001This is a woman's seat. I uh I'd like to have a little lights on. Oh, yeah, that's good. Goodness gracious. Turn Turn me down, Declan. Good heavens. Okay. All right. Uh good evening, everybody. Thank you for your patience as we uh wrapped up our first executive session. Uh we're going to carry on into open session with our pledge of allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. You kids need to come every time cuz that made the pledge of allegiance so much more fun. That was excellent. Well done. >> [laughter] >> Let's just keep going. Oh my word. All Um If you've come to a meeting, you know that we do
002this every month. We like to recognize students and employees and community members that go above and beyond. Um so, for this month, we wanted to shout out to Coach Simpson, who had his 100th career win for Duanesburg. He was in the Gazette. Everybody see Mr. [applause] Mr. Simpson in the Gazette? So, congratulations to coach. Um I like those balloons in the picture. That was pretty cool. And his assistant coach? Yes, absolutely. Um and then uh another big shout out to our building and grounds um crew for the snow removal that they did during our big big storm. Um was it last week? Was it only last week? Yeah. Um a special special thanks to Mr. Peacock, um Mr. Klingbeil, Mr. Turner, and Mr. Goldie. Um we really appreciate all of the work that they did.
003Um Uh I'm We We probably could have brought the kids in, but thankfully for them, they got to stay home. But, they did such a great job um getting everything ready. All right. Um Next up, anybody else have anything that I missed? Okay. Uh next up is just discussion of agenda um and any agenda changes. Um Just information on the piece that we put on Yeah, okay. So, um the only change if you uh were scrolling through our agenda before today, uh there is an informational a piece of information at the at the bottom, nothing that we're voting on um that was added um for your review. So, with that said, >> I Oh, I I do have a question that's not on the agenda, but um last time we talked about the possibility of
004where the boat was going to land, that that was sort of up in the air, and I figure we have a deadline coming for that soon. Yes. So, we actually a meeting today and Oh, yeah. I always forget the thing. We had a meeting today and good news is is it looks like they're going to wrap up the bus garage in April. So, that means It's it'll be accessible. Yeah. You just let out a really big sigh. >> [laughter] >> It I know. Uh it is, but so in part of me being at the transportation facility quite often, I do see a lot of traffic in and out at that time. So, I do I do want to caution that there is a lot of bus traffic at the time of the vote. Just at
005the end of the At at the end of the day. So, when they're getting ready to go out for PM runs is when at the same time >> adjust where they Can we adjust where they come from? Can they I mean back when we would have a traditionally at the elementary school they filled that lot. The buses would even at run time it was difficult to park to vote. So, it it feels like a situation because it has to be on school grounds, there's going to have to be school buses. So, is there a short term like they're suggesting to kind of Could they park in the in the bus lot or Like like in the olden days? Park in the The buses. Can the buses Can the kids get on the bus in the
006in the in the in the loop? The trouble is is that at that time So, at that time you have your drivers coming in to work. So, they're not just at work, they're coming in to work at that time. And then they are getting keys and then getting on a bus. As we don't we don't necessarily want them to store keys on buses. Um and then Yeah, we got to work it work it out. So, we had also talked about a a potential for doing something on on this campus, too, that this would be a a potential, but then the parent pick up would be a potential traffic pattern, too. So, You know, another possibility is maybe it's for 1 day. Maybe we look at getting traffic control from the sheriff's department or something. Yeah.
007For that at that entrance. Just to kind of >> Just at dismissal. Yeah, just to kind of cuz you're you're completely right. It's a real problem, but it's going to be a problem anywhere. I mean, I would also like in the back of this auditorium, there is a door. So, with the potential that we could put a portable ramp there for access, you could access the back of this room. But then the parking lot But then the parking lot. The parking lot is full. We could put cones out. You could do it that way. So, >> whack-a-mole. buses or cars. Feels like whack-a-mole. >> Choose Choose your mix. >> Yeah. Okay. You'll sort it out. We'll get back >> We're going to work through Yeah. All right. Uh okay. So, with that, be it resolved
008upon the recommendation of the superintendent, the more Board of Education approves the agenda for the regular meeting this evening, February 3rd, 2026. May I have a motion? I'll motion. Thank you, Tony. Yes, we're going to do the things now. I'll second. Sarah? Thank you, Sarah. Comments or questions? All in favor? Aye. Any opposed? Any abstentions? Okay. Uh next up is our public comments. Um and we do have someone who has requested to speak, so I will just go quickly through our policy. Um we encourage The board encourages public participation, of course, at board meetings during the specific portion of the agenda. Uh it is not the time or place to register complaints about individuals or items that have not been first addressed through proper channels with those closest to the issue. Um individuals making statements
009during privilege of the floor are expected to be courteous and respectful, modeling for our students how one can participate and have their voice heard in situations where there is agreement or disagreement with others views. Uh I think I think that's pretty much all of it. I'm not going to read the whole thing. So, um all right. Uh so, I have Deanna Fox. And what I forgot, we do ask that you state your name and and your residence. Hello. Deanna Fox, I live on Weaver Road in Delanson. So, good evening members of the board. My name is Deanna Fox and I'm here tonight because my family and many others have lost confidence that this district is adequately protecting its students or addressing a deeply troubling school culture. My child has faced continued anti-Semitic harass- harassment and
010multiple incidents where other students have caused physical harm. These are not isolated events. They occurred despite repeated reports and pleas for intervention to administrators and to this board. Yet meaningful action did not follow. My child was left to navigate these issues alone while the broader culture that enabled it remains unaddressed. What is most alarming is the lack of transparency and accountability around how this culture of harassment and violence is being addressed. Families receive very little information about what corrective actions are being taken, how success is being measured, or how students are being kept safe. I know from speaking with other families that my child isn't the only one in in expe- who has experienced this. Yet the district continues to respond as though these are isolated incidents rather than a systemic problem. While Superintendent Ross
011has recently stated that she intends to seek third party party insight into handling these matters, that step alone is insufficient. Any investigation into school culture and administrative response must be overseen by the Board of Education, not the same administration whose actions or lack of action are being examined. Without independent oversight and transparency, there can be no public trust in the outcome. Given the continued lack of thoughtful action and the persistence of a negative and unsafe culture, I believe the board must be must take decisive leadership steps and that Superintendent Ross should be asked to immediately resign. The school The issue of school culture is not the only concern regarding Superintendent Ross's leadership. Her tenure has also been marked by serious questions surrounding nepotism and some contract procurement and documented decline in staff morale. We can't
012let you continue to name people by name. Okay, well, the superintendent. Taken together, these issues reflect a broader breakdown in leadership and accountability. The board president should also step down for her lack of attention to these escalating concerns and the mishandling of the situation. The decision of these two individuals undermine collective credibility to lead families who must place their trust in the in this district every day. The board president has shown a desire to protect bad actors more than the students and families she was elected to represent. This is not just a school issue, it's a community issue. When our school is not strong, our entire community suffers. Young families do not Young families do not come here or choose to stay. Our housing housing market weakens, our tax base erodes, and our community loses
013access to essential services that depend on a stable and engaged population. The health of our school directly affects the health and future of the Twinsburg itself. I'm calling on the board to immediately hire an independent external investigator to examine the overall student and faculty culture at Twinsburg, as well as the administration's handling of harassment, discrimination, and violence. I'm also urging the board to retain a qualified professional to actively and meaningfully improve school culture because the measures currently in place are clearly not working. Thank you. Thank you. Uh before we moved on, is there anyone else who had wanted to speak but didn't uh sign in? >> Okay, our next item is the acceptance of our minutes from our January meeting. Be it resolved upon the recommendation of the superintendent, the Board of Education approves the
014minutes of the regular meeting on January 13th, 2026. May I have a motion? I'll motion. Thank you, Francis. A second? Thank you, Tony. Comments or questions? Yeah, all in favor? Aye. Aye. Any opposed? Any abstentions? Okay. Next up, our favorite part, uh our presentations. We have first up the STEM Club with Mr. Falco. STEM and Student Council. I'm sorry, I do have them listed separately, but STEM and Student Council, but it's going to be all together. Excellent. Okay. Hello. My name is Mabel, and tonight you're going to hear a little bit about Mr. Falco's Student Council Club, as well as the STEM Club from all of us. I am one of the Student Council Presidents. This is my third year in Student Council. Here in Student Council, we are all about making our school a
015better place. We have many important jobs in our school. For example, every Friday we run the school store. We make sure everything runs smoothly and that students get what they need. We recently just passed a motion to purchase the team shirts for Odyssey of the Mind. I'm excited to talk to you about Clink. We haven't held the 2026 drive yet, but I've participated in these drives in the past years. This This as a seniors as a senior student in the elementary school, I have the opportunity to work with more adults, including our new principal. While I am sad that this is my last year in this club, I am confident that our young leaders will continue to lead the way. >> [applause] >> Hi, I'm not sure if you know me. I'm Nico. I'm the
016other co-president of student council. When I first heard about student council, I was ecstatic. Not only because I would get the chance to run, but also because I could show the school who I am and how I can make a difference. That excitement is what led me here. The other day, I had the opportunity to use the gavel all on my own, and I was able to help make a motion to order shirts for one of the elementary school teams. It was such a rewarding experience to see our ideas come to action. >> [applause] >> Hello, my name is Robert and I am a member of the Waynesburg Elementary Student Council. I helped during the Veterans Day assembly by guiding assisting the veterans. I also worked at school store. Student Council members run and assist
017younger students. In addition, I was a helper in a see something, say something project. >> [applause] >> Hello, my name is Abigail and I'm a third grade student at Waynesburg. I'm a beginner member in student council. I helped with our fundraiser for local veterans on Veterans Day. We are hard-working team who also likes to have fun while making sure we advocate for everyone. >> [applause] >> Hello, my name is Scarlet and I'm a part of student council team. I was so proud to play a big part of helping our veterans. Because all of they have done for us is keeping us safe. I would like to say thank you to the veterans in the audience tonight. We truly appreciate you. Please do not clap for me, clap for the veterans. >> [applause] >> Hello, my
018name is Abel. I am the treasurer for the Duanesburg Student Council. I have been actively involved all year. I I assigned I assisted with the veterans drive by bringing in food and reading a speech at the assembly. I also helped with school store. I am the treasurer. Mr. Mr. Falco and I meet every Friday to organize the money made at the school store. We make sure all the bills are facing the same way, count the money two or three times, and fill out deposit slip. This is an exciting job. I really enjoy it. >> [applause] >> Hi, my name is Brian and I'm a fourth grader and the vice president of student council. My role as vice president is to assist the president and other officers and to fill in when they are absent. One
019of my responsibilities is helping to run the school store. I have also improved my public speaking skills during meetings and assemblies. I have created posters for student council functions and helped make positive decisions for our school. I really enjoy being vice president and helping to make our school a better place. >> [applause] >> Good evening, everyone. My name is Carina. Unfortunately, Morgan could not be here today, so I'll be speaking for her. So, just pretend I'm Morgan for a second. Good evening, everyone. My name is Morgan. Not actually. Um And I am the Dwyane T. Wood Elementary Student Council Secretary. As secretary, my job is to write down meeting notes, ideas, conversations, and important dates and times. I help keep track of all the wonderful and exciting things our student government has to offer. Good
020evening everyone. My name is Carina. And I am the member of the STEM Club. STEM stands for science, technology, engineering, and math. We have completed many exciting projects so far. Our first project was building a paper rocket. To begin, we had to design our rocket. Then we rolled a piece of paper tightly around the pencil to create the body of the rocket. Next, we cut out diamond shapes. Some students made three, some made four, and others made two. These diamonds became the fins or wings of our rocket. For the nose cone, I rolled up a sticky note very tightly so no air could pass through it. Then we used a bendy straw straw for propulsion. To launch the rocket, we placed the straw inside the back of the rocket, took a deep breath, and blew
021through the straw. We had a lift-off. We were also given opportunities to redesign and improve our rockets to make them work even better. In addition, we made some really cool paper chains. Max will tell you more about those. >> [applause] >> Hi. Hi. My name is Max and I'm going to tell you about what we have been doing in STEM. First, we made a rocket. It We had to test its actually how far it went and and how straight it flew when we blew through the bottom rocket straw. Next, we were challenged to make the longest paper chain using only a sheet of 8 and 1/2 by 11 um inches of paper. I brought my paper chain into night to show you how long it is and mine is the longest one. >> [applause] [applause]
022>> Finally, we learned how to decode and create secret messages using this Caesar cipher. >> [applause] >> Good evening, everyone. My name is Gabriella and I'm representing STEM Club for DES. STEM stands for science, technology, engineering, and math. In STEM, we are having lots of fun while learning new things. One activity we did was making a paper chain out of just one piece of paper. It was challenging, but also really fun to do. We also completed a paper rocket project where we had to make rockets out of paper and use a straw to blow them and see how far they would travel. Personally, I think STEM is a great experience and I am really enjoying it. Thank you all for listening and have a great night. Hello, my name is Amaya. I'm a member of
023both student council and STEM and I enjoy both clubs very much. In student council, we work together to help our school be a better place. In STEM, we focus on hands-on experiments and exciting activities. These are the reasons why both clubs are so much fun. >> [applause] >> Good evening. My name is Allison and I am also in STEM and a returning STEM member. You You just heard Amaya say that we have fun in STEM and it's true. This year we have learned that working as a team is often better than working alone because we all come to the club with different ideas. When we work together, we can combine those ideas and create something even better than before. Like the paper chain example that Max just showed you. >> [applause] >> I just want
024to take a quick moment to say thank you to everyone for allowing us the opportunity to present tonight. Please have a great night. >> [applause] >> Thank you very much everyone. Does anyone on the board have any questions for these young people before we we release them? I do. Okay. Um So, we have Wow, that's really loud tonight. It's a lot hot. That's a hot very hot mic. So, we have some students on our board now. They don't get to vote, but they just get to come out and tell us how things are going. I'd like to hear from you, the members of student council, who know what's going on at the elementary school. How are things going, and do you need anything from us? Don't be shy. >> Come on. All right. If I
025had a magic wand, and I could give you something that you don't have at DES, like tomorrow, what would it be? The new library? Okay, that's We're working on that. More more and better sports, did I hear Nico? Okay. Anybody else have a wish? Oh, all right. You Oh, oh, oh, there is Okay. I can't Santino's head's in the way. A bigger library. I like it. I like all this reading. That's excellent. Okay. Um we have a a long meeting that's not very exciting for children. You're very welcome to stay, but if you guys need to get home to bed, that's okay, and you and your families can head out now if you're if you're if you're ready. We won't be upset. Thank you very much. Thank you, families. >> [applause] >> Thank you, Mr.
026Falco. >> [cheering] >> Sorry. Okay. >> All right. I think Oh. Am I Now I can't tell if I'm on. Am I on? Devon, am I on? Oh, oh, goodness gracious. Okay. >> [laughter] >> Okay. Uh, next up we have our student board member reports. Top that. Go ahead. Very nice, but you're nowhere near as cute. Is this Is this on? Okay. Uh, I want to start off. This isn't on the agenda, but I know uh, me and Ari, we both did a student council back in elementary school. It was a great program. It was awesome. Uh, yeah. And um, for the official student board report, um, I'd like to report that uh, a lot of students in the high school are very excited to see the new progress on the history wing, especially. Seeing
027all like the rooms with the new floor ceiling tiles and all that, just gives a lot of a good feelings about the project. I mean And then Yeah, and then I just have a little update on the phone use. We talked about this a little bit in our advisory council, and a lot of kids had a lot of the same opinions, so I to share them. Um, the students have been a lot better, we feel like, with the phone use. Bathrooms are obviously still an issue. They're probably going to be an issue, uh, but they're to a lesser extent at this point. But, what a lot of students have noticed is that teachers are often the problems with being on their phones for a lot more than just like dual verification and other like important
028things that obviously they have to do. And these are also some of the same teachers who will kind of like turn a blind eye when it comes to student phone use, which students will quickly pick up on. And also, if the teacher's on their phone, then it's really hard to for the kids to not be on their phones. Uh, so that's just something that a lot of people brought to our attention, a lot of people have noticed, so we wanted to bring that up as well. But, that's all we have today. Um, is So, the whole point of the the law on cell phone access was to decrease distraction and increase kids being involved with each other. It's not going to be perfect. Kids used to go down to the pines to smoke when I
029was here. You know, kids will always figure out ways to do stuff. I think most of the pines are dead now. It doesn't matter. >> [laughter] >> Um, is the school better to be in now? I would say you can look in a lot of the lunch rooms. You look at even like last year, you would see a whole room of people on their phones and, you know, playing games or on social media. And now, it's it's definitely much louder. You hear people all talking to each other, just interacting. I think that face-to-face communication, it's much better. Do you see toilet robots in the lunch room, perhaps? That's I don't know what that's about. Um, >> So so the the face-to-face interaction has increased, which is great. Are you finding What am I going with?
030Is the Students paying attention better? Are students paying attention better? Are they more engaged in class? That's That's to steal Ms. Pearson's question. Oh, yeah, definitely. Okay. And the students all have the tools they need as far as you can tell without the It's their phone because I know, for example, it's an easy-to-use calculator. It's an easy you know, it's handy-dandy. I would say sometimes it's inconvenient. Like if you want to look something up or, like you said, use a calculator, that sort of thing, but I mean, everybody got by before phones, so it's not >> a calculator on your Chromebook? And can you use Google to look things up? Just throwing that out there. >> [laughter] >> Just throwing it out there. I just unless they were removed for some reason. I don't know.
031>> And the phone in your office, I've used that a few times. If you need to need to make like a call home or that sort of thing, it's pretty convenient. But I mean there's been no problem. No major problems, really, with that. It is I mean, the caf- caf- the lunchroom is loud, but you know, when you walk through, they're playing cards, they're talking to each other. They have toilet robots or whatever is going on. Uh yeah. Yeah. But it is actually, you know, we we joke about it, but it is kids engaging with each other, interacting, being goofy, which we want you to be. And um you know, it is a a whole new world. It is refreshing to see. And I actually, as an adult, even though the law doesn't pertain to
032you know, when I come up here, I make sure my phone is not on me, right? I don't wear an Apple Watch anymore. Um just making sure that I'm modeling what what we expect from from from our students. I I do have a question on the communication in the the [snorts] the cafeteria. Were people kids talking to each other on their phones before? Or is it the same conversations just out loud now? Were they texting each other? >> can't have texting conversations out loud. Well, >> [laughter] >> That's what he means. I am fully aware of that, but you know, is is it What was the interaction having happening previously just nobody heard it? Like uh you talking about negative interactions? Positive, negative. I mean, we're talking about how kids are interacting now in the
033lunch room across the tables. Were they doing that before just digitally? Yeah, I would say so. Uh yeah. A lot of it's just a [snorts] shift from face-to-face. They're actually talking to each other. Yeah, well, it's a good skill. They were talking to each other before. It's a good skill to have to be able to do it and make eye contact. All right. Thank you both of you for that. Okay. Anybody else have any questions for those guys? Okay. Uh where are we now? Okay. Oh, yes. Next we have um board member Sarah Wisdowsky to give us a little bit of insight on her time at the DISBA conference. If you'd like to, sure. This is fine. Okay. All right. So, I'm going to bring up the caboose in being the last one to report
034out on the conference from 2025. Um it was Oh, no, it's okay. >> [laughter] >> Um so, the first day was it was definitely very rigorous and intense. I went to the pre-convention law seminar. Um we covered a lot of topics including free speech for students, special education, and some new realities along that. Um we went through a lot of case studies. Some of them that we went through were pending at the time, still waiting for the outcomes. So, it was just really interesting to walk through that with legal counsel um from the state level and some to the local level as well. But, I have to say the highlight of that entire law conference was the simulated experience of the school board cuz it was it was real life and it was a little
035dramatic, a little comical, but it really embodied uh what we go up against in any given meeting. So, um I found that extremely helpful. Um yeah, and I'll just I'll touch on the dignity for all was a great keynote and we we discussed dignity versus contempt and just on a sliding scale kind of from that rubric of 1 to 8, you can see maybe identify where you are, maybe where you might want an invitation for yourself to shift a little bit. Um and yeah, just a couple other really great great um classes that I went to. With the non-traditional sensory learning one, I did not know what to expect with that, but Kim was in that with me and I'll just tell you I was overwhelmed in how they had the lights going, the noise
036going, horns, trains, and everything and it gave me like a big appreciation for students that like they live like that's their norm and just I thought it was a definitely a good way to kind of pull the audience in and give them perspective of what was being discussed. And um yeah, we we went to the community engagement one, which is just one of those that we we're just going to keep working at, right? You know, we have our vision, we have our mission but we all know people are busy and you know, it's just hard to fit one more one more commitment in. So, we'll continue to work on that. Um and the last thing I'll touch on was the conflict resolution with the board of ed was had some really good thoughtful takeaways from
037that one. You be be ethical and consistent. You know, they're just they're what people see, they're what people hear repetitively. So, you know, that's a big one along with just being intentional and proactive. Be ahead of it instead of being on the back end of it and we have to do damage control and react to the situation instead. Um and yeah, transparency. That's kind of one of those buzzwords now, right? We all talk about that. So, that was just another recommendation as well. Just keep you know, keep the conflict low and stay ahead of it. And um yeah, it was a great time in New York. I enjoy New York, but I'm done after 2 days and I was exhausted every night and better early. Um but definitely was really good for the the education
038and the insight just to be in real time. Thank you. Thank you so much. Um I think just I think that um copious notes. Right. I'm just I'm grateful to have um those of us that that went and would encourage anybody that's interested and wants to go next next fall to to do it. It really is a a wonderful conference and you'll learn a lot of things and and we all sort of we divided and and conquered to some degree and and all brought back something different. So, I really appreciate you and Francis sort of putting that out there to the community as well so they know what what we're doing you know, in in addition to being here um and and conducting meetings. We've got all all kinds of other stuff that we're we're
039up to as well. Um okay. See, next up we have superintendent report. That's me a lot of questions if I want to do this, if I want to do that. Okay, so um I'll be brief. I just figured there was a few odd topics I wanted to talk about, but I wanted to share with the board. Um because I know um Mr. Rivenburg wants to do the budget workshop piece of this. So, um What? The budget piece? He is excited. I'm excited. So, um it's unfortunate that um you know, the community member left after giving public comment because in anticipation of it, I want to be very clear and very transparent that myself and the leadership team and the teachers and the staff are very very aware of some culture challenges happening. Um there is
040never brushing it under the rug. There is fidelity with investigations. There are numerous people who are involved. Um sometimes um not sometimes, but a lot of times um out of being mandated with FERPA and confidentiality, we can't share outcomes about other students to to parents. And so, I know it feels like a void where there's this abyss of lack of communication or a lack of transparency, but please know that we have we take every allegation seriously. And um we have a team of people, internal people, who do the investigations. And then when it rises to my level, um I make sure that the processes and protocols are followed. And it has even risen to the board level in one instance in which the board as well has deemed that the processes we are doing are
041following state regulations and educational law. So, here are the challenges. So, again, it's unfortunate um that the community member decided to step away, but on the student's side with culture, we know there are challenges at the secondary level. We have a subculture of hurtful and hateful speech amongst students where a level of apathy has set in. And as Ari and Santoro mentioned, I have a student advisory team. It's a a group of 10 to 12 high school students. Declan's on it as well. That we meet monthly and we talk about tough issues. And this this issue has come up month after month after month and we hear it from the kids. I hear from the kids what's happening cuz if I know what's And I say this all the time, we can't fix anything unless
042we know about it. And Mrs. Marvin and I were it was like, for lack of words, being hit with a frying pan back in October, November when this really percolated and we realized this subculture was created and was rippling and growing. And so, we know that there's a normalizing of inappropriate interactions and comments and unwanted advances to the opposite sex. There's also physical altercations. We know that vaping is somewhat increasing and at times where students are recognizing that they're vaping THC. We are not blind to this. We see it. It is in our face. And we take it very, very seriously. And I'm going to talk about some things how we're addressing it right now, but there also know that there's recognizing the challenges at the elementary level. We have an increased student mental health
043needs. Something our teachers have not seen in decades or ever. But post-pandemic, the research has shown that these children that are young children are coming up through and starting in pre-K and K and one that there these formative years, these biological years were different for them because of the pandemic. They didn't have social interactions. They weren't in daycare. They were home. Parents were surviving, trying to do their job, but trying to entertain them as small toddlers. So, we realized this and we are working towards that and giving support to classroom teachers. So, for example at the elementary level um Christie's doing a great job hitting this head on with her team and introducing responsive classroom which is it like a subsect of restorative practices at the elementary level. We are sending four teachers to restorative
044practices training in March. Christie's introduced zones of regulation where children smile children I work towards identifying where they are in the universe. We also at the secondary level have introduced the web program where everyone belongs. It's a middle school program targeting sixth grade students that are mentored by eighth grade students. We have Sweethearts and Heroes coming on March 10th to do a kickoff ceremony. And Sweethearts and Heroes is an organization that focuses on children resiliency, anti-bullying, compassion, and empathy. And then after their kickoff, they are going to work with small groups of selected groups that Mrs. Marvin and her team identify. And these are and I forget the terminology. These are These are your gatekeepers, I think is the word. These are the kids who are directly involved in that subculture who foster it and
045and continue it. Working in those small groups into build that capacity. And they've introduced a five-year plan for the district that will start in the fall as we seek funding from different sources and grant writing. We also to address the elephant in the room. We have exhausted all our internal resources in trying to tackle this problem. We know it's a problem. We're not ignoring it. That I had um myself and Mrs. Marvin have a meeting. Um I reached out to um our support system at the Capital Region BOCES and the district superintendent and and told her what what the challenges are and what can we do next. And we do to answer that question. We do are going to the board has um sanctioned to employ an impartial outside investigator to come in and do
046a comprehensive deep dive into why and recommendations on what we can do next to change it. So, I'm I hope that you understand that I'm being passionate about it and I know we lost 95% of our audience, but we are being responsive and we our kids and their safety is at the forefront. But again, even though on the outside looking in as the frustration of that parent is that we're not transparent, you wouldn't want me to share intimate details about your child. So, at times it looks like we're hiding things, it's because we're protecting children and protecting their privacy. Everyone is taken seriously. And now when we talked about culture, Dr. Lisa Betoney, she had presented was it back in like September? She has finished up her listening tour, you know, looking at the organizational
047trauma that some folks are feeling. She's going to unpack her findings globally. Um she's developed uh incredible trust with a lot of our staff. So, she has you know, has promised that she will meet um during our staff development day our uh superintendent's conference day with each of the departments to unpack. And then um she's going to give recommendations as well. Her and I are going to talk actually tomorrow about some low-hanging fruit that we can put into place right away that I can share with the leadership team and the teachers. But one of the things that stands out when Lisa presents both to the school-wide community and um the external community that she is very impressed with the overwhelming support meant and commitment of everyone who works here to our student success. Accountability, I
048had mentioned this. It It finally is unembargoed. I We just got it on Friday and um I was at a conference all day yesterday. I um I My intentions are to do a more thorough presentation at our next meeting. I just um I don't want folks to think that I'm glossing over it, but there will be work I'll show the data. The Here's the good news. So every um both buildings and all levels are considered a local school improvement meaning we're in good standing meaning we're not um um in need of school improvement. Um early just a little to set the stage very very impressed the work that um Danielle has done with the special ed department. They actually have made really great gains um especially in their reading proficiency. So I will share all
049that at the next March meeting. Okay, last thing I want to update. Um so myself, Mrs. Marvin, and uh Joe O'Neill um we had sent out surveys about AI and I know I got some feedback from a parent or two um it the uh the it's a workshop that it's a three-session workshop and we have a lot of homework to do when we get home. It's It's a regional approach to leadership of AI. So it's the ILO group, and I just wanted to pull this up cuz I didn't want to forget. So, what it is it's a um to work with the Capital Region BOCES districts. So, there's several districts we we're coming together, and it's a multi-step process. And the first step was anything that we do moving forward has to be grounded in
050stakeholder feedback. So, those surveys weren't a foregone conclusion. They weren't like, "This is what we're doing." We wanted honest feedback from students, staff, board members, and families. So, as we develop a process and a timeline, we need to know where everyone is at. And so, ILO group is a nationally recognized organization that works with policy, and not just with education, but other industries as well. Um I found them very impressive, very thorough, and um very easy to work with. So, this is an action planning cohort that we're in um with one, two, three, four other schools, so we're the fifth school. And um and it's a process of a frame uh creating a framework of implementing AI into education. And what does that look like for Duanesburg? So, the first day was in it was
051in November. It was just the foundations, as well as how do we get our our stakeholders in involved. Um the suggestions that they gave us, and that is why those surveys went out. Um Mrs. Marva, myself, and Joe sat down and analyzed it, and I'll I'll do a quick overview of those surveys to the to the board in a second. The second day was yesterday. I my head my brain was so tired at the end of the day. I'd rather work a 14-hour day here. They really made us work hard yesterday, but it was a good a good working hard. So, this was developing a vision that wraps around the stakeholder feedback. Like, what did the stakeholders tell us? And what were the glowing things that we need to be mindful of, as well as
052weaving in the district's mission statement? And how do we create guiding principles and guardrails, as well? The last one is in March, and that is the action planning workshop. So, it's going to translate the vision and guiding principles into actionable district-level plans. So, that's an overview of what the ILO ILO group is. So, I like I said, I got some some emails from some folks who were concerned. This is not something we predetermined, because this is this is a new horizon. It's here, and we want to make sure that we wrap our heads around what where we're at, and where you know, how can we create guardrails and policy that keeps keeps it moving in the right direction. So, the survey results um again, I won't go through it, but and I'll share this with
053the board, or um Serena can put it in the notes. Um it was interesting to see the different stakeholder groups. Um students are using AI more than I think our families realize. So, our students have said, and this we're on all anonymous. Students have said, "Yep, I've used it once or twice, but I really crave guidance. I really crave to be taught how to do it." And we And that's one of the things we learned on that first session that um using AI really requires great prompting. Because if you don't have great prompting, it's going to give you laziness. It's going to give you a lazy response, and using AI requires for you to go back in and fact-check. I mean, there's stories out there that uh oh for there was a city the city
054school district in another state that gave out a a suggested reading list for the summer, and they found out that like half the books weren't even written, because sometimes it AI just made it up. So, part of like one of the prompts we learned is please give unbiased, transparent, and relevant real information. Like, don't put your own spin on it. So, interesting students are using it more. Families don't realize that their students are using it more. Um overwhelmingly people were in the more let's go the slow way as opposed to speed it up, which we are very happy with. Um parents are most concerned, rightfully so. And teachers are concerned, staff are concerned, and this is we've heard this over and over again. It's going to replace my job. Right? But we know that there
055are there are mundane tasks we can do that AI can help us. And again, uh we use AI, it's always running in something in the background. You go to Google and you say, "Give me a review of um a restaurant." It's the first thing that comes up is AI. Um so, it's out there. And the goal, and when we talk about the vision, is not to say we're just going to open up the floodgates and let AI happen. One, we have Ed Law 2D we have to be mindful of. No no resource in the school district will allow Ed Law 2D is about data privacy of our students. And there's no um technology resource that our students use that hasn't where we don't have a data privacy agreement, and that's what that's Joe's wheelhouse. But
056based on we took all the survey results and we put them in spreadsheets, and then we took those spreadsheets, and then they walked us through on how do we how do we develop a vision? And the vision that came down came that we came up with that we're really proud of is that Duanesburg will introduce AI slowly, safely, and transparently to enhance learning and reduce workload while safeguarding privacy, fairness, and academic integrity. Academic integrity was one of those glowing pieces we heard. Rooted in our mission to provide a safe, supportive, and inclusive environment, we will use AI responsibly and with clear rules so that strengthens the thinking, relationships, integrity at the at the heart of education. Together with families and in the community, we will cultivate integrity, foster belonging, and instill pride as we prepare
057students to thrive as global citizens in a rapidly changing world. This is a vision. Right? This is This is our mantra as we move this work forward. And as we learn and we discover. Um Well, again, the the survey results, there are concerns, right? When we think about is it going to replace the work that we do? It's going to And it it And it certainly isn't kids are going to start having all their essays written by AI. But where's that where's that There's like a stoplight like where red is no you can't use AI, yellow is maybe you want to check it for grammar, green is explore. And one of the um topics that we talked about a lot yesterday is very similar to when the standards changed with Common Core. It wasn't about
058memorizing dates in history. It was critical thinking. Right? It's critical thinking of like why did, you know, the colonies win the American Revolution? Do you know George Washington is not listed? Is that something that kids have to remember because they have this. It's more using that critical lens of thinking higher-order thinking. So, with AI, part of the the landscape is as something is produced by AI, they need to have the critical thinking skills to read what AI has given them, to question it, and to refine it in their own voice. So, that's the ultimate goal, but we are we realize with the survey results we're going to take baby steps toward it towards it, and so that we can harness it in a way that will promote critical thinking and academic honesty, and as well
059maybe help um staff move towards using some certain tools like Magic Bus that says, I need to create um a lesson that wraps around this standard that's interesting, and it gives them ideas, and makes their craft easier. So, day three is in March, and we're excited for that next step. So, we will share we actually I didn't have enough time. This will be um shared on the on the notes, but our intention is to have a more um overarching report that we will push out to everyone in the community internally and externally. Questions? About any of it? I have done for you. Thank you. Pardon? I I I'm I'm I'm good with you. Okay. I didn't know if it um about the culture if there was any questions about the programs that we're bringing in.
060>> that's what I'm asking. So, you saw the pitch for for how we're work we recognize these culture problems. What do you think? I think um with all these uh programs like those Sweethearts and Heroes and all of that that the school's bringing in. Um I think those are an important piece towards, you know, changing the culture and everything, but I still think an emphasis towards a more student-led approach. And I think um with a lot of the way students or Sweethearts and Heroes works it, I'm not entirely familiar with it, but I think that is a big piece of that, but I think an emphasis on finding those student leaders and pushing your messages through them, I think that would be the most effective way to spread this message which we've talked about before
061in previous meetings. But and I think like I said I want to agree on that. That's the way to go with this. I don't know if Ari agrees. No, I think yeah, I think so. It's okay, you can speak here you guys. She agreed. Um I have a question though about the AI stuff. So when you're thinking about developing this vision, are you thinking about it for staff and students? And if you are, are you thinking about it separately as in these are some of the things we're envisioning for our staff involving AI and these are things about students and AI or are you kind of combining them? Um yes and um both. So there's tools that The microphone. So there's tools that teachers would use that wouldn't be relevant to a student use. And
062then what are the tools that students can use to enhance their learning and promote that critical thinking? We're not there yet, right? Like we we're you know, Mr. Marvis shaking his head. We're not there yet because we know the ones that are out there like chat and Gemini and uh co-pilot. Um but there are so many out there and I think the next one are are the recommendations they'll make like this is student friendly versus adult friendly. And again, it's really going to matter about Ed Law 2D. So anything even what the teachers use have to have a data privacy agreement. So they um you know, we're hopefully going to get there at our next session, but we're learning as well. So that's why they have us um our homework this time is to do
063that comprehensive push out of what the survey results are and um and then go from there for the next session. So it's a great question, but I wish I I think it's for both. Uh question about um AI um and um critical thinking. Um critical thinking is something that um educators um are inherently um rolling out to the students in terms of how to problem solve, how to reverse engineer problems. Um using AI um is there a model a working model now that is not really in its beta, but more in its working capacity that we would follow um in any district in either the state or the rest of the country? So, the first in um the first session we went to, they shared some large city schools. I think Boston was one we
064really liked. Jody, what was Chicago had one, Chicago City School District. So, they're farther ahead where they have they they say what tools are allowed, they have and you know um one of the things that was really um prevalent is is a tiered approach. So, what 11th and 12th graders can use is completely different what a seventh or eighth grader can use. And there's a continuum of the learning. So, when we talk about like um digital literacy, AI literacy ultimately like we're not going to have kindergarteners use AI, but they're going to they're going to recognize what AI is. Um and then what does that continuum look like? So, we got some great samples from city school districts across the the nation and there was quite a few we're like, "Ooh, we like this piece,
065we like that piece, we like this piece." And probably what will happen is in the end by the end of the school year, Mrs. Marvin and Mr. O'Neal and myself will say, "This is what we're recommending." Um but we're you know, we're building it, right? So, I just you know, we don't have all the answers right now, but we do have some really great samples out there. Yeah. I I assume as part of this designing the the tools that will go to different groups, particularly for the teachers, there will be training for them because I mean, we've thrown a lot of tech tools at teachers and they may not necessarily know how to use them. Yeah, so that was part of the pieces that they discussed a little bit this time and and they said
066next time because it it there is going to need you know, they said you're going to have to allocate resources to make sure that you're training the staff so that staff and teachers can train students on how to use it. So that was kind of the you know, the foundation they laid for the next session in March. And they were going to actually give recommendations of what great trainings were. I I guess maybe this is more of a comment than a question and I'm sure that if they haven't talked about this with you yet, this part's coming. But I think an important step for a lot of people both teachers, students and actually, you know, parents in the community is really breaking down what AI is cuz I think there's this sort of overarching feeling
067that it's it's chatbots and it's all these things that take over what's really fundamentally human about about creating and using your brain to to make things. But we've been using AI culturally for a really long time now in a lot of other capacities. So I think breaking down how it functions in our world already might be an important part of like rolling that out to everybody. >> Yeah, I we completely agree and that that's a great point. And one of the things they said is you know, as we finish this work, you know, I want to emphasize we're not done with the work yet, where we have sessions for parents to come in and we teach parents as well. We got to get parents here, right? And you know, like you said, kind of starting
068off baby steps like this is what it is. It's been around for a long time. We use it without knowing it and how can we leverage it and harness it so that it promotes learning and doesn't replace it. So, agreed. Um two points. Um we talked about this back in our October policy meeting. Um I came to that meeting as someone as an engineer who builds this stuff for a living. Uh I thought I knew something and I left that meeting completely demoralized cuz I I learned exactly how much I didn't know. It is it it feels really good to hear the presentation you delivered today. Um given where we were back in October, it's really exciting to know that um we have kind of a course plotted and a plan to go do it
069because I think this is something that you know, it can benefit our staff, it can benefit our students, and it's a really big force multiplier uh that we can um that we can deliver. Um the the second piece, your uh the earlier part of your presentation on the uh the school culture, uh I think it's really important. Um I it's really good to hear that we are acknowledging um a problem that we know we have because the first step in solving any problem is admitting that you have one. I think that's like you know, a a place many people get tripped up on. Um but I do appreciate um your leadership on that and taking it seriously. Thank you. Much appreciate. Okay, that's it. Thanks, Kim. Mr. Rivenburg, right? Yes. And the moment we've all
070been waiting for. Mr. Rivenburg with our budget workshop. Declan, you're going to have to remind me how to get log out of here. I know. Do you know how to get me logged out? Usually it's a Declan question. Sign out. You found it. I found it. His presentation is way more exciting. Okay. All right. So, the tonight's the first night of our budget discussions and uh This thing is not working. Okay. So, at the last at the last meeting I had mentioned that the format for presenting the budget and discussing it here in session uh would be to talk about it just in the component budget. Uh so, that we'll cover all the sections but simplify things just as the admin administrative the program and the capital portion of the budget. This is actually the
071required uh uh presentation that we have to put in our newsletter and present to the public. Um so, uh tonight we'll be talking about the capital portion of the budget. Which don't get too excited. That's the only time you'll see that tonight. >> [laughter] >> Uh which includes the salaries and benefits of maintenance and custodial staff uh supply uh supplies and contractual things that that go inside that area as well. Um debt service on buildings, bus purchases and utilities uh and then general insurance uh and then tax certiorari or court-ordered costs which are very small budget lines but they are in that capital portion of the budget. And I skipped that. Uh like I said, sorry no animations there Francis but uh the the capital portion of the the capital portion of the budget uh
072the the first two lines there uh you'll see the operations and uh and maintenance here. Um seeing some slight seeing some adjustments there uh just because uh of contractual and then uh on on another slide, I will discuss some of the proposal here that we'll be looking at for operations and maintenance. And then uh judgments and claims and uh property taxes stays the same. It's hard it's kind of hard to predict that when uh when there's nothing uh in the mix right now, but we do keep a a line here just in case. Once in a while we'll have to refund on property taxes. It's give or take. It can be you know, that amount less or more. Um and then the the biggest portions of this budget this portion of the capital budget is
073uh is the construction budget for you know, for any of the building projects either uh the ongoing one that right now that we have debt for or previous ones. So um one of the other large portions of this uh this budget is also the capital project that paid for this auditorium for instance. And the gymnasium over at the elementary school. So the the uh the bond for construction is where I'm referring to on that and then also uh bus bond uh bus purchases. So we purchase our buses kind of like you would maybe a car. Um so our buses we usually take out a five-year um bond for the school buses. And then um a ban for construction which allows us to take a short-term loan out to uh to piece together our loans just
074to put that in the right timeline so that we can get our state aid and all that. So um with the >> so we're clear, BAN is not the English meaning of BAN. BAN is a special kind of >> It's It's a It's really just another borrowing. Uh it's similar to a bond, but a short-term bond. So, um that's that's why you see the a large portion in the in the BAN because that's coming on as as that short-term. That's usually the first year of the borrow. You'll see that come on. Uh so, with that um we'll talk a little bit more about how the aid affects that in a in a little bit. Uh with the maintenance budget, uh just we're going to see some standard increases. Uh obviously with the staffing contracts um
075just align with, you know, their current ones. And then also electricity and uh and heating fuel increases. Keep seeing the electric bill. Everybody's gotten getting that. So, uh we have to expect that the electric bill is going to continue to rise. We are in a consortium, so we do see some savings. Um but we we do also have to plan for for that general uh increase just overall. Uh supply and contractual items as they continue to go up, we are still keeping kind of the same budget right now for supplies and contractual. I don't really see a reason to increase that. Um I had had a conversation with Ann, and nothing really big in the mix for next year. Um just some small projects that we might take on in the contractual area, but uh
076we're going to leave that the same. Not going to increase it. Um so, we had uh we had discussed Ann and Ann and I had discussed his uh the need for um additional cleaning in the elementary school, and aligning the the staffing uh the amount of staffing at the elementary school to what we have at the high school. So, we have three evening custodians uh cleaners at the high school in the evening. We have one daytime cleaner in each building. Um and then we have two full-time at the elementary school and a part-time at the elementary school. So, um because of all the bathrooms that are at the elementary school and the classrooms and the things that happen in elementary schools, uh the the request is that we uh increase that position to a full-time
077position. And then a part of the uh a replacement plan that uh I had started years ago had started to replace equipment as we move forward instead of having um when I first started we had a 2003 uh dually pickup our flatbed truck that they used for this for a salter and then they had a bunch of old beat-up Suburbans. Um and because the trucks were in such rusty shape and so they weren't running that well, we had guys that were actually running around in their own personal vehicles at the time. So, um so as a part of that we've we we have replaced older vehicles and older pieces of equipment um instead of doing one big shot, which is extremely expensive and you would really have to take out a a big borrow for
078that. Um but this allows us to space out that expense and kind of expect it over the years. So, every few years you buy another piece of equipment uh based on category and um you replace that. So, uh looking at our situation right now, we actually have two uh 2009 SUVs our Suburbans old Suburbans that are being used right now for maintenance for plowing. Um and we'd like to cycle those out and replace it with a a truck, uh an actual work truck that they can use for for um for that. And we would basically just shift one of the trucks that we have for maintenance over to uh the transportation facility so that they can plow that that lot as well. So, um no truck will go unused. It's it's really all hands-on deck,
079especially on those snowy events, so they can open up the facility. Uh all pieces of equipment are running and um and getting things going. So, uh this will be a cycle, and then we'll also talk about um the the vehicles for transportation uh when we talk about that section, too, um because we will be uh removing some of our buses off the fleet and then looking at new ones for next year, but uh we've got some some really aging vehicles that we we need to replace just because of the rust. Uh the the roads around here are a little treacherous in the winter time, and we happen to be driving on some of the worst some of those snowy days. So, um so, that's it for maintenance. And then uh so, debt service, this is
080what the uh debt service kind of currently looks like, uh this chart here. And on the top, the top line shows our total debt service that we have. So, any all of the uh the total uh for just as this is just for capital. This is just an example to show capital. I did not show buses on this. Um so, then you have estimated building aid uh in comparison to that, so you can see like it goes up at the same time that debt service. And then on the bottom line, you can see the uh the actual local share. So, quite a significant amount of the the project, of course, is paid for by by the uh the building aid portion of the uh the budget. So, uh Uh, with the increase of our expense
081for the for the payments for the construction, also comes the state aid. So, that increases at the same time. Um, and then just factors that contribute to that are the bands, which we had just talked about. Um, and then uh, we are going to see transportation debt kind of fluctuate, but it just all depends on which buses we bought during which years, but it generally we try to keep it at a level state so that it's not overly ridiculous. Uh, >> [laughter] >> uh, this is the estimated state aid based on the uh, the most recent uh, proposal that came out in January. Um, so foundation aid, uh, just that whopping 1% that is uh, is given as a as a base for all districts that are um, save harmless. So, that 54,000 uh, for
082the 1% on the foundation aid, uh, be really great if we had a little bit more just kind of match what the economic condition are is right now. So, the current inflation rate right now in the in the US is at 2.7%. So, I'm not really sure that the 1% touches that. Uh, the um, so then we because we utilize BOCES and for many of our things the uh, that we do here in the in the district, uh, we're seeing a a good increase on our BOCES aid. So, um, you know, it's a because BOCES is a is an expense driven aid, uh, it's it's showing itself back to us and it allows us to continue uh, to do what we need to do for kids. Uh, another big one is the uh, the high
083access cost. Uh, so high high cost access cost, which So, we talked about this today and you thought it sounded kind of funny cuz it's got two words of cost in there, but that is actually what it's called. So, um, so high cost uh, access cost is uh, what we uh, what we get back for uh, sending our students to like BOCES programs, uh, special education services that are in BOCES programs. Um, and then the private access cost is actually um, what's what's given to us for sending our kids to private schools. So, uh, two very similar aids, but uh, for those different locations. Tho- those those are placements for special education traditionally. >> Yeah, as students that are placed uh, specifically by uh, the C- CSE. And then uh, there's that building aid that
084comes in uh, an increase because of our our construction uh, cost, so our our debt service. So, that comes uh, comes really close to matching that uh, in that expense. It helps to support our building projects and allow us to continue to maintain our facilities. Uh, so the tax cap I have uh, calculated a 2.93% uh, tax cap this year. Um, so you can see all the great things that go into the tax cap calculation there on the left-hand side. Uh, we do have because of the fact that in 2000, I want to say 18, there was a pilot agreement with the solar farm down there on Oak Hill. Uh, they have sent notice, they sent notice after the the March 1st deadline last year, so now that would make the March 1st deadline this
085year. They sent notice that they were actually um able to receive their pilot. So, now we have to um accept their pilot that we had an agreement with for the district. Um following that, the district does have a um I forget what the number is, but there was uh there was an agreement done so that we didn't have several pilot agreements uh back in like the June, I think it was the 2020. There was a there was a resolution there because what happens is that they they when you have uh solar farms, they are when you have I'm sorry, when you have uh pilot agreements, um they uh they get taken off of the tax roll and they have a specific agreement. So, it actually like becomes part of the tax cap calculation instead. So,
086uh right there where it says uh my mouse is not showing, here it is right here. So, this would be the uh projected pilot agreement here that that we get off of that property. And then um moving on down to the next So, right now I've projected a uh an assumed uh 2.9% tax levy. Um this this uh brings in uh 268,757 for the district. So, staying a little bit lower than the 2.93%. Uh flatten that out at 2.9. And then this is uh reminder again that this is just an estimated um kind of what it would look like for for folks for their uh home full values on the right-hand side on that chart. This is what that 2.9% would actually look like uh for a home value uh of those those amounts there
087on that chart. Uh so, a house of a hundred thousand dollars, you would see a monthly increase of three dollars and seventeen cents, give or take. Uh so, the current budget status, basically the um the building aid supports that large increase for construction debt. So, there's there is a a uh a large increase to our budget overall because of that. So, just that portion of the budget alone went up I'll go back to it just to show. Um you know, 1.6 1.6 million. So, it's a pretty large amount of the budget. So, that helps to kind of balance that out. So, we're going to see that budget number um creep up uh quite a bit this year, but it's not just reg- you know, it's not just uh program expenses, it's not purchases, it's really
088the debt service alone. Uh and the foundation fash- foundation aid starts at 1%. Um I I haven't heard much other than, you know, I guess I can keep my fingers crossed that maybe something comes out better that we get more than that. Um and we're cur- currently assuming that 2.9% tax levy increase um to balance balance out the uh the budget. Um we still currently still have a gap of where we're at, but this is really we're really early in the stages of the budget. Uh we have a lot of things to to take a look at and um and come back to a to a solid number. Um contractual and supply costs for most things we assume are going to go up and then uh we I was in a health insurance trust meeting
089last week and we are told that we are definitely going to see a double-digit increase on the health insurance next week or next year. So, um it just seems to be a trend all around. It's not just our health insurance trust. In fact, ours is one of the lowest from talking to some other um folks from other trusts. Uh so, we're fortunate in that sense, but also it's not so great to see the health insurance. Uh and it's just because claims are just overall uh just I guess it's a it's a big thing. Their claims are are up. Um so, and it's it's not just the little the little things. It's the big the big things that are, you know, that our health insurance takes care of. So, of course, that drives the cost up.
090Um so, this was really the first discussion talking about capital, and then we talked a little bit about tax cap, and uh state So, we'll talk about state aid again um in in the in the near future here. Uh it may be even at the next uh workshop. Just kind of see if I have any updates. Um just to kind of keep that conversation going about our revenue. Um and then Any questions from the board? Okay, good. It It is. It really is. It's only February 3rd, so Yeah. A lot of work to do. Uh so, uh and of course, like I I um I don't expect um an answer tonight on, you know, on increasing the uh the staffing at the with the custodians because I know it is early in the in the
091stage. Um so, I think we can keep that kind of an ongoing conversation. I know that we have to talk about the other portions of the budget. Uh it's likely that some of our future budget conversation will probably be a little bit longer than tonight. Um but we'll uh we'll come down to that at some point. You want more animation. Okay. I'll work on that for you. What's up? Can we have it on here? Yeah. It's just It is hard to like turn and yeah. Yeah, sure. Sorry about that. >> Thanks. Yeah. Okay. Any other questions? All right. Thanks very much, Mr. Rivenburg. I appreciate it. Okay. Next up, we have our financials and I'm going to do them individually this time cuz we have some kind of exciting nice ones to talk about. So,
092uh all right. So, um we're going to start with item 9.01. So, be it resolved based upon the recommendation of the superintendent, the Board of Education approves uh the financial reports as listed um in the agenda. May I have a motion? I'll motion. Thank you, Alyssa. Second? >> I'll second. Thank you, Francis. Comments or questions? All in favor? I. Any opposed? Any abstentions? Okay, next item 9.02 uh is approved football merger. Be it resolved based upon the recommendation of the superintendent, the Board of Education approves a three-way football merger modified at JV and varsity among the Duanesburg, Berne-Knox-Westerlo and Schoharie Central School Districts for the 2026-2027 school year. May I have a motion? I'll motion. Thank you, Michael. A second? I'll second. >> Thank you, Ray. Comments or questions? It's uh my understanding this is
093now pending section approval, correct? So, we're approving it and now we have to Section is done. Yeah, and they have to approve it. Um we have an estimated cost um that came hot off the presses. It will be It's actually really cost effective. Nine $900 student to participate to participate. Okay. And this is essentially a rebuilding of the football program dropping out Bishop Yes. Gibbons again. >> What Bishop Notre Dame Bishop Gibbons. Well, it's fair. Yeah. Well, they joined last year. Notre Dame was with them. Then they didn't. Yeah. Any other questions? Comments? Yeah. What's the cost? What was the cost this year? Um I think the cost this year was just under seven. So, this is Um again, it's just an estimate. They don't They really won't have the exact number until they know
094how many kids are involved. And then they divide it up equally. And how are we going to get the kids down there? So, the superintendent at Berne and myself and the superintendent Schalmont are We are having conversations how we can make that work with transportation. And this will be What What What was the team name of Schalmont? Will be Sabres? I believe so. Yes. Yes. So, we only have a handful of kids who are interested. So, um superintendent at Berne and myself we're like, well, we're going to try and figure out how how we make that work. Okay. Any other questions? All in favor? Aye. Aye. >> Aye. Any opposed? Any abstentions? Okay. Next item is approve lacrosse merger. Be it resolved based upon the recommendation of the superintendent, the Board of Education approves a
095four-way lacrosse merger for modified JV and varsity among the Duanesburg, Schalmont, Mohonasen, and Schenectady Central School Districts for the 2026-2027 school year. May I have a motion? I'll motion. >> Thank you, Francis. A second? Thank you, Sarah. Comments or questions? I'd like to comment that I think this is cool. I think it's great to offer more things to the kids. But I think we're getting into a situation where particularly with the football thing we just had, there's a lot of unanswered questions. Mhm. And I feel like we're creating situations where we're offering so many things that we're not providing full support so the students can do them all. Mhm. Um we have a situation now. We've had football we've had excuse me, we've had bowling for years. We take the kids and the parents are
096then responsible to pick them up at 4:30 from Downing Gerlach. We have a similar situation with golf. You can express express your frustration that we have to have waiting lists for programs at the elementary school. Mhm. We already have these programs and we're not able to service the kids that are in them. And I have a problem with continuing to add new things that we're not able to fully service the kids that are in them. Um I think this is great like I said, but I do think we need to start finding that balance. I'm not even worried about the monetary issue of just making it so that everyone can participate that there's no blockage to someone participating because their parents can't pick it up. I'm sure we could work out you know, calling trees
097and stuff, but that's the school is supposed to do that. Okay. The school is supposed to provide that coverage that everybody can participate. And I'm concerned if we keep adding things for individual interests, we run into a situation where we're leaving other leaving people behind. Okay. Fair enough. I'm just curious this brings up a thought like do we have some kind of like a policy to guide us or is that something like I I hear what Francis is saying. I like that we're coming together with other schools and providing these options and it is the understanding that the parents do have to step up to do this. I But I do I hear that it's a delicate balance, too, because we don't we can't it's not sustainable to do this for infinity. But I love
098that we're having partnerships in making it happen. Yeah, and that's yeah, I think when we look to the future you know, there isn't any current policy that like outlines it, but I think we're a smart group of people, right? And we have a lot of families and educators that what what is a a long-term solution that we can come up with. And I think that's something we should explore um in the near future. I also don't want Duanesburg to lose its own identity. Mhm. These mergers are great because does offer opportunities for kids we can't offer everything. >> Right. Period. But it's Duanesburg Eagles and we've already changed. Now we're the Beagles, we're the You know, God only knows what else we're going to be. I just want to keep a vision that we >>
099We are Duanesburg Eagles and >> Eagles and we can't always meet every single outside needs. We have an education needs that we have to cover, that we need to be worried about. Always keeping that at the center of of of our decision-making. Absolutely. And I'll just again point out that we have to wait on approval from the section Right. The section >> The section is um just sent out a survey. Jody and I had to fill it out. I didn't really look at it because it's this is not unique to Duanesburg. The school districts across the state are because athletics are dying across the state and um desperate to keep options open for kids. I mean, we know we have a a really strong basketball program, a baseball, softball program, track and field. Um but
100those holes where it's not as strong um but I think section two is going to start reevaluating like what does this mean long-term as well? So, that'll be interesting to see what they come up with. Great. Okay. Any other questions? All in favor? I. Any opposed? Any abstentions? Who was for Oh, I got it. Never mind. Like, I don't write that down. Should we erase that down? Uh okay. Uh last financial item is to approve service agreement with Scotia-Glenville Central Schools. Be it resolved, based upon the recommendation of the superintendent, the Board of Education approves the shared services agreement for transportation services between Scotia-Glenville Central School District and Duanesburg Central School District during the 2025-2026 school year as recommended by the superintendent. This agreement shall not be binding on the parties until authorized and signed
101by each party's respective representative. Woo. May I have a motion? I'll motion. Thank you, Francis. A second? I'll second. Thank you, Sarah. Comments or questions? Um I think this is a very in that same idea of sharing services, this is a fantastic situation, and I really um am so glad that we were able to Mr. Rivenburg and um as transportation director was able to work with his counterpart at Scotia and work this out to save us hundreds of dollars a day. A day. Um transporting a child that uh has to be transported. So, it's great. Thank you. Any other comments or questions? All in favor? I. Any opposed? Any abstentions? Okay. Next, we'll do instructional personnel. I am going to do this as a consent agenda. Um so, be it resolved, based upon the recommendation
102of the superintendent, that the Board of Education uh accept instructional personnel items 10.01 through 10.03. May I have a motion? Thank you, Tony. A second? I'll second. Thank you, Alyssa. Comments or questions on any of these items? I would I'm happy to welcome Mr. Rickard to our staff, fully. Yes, so we will we'll uh see we conclude a term and we approve a new one. Very exciting. >> a tenure track. Okay. Right. Any other questions or comments? All in favor? I. >> I. Any opposed? Any abstentions? Okay, next item non-instructional personnel. Be it resolved. No, excuse me, that's not what I want to say. >> [laughter] >> Uh I want to do it this way. Yes, be it resolved based upon the recommendation of the superintendent that the Board of Education accepts and approves the
103non-instructional personnel items 11.01 and 11.02. May I have a motion? Thank you, Michael. A second? I'll second. Thank you, Tony. Comments or questions on on these items? No? All in favor? I. >> I. Any opposed? Any abstentions? Sorry about that, I confused myself for a second, but got it sorted. All right, next item is pupil services and special education. Uh accept CSE and CPSE minutes. Be it resolved based upon the recommendation of the superintendent the Board of Education approves the CSE and CPSE minutes from the meetings on January 8th, 12th, 13th, 16th, 20th, 27th, and 28th of 2026. May I have a motion? A motion. Ray, a second? Sarah? Thank you. Comments or questions? All in favor? I. >> I. Any opposed? Any abstentions? Okay. Uh last last resolution is to approve the SCCC memorandum
104of understanding. Be it resolved based upon the recommendation of the superintendent the Board of Education approves the memorandum of understanding between SUNY Schenectady County Community College and Duanesburg Central School District for the 2025-2026 academic year as recommended by the superintendent. This agreement shall not be binding on the parties until authorized and signed by each party's respective representatives. May I have a motion? Thank you, Tony. A second? I'll second. Thank you, Alyssa. Comments or questions? I'm I'm just grateful that we we have this. How many different um classes is this an option for for our students? Jody, do you know off the top of your head? Just a range is this for I think it varies year to year, right? Oh. She just did 6-7. >> [laughter] >> Come on. Santino's he's on the edge. I
105can see [laughter] it. He's going to burst. >> [laughter] >> I just I just love this cuz I as a student here I took advantage of it was we only offered the foreign languages at the time so I'm glad to see that this is growing and it's just awesome to start college with a head start. Maybe an up to a semester or two or something. >> Absolutely. Uh yeah, 100% Sarah, you're absolutely right. Yeah, this is a a wonderful opportunity for our students so Um and accessible to everyone which is amazing. All right, any other questions or comments? That was really funny. I really enjoyed that a lot. It's late and we're getting punchy. Uh all in favor? I. Any opposed? Any abstentions? Okay. Uh last uh item is just for your information that effective
106January 22nd of 2026 the consulting services and contractual rights previously held by the company called I'm Human and I'm Human 360 LLC has been assigned and will now operate under the name Rising to Greatness LLC. All existing consulting agreements will continue without interruption with services, obligations, and relationships remaining unchanged. For everyone's information, I'm Human 360 is um Ms. Ross referenced Lisa Paternity coming in and doing a listening tour and working with our our staff so that we can address these concerns that we have with our school culture. So, Lisa's company has just shifted. Everything remains the same with the exception of the name. So, that is that. We now will be going into a second executive session, lucky us. We do not intend to return to open session, so I will say thank you to
107everyone who is here this evening. Appreciate your time and your presence here at the meeting. Um if I may have a motion to go into executive session at 8:23 p.m. I motion. Thank you, Francis. A second? Thank you, Tony. All in favor? I. Any opposed? Any abstentions? Thank you again, everyone, for being here. Have a great night. Oh, yes. I was supposed to say we're going into executive session