001Good evening, and thank you for joining us tonight here at Stewart Manor. On behalf of the Stewart Manor School Community, my name is Bob Cavalieri, and I'm the proud interim principal of the Stewart Manor School. It is my pleasure to welcome you to tonight's Board of Education meeting. We are honored to welcome our Board of Education, our Superintendent Mr. Small, our district and building administrators, our dedicated teachers, and our supportive families. Thank you all for being here this evening. We would also like to extend a very special and heartfelt welcome to our honored guests, the family of fallen Nassau County Police Officer Patricia Espinosa, as well as her colleagues from the Fifth Precinct. Officer Espinosa devoted many years to serving the Elmont community and school district. She played an important role in supporting our students,
002responding to emergencies, and helping to ensure the safety and well-being of all members of our school community. We are grateful for your presence and for the service and sacrifice that you and your loved ones represent. Before >> [applause] >> Before we continue, I would also like to take a moment to recognize two groups of individuals whose efforts have helped make this evening so special. First, a sincere thank you to our incredible art teacher Ms. Loud for the beautiful decorations and student artwork displays that you'll see throughout the gymnasium tonight. >> [applause] >> I also would like to extend my gratitude to our music teachers, Mr. Timko and Mr. Dewar, for the outstanding work they have done preparing our student musicians and chorus members for tonight's performance. Before we begin, I would like to share a
003brief safety reminder. In the event of an emergency, please take note of the exit located in the back of the gymnasium, as well as the two exit doors here on my right-hand side. We ask that everyone exit calmly and follow all directions um as you leave the building. At this time, we will begin with the Pledge of Allegiance. I would like to invite our scholars to come forward to carry the flag and lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. You may be seated. This evening, the district is proud to host several meaningful presentations that reflect both the heart and excellence of our schools. We
004will begin by honoring our law enforcement community through a special musical performance by our Stewart Manor Chorus, followed by the presentation of handcrafted tokens of appreciation created by students from all six schools in the district. In addition, the Elmont Union Free School District will highlight the robust science programs currently offered throughout the district, showcasing how our how our fostering scientific inquiry and providing hands-on learning experiences for our scholars. At this time, I would like to turn the meeting back over to our Board of Education President, Ms. Tiffany Capers. Thank you. >> [applause] >> Thank you, Mr. Cavalieri. Okay. Uh welcome everyone to our regular Board of Education meeting of April 14th. All bit all uh District Clerk, please note that all board members are present except Mr. Khan and Ms. Douglas. May I have approval
005to a motion to approve the meeting minutes for the regular meeting of March 10th? So Thank you, Ms. Battle. Second? Second. Thank you, Mr. Ramos. All in favor? I. I. Motion carries. Do we have any correspondence? All correspondence has been given to the board for consideration. Thank you. All right. Again, good evening and thank you for joining us tonight. Uh tonight we'll be honoring Officer Espinosa and her service to the Elmont community. In addition to Officer Espinosa, we also want to pay tribute tonight to Mr. Lee Marcus. Mr. Marcus passed away on March 21st. Mr. Marcus was a social studies teacher at Elmont Memorial High School, but when he got the call to start a Model UN program in our district, he did. With the same passion and zest he did with his element with
006his high school students. The Elmont Union Free School District is forever in his debt. He taught our students more than just public speaking. He taught our students about the world, about government, and about politics. So, I ask that you all join me tonight in remembering Mr. Marcus and his legacy to the Elmont community with a moment of silence. Thank you. Are there any audience member Report of the Sewanhaka Central High School. Thank you, Ms. Battle. You want You want to go? I'm sorry. Good evening and welcome back, everyone. We hope you had a restful and refreshing spring break. As we enter the final quarter of the school year, there is so much happening across our high schools. Here's a brief look at what our scholars are accomplishing throughout the district. At Elmont Memorial, our scholars
007continue to lead in science and innovation. From representing at the Medical Marvels competition to advancing to the International Science and Engineering Fair in Phoenix, our students are competing and winning on a global stage. They also engaged in the Long Island Youth Climate Climate Summit and celebrated Women's History Month with a visit to the trailblazer Colette Smith, the first black female NBA coach. At Sewanhaka High School, students are thriving through leadership, culture, and service. Highlights include a successful iftar celebration, an engaging World Language Week, and Sewanhakan bringing creativity and community together. Our scholars also excelled in SkillsUSA Regionals, advancing to the state level, and earned top honors at the FCCLA State Conference with multiple students heading to Nationals in Washington, D.C. At Floral Park Memorial, excellence continues across academics, athletics, and student life. The school hosted
008impactful events like STEM Family Fun Night, and welcomed future scholars through articulation visits. Their boys basketball team made history as Long Island champions, while students also earned recognition in Model UN competitions, and advanced to major business and academic showcases, including the Javits Center Business Summit. As we head toward the close of the school year, our scholars continue to rise, lead, and excel in every space they enter. Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Battle. Are there any audience members who would like to speak on agenda items only? Agenda items only? Uh no, we can hear you. Uh you want to pull out the mic? I I have it over there. Okay. You have You have to something to speak on an agenda item? Okay. Yep. Okay. Yep, here we go. Please state your name uh for the
009record. My name is um We can hear you. It's working. Hello. Okay. Hi, my name is Amanda. And I want to ask some questions in regards to Mr. Steve Casarda. Is that on the agenda? What item are you referring to? >> It's on the legal, number four. Mhm. Okay. Uh and what's your question? >> Page 319, page 319. So, I have seen that it has been reflected in prior agendas as well that Mr. Steve Casarda is representing or is being Uh it says the present resolution appoints Steve Casarda as hearing officer in disciplinary matters and proceedings. So, my question to the board is is this Mr. Steve Caserta from Caserta Arbitration and Mediation Services of White Plains? Is he on retainer or is he per diem? What are his credentials? How much does the board
010pay for his services? Where in the budget are his fees reflected? And how were his services procured and by whom or whose recommendation? Okay, we have your questions and someone will get back to you with a response. Is that it for your questions? No. Okay. If he is so, how come there are no Long Island based arbitrators or mediations being hired by the Board of Education for the same services? Thank you, Ms. Amato. You can Okay. Someone will get back to you with a response to your question. Are there any other questions about agenda items only? Okay. Mr. Small, presentations. >> Thank you. Yes. Thank you, Madam President. Good evening, everyone. Thank you so much for being here tonight. Um we are very happy to have you. Uh tonight is indeed a very special board
011meeting. We will have a presentation from our wonderful scholars who will give the board and our community an overview of our science program. We'll have beautiful renditions performances from our students as we honor the legacy of Officer Espinosa. Uh tonight we will pause to honor her life and legacy. Officer Espinosa tragically passed away earlier this year. Her passing has left a profound void in our community. She was not She was more than just a member of law enforcement. She was a trusted presence in our schools and our neighborhoods, a source of safety, compassion, and guidance for our students and families. She carried out her duties with professionalism and heart, always placing the well-being of our students and our community at the center of her work. Her impact extended beyond her role. She built relationships, earned
012our trust, made a lasting difference in the lives of so member so many members of our school community. Her dedication to service and her commitment to our community will not be forgotten. As we begin tonight to pay tribute to her, we do so with gratitude for her service, with respect for her legacy, and with profound sympathy for her loved ones, her husband, her children, and her colleague. We believe that the best way to pay tribute to her is to hear from the students who she has touched and impacted so profoundly. And with that, I would like to introduce our principal, Mr. Cavalieri, who will introduce our students to pay tribute to Officer Espinosa. Thank you, Mr. Small. So, like Mr. Small mentioned, you know, the best way to show our appreciation is from our scholars
013themselves. So, I'm going to turn it directly over to our scholars who have a couple nice words they'd like to mention to the family and the officers that are here present, and then we will put on a beautiful performance in her dedication. Okay? >> [crying] >> Good evening. We gather tonight to honor Officer Espinosa, who answered every emergency with calm, strength, and compassion, always putting the safety of others before herself. Because of her, the students and staff of the Elmont School District felt protected, supported, and never alone in difficult moments. Her presence brought comfort in times of fear and uncertainty. We honor her for not only what she did, but for the care, courage, and dedication she showed every single day. In her memory, we remember the strength of a community and the importance of
014caring for one another. At this time, we invite our chorus to lead us in a tribute in memory of Officer Espinosa. With the song Lean on Me, followed by a presentation of cards from the students of the Elmont Union Free School District community. >> [music] [music] [singing] [music] [singing] [music] [applause] >> Thank you to Stewart Manor's amazing chorus for that rendition and dedication to Officer Espinosa. At this time, um our students from all six schools across the district have created some uh tokens of appreciation to show her love and their appreciation for Officer Espinosa that they'd like to present to the family at >> [applause] [applause] >> Thank you. Thank you, scholars. At this time, we'd like uh the family to come forward. On behalf of the Elmont School District, our students staff, our families,
015it is my profound honor to present to you this plaque for excellence in community service um for the work Officer Espinosa has done in our community to service our students and our families. So, we thank her for her service. We thank you and um your colleagues for your sacrifice, and we are in um profoundly grateful and indebted to you for the years of service. Thank you. >> [applause] [applause] [crying] [snorts] >> Part of today's presentation, um, we are going to present our budget for the board to adopt tonight, but we felt that it was only fitting that a budget is not just numbers, it's not just expenses and revenues, but it's also a testament and a document that outlines our priorities, that outlines our values. Um, over the course of the last few years, our
016district has been making tremendous investments in our curriculum and instructional programs for our students. And we believe the best people to speak of those programs and to speak about the quality of instructional programs that we've offered them, um, are our students. And so with that, I would like to introduce our director of curriculum and instruction, who will lead our students in presenting our science curriculum [crying] to the community. Thank you, everybody. >> [applause] >> Good evening. Sorry. Um, I was wasn't going to read off my notes, but I think at this time I need to. Um, good evening to everyone, members of the Board of Education, Superintendent Small, all of our Elmont community. Um, technology is rapidly changing the world that we live in. Um, it's [clears throat] transforming how we access information, how we
017work, how we spend our free time. Um, the world is quickly evolving and our Elmont community, our Elmont district is evolving right alongside with it. In the last few years, we've, uh, introduced a number of programs in science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics. Collectively, it's known as STEAM, the acronym of STEAM. Um, and, uh, this evening, we're excited to showcase these programs, uh, for you. We will be highlighting a few of them. We're going to highlight our new OHM science curriculum. We are going to, uh, let you know about our New York State mandated science labs that are in grades four and five. We are going to tell you about our STEAM enrichment classes for grades four, five, and six. And we'll also let you know about our LEGO robotics and science research clubs. Um,
018we're in a great, uh, infra-treat this evening because our students from across all six buildings are going to be, uh, giving us this information and this presentation this evening. So first, I want to say a big thanks to our students. They're actually behind the curtains ready to go. They practiced and they they gave so much effort to really prepare for this evening, so we thank them. A few other thanks that I'd like to give before we get started, um, to many individuals who helped us prepare for this evening. Uh, first of all, our building administrators. Thank you for helping us coordinate, uh, all the practices. We'd like to say thank you to our STEAM teachers, um, Miss um, uh, Fassano, Miss Leponer, and Miss Shurderin. Um, I'd also like to thank our technology assistants, uh,
019Miss Rampal, Miss Caponya, and Miss Woiko. And I also have to say a very, very big thanks to one of our instructional coaches, Alyssa Racioppo. Uh, she, uh, was so instrumental in putting together our presentation for this evening and also supports all of our science programs throughout the school year. So thank you to Miss Racioppo for that. So now, it is my pleasure to, uh, to introduce our first group of student presenters. >> [applause] >> Our new science curriculum will be presented by Alden Terrace students, Hunter Clark, Kingsley Moon, and Micah Ashley. Our the New York State mandated science labs will be presented by Covert Avenue students, Genesis Gabriel, Tiana Bosed, Samuel Munera Osario, and Kensei Chappell. Our district uses the OHM BOCES science program for students in pre-K through fifth grade. This program helps
020us learn by learning science and doing hands-on activities and experiments, not just reading about them. Each science unit comes with a special kit filled with materials that we use during our lessons. These activities help us explore and understand science in a fun and exciting way. The lessons also follow the New York State learn science learning standards. Pre-K students started learning about their five senses and will then move into the bird's nest unit where they discover how birds build nests using different materials to keep their eggs safe. Kindergarten students explored weather and climate by building sunshades. First graders learned about the human body by exploring different systems, such as how they help us move, breathe, and stay healthy. Second grade students explored the nature of matter when learning about reversible and irreversible changes. Third graders investigated
021elastic force through pull-back car racing. Fourth grade students explore the effects of different types of energy. Fifth grade students inquire how the process of respiration is impacted by sugar. This year, each grade cares for live animals that we study in our science units. In sixth grade, students also learn about digital programs like Science A-Z and IXL science to read about sci- science topics, practice skills, and continue exploring new ideas. In fourth and fifth grade, New York State requires students to complete special science labs. These labs are built into our science curriculum so we can learn science by doing real experiments. In the life cycle lab, students learn about how living things grow and change. We create life cycle models for a bullfrog, a bean plant, and an Eastern bluebird. Using pictures of each stage of
022life, we place them in the correct order from birth to adulthood. In the Light It Up lab, students learn about electric circuits and energy. We build a simple circuit using a battery, wires, and three light bulbs. Then we up Then we observe how electricity travels through the circuit and how energy changes from one form to another. Next, we redesign our circuit to make one light bulb brighter than the others. This helps us understand how energy moves through a circuit. We also talk about how electricity is used in everyday devices in our homes. In the Cloud in a Bottle lab, students investigate how clouds form. We work together to create a cloud inside a bottle and learn about the water cycle and weather. Then we change part of the experiment to see how air temperature affects
023cloud formation. We collect and share class data and use it to draw conclusions like real scientists. In What's in the Bag lab, students mix water and an antacid tablet in a sealed plastic bag. We observe what happens and look for signs that a new substance has formed. We notice things like bubbles forming, the bag expanding with gas, and the bag getting colder. We also test how breaking the tablet into different sizes changes how fast the reaction happens. Students collect data and compare results to make sure our findings are accurate and reliable. >> [applause] >> Mom? Our STEAM enrichment classes will be presented by Gotham Avenue students, David Gabriel, Eva Hakim, Danny Ramos Zavala, and Josiah Buya. Uh, the STEAM enrichment classes will be continued with our Clara H. Carlson students, Minal Farooq, Aisha Ashraf, Nirvan
024Shahriar, and Carly Thompson. Students in fourth, fifth, and sixth grade have a weekly class with our STEAM teachers. In this class, students explore science, technology, engineering, art, and math through hands-on activities and creative challenges. At the beginning of the year, students work together to complete different STEAM challenges, including the Play-Doh and toothpick tower challenge, Adopt-A- Build-Your-Own- Dot project, and a paper plane experiment. One exciting part of the program working with Sphero robots. These small robotic balls help students learn about coding and engineering. Students use an app called Sphero EDU to program robots. They can code the robot to move, change speed and direction, light up in different colors, and even make sounds. The robots also have sensors that help students collect and respond to data. In the maze challenge activity, students first use the engineering
025design process to construct a maze. Then they program their robots to travel through the maze using the correct angles and distances. This helps them practice problem-solving and debugging, which means fixing their code when something does not work for the first time. In another activity called storytelling through code, students program their robot to act like a character in a story using movement, lights, and sounds to show different events. In fourth grade, students start learning to code by using small robots called Sphero Mini. At first, students practice driving the robot by hand to understand speed, direction, and control. Then they begin simple block coding, which helps them learn how to put steps in order and see how their code makes the robot move. Through coding projects, students learn important skills like computational thinking, creating algorithms, recognizing patterns,
026and working together as a team. We are excited to share how our fifth and sixth grade students are learning through hands-on robotics using LEGO Education Spike Prime. These lessons combine science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics in fun ways, while also helping students build and learn important life skills. In sixth grade, students work on challenges such as Hopper Race, Help, and Super Cleanup. In these activities, students learn, design, and build pro- robots to solve problems. They learn coding skills like loops, sensors, and motor control, and they use the engineering design process, which means they test their ideas, fix problems, and improve their robots. Uh okay. Ready. In fifth grade, students complete challenges like Goal, Pass the Brick, and Going the Distance. These activities help students practice measurement, sequencing steps, accuracy, and planning strategies. Students learn perseverance
027and resilience as they keep trying when their programs don't work the first time and make improvements through trial and error. >> [applause] [applause] >> One more Oh Oh Mr. Mr. Metellus, when will we start? Outstanding job. And we have our our final group here. Um they're going to be presenting about the LEGO Robotics Club uh with our Stewart Manor students, Alexander Seretis, Lydia Selivengum, Jens, and Drew Foley. And uh the Science Research Club will be presented by our Dutch Broadway students, Sydney Campbell, Ann Bernadin, and Gursemrat Kaur. Our LEGO Robotics Club is open to fifth and sixth grade students. In this club, students work together to build and program robots using LEGO Robotics kits. Each year, our team participates in the FIRST LEGO League Challenge, where students complete different missions using the robot they designed
028and coded. But, Robotics Club is not only about building robots. Students also research a real-world problem based on the yearly competition theme and create a presentation to share their ideas and solutions. This year's theme was Unearth, which focused on archaeology, the science of learning about the past by studying artifacts and ancient sites. Our team researched the work that archaeologists do and learned about the challenges they face when discovering and protecting important pieces of history. Using what we learned, we worked together to design a creative solu- solution that could help archaeologists do their work more safely and efficiently. Through Robotics Club, students practice important skills like teamwork, communication, research, critical thinking, and problem-solving. We also learn about gracious professionalism, which means working hard, showing respect, and supporting one another. Robotics Club helps students think like engineers,
029share their ideas with confidence, and use STEAM skills to help solve real-world problems. Science Research gives sixth grade students the chance to explore science in a deeper way. Students learn about the scientific method, which includes asking questions, making a hypothesis, and designing experiments to test their ideas. Each student chooses a topic they're interested in. Some of the areas students can study include environmental science, behavioral science, biology, medicine and health, chemistry, computer science, engineering, and physics. Students, after choosing a topic, conduct their own hands-on research projects and share what they learn. At the end of the project, they present their findings to judges at the New York State Science and Engineering Fair. This year, our class also had the opportunity to visit the Science Research Labs at Sewanhaka Memorial High School. During our visit, we met
030some of the teachers and older students who are part of the high school Science Research program. This experience helped us learn more about the program and made us excited for the future, while also helping make the transition to the high school smoother. >> [applause] >> We didn't practice this part, but I would like to call all of our students back on stage. Let's see how they come and line up because I think they deserve a huge big round of applause. >> [applause] >> Come on out, all of our groups. >> [applause] >> THEY DID AN OUTSTANDING JOB, and I think you can see the amount of practice and time that they put into preparing for this evening. Excellent excellent job to all of them. Outstanding. Thank you, my good friends. So, as you can see,
031our Elmont students have many many opportunities to experiment, to engage in hands-on experiences across the discipline of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Our district has embraced these new initiatives and will continue to do so as we ensure that our students are very prepared to be successful learners and responsible citizens in our ever-changing world. And with that, we would like to very much thank our Board of Education, our Elmont community, our Superintendent Mr. Small, for supporting us, supporting all of programs such as this, supporting all of the very important work that we do each and every day. So, we thank you for that. Um we would like to um also invite you. We're going to dismiss our students in just a moment, but we would like you to invite you in the vestibule, the front vestibule
032here. All of the hands-on robotic materials that they were just explaining about are displayed here in the hallway, so please take a look um on your way out. So, again, a big round of applause for our students. They did a spectacular job. >> [applause] >> And we will be dismissing our Stewart Manor chorus will be in the cafeteria, and please parents, you can pick them up uh your children from the cafeteria. Our science uh presenters will be in room number one, which is in this main hallway, the first classroom on the left is where all of our parents can pick up those students. So, thank you again for your attention and all of your wonderful wonderful support. >> [applause] >> I It's It's very unfair. I don't know how >> [laughter] >> I don't know
033how we're going to top a bunch of cute kids singing and presenting, but we're going to try. And then everybody walked out because the budget is going to be presented. So, thank you for staying and we're going to try to live up to the performance of the students. I doubt we will do it, but we're going to try. We're going to try. Okay. So, I think the performance of our students and their presentation is a very good introduction to the budget because as I said before, the budget is not just about numbers, but it's about programs. It's about our values. It's about our students. And what our students have demonstrated is the fact that we have provided them with a very well-rounded experience in our schools. And so that that is underpinned by the budget
034that they the board adopts each year. And a lot of the programs that were presented by our students are programs that were supported by the budget. And so tonight I have the pleasure with Dr. Messias to present the budget that we'll be asking the board to adopt tonight. And then we will be asking our community to support that budget in May when it's time for the budget vote. At the last board meeting we went through the budget development process. We went through the different components of the budget, the administrative component, the programmatic component which deals with teaching and learning, and the capital project component which deals with our facilities. We also reviewed with the board our state aid, how we expected and how we intend to pay for the budget, which would be through a
035combination of state aid revenues, local revenues, and our tax levy. And we also reviewed with the board our estimated tax cap levy for the upcoming school year. Tonight we will again review our priorities as again the budget is a determination, it's a document with what our priorities are. We will review our historical tax information to show our comparison over the years in terms of how we have been fiscally responsible as a district in comparison to our neighbors in Nassau County. We will also explore some of the challenges that we faced in terms of special education funding, health care funding, pension expenses, charter school tuition, which is something that we discussed last year and continue to wrestle with, and debt service. The district is engaging in a capital project. We have taken out a bond to
036fund that project. And as so we will have to repay that bond. And part of the repayments for that bond is in is in the budget. So, what are some of the priorities that we have? We want to make sure that we are maintaining all position wage based positions that have been approved by the board and our collective bargaining agreements. We also want to make sure that we are continuing to maintain all the educational programs and the policies and class sizes that contribute to the programs that we present to our students. We want to maintain first and foremost the excellent educational programs that we provide to our students each day. What are some of those programs? We want to continue the implementation of the science program that our students spoke about. That program was adopted
037last year after a committee or teaching and learning committee examined a couple of programs and that committee felt that the OHM program was the best suited program for our students. Our students have spoke very very eloquently about their hands-on experience with that program. We also want to continue the implementation of our STEAM classes. Last year we hired a few STEAM teachers that provide STEAM class experiences to our fourth, fifth, and sixth grade students. We want to continue to provide our students with those hands-on coding, robotics, and technology programs. We are also exploring this year an AI reading program. We believe that AI is is part of everyday life these days. And what we're doing this year is we are we are piloting that program with a view that if it suits our district and it
038meets the needs of our students, we can adopt that program for the upcoming school year. We want to continue to expand opportunities for students to engage in inquiry-based learning through the science research program. We want to continue to give them opportunities to engage with a Model UN program. And our students spoke very eloquently about the fact that they've gone up to the high school. They've met with the teachers at the high school. Eventually when they get to the high school, we are trying to help that transition. With the programs we have here, we'll get them in a state of readiness for middle and high school coming up. And so we will continue to do those things. We are trying very hard to work smarter as we're doing the job of teaching and learning. And part
039of that will be data management, will be software applications that will help to give us easier data at our fingertips to make decisions as we go forward. And there are other programs that we engage with each year like our Saturday and summer enrichment academies. The budget supports those programs for the upcoming school year. And we just concluded with our ENL Academy last last month. All of those programs are funded through the budget that we will be presenting to our community. Last year we introduced a theater program across all six buildings. And our students had the opportunity to put on a performance after they've gone through audition, gone through rehearsals, and a major production at the Elmont Library. We want to continue that program. We believe that it's not only important to address the academic needs
040of our students, but we want to also address their artistic need. And so we want to continue the theater program. Another thing that we did last year, over the years we had one building Alva Terrace that had dancing classrooms. They those students were being given the opportunity to engage in ballroom dancing. We had the pleasure two weeks ago to go to the culminating activity. I wish when I was a child I had the opportunity to learn how to dance. And so our students are being afforded those opportunities. Last year we expanded that program to two other buildings to Gotham and Dutch Broadway. This year for the upcoming school year we intend to expand it to Stewart Manor School. And as we get more spaces in the other buildings, we hope to expand it to all
041six schools. So next year we'll add another building for dancing classrooms. And so therefore providing enriching activities to our students. Another important part of the budget is additional staff and supports for our students with disabilities. When we go through the budget you will see that part of the mandated expenses, these are things that we have no control over, are our special our students with disabilities. We have no control over what those needs are. Our obligation is to provide them with the best opportunities to meet their learning and behavioral needs. Last year the district expanded our physical education programs. I spoke about that our our goal is to meet the academic, social, emotional, artistic, and athletic needs of our students. Last year we added more physical education teachers. Prior to last year some of our students
042got one period of physical education each year. This year for the first time all students in pre-K through grade six received two periods of physical education. We believe it's essential that we continue to fund those teachers in the budget. And as I mentioned before, the capital improvements that were going that has been going on in the district, we have a series of work programs that have been going on to improve the teaching and learning environment for our students. HVAC system, Um, um, the walls, the ceilings, and so forth, putting in new ceilings. Uh, the district took out a bond, a loan, um, to do those programs. And now we are in the process of now paying back those loans. So, there's increased, um, um, expense in the budget to, um, pay for the loan as
043we go through this project, which is winding down. And then all the other issues related to, um, um, heating, ventilation, and utility expenses are covered in the budget. We spoke last year, and we continued this year, about how do we work smarter and more efficiently. One of the things that we've been doing is looking at how to make our bus fleets more efficient in terms of their routes. Um, so we started the process of putting in GPS tracking systems on the buses so we could know where buses are at certain times. Uh, upgrading the, the, uh, the software that does our routing so that we can cut down on the time that buses are on, um, are on the routes, right? And so that system is currently being implemented, but we have to continue to
044pay for those programs. So, our buses fleets will all be GPS tracked. And again, we're implementing a new, um, software program in terms of how we, we route the buses to get them to and from school in the most efficient way. Um, again, working so, um, um, um, smartly and you having, uh, information at our fingertips, we this year started the implementation of, uh, Frontline Management System that helps with, um, staff attendance, um, in terms of how those things are entered into the system, and how we do it, the evaluation for our staff, so that that data again is at our fingertips so that we could make, um, time-sensitive decisions about how to support our, our staff as we go forward. I'm going to turn it over to Dr. Legondy, Dr. Macias, who will speak
045to us about, um, our tax levy and how we have managed the, the levy process over the last 10 years. Thank you, Mr. Small. Um, so I just want to take a moment to highlight the district's long-standing commitment to fiscal responsibility. Over the last 10 years, Elmont has maintained an average tax levy increase of just 0.9% annually. This is significantly lower, uh, than when compared to the Nassau County average of 1.8% over the same period. What this tells us is that year over year, the district has been very mindful of the impact on our taxpayers. In fact, there have been multiple years, uh, where the levy increase was flat or even reduced, which is not something we typically see across the region. When you compare Elmont to Nassau County as a whole, you see that
046our increases have consistently been below the county average, reflecting a deliberate effort to balance strong educational programming with affordability for our community. This track record demonstrates that while we continue to invest in our students, uh, we do, we have done so in a way that is measured, responsible, and sensitive to our taxpayers. When we take a look at how Elmont compares to other districts across Nassau County and Long Island, it helps put things in perspective. On average, districts in our region are permitted to increase their tax levy by about 2.8% and most are planning increases hovering around 2.6%. In Elmont, our proposed levy is at 1.99%, which is below the regional average. So, what that really means is that while we're continuing to invest in our students and programs, we're doing so in a way
047that remains mindful of the impact on our taxpayers. Despite the strong track record of keeping taxes low, the district continues to face significant fiscal pressures. The primary drivers of these challenges are mandated costs, which are expenses that the district is required to pay and has very limited control over. These include special education services where we are legally required to provide individualized supports and placements based on student needs, health insurance and premium contributions, which are set by external systems and continue to rise annually, and charter school tuition, which is determined by New York State and increases based on enrollment and tuition rates. And these costs are not discretionary. They are obligations the district must meet regardless of budget constraints. So, while we remain committed to maintaining strong programs and being fiscally responsible, these mandated increases continue
048to put pressure on the overall budget and limit our flexibility on how resources can be allocated. The proposed budget reflects an overall increase of 3% compared to the current year. And when we break that down, it's important to understand what is actually driving that increase. Approximately 2.1% of that increase is tied directly to mandated expenses. Those are costs that the district is required to absorb, such as special education, health insurance, pensions, and charter school tuition. That means only 0.9% of the increase is tied to discretionary spending, which includes investments in programs, services, and operational improvements. So, what that really tells us is that the majority of the budget increase is not the result of new initiatives or expanded programming, but instead it's being driven by external cost pressures that are largely outside of the district's
049control. And now I turn it over to Superintendent Small to review the increased costs in special education. So, from this chart, what you will see is over the last 10 years, you could see that our special education expenses and funding has been gradually increasing, um, starting in, uh, 2014-15, where it was roughly $13 million in the budget, to this current year, where it's, um, over $26 million. A part of that increase is due to increase in identification of students with disabilities. And so, when we look at, uh, what was going on in 2019-20, we had roughly, uh, 10% or 11% of our students who were identified as students with disabilities. And then, um, compared to today, in 2025-26 school year, where we have roughly 19% of our students who are identified as students with disabilities.
050Our questions are, what is accounting for the increased rate of students? Uh, we know that the average for New York State should be somewhere around 15%. So, we've gone over the last, uh, 6 years from where we were at 10%, where we were below the state average, to now where we are above the state average. What is the district doing to, to remediate that? We know that in 2020, um, on 2021, there was COVID. And after COVID, what we realized, we know that there are a lot of students who came back to school, um, where the, the issue of isolation, the issue of, um, students who, um, online learning fell behind. And so that could be part of what contributed to that. Well, what are some things that we're doing right now? First of all,
051one of the things that we're doing, our teaching and learning committee is currently looking at our, our RTI, our, um, MTSS, um, framework. That is, how do we identify students who need extra support in our classrooms, where we have universal screeners. And after we've screened our students, all the students get the same screening, then we do a diagnostics on what are the specific needs that those students need, and how do we target our interventions to ensure that the, the, the addressing what their needs are. So, the district is purposefully working in terms of looking at our classroom instruction, tier one instruction, that's the instruction that all students get. Looking at how we provide supports to our students. Looking at the framework for our multi-tiered systems of, um, support for our students. Ensuring that we are
052identifying students from an early stage of what services they need, what additional service they need, what are those services that they need, and making sure those services are addressing, um, um, their needs. And what we hope to see is over the course of the years, we will see a reduction in the amount of students who are being identified. It will not happen immediately, but it has to be done as a targeted and a systematic way so we could reduce the amount of students being identified by ensuring that we get them the right support early, early interventions, and ensuring that the services that they get address their needs so that as they go through the grade levels, we're seeing a reduction in the amount of students who are being identified. This slide highlights the trend in
053health care cost over time. As you can see, these costs have increased steadily from approximately 7.7 million in the 14-15 fiscal year to about 14.2 million in the current year. And that represents approximately, uh, double the cost over this period. So, while there are minor fluctuations year to year, the overall trajectory is consistently upward. And these increases are driven by factors such as, uh, rising health care costs, plan utilization, and market trends, none of which are within the district's control. And this is a significant cost driver in our budget. Health insurance is a contractual cost and necessary expense. And as these costs rise, they place increasing pressure on the district's financial plan. So, while we continue to manage our budget carefully, this is one key area where we see ongoing growth that must be absorbed
054year after year. This slide shows the pension trend over time. Unlike health insurance, pension costs tend to fluctuate based on factors like market performance or rates set by the state. You can see that earlier in the timeline, there was a decline from approximately 8 million in the 14-15 school year down to about 4.8 million in the 19-20 school year. However, in more recent years, we're seeing that those costs are beginning to rise again with projections reaching approximately 6.7 million this year. So, these increases are driven by contribution rates, which are established by the state retirement system and are not within the district's control. So, while pension expenses may vary year to year, the upward trend we are seeing is now another example of a mandated cost that the district must plan for and absorb within
055the budget. I'll turn it over to Superintendent Small to go over charter school tuition expenses. Again, this is one of those expenses that the district has very little control over. I think last year we had some discussions about the fact that we had approximately, I think, 52 students who are in charter schools. And we continue to see that that expense is pretty much stable for the upcoming school year. But one of the issues is we have no control over where if and when parents choose to send their children to charter schools. What we have to do is meet those expenses because they are mandated that we must do so. One of the things that we are doing as a district last year we started this process by having an open house where we invite parents
056of students who are or attending charter schools to bring them in to show them all the programs we have. We want to retain those students in our buildings in our district. We are planning another open house this year. Again, where our curriculum director for our director of curriculum and instruction, Mrs. Demetrius, and our principals will again hold another open house with those parents where we'll show them all the wonderful things that we are providing. You saw that demonstration from our students and I think our students are our best ambassadors for what we offer and help to have our students engage in some of those conversations so that parents will know that if they choose to keep their students here in Elmont, they will be get they will get the best possible education. So, that's a
057red flag for us that we we see that that number is either going up or staying stable at a very high number and we're trying to prevent it from going any further. And we're going to try to work with our parents to retain those students. So, this slide reflects the trend in debt service over time. It's really related to it represents the district's repayment of bond issues for capital improvements. For several years, the debt service remained relatively stable at approximately 2 million annually and then decreased to about 1 million in more recent years as our older debt was paid down. However, you can see a noticeable increase with projections rising to about 2.4 million during the 24-25 school year and 3.5 million in the current year. And these increases are directly tied to the district's
058recent capital investments, which include the voter approved bond projects that support our facilities like the HVAC upgrades and building enhancements. Debt service, like any other mandated costs, are required obligations. So, once the bonds are issued, the district must meet these repayment schedules annually. This slide breaks down exactly how those mandated expenses are impacting the overall budget. You can see that the total increase in mandated costs is approximately 2.2 million, which represent 2.1% of the overall budget increase. And when we look at the specific drivers, we see special education accounts for the largest share at 22% of the overall increase. Debt service is also significant, making up nearly 20%, reflecting our capital investment. Insurance, medical insurance contributes to about 13.7%. Social security and pension related costs continue to rise as well with charter tuition, while a
059smaller portion of the increase is growing at a very high rate of over 26% in that specific category. What's important to highlight here is that all of these are mandated or required expenses. They are not areas where the district has discretion to reduce or control costs. In contracts, all other budget areas combined account for just 1 million or 0.9% of the total increase. This slide provides a breakdown of the proposed budget by major cost categories, comparing the current year to the proposed budget. Apologies. Overall, the budget increase is approximately 3.5 million or 3% in comparison to the current year. This slide outlines the district's estimated revenues for the 26-27 school year. I do want to note that the state aid figure you see here is slightly lower than what was presented in March. When we
060build the initial projections, we rely on the governor's executive proposal, which is the first official estimate released by New York State. At that stage, that figure is based on projected data and are subject to change as the state refines its calculations. Since then, the state has updated data using actual reported information and one of those factors influencing the adjusted the adjustment relates to how students enrollment data is being reflected at the state level. This is part of an ongoing statewide data reconciliation process that New York State Ed is actively working through. So, this adjustment is not just unique to Elmont, but rather part of a broader update as the state moves from projected to actual data. In terms of timing, New York State has not yet finalized its budget. The state is currently operating under
061budget extenders, which are temporary measures that allow operations to continue while negotiations at the legislative level are ongoing. We expect the final state aid figure to be available after the state is adopted by the legislature, at which point districts will receive updated and more definitive allocations. But looking at the overall revenue picture, state aid remains the largest driver of revenue [snorts] growth despite the slight adjustment. Property taxes modestly increase at 1.99%, remaining below the regional average. And local revenues and pilots show a small but stable increase. Appropriated fund balance is decreased by 1 million, reflecting a more conservative and sustainable use of reserves. Overall, [snorts] the revenues increase by approximately 3.5 million or 3%, aligning with the proposed budget. This chart provides a high-level view of where the district's revenues come from. As you can
062see, approximately 58% of our revenue comes from property taxes, about 39% comes from state aid, and the remaining 3% come from local sources such as pilots and other revenues. I now turn it over to Superintendent Small to review next steps. Thank you. So, tonight we humbly ask the board to adopt the budget. And then on May 12th, we'll have a budget hearing. And our community will be asked to vote on the budget on May 19th. So, tonight on the agenda, we will ask the board to adopt the proposed budget and then we will have the hearing on May May 12th. During the interim, what we will do is we will continue to engage with our community stakeholders. We will continue to have conversations with our PTAs and our civic organizations where we'll give them an
063overview of the budget prior to the budget vote on May 19th. Thank you. Ready? Yep. Okay. All right, thank you. So, we move into the action portions of the the meeting. I seek a motion to approve legal agenda item 4.1. I have a motion to approve legal agenda item 4.1. Move. Thank you, Ms. Battle. Second. Thank you, Dr. Massie. All in favor? Aye. Motion carries. I seek a motion to approve personnel agenda items 5.1 through 5.2. May I have a motion to approve personnel agenda items 5.1 through 5.2. Thank you, Dr. Massey. Second. Thank you, Ms. Battle. All in favor? Aye. Aye. Motion carries. I seek a motion to approve curriculum agenda items 6.1 through 6.4. May I have a motion to approve curriculum agenda items 6.1 through 6.4. Move. Thank you, Mr. Palmer. Second?
064Second. Thank you, Mr. Ramos. All in favor? Aye. Aye. Motion carries. I seek a motion to approve support services agenda items 7.1. May I have a motion to approve support services agenda item 7.1. Move. Thank you, Ms. Battle. Second? Second. Thank you, Dr. Massey. All in favor? Aye. Aye. Motion carries. I seek a motion to approve business agenda items 8.1 through 8.3. May I have a motion to approve business agenda items 8.1 through 8.3. Move. Thank you, Ms. Battle. Second? Second. Thank you, Mr. Palmer. All in favor? Aye. Motion carries. I seek a motion to approve business agenda item 8.4, which is the 2026-2027 budget adoption. May I have a motion to approve business agenda item 8.4. Move. Thank you, Mr. Palmer. Second? Second. Thank you, Mr. Ramos. All in favor? Aye. Motion carries. I
065seek a motion to approve business agenda items 8.5 through 8.7. May I have a motion to approve business agenda items 8.5 through 8.7. Move. Thank you, Ms. Battle. Second? Second. Thank you, Dr. Massey. All in favor? Aye. Aye. Motion carries. Item 8.8 is noted for the minutes. So noted for the minutes. This conclude my report, Madam President. Thank you, Mr. Small. Does anyone have any committee reports or informational items? Does anyone have any old business? Any new business? Okay. Does Is there anyone in the audience who would like to speak? We ask that you limit your comments to 3 minutes. When you come to the microphone, please state your name and and your child's school. We also ask that you refrain from using any staff name. If you have a concern about staff, whether it
066be praise or problem, your first uh step your first resolution should be to contact the building administration and then, if necessary, our superintendent. Good evening, board members. My name is Michaela Beeman. My child's school is Clara Carlson. Um I have a little bit of old business. I came before you in the March meeting to ask about um the possibility of the community center being built on um Elmont Union Free School District property. I wasn't sure if it was going to be Elmont Road or any other property. Um I wanted to follow up with you on that. I will um reach out to you tomorrow to have a conversation. Thank you so much. The other point that I have, I noticed we're talking a lot about fiscal challenges. I know special education, charter schools, these are
067not issues that are new. We've encountered them um for several years. Are we looking into how we are going to maybe support students or the district by possibly using any consultants that have like an established track history of helping districts with professional development, helping districts with implementation um with respect to the special education needs that we have? We do engage in professional development um in terms of our staff. We work with um different agencies, BOCES, um and different uh consultants who come in in terms of professional development. Also, as part of that, we have six six coaches that are teachers who do a job embedded PD, which is the best professional development where they're in the classrooms as teachers are teaching, coaching, providing support and guidance in in real time. And research has shown that
068is the best form of professional development. So, in addition to the six coaches that we uh we have dispersed throughout the district that look at our data and um and are able to fashion PD um based on the needs of our teachers and go into the classroom to coach and provide guidance. We also engage with outside consultants so on superintendent's conference day, for example, to come in and work with our staff. Specifically, are those coaches and those consultants, are they well-versed in how to how to assist with special needs children? Yes. Okay. Yes. One of our coaches is uh a long-standing special education teacher in the district and so she primarily works with our special education teachers um in terms of how to support them in the classroom. One of the PD that we did
069this past superintendent's conference day is to bring in a company um CPI, Crisis Prevention Institute, in terms of how do we work with behavioral challenges in the building. Thank you. And that actually dovetails into my concern with respect to charter schools. >> Mhm. During these open houses where we are talking with parents to better understand, you know, hey, this is what Elmont has to offer. Have we also gleaned from them what is it about these respective charter schools that is leading you to go with them as opposed to Elmont? Yes. Last year we engaged with some of the parents um regarding their decision to choose charter schools and there's a few reasons why they do so. One, sometimes they move into the district where their children were previously in charter schools and they kept them
070in the programs. Two, there are sometimes where it's more convenient for parents where they work in the area where the charter schools are located and therefore it provides the the day is longer and it provides um more um after-school care, so to speak, for the parents. It's more convenient um for the parents. Um so there's a multiplicity of reasons why parents do. One, the location in comparison to where parents work. Um sometimes the children were already in charter schools and so they continue to keep them there. Uh one of the things that we are trying to do is to show, for example, the reasons why we believe that staying in the district is is a good choice. For example, um for after-school care, um we're engaging, for example, this year we spoke with with SCOPE
071about offering more before-school child care so that for those parents who have um concerns about where do I um send my kids before I go to work? SCOPE this year will be offering another early morning program um to parents. So we will continue to have conversations. This year, what we will do with the uh open house that we're doing, last year we had it in all six buildings. This year we're going to centralize it in one building uh and so that we can better target and have conversations with parents about the different reasons why they're going and how we can better support their students in the district. For the transportation improvements, um will be be looking at how we're going to like positively affect time. So with respect to when timeliness, I guess I'll I'll
072categorize it as. Because one thing that I'm thinking about is it's going to be very difficult to convince these parents to keep their children in the district if they can't get their children in a timely fashion to that particular program. Because a lot of times what I've noticed is like for G Y O after-school things, buses are not available. And when we do have buses available, I'll be transparent, I don't use the bus because it can be between 25 and 40 minutes late. The window is just not something that I can use and get to work in a timely fashion. What we're hoping to have from um the GPS system and the rerouting is to maybe sometimes it might happen where we consolidate routes because we might have too few kids um students on the
073bus and maybe we consolidate certain routes to have more kids on the bus so that the buses can move around um quickly. So we're going to look at the data once we do it to see are we working the most efficiently in terms of routing? Right now we can't make that decision because the system doesn't allow us to do so. Um another issue that we will look at is the time it takes a bus to go from point A to point B. We could better track where the buses are. So we're hoping to to get more data on where our buses are, how many kids are on the buses so we could better manage the fleet. Right now we don't have that system in place. Thank you. And my last question is with respect to
074retention. I see like this year this meeting we uh have a staff member who is retiring after three decades of service in 5C. We had another amazing administrator doing the same, similar time period. How are we keeping the institutional knowledge within our schools as we have natural attrition of people retiring and as they should, enjoying the other years of their lives. Well, we don't see Well, retirement is something you earned, and so we congratulate our our staff members who have gotten to that age where they have earned retirement, and they're looking forward to starting a new chapter in their lives. But, one of the things that we're looking at obviously retention is a big thing for us. We want to ensure that the knowledge base that we have in our district continue. And so, we've
075been having conversations about how we continue to hire, train, and retain our staff members. Um and and so, we're looking at that. When when I started in 2024, we had a a lot of turnover, and we're looking to ensure that the turnover rate is reduced as we go forward. Um but, for our our members who are retiring, we we're happy for them that they have gotten to that point in their lives where they can choose to do so to start a new chapter. I would like to recommend that in addition to the training that you do within the classroom, maybe we can also work on leadership development and increasing the individuals from like coming up in the ranks within our schools. That way, it'll be a natural progression of people are retiring and people are
076going right up as if like a shark's teeth. Just one person's just coming in and replacing and it's kind of seamless. Thank you. >> [laughter] >> Good evening, everyone. Um my name's Leslyn Stewart. >> [clears throat] >> I want to begin by recognizing the meaningful tribute by our students honoring fallen officer Espinosa. It truly spoke to the values we're instilling in our young people. So, thank you for that. Um in that same spirit of community support, I'd like to ask if the board is aware of Hempstead expanded property tax exemption for surviving spouses of fallen law enforcement officers, and whether this is something that the board has discussed or plans to review. And I know you just did the budget, so I feel like I'm time out. Yes, Ms. Doe, we are aware of it.
077We have requested some information on that, and we'll be able to speak more to it as we gather that information. But, I did get the leaflet you're holding in your hand. It came from the town of Hempstead as a resident, and I did receive that information as well. But, from a school district perspective, we are working on it. Okay. And if you have any questions, I'm readily available. >> Yes, ma'am. Thank you. >> Thank you. Hi, Mr. Smith. Well, thank you. Nice to see you. Ms. Wallace, Ms. Binnie, so I have to come up. Yes, I did. How are you? You all know my name. Yes. Uh next month we have the people running for the board. Who on the board is coming and going or whatever? Well, you know, who's up who's up this
078month or this year? >> who's coming and going until May 19th. But, we I will say that my seat is up for re-election. I've served this board for 6 years, and hopefully I'll serve another three. Mr. Ramos is also up for re-election. He's served with us for 3 years. So, it's only only you two? >> Yes, only us two. Okay. Yeah. And do we know if you're going to have a candidate night? The inter school PTSA does host a candidate night, and yes, they will be sending out some information on that. And it will go out through the buildings to get get the word out. >> Okay. Well, I don't have students in school. I passed that age. Uh >> Well, make sure that the district clerk gets it to you. Okay. Yes. All right,
079thank you. Thank you, sir. >> Mr. Smith. As a point of clarification, we also have the candidates forum that will be held in addition to the PTA inter school night, we're also having the candidates forum at the library May 14th, I believe, and everyone will be invited to also engage with all of the candidates. Thank you, Ms. Binnie. Hi, Ms. Craig. Hello, good evening. Good evening. Um Chica Craig. Yeah. Um old business, I wanted to ask because um I noticed that when you we go through old business, there's never any old business. So, I would like a clarification of what you consider old business. I'm not sure if I brought this up before, but because there are things that I've brought up that I don't get a follow-up on. So, can I have that question
080answered? I I didn't know you had any outstanding items. I I thought that your issues were were uh No, it's not. Said 2:30. She >> now? No. Right. I knew I was different from her. We started when she got on. Yes, I did. Okay. Old business is defined as any outstanding items from previous meetings, and if you have an old business item that you still feel needs to be addressed, please send it to the district clerk, and we will make sure that we get that handled for you. Okay. Well, Sure. So, I want to state now that the old business item was from our October meeting. Ms. Capers, you said that you would get back to us on the status of water stations that were put out of commission because lead was found, and there
081was no follow-up regarding those water stations. >> Okay. Um the other thing then you know, a big concern for me is that our last election season, there was uh I guess for lack of a better term a controversy about how votes were counted. And there were almost about 100 votes that when presented to the community were given to Trustee Douglas, and then in the end those 100 votes were taken back. So, my concern is the transparency and the process of how ballots are Okay. Okay, I see it now. Thank you. Yeah, I know we have favorites, but it's all good. So, um can someone share the process of how ballots are counted because in that election, Ms. Wong was not Ms. Wong, excuse me, Ms. Douglas received almost 100 extra votes. I don't know how
082that information was communicated to the public if it was communicated to the public. So, my concern is integrity and how the votes are being counted. Um Uh can we share election procedure? Can you share your process of how votes are counted? I hope so. Okay, someone will get back to you with that information. >> It's not for me. It's for the community. Someone will get back to to you and the community. >> Someone's right. Someone should let the community know how you guys are counting votes. >> will say to you about last year's election was there was a transcription error. As the votes were reported from each of the voting stations, and a mistake was made, but it did not change the results of the election. And therefore, I don't believe that it was necessary
083to make a um a a a an announcement to the public because the results were not changed. Their tallies were changed, but Ms. Douglas still won the seat, be it by a lesser number. The both candidates were advised of the revision. So, I don't believe that the district was obligated to say that a mistake was made in terms of the numbers of vote each person received because the results were not changed. Well, when we have elections in this country, we definitely share how much each candidate won or lost by. So, in the future, in the interest of integrity and transparency, that's was your word when you ran last time, transparency, we should have been informed publicly about because some people had data that was presented, and then there was no follow-up to say that those
084numbers were different. >> I I and I and I get it. So, here's another issue I could say to you. I know that and I would have to check with legal counsel about whether or not we need to verify the vote at election night. In some districts, we wait a few days to to accept the results where the board vote to accept it. Therefore, at that time, you get a more accurate count, right? Those are conversations that the board and I can have with legal counsel about what the time frame is for the verification of the vote, right? Because we make an announcement that night, and we verify the election that night. If we have more time to say we vote in May and we verify at the the June board meeting, then certify to
085certify at that time, then then we can have a different conversation. But, what happened last year is the fact that after the votes were counted, and we went back to do the recounts, we recognized the mistake, and we recounted again to double-check, and then we advised both candidates of what the results were. But, at the end of the day, the results remained the same. The winner on election night was the winner after the recount was done. Right. But, I still maintain we should know. If 100 votes were in error and published to the public, that should be corrected because that's wrong information. And then, just to touch on the budget conversation, um can how much money are we spending on the theater program because I know it was said that these are not driving up
086costs, but I I really doubt that the increase is not due to us adding new programs. So, I would like to know how much does the theater program cost us? I know that you've mentioned the reading program is about $2 million. So, I would like to know what's the distance between that and also ask our community members to please continue to advocate for a reading program. Not everyone participates in theater, not everyone participates in robotics. All the kids will participate in reading and the theater program, if I'm understanding, is a very expensive cost. Thank you. Is there an answer to the cost of the theater program? >> the cost on the top of my head. I will get you that information. Okay, thank you. I think it would be nice if the public knows also.
087Thank you. All right. Our next meeting is our next regular Board of Education Oh, you have a Okay, excuse me. State your name for the record and the building you're from. I'm Amato. I didn't start speaking. So, I suggest you turn that back to 3 minutes or whatever it is. Give her the 3 minutes. Thank you. But, you did start speaking. Okay, in regards to um the special education and the budget, how come it has taken uh according to your presentation in 2022 to 2026 there has been an increase to 22%. How come it took so long to uh establish that the need is so great now as opposed to 2022? >> [snorts] >> Uh special education preschools are you creating more classroom space for these children to be accommodated in the school, especially Dutch
088Broadway? In addition to that, how many kids are being served out of out of district at this time because you are unable to accommodate those kids in our school district? Um I heard a lot of consultants. How many staff it's in the budget, staff and support for students with disability? How many staff are actually hired? How many staff are actually within our school district uh that are providing these um support for student and what kind of support is being offered to the students? Um In terms of the classrooms, how many classrooms are now, especially in Dutch Broadway, that have a bathroom as mandated for pre-K and kindergarten and what expansion is being planned to again accommodate these kids? Uh is this expansion considered or has been allocated with the within the construction budget? And in
089regards to construction how are these contracts being acquired? Is there a bidding process for these companies? How are these companies being chosen? And Science curriculum for fourth and sixth Are there teachers already allocated for these programs? Are they permanent? Are they consultants? How are these teachers um being hired? What was the hiring process if they were hired? What are their credentials? And how are they supporting the kids when it comes to the STEM programs? Okay, we have all your questions. If you'd like to leave your well, the your contact information with the district clerk, we'll get back to you. Thank you, Miss Amato. Good evening. >> Good evening, Miss Hall. How are you today? Oh, I don't have to introduce myself? My name is Claudine Hall and I'm a lifelong resident of the Elmont community,
090a proud community. I want to start by first echoing the the words of that young lady back there that I am so super proud of this district for what you did today to honor the life of police officer Espinoza is second to none. And I truly truly thank you all for what you did today. I am so super proud of you. Second of all, I like I said, I am a lifelong resident of the of the Elmont community, so I consider myself a community person and I put full trust in my school board. So, I don't need the updates if there was a miscount or there was a this or there was a that because I trust you. I voted for you. So, if I put my trust in you, I don't have to second
091guess you. I don't believe you'd do anything to disrespect or rob this community. I thank you for all that you've done and I can I ask that you continue to keep Elmont the way it is. You're doing an awesome job and I really really appreciate you. What does the the superintendent always say? We have a great school, we have great teachers, we have great principals, we have great administration. Elmont does. And with my 1 minute and 46 seconds left, I'd like to thank I can't use names, but you know who you are for honoring me this year with the SCOPE award for community service. When I first got the call, I told them no because I do it because I love my community and I will continue to do my love my community. But, I
092thank you so much for recognizing the work that I do in my community, our community, the community that we call Elmont. And I really do appreciate the honor that I received for the community service award. Everyone have a great night, get home safe and I love you all so very much. Thank you, Miss Hall. Congratulations on your award. [snorts] Thank you. Any other comments? Our next regularly scheduled meeting will be Tuesday, May 12th at 7:30. Don't forget to starting a little early, 7:30 p.m. at Clara H. Carlson. May I have a motion to adjourn? Move. Thank you, Mr. Palmer. Second, Miss Battle. All in favor? >> Aye. Motion carried. Good night, everyone. Stay home. We love you all.