just in my calendar, I probably had there was probably a good [snorts] 20 times where I knew she was coming to district, but she also um coached some of our leaders. She did some retreats

093with like central office. Um so, if we were to gather um every time she was either in the building or coaching, we're probably close to 30 times that she was she was available. Um she also presented to staff and I was going to um talk to the board about this at at a a later date like a lot of the staff had asked me like, "What's the next step?" Um I think that she built some really great bonds with folks. Um and it it's a matter of, you know, getting some feedback from staff of what they'd like to see if they'd like to see anything. So, um usually consultants get about um anywheres from $800 to $1,200 a day. Um that's just the going rate um in their profession. So, for her to be in

094district at least 30 times or coaching or phone calls or whatever might be that um she met with the board twice as well. So, in um actually more than once cuz she came to present and then she So, three times. Um the Capital Region BOCES uh Meredith Madden and Ally Hearn, that was a collective um the Schoharie County regional approach when we had a professional development day um and then we shared the cost amongst all the districts. Um So, Rising to Greatness is also um Dr. Paterna, so what had happened is um originally she was um I'm human and then um the contract was signed over to her to her own LLC. And then just recently Alyssa Sabatino came in um on our staff development day and worked with staff and again, I've only heard

095positive things, well received, working with them on MTSS, which is multi-tiered systems. And um it took she took the all all teaching instructional staff and walked them through through both sides of the triangle, both academic and behaviorally. And again, intentions are to reach out to find out staff what they want more of. Um I know that they're very interested in the MTSS. Ally Hearn did the same thing regionally, but unfortunately she I think she lives like in Illinois or Ohio and but Alyssa is one of the most well-respected um consultants in in the community in this region, for sure. Those rates being charged, they're standard for the services they provide, correct? >> much so. >> Okay. Yeah. And you know, we have I mean, every district in including DCS has worked with consultants for years

096and years and years. Sometimes we can get what we need through BOCES, but sometimes we can't. It depends what they have at what expertise they have on staff. So, this is actually very small compared to what um you know, what you know, reaching out to outside of the BOCES world for having a consultants. Does that make sense? Yes. Okay. Thank you very much. Jeff, did I forget anything? Nope. Okay. I think you're released, Jeff. Thank you. Okay. >> [laughter] >> Okay. Uh next up is uh standing committee reports and I think we have one from policy. We absolutely do. So, um the policy committee has met. Uh we met what, last week? Yeah. So, our big focus right now is obviously based around kind of the conversation that's going on, a revamp of the code

097of conduct. Uh attached the agenda. How how can we make that appear on the screen? Uh a computer. The the thing. Where did it go? Jeff. He actually legitimately disappeared. >> [laughter] >> Yes, we did. It was my fault. Oh, there he is. He's like the Wizard of Oz. Now I'm over here. Um so, the the policy committee we're focused on sort of driving forward on uh trying to make it so that our code of conduct is clearer and easier to understand. It's currently a 79-page document. Um and it is very wordy. Uh and there's lots of chances in that lots of opportunities in that wordy document to sort of have misinterpretations. So, um one of the things we've done as a group is sort of looked at what other local districts do. We've looked

098at Niskayuna, Guilderland, uh Schoharie. And one of the modern moves that people are doing as far as like identifying infractions and sort of uh how they're handled is a is sort of a more chart-based approach. So, um based on kind of our existing code of conduct and our understanding of uh new ideas that come up because our code of conduct was last revised, at least the infraction stuff, in Do we say it was like 15 years old? Yeah. So, you know, cyberbullying is mentioned, but not really a thing. So, we have sort of evaluated through it and gone through broken the expectation into five different levels of kind of who handles it and what the understanding of the response should be. That's kind of described here on the first page. Level one is a teacher

099handles it, teacher staff in the hallway. Level two, three, and four are all um uh dismissed to administration to handle with different levels of kind of minimum consequences, again based on an based on the history of the student, um you know, there are mitigating circumstances um that because of a student's uh special education needs or understanding of kind of the situation would obviously allow for um different handling of certain consequences. And level level five would be uh essentially a superintendent's conference. That would be And we've gone through and sort of identified for each of the things each of each of these areas kind of where we believe that the responsibility to respond and the minimum sort of responsibility lies. Um Now, I say this in that it was the two of us put check the

100three of us put check boxes on a form. Um the code of conduct is a collaborative document put together by the staff, the community, the everybody essentially who's involved, but we had to start somewhere. So, we've started in the policy committee. Uh after break, we'll be scheduling time to meet with um staff and administration to sort of hear their feedback and work with them on that. And we have a community forum scheduled April 27th. April 27th at 6:30 here in Joe Benna Hall to hear what the community feels about the code of conduct and where you can go with it. Um you know, so you know, some of the things that we've added is and we've learned that you know, tobacco products not great, but what we're actually finding too is that students are destroying

101the smoke detectors. So, that is a situation where we're we're flagging that as a problem. Um so you know, to try to provide feedback back up. Um uh there was no situation we've added a uh uh situation of insubordination for repeat offenders that no longer feel that the the when you run out of further options, now you have a new option. Um so, we are attempting to try to modernize and understand where things are at with the code of conduct. Uh and again, there'll be opportunity for feedback and discussion coming up. Um So, Francis, just so to note that our intentions or the intention of the committee is that they'll have a draft to send out to all community members and stakeholders to read prior to >> Yes. the board members talking with them. Just

102because you don't want to get bogged down going through this document, right? So, you'd have time to review it, look at it, and if you have time to come to one of the stakeholder meetings, that'd be great. Absolutely. And we will have one code of conduct as a district. The athletic extracurricular code of conduct will be rolled into this and we'll be deciding sort of So, we're going to obviously need one uh but I know we've talked about what's involved there. Well, how we fit that all together. Uh we're probably going to do some smaller handout version to go to the schools that the parents are supposed to see and sign that link to this major document because everyone is supposed to sign the code of supposed to read and review the code of conduct

103every year and submit a signed piece of paper. Even I don't read it all every year. So, um I mean, as a parent. Yeah. Right. So, we're we're required by law to do a plain English. And that's where the building level handbook would come in. Yep. So, that's where we stand on this project. Um any questions from the board? So, I'm looking at these various categories um such as I'm just going to throw out an example, behavior that disrupts the learning environment >> Yes. or the learning of other students in the classroom. So, how did we get to level the level discrepancy and not discrepancy, uh determination in this? Um for instance, this one is level one, two, and three. Right. How did as as a subcommittee, how did you It's expected that a teacher

104at some level should manage their classroom. So, that's that's level one. You know, if a kid's being they can assign lunch detention or whatever. Okay. Um if that is not working, they can send the child to the office. And that's level two. That's level two. Okay. And if that occurs again or multiple times, the office has higher consequences at their disposal. Okay. So, having said that, now let's go to another level, four and five. Um for instance, any illegal substance including marijuana or possession of paraphernalia. Mhm. Um obviously, that's that's that's a no-brainer. So, at levels four and five, can you explain exactly what that is? Uh Cuz that's that's what it's targeting it as. Yes. >> Levels four and five. Well, that would be an immediate handled handles it sent to the principal to

105to deal with as is. I think I think that's actually mandated by law sort of how that's handled. Um I'm not entirely positive, but it would be it would be expected to be above the classroom teacher. The classroom teacher should not be seeing a kid with marijuana materials and then moving them on, you know, ignoring it and moving them on. So, that goes to the principal and superintendent. It could go to the principal it could go to the superintendent as a hearing if there's further follow-up. Again, it's progressive. Okay. Is there a mandate that the principal must communicate this with the uh superintendent at this level? There's report, yeah. Yeah, there's there's reporting at certain levels of of situations that then it's it's actually mandated that it goes to the state some of it. Okay.

106Yeah, great. Thanks. I was just going to comment on that too that in the level four and level five response, at least in the preliminary document, we do have that um it might also require notification to local agencies such as child protective services, law enforcement, counseling, drug pre-treatment programs, or PINS. And this is very much a work in progress. Very much. >> is a draft. This is a This is very much a draft, but it's just sort of a demonstration of where the committee's trying to drive with this. Any other questions? Cool. I look forward to talking to everybody about it. There were no other policy uh sorry, excuse me, no other committees that met, I don't believe. Okay. >> [clears throat] >> All right, next up we have our financial items. Excuse me. Uh

107so, we will do those together. Um be it resolved based upon the recommendation of the superintendent that the Board of Education approves the following financial items, 10.01 through 10.07. May I have a motion? I'll motion. Thank you, Francis. Is there a second? Second. Thank you, Sarah. Comments or questions? I have one, but I'll if others have before me. Um if I understand correctly, Jeff and Kim, the Crossroads contract, excuse me, is it excuse me, a function of our developing this um Um Go ahead, it's all right. So, you can have a sip of water. So, the Crossroads contract is um something that Danielle has been working really hard on. As we talked about creating this setting for our our students in K1, you know, we have a conversation that usually BOCES has these programs. And

108most of the time, the BOCES teachers just seem to have such a rich experience and they and they handle these classrooms cuz there's intense management needs. And so, Danielle and I talked about at we want this program to be successful. We want our students to to remain home. And what could we do to get this program off the ground that it's as as successful as a BOCES program. So, Danielle has some great relationships with Crossroads and they're um willing to help support us um for the upcoming school year. So, I think the contract is for next year, correct, Jeff? The one that's on the agenda is for next year. Yes. Yes, okay. Question. How many students do we ship out? Oh, how many students are um placed outside? That's How many? So, we have 13

109currently placed out of district. Um just because if you don't talk in the mic, nobody can hear it, but so 13 out of district right now. How many are waiting instruction waiting a placement? Right. Right. Absolutely. Yeah. So, you know, Danielle talked about the two students waiting placements. There are just no placements. Um and it it's in no fault of the district or or the CSE. Um Danielle is a champion for our children. So, she has two two that she's trying very hard to find placements for. Three. I forget what the three was. And then what she's talking about the five for this 812, we have five kids five children who have communication needs and or autistic, so you have to group kids similarly by what their their learner characteristics are. And so, um because

110finding out of district placements is is nearly impossible, um and there's so many benefits, not just financial benefits for having these kids being here, um it's the it's the social emotional that they'll still have access to their grade level peers and they'll still have that social emotional component and exposure to their their grade level. So, we have five um children that are going to be entering kindergarten and and or first grade and that's what this classroom is going to be set up for. What was the three that I I you mentioned? Okay. Thank you. So, a few coming up from UPK as well. What was I going to say? Any other questions on any of our financial items? At 10.07, um that is is that an aid for for No, that's for the um in-school

111suspension. >> Yes. Yes. >> [clears throat] >> So, that we're doing that effective So, once the board creates the position then um Audrey can go out to OLAS or what whatever um avenues to try and recruit someone for in-school. Understood. Thank you. I remember my question now. And it's really probably more for Danielle than for you guys. I understand placement's hard. Are we going to be able to hire? It or do the people exist? For Oh, she she Yeah, uh go ahead. Yeah, that would be great. So, I don't have to shout. Thank you. I think you might have to turn the microphone on. Yeah. De- Declan turned it Okay. So, I did provide also learning character learner characteristics. I don't know whether or not Kim has shared that with with folks as well as

112the cost analysis in terms of the cost savings of developing our own 812 special class program. Uh the reason for this and I've been working and collaborating with both uh Capital Region uh districts uh through Capital Region BOCES as well as through the Schoharie Area schools. We've been really analyzing how to build our own internal capacity for supporting students with disabilities within the public school districts because there's a significant shortage of placements um across the Capital Region. So, given that unfortunately fewer teachers are going into the field of special education and education in general, a lot of our private programs that support students with special needs um that are more significant are struggling to staff their programs, which is cutting down on the number of classrooms that they're able to open, which is then also

113trickling back to us who we are having to program for students that we can't appropriately program for because we're still legally obligated to provide them with an education um and certainly we don't want children, especially young children, on home instruction. So, we are trying to build our own internal capacity to support these kids. Um I know that neighboring districts uh there's been a lot of conversations with Cobleskill-Richmondville that have physical space but not necessarily the staffing to have those programs. So, we are having a lot of regional planning meetings that I've been a part of to really discuss how we move forward and bring making sure that we can provide programs for special education students um that are in-house because right now we know that those out-of-district programs, I think the last student that we

114had accepted by BOCES, it's been years and years and years. I've had rejection after rejection after rejection either because um they're not currently running programs that meet the pro- profile of kids that need these programs. Currently, there's wait lists um or classrooms are being closed, whether that's a non-public school district, an 853 special act, or a BOCES classroom. So, and but looking at that, looking at our highest need, we obviously have a cohort of kids that need more intensified supports that I'm confident that we can provide those supports in district. These certainly aren't students with any safety issues or things of that nature. These are kids that need assistive technology, some communication, they need very highly specialized instruction, as well as a flexible model of instruction because they're going to be building those early early

115learner characteristics. Um so, in looking at this program, I had talked with Melissa Kleinman at Crossroads, which is right in Princetown, who runs a very successful on um section 853 school for students who are on the autism spectrum as well as communication-related disorders. They have their own training staff that train their staff in developing these programs and classrooms. So, we thought what a great idea to partner with them to help us do the initial setup of this classroom and program to ensure that we're doing it with fidelity. Obviously, we have not had a special class within the Duanesburg Central School District in quite some time. We've also are starting to you know, we have our staff need professional development, too, on how to engage with these students. How do we support them in a general

116education environment? Um what do we expect to see, to hear? What is that going to feel? What is that going to look like? And so, I certainly don't want to move forward with a classroom that I don't feel like we're going to be supporting every student in that room. We need to get that up and running and then hopefully down the road, you know, if we have the capacity to take on cross contracts from other districts once we know we have a solid plan in place, that would be the goal. Obviously, we have physical limitations within our district, so we might have this bubble that moves with this cohort of kids, but then we are going to have to partner with other schools within the region on developing other sections of profiles of kids of

117the of just with disabilities that we are unable to meet at this time. So, it's really a learning curve, but I do feel like we're getting ahead and I want to bring these kids. I certainly don't want to send kindergarteners out if we don't need to. So, building this program now so that we can support them as they transition up. We try to look at our projections the best that we can. We know that there's there are some three-year-olds behind them that will be coming up into kindergarten in about a year and a half that are probably likely going to need this class as well. So, this is really taking our projections, looking at our needs, and how we're going to support that cohort moving through um their their educational career. Thank you so much,

118Danielle. That's okay. Right now, I don't have any our older students, so there's different regulations, right? So, students have to be grouped within 36 months in age of each other. We cannot go beyond that. So, if I look at our current out-of-district placed students based on their ages and their profiles, so in terms of what are their learner characteristics, what are their disabilities, there are there's not a cohort of kids that fit together. That's why we're going to continue to have those students placed in their appropriate programs because their disabilities are very different from one another. We can't group them together. They're also fall outside of the 36-month age range. Looking at the cohort that we currently have in kindergarten and then those that are coming up from the UPK age, we can cohort those

119kids together. They are similar learning characteristics and profiles uh but and they are within that 36-month age range, which allows us to do that. Question. Are there many other districts around here that have different Right now, they don't have any openings at for any of those programs. I mean, is it impossible for a So, and that's why I'm working on this regional regional planning committee because while I might have this cohort of kids, obviously we don't want kids switching school buildings, right? So, we're going to continue with this cohort moving forward, but then we might need another district to pick up another cohort of kids. And so, I'm hoping that if this partnership with Crossroads, which I know is going to be absolutely fantastic, the goal is is then to how do we take that

120that model and that partnership and collaboration and how can other districts then start to tap into that same type of planning model? Yep. Um just a I have another quick question. Um understanding that you want to keep kids in district as much as possible. Um you mentioned 853 schools, which are um schools that are generally um for uh students with higher needs. Mhm. Um Is you said Crossroads is an 853? Um Or And I might have misspoke. Crossroads, it's a non-district school. I'm not sure what exactly article they fall under. There's 853, there's special act, there's your BOCES Yeah. but ones like Crossroads are those not-for-profits, so you know, right now, I don't have any students that are placed school-aged at Crossroads. I do have a child that's placed at like a Wildwood Right. >>

121those tuition rates are running between 7 and 8,000 dollars per month. Or Northeastern, which used to be Parsons. Um is that something again Northern Rivers and Parsons, we've had students placed there. We do unfortunately have a pretty I would say a higher rate of transient population within our students with special needs, so we have had kids cycle in and out. We do have um a student who attends the Neil Hellman School. Mhm. Yep. Um so we do partner with schools. Obviously the whole point of a special education and our committee on special education is to ensure that students are receiving programs and services to meet their needs. And so we certainly do have students that need higher ratio classrooms, that need um a day treatment programming. And so those students will continue to always be

122appropriately placed. And the program that we're looking for for the 812, this is a a group of students who we know we can support with the related service providers that we have, school psychologist, our school counselor, and having a teacher and two other adults within that classroom can create an effective model of learning. Um these are not students that have significant behaviors. Um but while there is going to be behavior management, it's not anything that uh requires any sort of greater intensive services than what we can provide safely within our own setting. And plus places like Neil Hellman, they have a wrap-around team. Oh, correct. Oh, yeah. Yeah, I was just going to say that's all right now. >> Yeah, for any kids that need >> between them and in the schools. And if a

123student is is able to come back, we're definitely the communication >> Oh, absolutely. And we meet yearly to review students that are placed in those out-of-district programs to determine whether or not we can move. We are required by law to look at the placing students in their least restrictive environment. So if students are able to what I call down stuff right from a more restrictive program into something less restrictive, we always look at that as a potential option. That's always our goal is for kids to return to district. Um but certainly we also have kids who are medically fragile, who have um much more significant needs that may be met better in a BOCES program um or in a wrap-around program, who need more significant mental health uh services and treatment. Thank you. Mhm. Thank

124you, Danielle. That was a lot off the cuff, so thank you so much. >> [laughter] >> But that's your everyday, so I guess it's right there. Um any other questions on any of our other financial items? Okay. All in favor? Aye. >> Aye. Any opposed? Any abstentions? Next up, we have our non-instructional personnel. Be it resolved based upon the recommendation of the superintendent that the Board of Education uh accept and approve uh non-instructional personnel items 11.01 through 11.05. May I have a motion? Thank you, Tony. A second? I'll second. Thank you, Francis. Comments or questions? Uh just that I know some of the 10th graders that are helping Miss Rambo with her plan for the elementary school play and it sounds sounds really good. Sounds like it'll be a really good show. I'm excited for

125that. And thank you to our volunteers that are coming in to assist and coach without uh without without pay. We appreciate that. Any other questions or comments? All in favor? Aye. >> Aye. Any opposed? Any abstentions? We have two other items. Uh Should I do them separately cuz they're not really related to each other. I'll do them separately. Uh okay, so um first item is to approve donations. Be it resolved based upon the recommendation of the superintendent that the Board of Education accepts Excuse me, accepts the donation of baseball hats in the amount of $480 for the varsity baseball team from Doug Fall and Lansing Gardens. Lovely. May I have a motion? I'll motion. Thank you, Alyssa. A second? Thank you, Tony. Comments or questions? This is always so generous. Thank you so much. >>

126Thank you very much. All in favor? Aye. Aye. Any opposed? Any abstentions? Next item is approving a non-resident student enrollment. Be it resolved based upon the recommendation of the superintendent that the Board of Education approves the enrollment of a non-resident student in the Duanesburg Central School District for the remainder of the 25-26 school year subject to subject to the terms and conditions established by the district. May I have a motion? I'll motion. Thank you, Alyssa. A second? I'll second. Thank you, Ray. Comments or questions? I have a question. Um I understand there's some extraordinary circumstances involving involved in this. Ms. Roskin, can you elaborate? Yeah, um well, a little bit. Yeah, thank you for that question. It's a great question. Yes, they are This is a very unusual situation. however, it's not appropriate for us

127to discuss in open session due to confidentiality and um and New York State educational laws, but I can say that adopting this resolution is not anticipated to carry any additional costs unique to the student um or to the district and then we would not already pay. So particularly given the time uh the limited time in our current staffing situation, I think that um it will be seamless and at like I said, at no cost to to the district or any of our resources. Thank you. Any other comments? Questions? All in favor? Aye. >> Aye. Any opposed? Any abstentions? Okay, last item is just informational um and Francis mentioned it just a moment ago that the Board will be hosting a community forum to discuss the district's code of conduct. It's scheduled for April 27th um

128at 6:30 here in Giovanna Hall. Um the purpose of the forum is an opportunity for community members to engage, ask questions, provide comments, share feedback um with regard to the code of conduct as it undergoes its overhaul. And feedback on everything, honestly. Even the the chart we showed just today, that was all very draft. We'd love to hear feedback and directions. And I want to have cookies. Can we have cookies? I'm sure we can. Okay. >> Jeff says no. I'm going to go to go to Hannaford then and buy boxed cookies. Okay. All right, that's our last informational um piece of information. I don't believe we are in need of an executive session. Okay, so I would like to ask for a motion to adjourn the meeting this evening at 8:25. May I have a

129motion? I'll move. Thank you. Thank you, Michael. A second? Thank you, Tony. Comments or questions? All in favor? Aye. >> Aye. Any opposed? Any abstentions? Thank you very much for being here this evening. Travel safely home.