001My name is Melissa Pzella. I'm one of the assistant principles here along with Mr. Mansfield and Mrs. Wal sends her regards. In the event of an emergency, you'll notice we have exits on both my right and my left and then along the back as well. To begin our meeting, please stand and join us in the pledge of allegiance. Do you want to join? Do it with me? Salute and pledge. I pledge alce 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. You may be seated. Except for our kindergarters who can stay standing. In recognition of World Diversity Day, which is celebrated on May 21st, we are proud to share some student performances that reflect
002the rich diversity and unity within our school community. Our kindergarten students behind me have been working diligently to prepare songs to share with you tonight. We thank their teachers who are all here tonight for the time and care that they've dedicated to guiding them through this beautiful performance. I'll now turn this over to Natalya Gutierrez, our student council president, who is going to tell you more about the kindergarten performance. Good evening to families and board of education. We are happy to have you here at THC tonight. A beautiful thing about our community is how different we all are from each other and how those differences bring us strength. These kindergarten students have been working on their concert highlighting just that. Tonight, these five and six-year-olds will be singing four songs. I can What a wonderful
003world which will be performed in sign language. So many colors, so many shapes and this little light of mine. [Applause] [Music] I can and you can together we can be the change in the world. I can and you can. Together we can be the change we want to see. [Music] Feel. Imagine. Do your part. Feel. Imagine. Do do your part. I can and you can. Together we can be the change in the world. I can and you can together we can be the change we want to see. Feel. Imagine. Do do your part [Music] feel through your heart. I can together we can be the change the change in our world. Nice. [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] I see trees are [Music] green, red roses too. I see them blue following you and I think to
004myself, what a [Music] [Applause] [Music] wonderful I see skies so blue and clouds so white. A bright blessed day, the dark sacred night. And I think to [Music] myself, what a wonderful world. [Applause] The colors of the rainbow so pretty in the sky are also on the faces of people going by. I see friends shaking hands saying how you do. They really say I hear bigger cry. I'm [Music] much more than I ever knew. And I think to myself, what a wonderful [Music] [Applause] world I think to [Music] myself. What a wonderful [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] Woo! Heat! [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] In this big big world, there's only one me. I like all my colors of my eyes, of my hair, of my skin. In this big big world, there's only one
005be. I like all your colors of the eyes, of the hair, of your skin. So many colors. So many colors. So many shapes. So many shapes. We all different. We all different. But our hearts are all the same. So many colors. So many colors. So many shades. So many shades. We all different. We all are different. So come on everybody. [Music] In this big big world, there is only one me. I like all my shapes. Everything from my head to my feet. In this big big world, there is only one me. I like all your shapes. Everything from your head to your feet. So many eyes. So many eyes. So many shapes. Heat. Heat. Heat. [Music] So many colors. So many colors. So many shapes. So many shapes. We all So come on everybody, [Music]
006listen. In this big big [Applause] world, we are one family. Everywhere I go, people sing, people dance just like me. In this big big world, we are one family. Everywhere we go, we can share. We can [Music] make so many so many [Music] [Applause] [Music] sh so many colors. So many colors. So many shades. So many shades. We are different. So many shades. So many shades. We [Music] all the same. So many so many. So many [Music] sh Heat. [Applause] Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Applause] [Music] You guys stomp your feet like that. Let's clap together. That's it. Keep it [Music] going. Sing this little light of mine. This little light of mine. I'm going to let it shine. This little light of mine. I'm going to let it shine. This little light of mine. I'm
007going to let it shine. Let it shine. Let it shine. All [Music] right, keep tapping now. Sounds good. Everywhere I go, everywhere I go, I'm going to let it shine. Everywhere I go, I'm going to let it shine. Everywhere I go, I'm going to let it shine. Let it shine. Let it shine. Let it shine. Oh, that sounds so good. That's called clapping on the back. All right, sing this real quiet with me. Even when I'm afraid, I'm going to let it shine. Even when I'm afraid, I'm going to let it shine. Yes. Even when I'm afraid, I'm going to let it shine. Let it shine. Let it shine. Let it shine. Heat. Heat. Heat. [Music] It's the light of mine. I'm going to let it shine. Let it shine. Let it shine. Let it
008shine. Oh, let it shine. Let it shine. Let it shine. Let it shine. Let it shine. [Applause] [Music] [Applause] We are so proud of our students at here at CSC. Families, please stay in your seats as the kindergarten teachers help escort the students back to the rooms you dropped them off at the beginning of the evening. Thank you all so much for coming. All right, let's give them one more round of applause as they begin to exit. This is your stuff. Thank you so much. [Applause] Is that fun? Was that [Applause] fun? Is that fun? You did great. Wow. She looks great. I like your shirt. [Applause] Thank you again to our kindergarten teachers who did a fabulous job. Thank you to all of our parents who brought your children out tonight. We appreciate that.
009Again, we're going to ask that you just sit for a couple of moments while they get back into their classrooms. And while we're waiting for them to do that, we have one more brief presentation, but very special presentation for you. We are excited to share a pre-recorded spoken word performance written by our students, Miss Farer, Miss Waffle, and I had the pleasure of working with this group to explore spoken word poetry and help them craft an original piece celebrating their own cultures and our school community. Some of them are here with us tonight. Please give them a round of applause. And then we'll begin with our video. With every heartbeat, proud and strong, we lift each other. We all belong. Make good choices. Stay wise. My prayers words echo like truth in disguise. My school
010and my people stand all with me. Proud to share Haiti. My roots in my legacy. With every heartbeat, proud and strong, we lift each other. We all belong. [Music] My parents teach me to raise the bar with we dance through the night. My culture sense at school and homes like with every heartbeat, proud and strong, we lift each other, we all belong. [Music] We come from Jamaica where the sun shines bright. Mountains thin tall in the morning light. Yellow, black, and green. Our flag stands loud. At school I shine bright. Make my island proud. With every heartbeat, proud and strong, we lift each other. We all belong. I come from Guyana where the music flows. You'll see markets on the street and beautiful clothes. Our people work hard, passes high in the head. We draw
011roti and cheese pies. The school allows my culture to shine. So I spooky words with joy and pride. With every heartbeat, proud and strong, we lift each other. We all belong. From Pakistan's tall peaks to the shine of the sun, kind hearts, little games, laughter's bead. You wear the hijab. Welcome stay as long as you seek. With every heartbeat, proud, we lift each other. We all belong. [Music] Some wear hijab, some braid their hair, some roll in wheelchairs. All are f. We read, we write, we jump and shout here. No one's ever left out. With every heartbeat, proud and strong, we lift each other. We all belong. Our school is the bridge that holds us tight. It teaches us courage. It shines the light. Every culture, every face, every race, we stand together in this
012safe place. With every heartbeat, proud and strong, we lift each other. We all [Applause] belong. Thank you so much to all of our students who spend so much time authoring and practicing that. If you're here tonight, please stand up if you were in our spoken word poetry. At this time, we are going to take a brief intermission while we allow our kindergarten families to go take your children home. We know it's late. You are more than welcome to stay, but again, thank you for being here tonight with us. [Music] Good evening everyone and welcome to our regular board of education meeting of May 13, 2025. May I have a motion to approve the minutes of the regular meeting of April 8th and the special meeting of April 23rd? May I have a motion? Thank you,
013Miss Battle. Second. Thank you, Mr. Ramos. All in favor? I. Motion carries. Do we have any correspondence? Correspondence was submitted to the board for consideration. Thank you. Um, in the interest of time, I don't have a full president's report um, remarks tonight. I want to do two things. One, um, wish all of our teachers and staff at the close of teacher appreciation week. Uh, happy teacher appreciation. We love you not just one week in May. We love you all year long. So, all the red shirts and all our staff on digital uh on our digital view, we thank you. We love you and we hope you enjoyed your celebrations in the building this week or this past week. Also, I'd like to uh recognize National Nurses Week. My sister is a nurse and I sent
014her flowers. So, all the nurses, school nurses, we love you also just as much as we love the teachers and thank you for all that you do. I want to also remind you Yes. We need shirts for the nurses so we can see their pretty colors in this in the audience. All right. I also want to remind you the budget vote is May 20th. Please, please, please remember to get out and vote. Our buildings are open. The polls are open 6:00 a.m. to 900 pm. All right. The report of the Sonica Central High School [Music] District. Happy Mother's Good. First of all, happy Mother's Day to all the amazing moms and mother figures in the community. We appreciate you. As we enter mental health awareness month, let's continue fostering environments that support wellness, kindness, and
015self-care across all of our schools. Let's start with some incredible news from Elmont Memorial High School. Three of their scholars were named to the New York State Science Congress and our very own Caleb Lopez has been awarded the prestigious Gates Scholarship. He's heading Yes. Caleb will be heading to Sunni Stonybrook on a full ride. Very nice. Very nice. Amira Edwards, who is also collegebound on a soccer scholarship to Howard University. And our boys varsity 4x400 track team made school and state history, breaking records and becoming number one in New York State. Scholars also represented Elmont at the My Brothers Keeper Symposium and our spring concerts and math marbles competition. Promise even they promise even more celebration and talent in the rest of the month. At Swanica High School, scholars are excelling inside and outside of
016the classroom. From planting onions in the culinary garden and beautifying campus grounds to showcasing their creativity during poetry night and hobby day, there's so much to applaud. Our scholars traveled abroad abroad to Rome, Paris, and Madrid over the spring break, while others were honored by Comproller Elaine Phillips for excellence in math and finance. The department and the departmental honor society welcomed a new class of inductees representing the best in academics. Over at Floral Park Memorial, the spotlight is on both arts and athletics. The honors concert, award-winning AP art submissions, and a standout science research team all reflect the strength of our programs. The our robotics team, the Robo Panthers, competed on the world stage in Houston, while our softball team remains undefeated at 13 to 13 wins. Nice. Track stars like Leanne Richardson and Thomas
017Small are breaking records and scholars are raising their voices in honor of Maya Angelo and Amanda Gorman as part of National Poetry Month. Together, these accomplishments remind us why Elmont is a community of excellence. Thank you for all your continuing support of our scholars every step of the way. Are there any audience members who would like to speak on agenda items only? Agenda items only. All right. I'll now turn the meeting over to Mr. Small for the report of the superintendent. Thank you. Thank you, Mrs. Capers. Um, good evening everyone. Thank you so much for joining us. Um, a very happy teacher appreciation week um to our teachers. We thank you for your hard work, your dedication, and for all the things you do for our students and families. And so we want to thank
018you for every day coming to work and giving your best to our students. In addition to the hard work of our student of our teachers inside the classroom, our teachers and staff have been engaged in worthy causes throughout the course of this school year such as raising funds for the American Heart Association and breast cancer pre um breast cancer awareness um week. Tonight we have one of our teachers um from Dutch Broadway, Mrs. Deb Bennett, who will be presenting a check to the American Heart Association. And so we want to thank our teachers and staff for their hard work. I would like to introduce Mrs. De Bennett to come [Applause] forward. Thank you, Mr. Small. Um, I am a fizzed teacher at Dutch Broadway School as well as the health and welfare chairperson for the
019Elmont Elementary Teachers Association. Throughout the year, IDA participates in fundraising for various organizations. In October, we continued our tradition of raising funds for the American Cancer Society by holding our annual breast cancer awareness days. The schools held denim days, sold t-shirts, held breakfast, and sold raffles. All to find a cure for breast cancer. This year, raised $7,692. As February approached, we held similar activities as we raised funds for the American Heart Association through the Go Red for Women event. I am pleased to present $5,59 to Jeremy Lease, community impact director for the Long Island and Westchester American Heart Association. I don't have one of those big fun fake checks and the checks were already sent, but I wanted to thank you and I would like to thank Mr. Small, Central and Building Administration and our
020board of ed for continuously supporting our fundraising efforts. Did you want to say anything? Am I putting you on the spot? Oh, sure. Thanks, Pat. Hi, good evening everyone. Um, I thank you for having me. Um, you know, we're very appreciative. The American Heart Association is only able to do the cutting edge research and life-saving work that we do across the nation because of the support um um in the community and communities across the country. So we appreciate your work, Deb, to spearhead this initiative for many years and your support. Know that it's making meaningful impact in the communities across our nation to help save lives. So we appreciate you. Thank you. Put that in the middle of your report. We'll now have our final budget hearing. Um, we want to move to the seats.
021Yes. Okay. Thank you. Okay. So, thank you. Um, I I would be remiss if I did not thank Mrs. Paulella and Mr. Mansfield and Mrs. Wallfall and all the teachers at uh Carlson for the wonderful work they've been doing with our students. Um in presenting a budget, it uh reminds us of why we're here. What is your why? We're here for our students. And so it was only uh appropriate that we had that wonderful performance by our kindergarteners to tell us that we're here each and every day to support our students, not only the academics in the classroom, but their arts and helping to build them, make them strong so that they could be on stage and to display their talents so confidently. So, a big thank you to the teachers and staff at Carlson
022and our administrative team for the work you do each and every day. Thank you. We began our budget um this is the budget hearing which is legally mandated um by the law to happen um during the budget process. Next Tuesday will be the budget vote and so we encourage everyone in our community to go out and vote. uh we start this process in early in October where we start with meeting with our budget managers, our leaders, our principles and directors where they do a careful review of um their spending this year and past years and then make proposals for what they anticipate that their spending will be for the upcoming year. And in doing so, after filling out their their budget forms, we start with having in December meetings with each administrator to review their
023proposals and to look at the things they've proposed, how they're consistent with the policies, the programs we have in the district. And then after those meetings in December and um in early January, our business consultant begins the process of drafting a budget based on the proposals that have been made by our building leaders. In February, we present the first draft of that budget to our board of education. And then in March, we had our first budget presentation. um April last month we had our second budget presentation and since the board adopted the budget in April we've been going around having presentations to our PTAs and to civic organizations um in our community to make sure that the community is aware of um what we are presenting um to the budget. Tonight is our budget hearing
024which is required by law and then next Tuesday the 20th will be the bo the vote on the budget. As I mentioned before the budget is not just uh a document of revenues and expenses. It is not just a collection of numbers but it is a statement of what we truly value. What is our why? Why are we here? And so we have to look at why are we here? And we're here simply because of our students. How do we provide our students with the best quality education? And how do we do so in a very cost effective manner to make sure we are controlling cost while presenting the best quality education programs to our students. And so as we start that process, what are the things that we hold true and dear to us?
025what are the things we want to continue to maintain and we know that what are the priorities that we have? We want to continue um the excellent educational programs and services that we offer to our students. We want to continue to make sure that we have consistency in our teaching force. And so one of the things that we looked at is we have um some teachers that have been consistently part of our instructional programs, but they are not probationary teachers. and we've continuously seen a turnover of those staff members. And so one of the things that this budget will support is to ensure that we can have stability in our teaching force by making some of those um positions uh probationary so we could retain our teachers. Uh we want to establish a uh administrative
026position to oversee, supervise and coordinate the services we provide to our English language learners. Approximately 16% of our students are second language learners. And we believe that it is full-time that we have an administrator that will coordinate the services that our students receive. We are six buildings but one school district. And we want to make sure that the programs and support services that are provided from each building is consistent across all six buildings to make sure that where you live, which building you attend will not determine the quality of the education that you will receive. And we believe that this um administrator will help to coordinate those service in terms of um resources, professional development and consistency um with those support services. We are also proposing to adopt a new science curriculum. This year we
027have started a teaching and learning committee which is chaired by our interim director of curriculum and instruction of our our interim director of curriculum instruction. And that teaching and learning committee its first order of business this year was to look at our science resources. We believe that we want our students to learn by doing, to make sure that science is fun, to make sure that they could conduct experiments, to make sure that they could observe, gather evidence, and draw conclusions. And so the science programs made up of te uh the the the teaching and learning committee made up of teachers and administrators in the district looked at five programs and we've narrowed it down to um um two programs. Last week, we went on site visits to visit other schools to see how they're implementing
028it. And so, the budget will support the acquisition of new instructional resources. We are not only tending to the academic needs of our students, but we also know that students are athletic, they're artistic, and we want to make sure we're meeting those needs as well. So this year, our next school year, the budget supports the introduction of a new theater program across all six buildings so that our students who are artistically inclined will have ways to display their talents as they did tonight so confidently on the stage. We also are implementing um a translation services. I mentioned that 16% of our population are second language learners. Parent engagement is integral to the improvement of teaching and learning. It's integral to improving student achievement. And so being able to communicate with parents readily as is is
029is essential. And so we we are acquiring and we've started the process of acquiring um using a translation service so that when our teachers need to communicate with parents they can do so with ease. Reading intervention again um we are we are acquiring or buying more reading intervention services for classroom teachers so that they can meet the unique needs of of students in small groupoup instruction. And for our students with disabilities, we are expanding support services and programs to meet their IEP needs. And so the budget will continue to support those programs. As the community knows, um a few years ago, the community approved a $52 million bond project. The budget um will help to start paying back principle and interest on that loan. Last year in five of our buildings we we underwent significant
030construction. This year it continued throughout the course of this year. Um this year Carlson will be um getting its fair share of construction activities in terms of work in the classrooms um ceiling work, HVAC work. And so that work will continue in all six buildings, but there will be a significant amount of work done in Carlson. So that loan needs to be paid back. And so I think over a million dollars is being is being allocated in addition from last year to start paying back the loan on that that bond project. Uh one of the most important things we do each day is the transportation of our students and how do we do so in a safe and efficient manner. We are upgrading our routing systems to make sure that the routings of our buses
031is done effectively. We are also uh planning to install um GPS tracking devices. Again, that's to ensure effectiveness and efficiency in the transportation department. And so, the budget will support um that automation process in the transportation department. In in continuing our automation and um process, we we've acquired and will continue to acquire a data management system for our teachers uh in terms of teaching and learning. the the ability to administer assessments and get data back in a real time to make instructional decisions. And so data mate um will be supported by this budget to give our teachers an additional tool in their toolbox in terms of collecting data when they've um provided instruction, assessed our students, having data in real time to make instructional decisions to better meet the needs of our students. And then
032we are also um acquiring software system frontline management in terms of employee absences and our evaluations of our students. So automation in in the district. Um, one of the things that I have noticed since being here is there's a lot of paper and pencil um going on and we are trying to move away from paper and pencil and to become more automated to make sure we work more efficiently and more um and get things more quickly as we going through um the years in constructing the budget. One of the things we've done is to look at how we have um done in terms of tax levy over the last 10 years. And you can see on the left um Elmont's um record of tax levy increases and on the right is Nasawa County. And you
033could see that over the last 10 years we've been able to keep our tax levy down to one of the lowest. um on average we've done a 6% increase in tax levy while across Nasawa County it has been an uh 1.6% um increase. So we take great pride in saying that we provide our students with a top quality educational program while doing so with um in a very cost effective manner. But as we've been working over the years to keep taxes down, we've had some challenges in terms of mandated increases that we have little control over. And so as we looked at data in constructing the budget, we looked at special education and seeing that cost for special education has increased consistently over the last few years. Health care, um, health insurance and pensions continue
034to increase over the last few years. And another data point in terms of increases that we've seen over the last few years is the number of students going to charter schools and the tuition rate that we have to pay for them. That's an additional increase that we've seen. And so those are things that we have little control over, but things that we have to manage um within the budget. And so what we've uh we we we can report is the proposed budget increase is approximately 5.1%. Of that 5.1% increase over the current year's budget. Mandated expenses account for 4.1%. And all other budget alloc allocations account for 1%. So again, when you look at the things that we have little control over, they account for 4.1% of the budget increase and all the other um
035increases are account for 1%. Again, special education programs going up by by um to 2 um $6 million. Okay. um 11.3% increase, medical insurance 1.5% increase, and then um social security, you could see um where the increases are happening. And so for the budget going up by $5.6 million, $4.5 million of that increase are are dedicated or accounted for by mandated increases. and then $1 million of that are the other increases that we have some control over. Again, we want to show you um in terms of where are some of the increases that we are seeing. You'll see for example salary and rate um wages uh moving from 59 to $61 million employee benefits health insurance moving from 25 million to to um $26 million. Special education again moving from um um contractual tuition moving
036from 3.5 to 3.6 and all the other increases. you could see more clearly how the increases account um um for all of those different different um um lines in in the budget. The law requires us to present the budget in three components. Administrative programs and capital. Our administrative components of the budget includes the board of education, district clerk, superintendent office, the business office, um HR, legal services, and uh central printing. These are all the different line items that are under the administrative components of the budget. for the program component which is the largest component of the budget. Um in serving ver in service training for professional development for our teachers, regular school instruction which would be our teacher salaries, special education um instruction which would be for special education teachers, our summer school programs. Uh
037these are all the program programmatic components of the budget. our social workers, psychologists, guidance counselors, health services, the essential programs that are needed to support student learning, to support their social emotional well-being, to transport them to and from school are under the programmatic component of the budget. And then for the capital component, we talk about our custodial and ground staff security building maintenance um our debt servicing um and principal for the loan that has been taken out the purchasing of buses and transfer to the cap um to the capital fund. So these are the capital components of the budget that must be presented. Administrative component increasing from 11.4 to is is going from 11.4 4 to 11.3 which is a4% de decline or decrease in that um in that segment of the budget. Programmatically $84.9
038million to $89.4 million. And as as I said to you before um that is the largest section of the budget which deals with servicing students and that's going up by $4.5 million or 5.3%. And then the capital component of the budget going up from $13.2 million to $14.4 million. As I said, we've taken out a loan in the bond referendum and so now we must repay the bond and we are making allowances um in terms of adding an additional million dollars to service the loan um for the upcoming year. The pie chart shows that uh 78% of the budget u is dedicated towards programs. And so another way of looking at that is 78% of the budget goes towards servicing children that has um direct link to children whether it's the teaching staff that teach
039them our guidance counselors and psychologists that provide social emotional support or health care work um nurses who meet their their physical needs or transportation. So 78% of the budget covers the programs that directly impact um our students. Administrative component 10% of the budget and capital 12%. How do we propose paying for uh this budget? We'll do so through state aid, local revenue sources, and property taxes. And so our foundation aid um you will see when we we started the budget development um process uh we were working on numbers provided by the governor um um in in January. There's been some revisions to that since then. So foundation aid was going up um to approximately $34 million or $4 million increase. And so, um, you can see with all the aids that we get, um, it
040is was increasing from 38.4 million to $42.4 million, a $4 million increase that was proposed in January. Those numbers have since been revised um from the budget from last um from that was that was sent out last last week. And then there are other revenue sources um local revenues. Um at one of the budget presentation the question was asked about for example the Belmont agreement. Uh we are estimating receiving $961,000 that goes towards the budget as well. Interest earnings over $610,000. So, these are all the other revenue sources that are directly related to the tax levy that will help to fund the budget for the upcoming school year. And that will account for $3.4 million of revenues um from local sources. And then the tax levy, the tax levy um will increase by 2.5%. And
041so you will see that the tax levy is going up from um 59.8 um to 60 million um.8 million. And so the tax levy we are proposing a 2.8% 2.5% increase which is within the t the tax levy cap um that we we have that has been calculated for the school district. So overall, uh, we're proposing a budget of $115 million. And here you'll see how it's being pro, um, paid for. Local um, state aid of $42.4 million, local 3.4, four $60 million in in um the levy. Our appropriate fund balance of $8.5 million to equal one uh $115 million. In looking at how the revenue sources are distributed, you will see that between um local revenues and the tax levy, that will account for 60% of the budget funding. And then our state aid
042accounts for 40%. One of the conversations that we've had is that because 40% of our our revenues are dependent on the state and federal um sources, if we pay attention to the news, we will understand that there is a lot of uncertainty that is going on. And so we are much more dependent on on the political winds of the day. Uh we know that the federal government is proposing significant cuts and so we are all waiting to see what will happen and so we have to just be mindful that we are depending on 40% of our revenues coming from the state which is more um subjected to whatever goes on in Albany or in Washington. And so we want the community to be to be aware of that. In terms of our tax levy, as
043I said before, we are proposing an increase of 2.5%. On average in uh Nasawa County, um the average tax um levy increase will be 2.6%. And from the chart I showed before, Elmont has consistently um levied lower than the other districts in Nasa County. So, we want our community to be aware that in terms of what we're asking for, it is below the average for um school districts on Long Island. We are 2.5 proposal where the average on Long Island is 2.6%. And with that, I would like to thank you. We encourage you to go out and vote next Tuesday. And I would be happy to take any questions or comments at this time. Yes, Mrs. Swang. Yes. What's the amount that we spend on charter schools this year? For th for this year we
044have I think $810,000 for charter school budgeted. Was that included in the the last presentation at your lab? I I have this chart. This presentation that I have is a compilation of the three presentations I've done before and I have a separate presentation that I've been doing as I go through the community the community um civic organization. Okay. So the 800 was shown at the store. Yes, it was. So why wasn't it shown at this um here? Because this is just a compilation of the different presentation I've done. Um, I don't think I have to get down into the weeds into all the details of the budget because those have already been presented. Okay. But I I don't know. But this is a different school. So I would assume that I I did a presentation
045to this school um two weeks ago. Okay. I did I did a presentation to the the um Carlson school community two weeks ago and it was in that presentation. Okay. And you can find them all on the website too. Now we've got every one of these presentations posted. So yeah, if you need to see that slide, you can grab it there. Yeah. And it's there on the website with that but with the chart. Any other questions? I have a question. Yes, sir. Um, so my one of my questions was I did print out the budget presentation on site and it is slightly different. So I do want to um I didn't know there was other ones. So I'm sure that I definitely will follow up. That's right. Um I have a couple of questions just
046about the Belmont agreement number which is the 960,000. here from past presentations and past discussions. I know this is an estimate at home. Sorry. question. I my first question was about the Belmont agreement. There is a $960,000 that's on the budget. I know from past presentations from past previous years, this is tends to be an estimate. Is the estimate or the number that's here based off of what was provided this fiscal year? $960,621. It's an estimate. It's always going to be an estimate until we actually see the proceeds next year. Correct. That's what you told me last year. So, I'm just asking if this is the proceeds that you receive this year. Now, the proceeds we receive this year gets recorded this year, right? And then as they send money next year, that'll get recorded
047next year. And for everything you see for next year, that's all projections other than the tax levy that the board would levy. everything else. Are you asking Are you asking how much we received this year? No, I I just want to be clear. I was under the assumption last year that the estimate was based off of the previous year. Okay. So, that's why I'm asking if this number was based off of the number we received last year. And I think you're saying no. We ask the state to give us an estimate is one factor, right? as well as that agreement has a base amount in it. Correct. You told me that last year, which is I think 860, but I was going to look it up. Um, and that's what we expect next year, barring
048seeing variable amounts start to generate, which we don't know what those will be until we see those. That's what you told me last year, too. So, I just want to make sure, though, the 96061 from what you told me last year would have been what we received this year, but you're saying it's not. So that's no no we we received we're receiving this year at this point in time the same amount as the year before which was 96 and the last one we got I think had an uplift of 30 40,000 it wasn't a big number change um but it was a little bit different than the year before. Okay. Um so in the past we've talked about out of school students and how they have been a challenge to the district whereas we tried
049to find and try to ensure that everyone who's getting an education here is not only a Elmont resident but a Nassau County um resident. I didn't see that in this presentation this year. I did not do a comparison of previous years. I just wanted to know if that was still a challenge to the district. So let me um I have a presentation that I do on the road show, right? So I think I have two buildings this week. Um Gatham on Thursday and Covert on Friday. Okay. So I not to confuse anyone but if you come to the different presentations that I do um at the different locations that is in there. One of the things that we've continued to do in terms of um residency checks that every student or every new registrant, every
050new um person who registers, we do a home visit to make sure that they are indeed residents. Um uh we have um community members who report to us people who they believe are not um living in the district. We do home visits. So we're constantly um checking the residency of of of of individuals that we might believe are not residents of the district. I think the number so far is about 40 that we have expelled from the district so far this year. So that's a continuous thing that we we undergo each year. Okay. And the one of my last questions is that in the New York Post they talked about the state budget that that we would be proposedly getting. It has not been voted upon, but it did say that Elmont would be one
051of the one of two districts within Nassau County that would have gotten the highest jump, which is 13%. And I understand it's still I don't believe it's been signed yet, but it should be a consideration, right? Because the state aid that I think you said you did quote a lower number and a lower percentage and I'm assuming like you said the process starts earlier on in the year, but there will be some adjustments. Yes. And I did say that um when we start the budget process, we started with the the proposal from the governor in Jan in January. As you might be aware, the state did not adopt a budget until last week, right? And so, um, by last week, because we're mandated to adopt a budget, we have to go with the numbers that
052we had in January, all our budgetary brochures and things have been based on that number. So once the state numbers are finalized, at a certain time, we and the board will have to have discussions about how do we adjust the the revenue stream. Okay. And then so all these numbers as I know are estimates and can be yes up or down. Yes. And then the fluctuations and then the the the more um line by line items I guess I could go to Gotham or to Clara in the upcoming days. I do just have one other question. Right. So, in terms of this budget and this um the expectations of it, one of the things that we continue to talk about in this district is spending less money on our kids and thinking it's a good
053thing. Okay. I do understand as a homeowner here how it affects our pockets. But I think if we are getting a grants, if we're getting additional funding, I would like to see next year a bigger difference. Whereas maybe I it's hopefully if we budget and plan it correctly that our taxes don't go up, but we are investing more into our kids so that the the slogan shouldn't be that we're one of the um one of the communities that's spending the less on our kids because that's basically what you're saying in terms of when you break that out. Well, I I I I I I know that there is logic and reasons to it, and I'm not speaking about this year, but I'm saying with all these investments that we're getting with all this boost, with
054all this energy, with all this stuff, can we at least and there are a lot of great ideas. You brought them up to the forefront. Yes. I have I was floored when I saw the kindergarten doing sign language here. So, there's a lot of programs. There's a lot of opportunities for us to continue to build here in Elmont. Yes. And for us to keep using this slogan of us being one of the counties with the less per cow. It's it's it's a give and take, right? Because you're still thinking about my pocket, which I appreciate, right? But at the same time, you know, my kids have graduated out of Elmont, but my community is Elmont. My kids in my neighborhood, in my district schools are my my family. So I want them to get the
055best whenever we can. Thank you. I do appreciate that. Um so I think one of the things that I'm trying to do with the community is say that we are mindful that we have to be fiscally responsible, right? And so you could see in the presentation that we acquiring new um instructional resources. We are we are enriching the the the experiences of our students by having a theater program. So we are not taking away from our students. We are enhancing it. but we are doing it in a strategic way to make sure that we we manage um the expenses as we go along. So we are not cutting anything back. We're not cutting staff. We we we we're actually strengthening the programs that we have and adding additional um programs and we're doing so by
056being fiscally responsible. One of the things that as we spoke about the for example the teachers that we are trying the positions that we're trying to make probation probationary we're looking we've met with our building principles that we're looking at do we introduce a language um in the upper grades so that as our kids go up to the high school they've already been introduced to a language. We are cognizant of the fact that it's very hard to find um um teachers who are certified in second languages because all the districts on Long Island are competing for them. But that's a goal that we have. We're looking at steam again because um steam is now the new uh the the the new wave of giving kids a very different experience in the teaching and learning process.
057So we are cognizant of the fact that we have to manage expense, manage um increases to our our residents, but we also don't want to take away from our children. We're adding things as we go, but we're doing it in a strategic way so as not to overburden our taxpayers. Thank you. And honestly, this is my last question on the budget for tonight. Okay. What is happening with these buses? I feel that we've been talking about buses in this district for the last two to three years about getting the new buses, putting them in the lot, and I thought they were all E or electronic, and again, please clarify me because I haven't followed it. Right. And then now we're putting we're spending money to get the GPS and the um something else I apologize
058for. So what's the status of this? Did we not get new brand new buses? We get I think this year we we've bought one minivan so far and I think we one minivan. Yes. But but we have to look at our fleet and see what we need. And we have additional buses that we're getting. So we just don't go out and buy buses. But I think we have in the budget to get two more buses. this year which condition brand new with GPS and all of that or this is I don't they don't come with GPS so that's why we're buying them to put GPS on there that's what this is about so we don't get the GPS system on the buses we have to pay to put them there but in terms of there
059are two things for the buses one is the routing system called transfinder which develops the routes that the bus drivers go to pick up our children that system will make it a little bit more um make it easier um we also want to make sure that for example when um the summer comes and we are telling parents you know what you know teachers their kids have they will get the bus route at the same time. So we are up upgrading the routing system. We have a company that has been working with us and they've expressed to us that this system is 20 years old. It's one of the most difficult system there's ever worked with. So our system Yes. So our system is 20 years old and we are updating it. Um the other part
060is now the GPS system again that will track each bus. We will know when a bus leaves one location to the next stop to the next stop so we could know what time they should return back to the yard. That will make it more effective and efficient so we know where our buses are at all times. So do we get new buses from last year or No, we had one. We have one small bus, but we go based on what the needs are. One of the reasons why we have we've gotten minivans is because we have more students who are now, for example, going out of district, whether they are um students with disabilities. So, we don't need a big bus to take them to um if they're placed outside of the district, we need
061a minivan. So, we look at what the needs are and then we buy the buses based on what we need. So, we've gotten um one minivan so far and I think we have um we have two more purchases that we have to make. Okay. Thank you very much. Thank you. Any more questions? Hi. Um, my name is Selene Ferdinand and on behalf of me and a couple other students, um, as a student ambassador and someone who is who deeply cares about the future of our schools, I have one question regarding the over $800,000 that our district is currently spending to send students to charter school to charter schools. What is the board pl what is the board planning? How is the board planning to bring students back to our public schools? And if we are
062able to recoup even a portion of that money, could we invest it in a dual language program starting in kindergarten where students are immersed in learning a second language like Spanish, which is the most commonly spoken language in our district after English. Research from Harvard and American Council on the teaching of foreign languages so that bilingual and more bilingual individuals are more competitive in the job market and tend to earn more and show stronger development. In fact, studies show more show that learning a language before puberty ends is a higher likelihood of of achieving fluency. If we start young, we can we can give Elmont students a long-term academic and economic advantage. Will the board consider this both this as a both a way to bring back families back into back into Elmont and to
063strengthen our public schools for all children? Selene, that's a wonderful question. Thank you. Uh so we are currently looking at all the students who are going to charter schools. Um the law allows parents to make that choice. So we we are not trying to uh fault parents for the choice that they're making. But one of the things that we believe in is that we have to be the authors and the narrators of our own stories to to sell the great things that are happening in our school districts. One of the things that our building principles are currently doing, they're planning open houses to invite the parents of those students into the buildings to talk to them um about what we have in the district and how we can best meet the needs of their children
064right here at home. And so I don't know if that has been done in the past, but we are going to start doing that and we will continue to do so because we want to make sure we keep our students here and provide them with the best quality education here. In terms of um a dual language program, I was a principal of a building with dual language. One of the reasons why we are looking at a language program of the upper grades. The truth is it is hard to find bilingual teachers. And so when you have a dual language program, yes, it is great for the students who are in it, but it's not offered to everyone. So in terms of the discussions we've had, we've we've we've spoken about do we have one that
065offers more students the opportunity to learn a second language and where would it be best? So right now we're looking at the upper grades because we know that they're getting ready to go to the high school where they take another language and we believe that if we introduce them um to a second language at grade five and six, it will bode well for them when they go up to the high school. So there's two um thoughts to that process. Do you start in kindergarten and you only have one class of students who get it or do you offer it to everyone at the upper grades and build that foundation for when they get up to the secondary school? And we're exploring both of those. But thank you for your wonderful question. Thank you. I have
066one more thing. I want to thank you for assisting me in putting up um no smoking vaping signs in the elementary schools, but I would like to ask Miss Tiffany and Miss Wong if we are able to put no smoking and vaping signs in the high school um schools, too. Yeah, we would have to speak to um Superintendent. But thank you. Good job. Thank you. Thank you. All right. Okay. Going once. Yes, ma'am. Yes. question. I guess I'm not. Okay. Sure. So, my qu I'm Don. Hi, Don. How are you? Good. Thanks. I have a student that comes here. Okay. Um, so my question is slightly different from from um I was told that the graduation funding is now going through I guess the district. Okay. Um I didn't see it up there. So is
067it part of the budget? Is it being considered or is it it's completely separate? Completely separate. Okay. So who do I speak with and where your building principal? Okay. I I was told that I needed to speak to someone here. Um what we've done this year is um in past years um the the funds for um sixth grade activities were controlled and u managed by parents and this year early in the year the board passed a policy created a extra classroom fund where we have teacher adviserss who will collect the funds that will be lodged in an account that will be audited each year and therefore the funds are being managed by district staff And so yes, so um it's under the purview of the the the the adviserss in each of the buildings. Okay.
068So I just need to speak with them. Thank you. Thank you, ma'am. Hi. Um I wasn't going to bring up sixth grade, but since she did. Hi, Mrs. C. How are you, man? Hi, Mrs. Small. Um the last time I was here that was one of the things I brought up was the sixth grade policy. Yes. And um I was told that uh someone would get back to me by President Capers, but there was no followup. Okay. So I just wanted to know will we get something in writing that basically protects the parents from mandatory dues. Okay, that's my concern because right now it's an improvement that things are some things are optional, but the challenge with things being optional is that then some kids are left out. Okay. Because they can't afford it. I'm
069saying two things at once. But in terms of policy, I still since last year have been asking for something to say that principles cannot or anyone cannot require us to pay for sixth grade related activities. Okay. On the record. That way if you walk away or when I graduate, yes, it doesn't come back because things tend to come back. So that is something I'm still asking the board to consider. So you want a policy um the policy to clearly delineate that um the funds collected cannot be required, right? that the that there's no mandatory sixth grade dues for graduation. So, and listen, and I think one of the things we've said is that parents should have the option if you don't want your child to go to the dance, they don't have to go to
070the dance. If you don't want your child to go to the sixth grade trip, they don't have to go to the sixth grade trip. Um, you know, if you are just comfortable with your child just going to the graduation at the end of the year and that's the only place you want them to go, I think that should be fine. So I think one of the things we've done is to give the buildings that option of saying that a child is not required or mandated to do any of those things. Right? One of the things that we want to do though is this is a new policy. I think we go through it and see what went well, what didn't go well and whether or not we need to come back to the board to
071revise it. And I think when the board was passing the policy, we already under that um understanding that let's go through, let's see what works and then if it needs to be revised in the future, that's something that's open to be done. But I don't think the buildings are requiring children um to partake in any of the activities. I think like any other activity in the school, whether it's a field trip, parents have a right to say, I don't want my child to go to the Bronx Zoo. I don't want my child to go here. The parents always have the option of not sending their child. There's there's two things with that though. One being that like I said historically it's been that the dues are required. Yes. So I'm just like I said you're
072it's I'm asking to put it in writing put it on the record so that it stays. One of the things that we're doing is moving away from that word dues where they're paying a dues to be involved. What we're looking for is you have these are the activities that are scheduled for our sixth graders this year. Uh we have a senior trip, this is what it costs. We have a dance, this is what it costs. Whatever activities that have been planned because the students are an integral part of that. And then we itemize it to the parents and the parents can have a menu and said, I want you to go here. I I want you to go there. And if they don't want the children or the child to participate in any of those
073activities, the parent has that ultimate right. That sounds great. I'm just asking for it to be put on the record. Okay. That's what I'm asking for it to be that no one can require because of the history. That's And then the other side of that, you mentioning that is affordability. Yes. Because one of the things that is concerning is that the events that have been chosen are high cost. Okay. Right. We're a title one district, which means somewhere near at least half of this community are low income. So when we have a one-day trip, that's $85. It was $70. Last year, next year it'll probably be $100. Okay? So we need to address affordability as an issue so that students are not left out simply because of cost. Okay? I've been to the one of
074the place. It's great, but it's not financially um sensitive to the community that's being served. And so you have one company dominating six schools making 40, 50 grand off of our district and no other opportunities for cost effective or costsensitive activities. Thank you. So I think that's important so that sixth graders are not left out and saying oh I can't afford so I can't go. Thank you. We will talk to the principles about that. Okay. So um to the budget the other thing I had mentioned in the last time I was here was about um ELA. Mhm. So, I had asked, well, I vented about my ELA experience for my third grader um with the teacher and she was put in another class. And my concern is that not having a formal ELA program means
075that the students are getting different types of ELA experiences. there's that's not equitable for one child in one class to be getting, you know, vocabulary and certain things and other students, the students that are still in that class are not getting that. So, I'm still wondering why are we not moving forward with a formal ELA program similar to districts near us. Maybe I don't know about Long Island, but I know New York City has actual researchbased ELA curricula that are being adopted. Everyone's running away from Fontis and Panel. We're still using Fontis and Panel to assess our children when there is research that actually shows that Fontis and Panel is not reliable as a reading level uh tool. Okay. So we're theater's nice, all these other things are nice, but I feel like we're losing
076the forest for the trees, right? And reading is literally fundamental. Thank you. So So here's what I will say to you. Um, as I said, we we have started a teaching and learning committee this year. Um, the first order of business was to look at our science instruction and getting new science materials. that committee will continue to look at our instructional programs whether it's math, language arts or um you know ELA, they will continue to do so. Um what I will say to you is u I I understand the concerns over uh Fantas and Panel but what I will tell you is this the best and most important the most effective resource that we put in front of our children are our teachers. And so it doesn't matter to me. Yes, it does matter. But
077I will tell you it is not the program. Programs don't teach children. Teachers teach children. And so what the programs do, whether it's fantas panel or it's interreading, I don't have a bias one way or the other. It is the teacher who bring those curriculum materials to life. and I trust and believe in our teachers to deliver an effective instructional program to our students regardless of the resources they're using. So, we will continue to re-evaluate our um instructional programs through the teaching and learning committee, but it's going to be systematic as we go through. And so, I am not ruling it out. I'm just saying that we will look at data and we will look and see with the programs that we have, are they effectively meeting the needs of our students? and we'll engage
078with our teachers and building leaders if we choose to move forward what avenue what direction we go. So we're not ruling it out but we we have to do so in a step-by-step um process. So if I can two things one when you put it on the teacher yes remember every teacher is different that takes back to the point about equity. Yes. So if someone has an awesome teacher that child gets an awesome ELA experience. if they have a new teacher like I did or uh yes just kind of waiting to retirement teacher they get a different ELA experience. Thank you. The other thing I would like to say though is that for leaving the teachers as the core cuts the parents out. And that is what I realized this year with that tragedy of
079my child is that not having a program and Trisha Wong mentioned this at one of the things something where we can prepare and be a part of preparing our students for learning. when the parents are able to be a part of it, like as an example with the Go Math program, we know what's coming up. We're able to review the lesson with them. We're able to it's hands-on. Parents says reading partners can't be just February, right? Okay. That's when we do it. Other than that, we're cut out of the loop. We have no idea what's going on with the teacher as you mentioned. Thank you, ma'am. Thank you. We're taking that in consideration. Thank you. All right. [Applause] All right. Are you ready for me, ma'am? All right. Thank you, Mr. Small. You may resume
080your report. All right. Madame President, I seek a motion to approve item 3.3, the 202526 calendar of religious holidays. May I have a motion to approve item 3.3, the 2026 re uh religious holiday calendar of religious holidays. Move. Thank you, Miss Battle. Second. Thank you, Mr. Ramos. All in favor? I I. Motion carries. I seek a motion to approve item 5 one professional personnel items A through D. May I have a motion to approve items 5.1 professional personnel items for board action professional staff items A through D. Move. Thank you, Mr. Ramos. Second. Second. Thank you, Miss Wong. All in favor? I. Motion carries. I seek a motion to approve items 5.2, civil service personnel items A through D. May I have a motion to approve item 5.2, civil service personnel items A through D?
081Move. Thank you, Mr. Palmer. Second. Thank you, Miss Battle. All in favor? I I. Motion carries. I seek a motion to approve item 6.1, the NASA Boseis regional summer school uh program agreement. May I have a motion to approve item 6.1 NASA Bosey's regional summer school program agreement. Who is that? Mr. Mr. Hime. Thank you, Mr. Haime. Second. Second. Thank you, Miss Wong. All in favor? Uh discussion. Yes. Uh what is this uh Bosei summer school program? [Music] So we we have the summer enrichment program. Each summer we contract with Boseies to to manage that program even though it's um staffed by our teachers. And that allows us to um being reimbursed for an expense through both. Okay. Thank you. Thank you. Okay. I had a motion from Mr. Haime, a second from Miss Wong.
082All in favor? I. Thank you. Motion carries. I seek a motion to approve item 6.2, the extended school year program item A through D. May I have a motion to approve item 6.2, extended school year items A through D? Move. Thank you, Mr. Himeme. Second. Thank you, Mr. Ramos. All in favor? I. Motion carries. I seek a motion to approve item 6.3, curriculum mapping item A. May I have a motion to approve item 6.3, curriculum mapping item A? Mr. Palmer, Mr. Heman, I'm sorry. Second. Thank you, Mr. Ramos. All in favor? Favor? I. Thank you. Motion carries. I seek a motion to approve item 6.4, for the kindergarten screening screening personnel items A. May I have a motion to approve 6.4 kindergarten screening item A? Move. Thank you, Miss Battle. Second. Who was it? Mr.
083Palmer. Thank you, Mr. Palmer. My hearing is not working today. All in favor? I I motion carries. I seek a motion to receive agenda item 7.1, the committee on special education and the committee on preschool special education and section 504 committee recommendations. May I have a motion to receive item 7.1 committee on special education committee on preschool education and section 504 committee recommendations. Move. Thank you, Mr. Haime. Second. Thank you, Mr. Ramos. All in favor? I motion carries. I seek a motion to approve business item 8.1, the schedule of dispersements and warrants. I have a motion to approve business item 8.1, schedule of dispersements and warrants. Thank you, Mr. Haime. Second. Thank you, Miss Battle. Miss Wall, all in favor? I. Motion carries. I seek a motion to receive business item 8.2, two, the treasur's
084report. May I have a motion to receive item 8.2, the treasur's report? Move. Second. Okay. Thank you, Miss Battle. And thank you, Mr. Hime. All in favor? I. Motion carries. I seek a motion to approve business item 8.3, budget transfers over f over $5,000. May I have a motion to approve item 8.3, budget transfers over $5,000? Thank you, Mr. Hime. Second. Thank you, Miss Wang. All in favor? I. Thank you. Motion carries. I seek a motion to approve business items 8.4, other approvals and authorizations. May I have a motion to approve item 8.4, other approvals and authorizations? Move. I heard it in stereo. Mr. Hime was the mo motion. And who's taking a second? Second. Thank you, Mr. Ramos. All in favor? I. Motion carries. Items 8.5 A through M are noted for the board
085minutes. So noted for the minutes. Madame President, this ends uh my report. Do we have any committee reports orformational items? Uh yes. Just wanted to remind everyone uh regarding the uh excuse me, facilities committee. We're going to be meeting June 5th of this year, 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Uh there's going to be reminders out there sent out to everyone who's part of the committee. I just want to remind everybody of the committee. uh Tiffany Capers in the board uh trustee, myself uh Utricia Charles, Sheldon Me, Tanya Lors, Jacqueline Periano, and Dr. Shirley Wheeler Massie. Uh they take part in this facilities committee meeting and by the lead of director Corey Walker, our director of facilities. I also want to uh also just acknowledge that each building has a building's advisory committee and just to
086thank them for their work that they do as a committee keeping parents involved in that aspect. In regards to committees, that's all I have. Thank you, Mr. Ramos. Do we have any old business? Any new business? Who's that? I'm sorry. Miss Wong. Yes, Miss Wong. New business. Yes. Yes. Happy Teachers Appreciation Week. We appreciate all that you do. And a shout out to all the nurses out there. Thank you, Miss Wong. Um, oh, sorry, I'm not done. Thank you. Good evening, my fellow residents, students, faculty, and staff. It is with heavy heart and deep disappointment that I speak to you tonight. As many of you know, I am up for reelection for the board of education. And while I welcome a healthy competition and dialogue, I'm troubled, deeply troubled by the candidacy, Miss Wong, of
087one Mrs. Wong, I'm sorry. Could we have a sidebar for just a moment? Thank you. Um, public comment. Sorry everyone, I will speak in public comment. Thank you. [Music] We are going to take a fivem minute recess to consult with our council. Please bear with us.