001I will do it. Call to order. Good evening and welcome to the monthly meeting of the Board of Education. I'd like to call this meeting to order at 7:06 p.m. on Tuesday, March 24th, 2026. Please stand for the Oh, Joe, uh introduce the Pledge of Allegiance person. We're going to introduce the Pledge of Allegiance tonight. We are pleased to introduce Eric Chen, a ninth grader at East Rockaway Junior Senior High School. Eric moved to East Rockaway from China earlier this year and has made an incredibly positive impression in such a short amount of time. Adjusting to a new school, community, and country can be very challenging, but Eric has handled this transition with remarkable confidence and resilience. He has seamlessly integrated into his classes, quickly earning the respect and admiration of his teachers through his
002genuine love of learning and strong work ethic. In the classroom, Eric consistently demonstrates curiosity, focus, and determination. He approaches each subject with enthusiasm and takes pride in doing his best work, setting a strong example for his peers. Beyond academics, Eric has become a friendly and familiar face in the hallways, always greeting others with a warm smile. During his lunch period, he can often be found in the cafeteria enjoying a game of chess with friends, a reflection of both his strategic thinking and his ability to build meaningful connections. Eric embodies the qualities of kindness, inclusivity, and conscientiousness. He is respectful to both peers and staff and contributes positively to the school environment. His appreciation for the value of education is evident in everything he does, and he consistently puts his best foot forward and strives for
003personal growth. We are proud to have Eric as part of the East Rockaway school community and look forward to all he will continue to accomplish. So, Eric, PLEASE COME UP HERE. WHENEVER YOU'RE READY, YOU CAN GIVE THE OATH. YEAH, I'M READY. SO, I CAN START? >> YEAH, whenever you're ready. Okay. Is there a microphone? Yeah, there's a mic. Okay. 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. Thank you. We're now going to turn the the attention over to the superintendent. Thank you. Uh just a few announcements. Uh March 31st, uh there was an original date change for our multicultural night, so that's coming up at 7:00 p.m. uh here at the junior
004senior high school. I know Oh, sorry, 6:00 p.m. I know Mr. Kennedy and uh the kids and uh our administrative team have been working very hard on that. It's been an uh incredibly successful night where we get to share the cultures of Eastrockaway. So, please uh join us at 6:00 p.m. on March 31st. I'd like to take a couple of minutes to talk to uh about the district realignment plan. So, first and foremost, we got a little bit delayed and it's my apologies. Um happened to have shoulder surgery. Our committee meetings that we had um were on unfortunate snow days. So, we got a little bit delayed in the process, but I'm incredibly excited that our subcommittees are making incredible progress. Um and I'm proud to announce and excited to announce that on April 16th,
005we will have a public forum where I will be making a presentation with my team. We'll be comparing uh the uh the Princeton plan and how we if uh a full financial plan and we'll be setting that up. We will have a a Q&A afterwards. I received uh excellent comments uh from the community on the all their questions, so I'm excited about that so I can answer all the questions. And at that point, um we can talk about, you know, how we're going to potentially move forward with the plan or potentially not move forward with the plan and come to an alternate plan. So, I just want everybody to keep in mind that, you know, no decisions have been made. I've been very transparent with the community. Um I did not want to have meetings,
006subcommittee meetings without the community kind of giving you bits and pieces of information. So, the exciting thing is that on uh April 16th, we'll have a presentation. We'll have an opportunity for you to ask questions and we could uh talk about, you know, your involvement in the decision and how we are going to move forward. So, um I know and I'm very appreciative that the community is concerned about that and I received um really intelligent questions and really thought-out questions and we are going to do our best to answer them and work together and to come to some kind of decision here. So, again, no decisions have been made. But, uh and I see there are a lot of uh people who want to talk about that tonight. That's fine. But, all I'm asking all
007I'm asking at this point is that we keep an open mind, listen to the presentation, and at that point, you know, the community could voice their opinions on it. We'll be sending surveys to the community. We'll have a number of different open forums if that's needed. And we'll come to some kind of decision about the district realignment plan. So, um I hope that um answers some of your questions. Uh I know I received and the Board of Education received a whole list of questions and we're thoroughly committed to answering them as best we can and working with you on that. So, uh that's where we are with the district realignment plan. A few other announcements. Um I'm going to ask Mr. Van Wart to talk a little bit about uh proposal number two just to
008give us a little update for the budget vote. Anyone? There you go. Thank you, Mr. Deats-Mazza. So, um along with the school budget proposition, which is usually one on the ballot, there'll be a voter proposition number two this year uh for the use of capital reserves to do some substantial building improvement work in uh across the district, namely our middle school roof here at the junior senior high school needs uh it's over 30 years old, needs to be renovated. So, the use of capital reserves would be to um renovate that slate roof, as well as some HVAC reconstruction work here at the junior senior high school. And uh outside of the front of our building alongside the middle school, as well as the front of the building, a renovation of our fascia uh trim at
009the underneath the cupola in the front of the building, as well as along the middle school section of the of the building. Um the proposition will say not to exceed $1.6 million, which is a conservative estimate of how much the work would cost with an allowance built in. Uh any of that money that is not utilized would go back into the capital reserve. And just to give a quick up update on what a capital reserve is, it's basically district savings. So, this is no impact to the taxpayer. Uh so, it does not impact tax levy at all. It's money that's already been put into reserve and is reserved for specific purposes like capital project. Thank you, Mr. Van Wart. I'd like to also mention as tradition in the new business thank you uh for grants
010and donations. I'd like to start with the Ed Foundation. Uh they provided a $300 grant for guest speaker for STEM night. Uh we're excited about that. That should be a great addition to the evening. Also, $6,000 for our outdoor classroom uh and lunch room at Rain Avenue. So, uh I know that's been in the makings for a while, so we're excited to see that. So, I want to formally thank the Ed Foundation for that. As far as donations, uh senior scholarship and awards, I know uh Dr. Kraus and the high school team have been working hard about getting uh money for our seniors and giving them uh a little bit of financial support at after they move on and go to college. Uh Center Avenue PTA and um made some contributions. Uh $25 for the
011bright funds matching contribution, so I'd like to thank Center Avenue for that. And the Connolly-Gargiulo family uh a little over $1,600 for a canopy tent for athletics. And last but not least, we had a $1,000 upgrading water fountains at the high school, a grant from NYSERDA. So, I'd like to thank all those uh who participated in grants and the fundraising and donations. And that's it for new business. I'm going to do this. And now we're going to do some old business from the superintendent. Okay. Um So, uh this month we were supposed to have our student advisory council presentation. That's I work with a group of students uh grades 3 through 12 uh and they will present uh what type of school improvements they'd like to see. Uh we had got a little bit behind,
012so we're rescheduling that for April 28th. I encourage you to come out and see that. That's the voices of our students. Uh they talk about uh different things and different needs for the school, anything from food in the cafeteria to playground materials to uh what type of learning styles they like, and it's really a great presentation to hear it from our students, and I think you'll really enjoy it. And last but not least, um I'd like to thank everybody associated with our Rock Rivalry. This year it was our 90th anniversary, and if you had a chance to see it, it really was one for the ages. Uh the seniors may have came come out on top, but this year's entrance showed the talent and creativity of all our students. Uh this year's entrance was even
013featured on Channel 12 News. I think it We haven't been on Channel 12 News for Rock Rivalry in a long time, so that was great to see. So, I'd like to officially thank everyone associated with that. It was I I was astounded uh sitting in the auditorium here on uh that Friday night for entrance. Uh the kids' heart and soul were in it. The passion is still there. The the tradition is still there. So, I'd like uh to officially thank everybody associated with that. And that's it for old business. Public comments on agenda items. If you are viewing the live stream of tonight's meeting and you have questions regarding items on the agenda or other school-related items, you can email them to our email [email protected]. I also want to remind you that most concerns are
014appropriately addressed addressed with your child's teacher and or building principal. Other general district questions should be directed to Mr. DeTeresa, our superintendent. Matters involving curriculum and instruction should be addressed to Mr. Murray, and matters involving budget and facilities should be directed to Mr. Van Wart. If you need technological assistance or have issues with the device, please reach out to Ms. McClellan. Anyone who is attending in person, if you would like to make any comments, please complete a comment card. We have several already. Um and we'll address those later at close of the meeting. And at this time, are there any comments regarding tonight's agenda? No. Okay, so approval of the minutes. Are there any questions regarding the minutes from the regular meeting on February 10th, 2026 and special meeting on February 26th, 2026? No. Can
015I have a motion to approve the minutes of the regular board meeting on February 10th, 2026 and the special meeting on February 26th, 2026? Motion. Motion by Mr. Loris. Second. Second by Ms. Lanigan. All in favor? >> Aye. Opposed? Abstained? So moved. Acknowledgement of the monthly reports and correspondence. The receipt of monthly financial reports of January 2026. Correspondence, we received 11 emails. Non-consent agenda. Moving on to make a motion to adopt proposition number two. Motion to approve the following resolution to authorize proposition number two, capital reserve funding for building improvement. Resolved that East Rockaway Union Free School District is hereby authorized to undertake certain capital improvements, renovations, and reconstruction work at the East Rockaway Junior Senior High School and the sites thereof consisting of the following: slate roof replacement and waterproof waterproofing of the 1967
016wing, gutter, fascia, decorative wood column repairs, replacement painting, and HVAC reconstruction the project, all of the foregoing to include furnishings, equipment, machinery, demolition, and other work and preliminary, incidental, and financing costs required in connection therewith to commence during 2026-2027, and to be funded from existing reserves at no additional cost to district taxpayers, and to appropriate and expend therefore an amount not to exceed $1.6 million from the district's capital reserve fund for building improvements and repairs three, previously established by voters on May 17, 2022. Provided that the detailed components cost of the project may be reallocated among such components if the Board of Education shall determine that such reallocation is in the best interest of the district, and could be made without any material change in the scope of the project. Are there any questions from
017the board regarding this proposition number two under item 3A? Motion. Can I have a motion to approve agenda number 3A? Motion. Motion by Ms. Lanigan. Second. Second by Mr. Flores. All in favor? Aye. So moved. 3B. Motion to approve the following charter school resolution. Whereas charter schools and public school districts are funded with public funds through taxation, and whereas the expenditures and budgets of public school districts are overseen by elected boards of education which are accountable to the public, and whereas the budgets of fiscally independent school districts are approved by the citizens of the communities they serve, and whereas charter schools divert public funds from all public school districts that have resident students attending charter schools. And whereas this diversion of public funds adversely impacts the budgets of all school districts that have resident children
018attending charter schools. Whereas charter school expenditures are not overseen by an elected school board that is accountable to the public. And whereas charter school budgets are not approved by the school districts or the citizens of the affected communities. And whereas charter schools are routinely permitted to open even where they do not have the approval of voters of impacted communities. And therefore be it resolved that the East Ironquois Board of Education advocate the legislation requiring all charter school applications to be approved by the local voters of impacted communities prior to submission to the relevant state chartering entity. Are there any questions from the board? No. Can I have a motion to approve a ten agenda item number 3B? Motion. Motion by Mr. Lorris. Second. Second by Ms. Lanigan. All in favor? >> I. So moved. Do
019I read that? Moving on to to I read that? Moving on to make a motion to create and accept consent agenda. Create a consent agenda. Can I have a motion to create a consent agenda with the following items? Recommendation of superintendent's personnel schedule items 5A through H. Other items 6A through AA. Approval of CSE and CPSE recommendation 7A. Budget transfer 8A. Can I have a motion? I'll second. Motion by Ms. Lanigan. Second. Second by Mr. Lorris. All in favor? >> Aye. So moved. Can I have a mo- accept accept the consent agenda? Can I have a motion to accept the items on the consent agenda? Motion. Motion, Mr. Flores. Second. Second, Ms. Lanigan. All in favor? Aye. So moved. Policies for adoption. Tonight, we will make a motion to adopt the following school policies. 2120.1,
020candidates and campaigning. 2120.2, voting procedures. 2120.3, school board of elections poll watchers policy. 2121, board member qualifications. Can I have a motion to adopt the policies listed on agenda item 9B? Motion. Motion, Mr. Flores. Second. Second, Ms. Lanigan. All in favor? Aye. So moved. We have four policies for review. 8121.2, automated external defibrillators. 8130, school safety plans and teams. 8505, charging meals and other food items. 8520, free meal services. And now we're going to go back to Mr. De Tomaso. Great. Superintendent's report. >> Superintendent's report. Okay. In the area of achievement, our grade four in Center Avenue had their annual writing celebration that anchored in designing a mythical creature, and I know the kids had a lot of fun. Students researched the adaptations of the various creatures and designed their own. After conducting research, students
021composed a writing piece that shared their characteristics and various adaptations. Rain first graders also completed a live performance showcasing their original writing pieces. And Rain second graders read a book and used the thinking maps to explain why differences of people are important as part of our school wide rock the socks for Down Syndrome Awareness. Uh thank you for Mrs. Miolan and Mrs. Hughes for designing such a rigorous and innovative project. Uh the Science Teachers Association of New York State has awarded Charlotte Webster, who is our valedictorian, the 2026 NASEOH Award for outstanding achievement in sciences. Each year this professional organization hosts a dinner at which East Nassau County school and affiliated teachers may nominate one senior for this honor. So, congratulations to Charlotte. Uh four out of five varsity teams were named scholar athlete teams,
022and additionally 30 students were also added and named scholar athletes. So, congratulations to our athletes, our students, and our coaches, and Mr. Gregory. And in that same vein athletics, the girls varsity basketball and boys varsity basketball teams earned trips to the Nassau County semi-finals in the playoffs. Uh the results are not what we wanted. However, uh the teams got better, uh and it was great to see that they were competitive, and uh we're looking for big things for those teams next year. In the area of innovation, students in uh Miss Healey's uh STEAM classes and at Centre Avenue Centre Avenue and Rame Avenue designed their own board games using various materials. Students work together in collaboration and groups to problem solve and design a functional board game. So, thank you, Mrs. Healey. Uh Rame fifth
023graders also used Canva to create one-page reflections for their book Rebound demonstrating comprehension through digital tools. Also, I know uh Miss McLoughlin has been visiting the fourth grade classes as well, and uh working with them and showing them uh all the advantages of using Canva. Uh students in Ms. Mia's eighth grade technology class are learning about circuits and magnets as they create functional maglev or magnetic levitation cars. In her video production class, students are using Adobe Premiere to edit and create advertising videos. Uh in the area of opportunity, uh Center Avenue student council and the K kids designed a school-wide survey to gauge the student bodies' feelings about food and breakfast and the lunch program. Each group analyzed the data and held presentations uh with Mrs. uh Pinga from Aramark. During that meeting, students shared
024the trends in hopes of supporting new initiatives for breakfast and lunch programs. We always like to see our students advocating. Uh students in Spanish 5 traveled to New York City on March 10th to attend a Spanish language production of Don Quixote. This groundbreaking work by Miguel de Cervantes, known for its complex characters and blend of realism and imagination, provided a meaningful and engaging experience for our students. Uh one of our new classes, uh on March 19th, students in the virtual enterprise competed at a trade show at Lynbrook High School. Official results are not in yet, but our dear dream crew uh more than doubled its sales goal. Uh the dear dream crew came up with a great idea. Oh, I'm sorry, dear dorm, sorry. Our dear dorm crew uh came up with a fantastic idea
025uh uh providing uh resources and supplies for those freshmen going into college and their idea is catching like wildfire. In fact, it may uh be a great marketing tool someday. Uh in the area of connection, uh students at Center Avenue had a PTA-sponsored assembly with uh Samantha Ogary. She's If you know her, she's the uh weather weather woman from News 12. Students learned about the types of weather and witnessed the tornado, clouds, volcanoes, and using elephant tooth toothpaste. They also had the opportunity to lead a live weather forecast using the green screen. Uh the students, according to Miss Kelly, were buzzing with excitement at Centre Avenue. Rain kindergarten students participated in a foundation fashion show. Fourth graders celebrated St. Patrick's Day with Mr. Bayer playing the bagpipes, doesn't surprise me, and sharing Irish culture. And
026sixth graders attended uh the Ashokan trip engaging in team building and outdoor learning experiences. Uh East Rockaway students also celebrated a nationwide language month uh during the week of March 16th with movies, trivia, and spirit days. Uh Mrs. Robbins collabor- collaborated with the health EMT classes and had US Army combat medics and nurses demonstrate medical care on the battlefield. And thank you to Mrs. Robbins for that. And last but not least, on March 6th, the annual career day took place at East Rockaway High School. Students had the opportunity to hear from various professionals and learn more about future careers and opportunities. This is the fourth year that our students have participated with Career Day Incorporated. And one member of the class of 2026 will win a a $1,000 scholarship from the organization. So, thank you
027for Mr. Schaefer and his team uh for organizing that valuable day. And that is it. So, good and welfare. Condolences to Michelle Rogers and family on the passing of her father-in-law, Richard Rogers. Condolences to the Sandberg family on the passing of Denise Sandberg, retired nurse from Centre Avenue. Am I going to do this right? Yes. So, now we're going to have the public comments. Yep. Okay, so first up we have Do I just read this? Yep, Neil Sloth. Neil Sloth, I don't read the address and everything, right? No. Neil Sloth, come on down. Hello, sir. Hello, good evening. How you doing, Neil? Good to see you. Good to see you. Thank you. Thanks. Good evening, Board of Education, Superintendent DiTomasso, parents, and community members. I come to you tonight as a community member and former
028board member to give my thoughts on the proposed Princeton plan. I feel very strongly today as I did over a decade ago that the board should move forward with the implementation of this plan. Over a decade ago, we as a board were briefed and educated about the merits and costs of the Princeton plan. We were very impressed with the promising results it had produced in other school districts regarding student performance while being at no extra cost to taxpayers. We tried to implement the plan, but were met with fierce community opposition. The primary reason for parental concerns were regarding transportation issues. Parents with multiple children could not accept the added time and inconvenience of dropping off multiple children at different schools, even if it meant stronger academic performance from their children. I ask this board to
029find a way to remedy this issue, and I implore the community to do the right thing by the children. The better allocation of educational resources with concentrated grade familiar teachers will assist staff and students without sticking it to the taxpayer is an idea we all should get behind. In an era where students are under the strongest academic pressures, smaller districts in the more middle class areas need to be more creative and think outside of the box to make our students keep up. We have not done so. As a school district that is rated 36 out of 43 school districts in National County, we have clearly not done enough for our students. We owe it to them to give them a shot at success. While our neighboring school districts are rated in the top 20 or
030better preparing our kids for successful careers, we are squabbling about driving an extra 15 blocks every morning to drop kids off at different schools. I am highly supportive of the board's consideration of the Princeton plan and implore parents to put students first and support the plan's adoption as well. Thank you very much. My name's Neil Schloth, board member 2008 through 2020. Have a good night, everyone. Thank you. Thank you. Next we have Erica Meza. Hi. Good evening to the board, um Mr. Di Tomasso, to my fellow community members, and especially to all of the concerned parents that are here regarding the realignment plan. Um I prepared some notes. Um I'm a mom in this district with one child at Center, um another in pre-K who will be attending kindergarten next year. So, the realignment plan
031will directly impact my family should it be approved. Um some of these are just the questions that have literally been keeping me up at night, um especially last night before the meeting. So, I apologize for the stream of consciousness in the beginning of this. I also wrote this prior to the announcement about the presentation on April 16th. Um so, all of these have been mentioned before, but I'm already up here, so I'm just going to let it out. Um, the multiple transitions for young kids. I work in a district that did restructure years ago. Um, the parents are still complaining and the evidence has shown in that the kids it's not great for young kids to have multiple transition, especially at such a young age. Um, the chaos of dropping off and picking up multiple
032children as working parents. Um, I'm sure that there are plenty of us who utilize other support systems like grandparents, babysitters, neighbors, um, to get help in dropping off and picking up our children on time when we cannot make it ourselves from work because believe it or not in this this is a working community. We many of them are working parents, um, and we're doing the best we can with the resources we have. How are we going to ask them to pick up multiple children at multiple locations or ask them to wait at the home school for a shuttle? What about those who utilize the breakfast program or have kids who attend extra help, stay after school, other activities, or barely making it up to pick up our kids to race to the extracurricular activities that
033we feel like we need to have them all involved in that start right after school. Um, what about the impact on our local roads? Not just due to the increased traffic, but to actual infrastructure. Um, as the same roads will be driven over even more frequently and require probably more frequent repairs by the town, by the villages, not to mention the dangers of the kids that are riding bikes. They want to be independent. The drivers who are undoubtedly going to be racing to make it to each drop-off and pick-up. We've all been there. Um, the conflict of trying to be present and attend local school events, participate in multiple, um, PTAs for multiple children both during the school day and after. I shudder even about teacher-parent conferences, even if it's only twice a year. Um,
034I don't even know how I'm going to do it. If the plan will increase efficiency and save money, you know, to me that sounds like the potential for staffing reductions. Maybe I'm wrong over the long term. However, the January bulletin about the proposed plan states that the full education special services and ENL services will be provided at both buildings. Is that not already happening in full service? Um Yeah, why are we making it even harder for parents who are already stretched way too thin in times like these? I know I'm not the only one who feels this way. Um I'm also fully aware that some of these issues are unique to me. They may not affect everyone and others have their reasons for supporting the plan. Um there are reasons why this idea has resurfaced
035after all these years. I'm not trying to be unreasonable despite as crazy as thinking about this makes me feel. Um maybe those reasons are financially motivated. You know, no one wants to be blindsided. You could just look around happening in neighboring districts that are having to make impossible decisions that are impacting staff and parents um and students. But personally, I'm also I'm sorry. Um I and every other parent who's here concerned, we want the hard facts. We want the numbers. We want the stats and all the things to truly understand why this idea is coming back up and why it's even being considered by the board and the district as a discussion worth having. I know some of the reasons have been vaguely mentioned in prior meetings. I know that and in the bulletin that
036has been posted online, but there's still a lot of uneasiness in the discussions that are occurring seemingly behind closed doors in subcommittees. I teach in a district where many decisions were made behind closed doors for long enough that the community became very critical, very vocal, and even outraged. It was not pretty when it was over and we personally are still recovering from what occurred and having all our district business put out there over News 12. You can come and ask me what district it is personally. Um all this to say, there needs to be more transparency for the community, consideration throughout this whole process, not just now, um but I am looking forward to hopefully getting a lot more clarity and answers come April 16th. Thank you. Thank you. I I have a question. Whoa,
037whoa, whoa, whoa. Erica, come on back up. We have questions for you. So I can come after, but I was going to ask what district? Mineola Union Free School District. Can I ask you how long ago that was? Oh, that was this fall. Oh, with the restructuring? Um I spoke to the mayor. He's a teacher at our high school, also. Um I want to say it was maybe 12 years ago. I I don't want to be told It was before I came there. I've been there since 2017. Um and it was already restructured. The eighth grade was moved to the high school um I believe a few years before I got there, but I want to say the restructuring happened probably somewhere about 12 years ago, maybe longer. Can I ask you um a personal
038question? >> Sure. Did you grow up in East Rockaway? I did not. I moved here specifically for the small community, for the district. I grew up in Queens. Um I graduated from Francis Lewis High School, which has about I don't know what is it now, 7,000 kids. Um it's a very dis- big district. Um I didn't I didn't even know anyone that I graduated with. There was 900 seniors, you know, and I moved here for the specific purpose of having this small community. I know every single fourth grade mom. You know, I know pretty much all the pre-K moms as well, or I will learn them. And I moved here for that specific reason, right? I wanted the small community. Thank you very much. >> No problem. Thank you. Thank you. Excellent questions. April 16th,
039the majority of those questions will be answered. So, thank you. And thank you for your thoughtfulness on that. Appreciate it. Um Michelle Trotta. Come on down. Thank you. Thank you for letting me speak. Thank you, board. Um I'm here because I have been a long-time resident of this town. My children did went here. They did extremely well. Professional. And to see the schools destroyed like this, for me, everyone in the neighborhood is speaking about it. I don't know who you spoke to when you were saying a lot of people were saying that it was that a good No, no one is interested. No one wants it. And I just think it's too disruptive for the children. It's not fair to the kids. Everything says kids first. Kids first. Not just the the parents, it's extremely
040important to the parents. And everybody is really angry and really disgusted with this. It came up years ago and we got rid of it. We didn't want it then, don't want it now. Two schools. This isn't a drama thing. I know a lot of towns have had a lot of problems with it. So, I just want to put that out there. Okay. Thank >> Hold there. Thank you. We haven't done anything yet. We're only discussing it, but thank you. I appreciate that. Lauren Pritchard Hello. Um I'd like to begin by addressing a comment that's often raised at these meetings regarding low attendance. So, just speaking for myself, I've always been very happy with this district. I'm grateful to all of you right here, Mr. Fixmer, who I'm happy that he's here today, and all of
041the wonderful teachers and staff at Ram Avenue for making my children's academic experience so positive. I believe many parents have felt the same way, which is why they haven't felt the need to attend board meetings regularly. And I know many Center Avenue parents feel the same way as well. So, thank you for that. >> you. However, with the proposed realignment now being discussed, many families who were once comfortable are now concerned and feel the need to become more involved. I believe this sentiment is shared across the community, including Center Avenue. Moving on to my feedback, um at last month's meeting, there was a request to hear directly from the community um about the Facebook group. I'm an admin on this local Facebook group that's focused on this topic. I gathered input from families whose children
042would be directly impacted by the proposed realignment. I did email you all the details last week, but to sum it up for the community, um across dozens of responses, several clear and consistent themes emerged. First were the transportation, not just because they're inconvenient. I don't think that's a fair thing to say, despite the fact that it's very hard for parents. It's safety concerns. They were raised repeatedly repeatedly. Families questioned how bussing would work for daily schedules as well before and after activities. There are concerns about increased traffic, longer commute times, and young children being bused past the school within walking distance of their home. Second, there's a significant concern about the impact on families, especially those with multiple children. Many parents shared this plan could split siblings between different schools, creating a complicated and often
043unmanageable drop-off and pick-up schedule, and just not having that sibling there for them throughout their school career, which many of them are already in the situation and are looking forward to being at school with their sibling. Third and most importantly, families emphasized the emotional and developmental impact on students. Children could face multiple school transitions in a short period, sometimes moving schools for just one year before transitioning again. Parents are concerned about the loss of stability, disruption of peer relationships, and the loss of meaningful milestones and traditions. Additionally, many families spoke about the loss of neighborhood uh school identity, the ability to walk to school, build community connections, and maintain community across grade levels, which is deeply valued. And for many, it was really a key factor in choosing the district, which we already heard tonight
044before I even wrote this. Finally, there is a strong and consistent request for greater clarity, which I do appreciate you announcing the 16th meeting. Yes. Do you know the time of that meeting? I will I will put it out in a Parent Square. I'm not exactly sure the time and location, but I'll get it to you before the break, absolutely. Okay, great. Thank you. Um the ability Oh, I'm sorry. Um Families are asking for clear data on class sizes, staffing plans, transportation logistics, and overall academic benefit of this proposal. And they also question whether the cost of bussing may outweigh the savings. Um overall, this feedback reflects a community that's engaged, thoughtful, and seeking a clearer understanding of how this plan will benefit the students. Thank you for the opportunity to share these perspectives. We
045look forward to continued dialogue and greater clarity as the process moves forward. >> Thank you. I appreciate that. And the uh many of the questions that you have are excellent questions will be addressed in our presentation. And if it's not addressed, we'll address it in a Q&A session afterwards. So, I appreciate that. And I did get the Facebook questions. And like I said before, well thought out, and very much appreciated. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Uh Heather Massa. Hey friends. Uh I'm not here to talk about the principal plan at all. Okay. >> Um so, I'm here to talk about AI. Um I came to the family engagement night. I suggest everyone comes to the family engagement nights. They're very informative. Um the speaker that you had at the family engagement night on AI
046reminded me of Ferris Bueller. He was very life moves pretty fast around here. You're going to miss it. You got to get on board. And then his tech broke. And he couldn't do his presentation. And things went a little differently. And so, we had a discussion. And I said, "I'm concerned about plagiarism. I'm concerned about hallucinations. I'm concerned about our kids not even learning how to write things before AI takes it over." And he said, "Me, too. I'm concerned about those things, too. Um I'm worried about my kids every day using AI. So, it felt a little different. Um and then the administrators were like, "Hey, who here uses AI?" And the administrators were the people who raised their hands. And um, I kind of don't get it. You're keep calling it a tool, but
047I don't think it is. I think it's weird. Uh, when I saw the policy that was drawn up for AI use, I think it's purposely pretty vague. I think, and this is just my opinion, that the policy should say that our K to 8 shouldn't use AI at all. I think if we value music and art, how can we tell our students to use AI to generate it? Music can have mathematical structure if students are building it from the ground up. There's science in understanding the way the physicality of instruments create sound, frequencies, vibration, and a million of our STEM concepts are so easily taught by kids creating music. It's kinesthetic. They have to do it. I think our AI policy should ban music and art classes from using it. Bad actual art is better
048than nice AI-generated art. I keep hearing over and over that the school is using AI as a tool, and that we have to teach kids to use it responsibily, but I don't think that's a thing. It's all plagiarized information. It's all stolen information. Then, I have heard that it's the same as the calculator, that everybody freaked out about calculators, and that it's the same thing. But, calculators don't lie to you. Every calculator you use will give you the same answer when you input the same information. Calculators don't need constant surveillance. Um, calculator we own our calculators, and they perform the same functions from year to year, and never update with weird changes to their protocol performance settings, or their order of operations. There is no bugs. Everyone understands how calculators work, or most people understand
049how calculators work. Uh it's not mystifying. Calculators don't pretend to be your friend or be your therapist or be your confidant. Calculators do not have a skewed worldview. We could be a brave district that takes a stand on generative AI, but I hear the administrative talking and I hear what they are saying and they're all in. They are embracing it with or without parents behind them. Thank you. Thank you. >> Thank you. I do appreciate those points. Got me through >> Yeah, I love how you used the calculator. Um I thought that was brilliant. So, great job. Discussion to be had. Guys. Now we have Patricia Pignataro. Everybody. Hello. Uh this is a Dewfold. I was here last meeting and we had a great presentation by Adam about the Smart Park. Um and the great
050AP computer science class that they have. My son is actually going into that class next year. I was looking into it though and wondering why we don't offer the second part of the AP computer science in this school. If we have such an amazing talented group of people that are making these apps and doing these programs, why doesn't the school offer the second part of that AP computer science in East Rockaway? That was just a question that came up. Okay. Also, I had spoke at the January meeting about safety and crossing the streets and getting the kids from across Oneida Avenue. Um I received a call back from that saying that they were going to reach out to the fourth precinct. I have never heard back. Besides that, I was also told that my son
051could ride his bike to his home school, get bused from his home school to his new school, get bused back to the school, and then take his bike back to his house. We live in a 1 by 1 mile town. We're adding 30 minutes to a kid's commute by riding his bike to school. I don't understand what we're doing here. I also reached out to the fourth precinct about the crossing guards and the situation of where the crosswalks would be, and they were told they were never contacted by anybody about putting crossing guards anywhere on the streets of Atlantic Avenue. So, I hope by April 16th we have some more information about safety and crossing guards and people where they're going to be, where the crosswalks are going to be for these kids to cross
052the street because Atlantic Avenue is torture to cross. And you have fourth through sixth grade and kindergarten through third walking across Atlantic Avenue to get to school. I think it's a safety concern for everybody at this point. Traffic-wise, people rushing to schools, you have kids walking to schools. We're in a commuter district where kids walk to school. I also thank Neil for speaking, but Neil was on the board and Neil got all the information about the alignment proposal. We have not received anything besides the things that you have put out on the on the uh internet or whatever we saw. So, Neil, you can speak, but we don't know any of that information about how you're saying it's going to better the kids' education. So, that went out. So, until we find out that information,
053I think you're going to have a lot of parents here complaining that they don't know what the plan is going to be. Right. So, Yes. until you tell us that information, I think you're going to have a lot of parents upset in this community. Yeah. No, under- understandably so. >> Thank you. And um >> Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. We we did mention in the honor of transparency that we would in three steps we would talk to the board and get permission to discuss the plan, and we would build a plan with the teachers, which we are developing, and then bring it to the community. So, we're I'm being as transparent as I can. I'm not I don't want to bring you a plan that's incomplete that does not have the teachers on board.
054So, that's the structure. And I did mention this plan is not for next year, the following year, which will give us some time for me to bring it to you. So, I don't want to bring you a plan that's incomplete. I'll bring you a plan, we'll take a look at it. You can ask me any questions that you'd like, and then um you know, decisions will be made, but um there was you know, the word transparency, that kind of gets to me because uh and there was a mention of subcommittees creating things. Yes, the subcommittees are developed by teachers and staff members to put the plan together to bring to you so you can see everything. We're not hiding anything. We're not doing anything. We're just having discussions about how to get your kids the
055best education we possibly can. So, there's no closed doors. Nobody said we're doing this plan, and nobody said we're not going to share anything with you, and nobody said I'm not going to listen to every single question that you have. I will. You have my word on that. The only thing I regret is it's been a little delayed. I said after the new year we'd be starting to talk about it, but a few things came into play that delayed us. I am excited about it. I want to show it to you. I want you to comment on it. And you know, at the end of the day we'll make a decision. But, there is there is no closed doors. There is no subcommittees who are creating secret plans that we're going to roll out to
056the community and say, "Hey, this is what we're going to do." That is not going to happen. So, we'll do the best we can on the 16th. Um I expect it to be respectful. I expect cuz we've done nothing except discuss it. I expect it to be a great Q&A. The questions that I'm getting, I'm excited about the community being interested in their child's education. I am really excited about that. I want to hear your concerns. So, um with that being said, um we'll spread the word. I'll put out on Parent Square um more information about the time and location. Most likely it will be here on April 16th. Just haven't settled on a time yet. I'll get that to you. Um my team will make a presentation to you on many of the things
057that you've been asking including transportation and things like that. Uh different cost comparisons, how duplicate services can work because that's been a question. So, we will we will present all of that and then, you know, the Board of Education and I uh you know, with your feedback, we'll make an educated decision for our kids what we think is best. That's all I want to do. I'm not trying to uh unearth the community. I've been living in this community. I grew up in this community for three decades. I I I I know the community very well and I understand your concerns. I do and I am going to listen to them. That's all. And thank you everybody for speaking tonight. Appreciate it. Are there any board comments? Uh yeah, I'll just start. Um appreciate everybody coming
058out, asking questions. Um April 16th, hopefully there's a lot of answers. Oh, another question. Oh, I'm sorry. I'm I'm I have no problem with your latch. That's fine. What's your name there? Okay, Lisa. Hi. Sorry, thank you. Uh quick question, I promise. Um for the community forum on the 16th, >> Yes. Is there a plan to let um you know, I know what's going on Parent Square, so all of our the current parents of current students are will be aware, but what about um you know, those who not in school yet? Like those are in the UPK or you know, even younger. Is there a way to communicate to those who will impact in the future? You know, we have a UPK. You I I just I was literally thinking I have to speak to
059James after. We have to figure out a way to invite the whole community. Because it affects the whole >> Yeah. Definitely. Yeah, cuz we you know, we talk, we know neighbors and stuff, so it's all word of mouth and we're trying to bring it, but we really think everybody really needs to like those are a lot those are that's going to impact a lot more than um you know, a lot of us currently here right now cuz they've got the full run through, so. >> everybody. That's a great question. >> We'll invite everybody. Invite everybody. >> We'll invite everybody. We'll make it a party. We'll have everybody here. Yeah. Maybe we can uh post it to the library board. We could do that. And we could notify the um We could notify the Harold, but
060we could also contact the uh sponsors for the pre-K and let them know. We can put a flyer out or something to the schools that this is when we're having it. Great. >> We'll make sure we do that. Okay. Awesome. Thank you so much. All right, Thank you very much. Uh I was going to say thank you for all the questions. Um just to backtrack a few weeks ago, I attended Rock Rivalry and I just want to say I'm thoroughly impressed with somebody with no musical talent. The kids were amazing. I mean, some people could end up on Broadway, I feel like. Uh the stand was amazing and I just it brought me back to when I was in high school and seeing the the um you know, the competition and all the kids just
061loving it and congrats to the seniors and um about the Princeton plan, hopefully we uh see you all April 16th and we can get a lot more answers and clarity and we can hopefully come to what we're doing with it. Um first I want I'm going thank you to everybody that came out tonight. Can I just get a show of hands like I always ask? She's ready to raise her hand for anything. Who is here for the Princeton plan? Okay, thank you. Um and Okay, I'm just going to leave it at that. I look forward to seeing everybody on the 16th. I do appreciate all the questions. I actually look forward to the questions. Again, we sit here to serve you, um to hear you. So, by you coming out to these meetings and giving
062us that information, that is what we want. We want to hear from you. We want respectfully to give you the answers that you deserve. And on the 16th, I'm sure, you know, once we do the presentation, we'll be able to speak to you. Hopefully, you get some answers and then from there, I know and I know this board takes the community's concerns, comments, and we discuss it fully. It's not something that we just push aside and say, "We're the board. We can do whatever we want." That's not who we are, and I just hope you know that. Um so, that's as far as the Princeton plan. I want to say thank you to Eric for coming and doing the pledge. I thought that was amazing. Um thank you for all the donations from and the
063grants and everything from all the different um community members and organizations. And my favorite thing is Rock Library. I am a product of this school. My children, all four children, are a product of this school. I can say that Rock Library was one of the reasons why we bought and stayed here. Um along with everything else, but that was a big thing for my husband and I. It actually amazes me every year to see kids come together who may not in any other forum or any other type of situation actually have to deal with each other. So, to me, it is a life lesson. Um it is learning how to juggle reality and life because when you graduate, it is not just about what your homework is. It is about your job and everything else
064that goes along with it and I find that Rock Rivalry is a lesson in having to do that and maintain um who you are while you're doing it. And to be respectful and to learn how to make a new friend to me is one of the most important things that we can teach our children. And by doing this type of uh Rock Rivalry um for 90 years really speaks volumes to who this community is. Um but I have to say that it is not something that it's just the students. I give them, you know, all the praise. I think they were amazing. I saw it. I try never to miss it. Um but this goes to the parents, the teachers, the the people that just, you know, make the pizzas for them, to the people
065that run Rock Rivalry. Um The person that ran Rock Rivalry this year is somebody that wears many different hats. Um and I thought it was an amazing job. Um I do feel that that we are special. We're special because of the fact that so many of the communities do not get this. Um and they just go through school and do a class night or whatever it is. But to make memories that will last a lifetime is priceless. So, I want to say thank you to everybody for that. I'm done with my little speech. Go Rock Go Rock Rivalry. Thank you. And I just I just want I'd like that yes, thank you for all the donations, everything these guys talked about, but I know there's a lot of excitement about that outdoor space and laying
066that that the grant that they've been working on. The Ed Foundation, what I said. Yep. Okay. Um So, now this concludes tonight's board meeting. Can I have a motion to adjourn the meeting at 8:02 p.m.? Motion. Motion by Mr. Lawless. Second. Second by Ms. Lanigan. All in favor? Aye. So moved. Goodnight, everyone, and have a happy spring break. Thank you. All right.