001M. Jennings. Questions or comments? All in favor? Vote is unanimous. Please stand for the pledge of >> allegiance. I aliance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all. Thank you. And now we move to the GC Pride Awards. Is it working? Okay. Good evening, Vice President Richards, Superintendent Dr. Ball, and members of the board and cabinet. Tonight, I have the honor of recognizing two individuals who have made an incredible impact on our district this year, and they have no idea that I'm doing this. Our co-inter fieldhouse supervisors, Mike Deritzy and Mike Bramley, or as we've come to call them, the mics. Come on up, you guys. Um, when Mike and Mike stepped into the role mid
002year, um, it was during a time of transition and immediate need. Um, what was intended to be a short assignment quickly turned, um, into thing much more. And without hesitation, they leaned in and they continue leaning, um, even just this week. Um, as you'll hear during our presentation later tonight, they didn't just keep things running and keep things afloat. They made things better while they were here. Um, they brought professionalism to every aspect of the work, respect for both staff and community members, a deep sense of dedication to doing things the right way. They introduced innovation by modernizing systems, digitizing files, helping to move the department forward with new tools and processes. And through it all, they demonstrated excellence creating structure, improving efficiency, and building a strong foundation that will benefit Gates Childife for many
003years to come. As retired athletic directors, their unique experience in managing events, facilities, and people has been invaluable. They've approached every challenge with flexibility, creativity, and a willingness to tackle whatever came their way. And on a personal note, I will say that it has been an absolute pleasure working alongside them. I have learned a great deal from them both and are dis much stronger today because of their leadership. Even as their time in this role has extended far beyond what was originally planned, they have continued to show up with that same energy, commitment, and positive attitude. And for all of these reasons, it is um my pleasure and my honor to present Mike Bramley and Mike Deritzi with the GC Pride Award. Congratulations, Mike and Mike. Any agenda changes? >> Yes, we have agenda changes
004to personnel and action items. Thank you so much. And for board uh vice president comments, I will keep try to keep it brief. I think there is so much that we are experiencing um in the world today that it just constantly reminds me every day to be kind. It takes a smile cost you nothing. A hello cost you nothing. Um if someone is is coming to you and reaching out maybe sometimes question why that is and look for the additional support or help our staff and students here at Gates Chalai are known for their kindness and their generosity and their thoughtfulness. So just wanted to say a word of thanks for that and looking out for each other and taking care of each other because I think we need just a little bit more of
005that in the world today. Um, as you know, we previously celebrated Spartan Park. It was wonderful, even in a bit of rain that tried to rain on our parade, but thankful for the work that was done on that and the hopefully the joy that's to come for our families in the Gates Charlai community. Any points of interest, Miss Manella? Just a couple things of the last few weeks. Um about a week and a half ago I was at Disney working their splatters event where the local company from Spencerport brings the ceramics to the school and the kids get to paint and it's a really great different vibe than a lot of the other great chaotic events and it was great to see some of our future artists that are going to be moving on through
006the district and while I was doing that my family was at the Gates Comic-Con and really they got a huge kick out of that. There was a couple of uh people they recognized that were dressed up from the staff so they thought that was pretty awesome and um then over the weekend we did the Spartan Way 5K. Um we didn't finish but that's okay. My little one tried to run a little too much too fast and then it caught up with him but it's a good goal for next year because this is going to be an annual event for them. So it was a great turnout and I think they raised some good money towards that prime time for the seniors. So it was fun. Thank you. >> Thank you. Any other points of interest?
007Thank you so much. Report of meetings. No report of meetings. No visitor comments. So now we move on to reports, communications, and the community engagement report. >> Me again. Hi. Um well, thank you so much for the chance to share a little bit about um communications and community engagement and oh >> um and really how communications and community engagement are essential to connecting our community and keeping our community connected. So, um, to start off, um, you know, we started this school year, um, with a restructuring. And so, um, as part of that administrative restructuring, continuing ed, the volunteer program, our community wreck, um, programs all came under my purview. And so, this is how we sort of started the year uh, back in July. It seems like so long ago. Um, and so by December,
008we really found ourselves um, in a a need. Um, as I mentioned, Mike and Mike stepped in to serve the role of co-interm fields s uh fieldhouse supervisors after Dererick Yukono um left the district. And so we did a little shuffling and um Mike and Mike and I have um had more um interaction than Dererick and I did. Um also helped me to learn a little bit more about the department. Um and so Mara and um Joanna continue to kind of operate in that continuing ed world. And so as we move into the future and our next steps um We are going to be transitioning that fieldhouse supervisor role to a role called the community recreation supervisor. And so unfortunately we don't have that person in place yet, but we are having some conversations and
009we are really anticipating that that person would be able to start with us sometime this summer. So um to to start things off tonight with communications. Um this is sort of where I've always lived in in this district and so it's certainly a point of pride for me to be able to share this. Um, and so I'm very fortunate to work with two outstanding um, communications professionals here, Abby Noble and Ashley Roy. Um, they are really responsible for the day-to-day communications work that you see um, most prominently featured throughout the district. So whether that's um, event coverage or um, internal, external communication, social media, web stories, all of those things, that's really um, these two um, young ladies here. Um, this work would not be possible without them. And really this their work and and
010our work collectively helps to strengthen our that sense of connection that we feel um throughout our community. So it's really ultimately about creating that consistent accessible communication that leads to the connection. So um they're going to share a couple of updates, but first I want you to um look at this graphic that we show every year. So these are our our communications by the bucket, right? But the important thing to remember here is that um none of these buckets lives in isolation. At any given point on any project, we could be living in multiple of these buckets, sometimes all of the buckets at once. Um all the water is flowing everywhere all at once all the time. So um it's um a really great thing that we are good at carrying buckets and um dumping
011water where it needs to go. Um and so I'll turn it over to them to share a little bit about some of our big projects this year. We're going to start with parent square. Um we are now in our second full year and this has really allowed us to focus on again strengthening connection and consistency in how we communicate with families. Um and this year we've expanded how we use the platform. Um we've added the permission slips and the payment tools features. Um, these help really help streamline processes for both families and staff and reduce the need to shuffle between different platforms. Um, just as important, um, we've continued to focus on consistency, making sure that communications look and feel similar across schools and classrooms. Uh, that consistency was something families told us they needed
012and it continues to guide our work. Oh, okay. Um, in addition to family communication, um, we've also strengthened how we communicate with staff. This year, we've partnered, uh, with our operations and technology departments to help launch two new staff newsletters. These are designed to deliver more targeted, relevant information to staff in those areas. Uh, the goal, of course, is to reduce information overload while improving clarity. Next up, we've got our website. This is a big one. Um, that connection and consistency that we aim for have also really guided our major overhaul of our website. Um, this year we completed a full redesign of the district site and all six sites, all six school sites. Um, and I just really want to emphasize what an undertaking this was. It wasn't just a visual update. It was
013a full-on rebuild. Um, so we could improve how families access information. Um, and it was like a very intentional and at times painstaking process. Um, the three of us personally audited every page across all seven sites. We identified a significant amount of redundancies. Um, and from there we determined what information truly needed to be there and how it should be organized and where it should live on the site of course. Um, we also partnered with all departments to make sure we were capturing all of the information families needed uh while still keeping it clear and manageable. In the end, we eliminated more than 1900 pages across all sites reducing overall content by about 70%. We also standardize navigation so families have a consistent experience no matter what school they're visiting. And the site is also
014designed mobile first which is critical since about 90% of our families access information on their phones. Um and back to parent square it's now fully integrated into the site. So it helps create a more unified communication system. The result is a cleaner, more intuitive experience that aligns with our overall communication strategy. All right, so I'm going to move on to storytelling and community pride. Um, social media continues to be one of our most um visible storytelling tools. This year we shared over 140 posts across Instagram, Facebook um and we got over 20,000 engagements on those posts. Um which is likes, shares, comments, just people interacting with the things we put on social media. Um that level of engagement shows that our community is not just seeing the content um but they're actually interacting with it.
015Um which is really critical for having successful social media. Um popular campaigns like meet our great crew help to reinforce our district identity and our values um while also introducing the community to the district and showing them like inside things, events, classrooms. Um most importantly, it allows us to highlight authentic student and staff experiences in real time. Um this year we also hopped on to the Spotify wrapped trend at the end of 2025 which if you know um popular very trendy post um we created our own 2025 GC wrapped um which not only was it a fun way to kind of interact with a popular trend but also gave us a great excuse to highlight a lot of our district accompl accomplishments from the Um, another new way that we've been telling stories is through
016the district office holiday displays, which was new this year. Um it creates a welcoming and affirming first point of contact for our families who their first introduction to the district oftentimes is in the district office when they're meeting with the registar and trying to decide if this is a place where they want their students to go. Um each display has information about the holiday with a QR code so that visitors can scan it and learn more about the holiday. Um for example, right now we're recognizing uh VZIC which is also known as the uh Buddha day. Um there's a display that includes a mini statue of Buddha, lotus flowers and vote of candles. Um this is my first time hearing about this holiday. So like that's just a perfect example of even if maybe it's
017not your culture being rep represented, you can learn about the other cultures that are in our district. Um, just to reiterate on that, communication isn't just what we send, but it's what people experience when they walk through our doors. Um, another big piece of storytelling this year um was the return of our homecoming parade. Um, we had a really strong turnout and it created a lot of really meaningful moments for our school community. Um, it brought together students, staff, families, alumni, and community members. Um, The turnout and energy reflect a strong sense of pride in Gates Chilai. And one small um impact impactful piece from this year was our GC pride friendship bracelet initiative which you all should have received one on your table when you came in today. Um it created a simple way
018for students and community members to connect with one another. Um we were handing them out while we were taking pictures. We gave them to admin board members to hand out during the parade. It was just another way to hop on a popular trend. Um, you know, anybody who's a Taylor Swift fan, the friendship bracelets are huge. Um, it made our students and staff smile. It was just a really good time. Um, and it was a moment that matters because it helped us build a sense of belonging and um, assured identity throughout the community. Um, it's a great example of how storytelling is not just about what we share, but about the experiences we help create. Speaking of events like homecoming, um we've had a really busy spring so far. This month alone, we've had two
019major events. Um our grand opening of Spartan Park two weeks ago and then Gatesai Comic- Con last week. Um opportunities like this help bring the community together. Um Spartan Park was a major milestone for the district and a great example of community investment and pride. While ComicCon is another example of meeting students where they are and celebrating their interests, both events highlight how we use communication and events to create meaningful experiences. Um, they're not just events, but they're opportunities to build connection and engagement across our community. Um, and events always pull from multiple of our buckets. Um, whether it's advertising for those events, attending those events, taking photos, posting about them later. um they're always really big for communications because we're usually pretty heavily involved. Next, we're going to move on to recruitment and workforce
020support. Um we work with HR a lot. Um and one of the ways that we've been kind of assisting them this year is through recruitment and action in our newsletters. Um, new this year in our monthly GCCSD news and updates, um, our monthly district newsletter, we added a new section called position spotlight where each month we highlight a different open role um, to kind of let people know, hey, like this position's open. Um, just a different way to kind of highlight for recruitment purposes. Um, I'll contact HR each month and say, hey, like what position do we really need filled? Um, and they're always really good about getting back to me really quickly. We'll write a blurb, add it to the newsletter. Um, just a kind of additional piece that's been pretty helpful this school
021year. Um, in the same vein, we have our monthly staff e newswsletter, growing our GC family tree. Um, where we continue to help put faces to names by introducing our school community to new staff or new employees. Um, and thanks to Parent Square, this new newsletter has more views than ever. We're averaging almost 9,000 views a month, which is huge. Um, before we had Parent Square, those views were only in the hundreds. Like, I'm talking maybe 200, 500 views top. So, it's incredible to see the the growth that we've had with that um since launching Parent Square. So once we bring new staff members into the district, the next step is making sure that they feel supported and connected so they stay. Um and that's where um Spartan Strong comes in and of course that
022is our district-wide staff wellness advent initiative. Um this year communications has taken on a lead role with a focus on expanding both um the committee's presence and offerings. Um the work is grounded in a really simple idea and that is staff can't fully support our students if they're not supported themselves. Um so Spartan Strong we create opportunities for connection engagement and well-being through monthly events, challenges and ongoing communication. Um that communication includes our monthly staff wellness e newswsletter um which just shares upcoming opportunities, tips, and resources. And it currently sees an average of about 3,800 views a month. So the goal here is to build a culture where staff feel connected and supported and ultimately strengthen retention by improving the overall staff experience. Um, an a great example of that is our Spartan Strong and
023Wellness Fair. Uh, we held that during superintendent conference day in March. Um, the event was designed as a flexible experience, so staff had the opportunity to explore different aspects of wellness in ways that worked best for them. We had a wide range of activities from vendors to health screenings. Uh we created an indoor walking path. We even had chair massages and a golf simulator. Um we also included group activities, games and puzzles along with um some quieter options like tarot card readings, raiki sessions, and adult coloring. And of course, we made a special adult coloring book for the Spartan Straw Wellness Fair. You all have one to enjoy. Um and the event was really we have to think again was made possible through the support of all our parent teacher and family associations along with
024some really generous community partners. Overall it was a really meaningful opportunity to pause, recharge and connect and a great example of how we're supporting staff in intentional and engaging ways. So um you know an always an unexpected um but very validating part of our work is when we are recognized for um the high quality nature of it. Um and so this year um we were um privileged enough to receive seven New York State School Public Relations Associations awards. Um this is a state level contest that happens every year. It honors strategic work um in in school PR and so five of our seven awards this year were awards of excellence which is the highest honor. So that's the most that we've ever won. So it just is it although we don't do things for the
025awards right it's just really validating to know that we're doing really really good work and it's being recognized at the state level. Um in addition to the nice awards um we were also uh awarded a PRSA Prism award last June um that recognized our parents wereware implementation campaign. This um prism award is the highest local honor for um public relations recognizing strategic uh researchbased communications work. So just you know goes to show that um the work isn't just making things pretty. There really is um a lot of strategy and thought um and intention that goes into it. Um, and so when we think about kind of what comes next for communications, you know, as you see us here carrying our GC uh, light up letters, we will continue to carry our GC pride um, through
026the rest of the spring celebration season. You I'm sure you'll see us all around. Um, and really all of that is going to be rooted in that clear, consistent um, communication that's centered really on our community. Um, we're going to be looking um, to streamline more more tools and and make things more efficient. um reduce some of that fragmentation for families. This is an ongoing thing that we're going to probably be doing for my entire time here. Um supporting district priorities. There's always things that need to be communicated clearer um and more consistently. Um and we do plan to bring back the family survey next school year. So, we look forward to to doing that. And so, with that, I'm let you guys off the hook for a moment. And I am gonna I'm doing
027double duty tonight because um I'll also be sharing our update on our continuing ed and volunteer program. Um unfortunately um Mara Shabalo who leads this work um as our director of continuing ed and our volunteer coordinator um is currently out on medical leave and so she's not able to be here um to share this update with you herself. She's actually really disappointed. So if everybody could just look at the camera and everybody wave hi to Mara for me because she's probably watching on the live stream. Um anyway, Mara um is um leads leads the continuing ed uh department and really continuing ed plays such an important role in connecting our schools and community through that extended learning and those um volunteer opportunities. And so I also want to acknowledge Joanna Sandi who supports that office
028um and the around about 30 um instructors who offer different classes um in different times of year. Um continuing on again like I said plays an important role in extending that learning beyond the school day. Um this is opportunities for students, for adults, for families to really engage in um learning outside of the the normal um you know classroom structure. There's a a wide range of programming that's offered. Um driver ed is one of our our most popular. Um this uh continuing ed also really serves as a as a connection point between the district and sort of the community. maybe people who don't have students in our schools but um feel that deep sense of Gatesai pride as many do. Um these programs really do help to bring people into our doors. Um and this
029is really one central area where um our district becomes a hub for our entire community. So when we look at participation we've um in the 2425 school year um we um had more than 1100 participants and across all of those um sessions um that we have so four sessions per year there are more than 1300 enrollments. So um driver's ed remains an important part of that programming. Um this year we had 55 students um that became drivers as part of our gates driver education program. That's a huge point of pride that we continue to turn out good drivers, right? Um these numbers again both reflect strong participation um and really to the value that the the community places on these programs. Um the program did generate over just over um 86,000 uh in revenue and
030remains self- sustaining with a net positive of over 21,000. So again, remains impactful and financially sustainable. Um, in addition to sort of the overall participation, there are just a couple of programs that are worth highlighting. So, I mentioned driver ed continues to be a strong offering for our students. Um, community concert band is another one that has really taken off in recent years. Um, if anybody has ever come to the fall family, they um typically uh play us out at the end of the night. Um this year 91 members of the community concert band um traveled to Lake George um for a special community concert festival there. Um we also offer a wide range of other enrichment courses and camps that appeal to both students and adults. Um and again these reflect the diverse interests
031and um needs of our of our community while maintaining that flexibility of of um outside of the school day programming. So, moving to our volunteers, we've got more than 1,700 approved volunteers in the district. Huge, huge asset to our district. Um, this again continues to be a really strong connection point between our schools and our greater community. They are an extension of our school community. Um, and so we've received 385 new applicants just this year alone. So, just also shows the um continued interest in in growing this. Um, this year, continuing ed has um continued to um improve systems and processes. So um you probably all get the um brochure in the mail four times a year that outlines all of our courses. Um I would be remiss if I did not give Abby Noble
032a huge huge kudos um for helping Mara to sear that uh program that uh brochure to the finish every single time. it is a huge undertaking to do any sort of publication, print publication and so um the level of detail in that publication specifically is just inordinate. So um huge thank you to Abby for that. Um there have also been operational improvements um across the program which include upgrades to office spaces. Um, even, you know, we take that for granted sometimes, but even small upgrades to where we work and where we spend eight hours a day can really put a boost in the way we feel about the work that we're doing. And so, we've seen that. Um, and we've also made improvements to how we track um, our volunteers and trying to align them
033by graduation year so that we can easily carry them from building to building. So, again, more efficiency, more engagement over time. So when we look at what's next for continuing ed um well we're going to be because you know it wouldn't be here at Gates if I didn't help to um do some sort of software transition right so continuing ed is going to be moving to a new software later this year and as part of that transition we will be rebranding to community education rather than continuing education um hopefully that um more overtly communicates what this program is and what it means and what it can can mean for families um better reflects the scope really of the program and its role in connecting um students, families and and our community. Um so these changes
034really position us for the future and for um greater community connection going forward. So at this point now I'm going to bring up the mics with me and we'll talk a little bit about um community recreation. So Mike and Mike um have been leading community recreation side of the house. Um they oversee the approximately 13 fieldhouse staff who work in the evening at the check-in window um or sometimes you'll see them walking around. Sometimes you'll see them in the fitness center um and the roughly 21 lifeguards that oversee um things in the in the pool area in the pool deck. Um, again, I mentioned there was that mid-year transition um where we kind of found ourselves in need of some somebody to fill these these big shoes that Dererick left behind. It's such a critical
035role in our community to have somebody overseeing all of the different bits and pieces that um this role um interacts with almost everybody in the district. And so, um, luckily, we've had these two gentlemen step in and really, um, help to, um, not only maintain, but really improve and lead some some positive change, um, in the short few months that they've been here. So, I'm going to turn it over to them to share a little bit more about what they've been up to since they've been with us. >> Mike and I would like to thank Eva, Dr. Ball, and the board of education for the unexpected recognition. We had no idea that was happening and that was very very kind. I also want you to know that the board of education, you have done a
036great job with facilities here. Mike and I have been in multiple school districts and recently and for a long time where we were before and the facilities that you have are by far the best that we've worked with. And with those facilities, what you've done is you've created opportunities for students and for the community. So you should be commended for what you have done. It's an outstanding place in in in in a great community. So, we really enjoyed that. So, some of the things that we've been doing is we're trying to strengthen operations and systems. >> What's that? >> Oh, sorry. >> Here we're gonna give you that's we work together as a team. He needs to do that. So when we started, we had paper worksheets that were doing a great job. We had
037paper worksheets that um and actually time sheets that all of our fieldhouse workers and also all of our lifeguards did and trying to decipher what they were doing every week and how many hours they actually worked was a little bit of a challenge. So, working with HR, we were able to um use Windcap. And so, now all of those people are now putting all their stuff in on their own like all the other employees in the school district. We also um streamlining the way you we use Filelet. Um we are using it and making sure that all the information is correct in there. We're making sure that all of the certificates of insurance, all the right people are in there. And most recently, even today, all the district things have been downloaded for next school
038year. So today, we sent it out to all other staff so they can get those downloaded. It's going to go directly into Flet and Mike and I are going to be able to see where there are conflicts and within a couple weeks, we should be able to have the district um calendar and all the school needs in in Flet. So that's something that we've tried to work on. Um working with Eva, she did a nice job. We've did a full update of the facility's use manual, made some changes where they needed to be so that we've been able to do that. It helps clarify expectations when we have outside users. We have four groups here. We have district, we have feeder programs, we have not forprofit, and we have for profit. So each of those
039there's a different type of use and different charges in the for the facilities. So we've been able to work on that and solidify that. We've taken all the information from Derek and anything that we've done and we've created a team's um channel so that all is in there. So when the next person comes to replace us, everything is all ready for them to use. So that that was a big part for us. Obviously what we're trying to do is make this a seamless transition from Derek to us to the next person. >> Next is we talk about some facility and I echo with what Mike said. Obviously, the message is from Mike and Mike. It's usually the same message, but the partnerships that we've been able to foster with all groups, with Eva's outstanding support,
040to the superintendent, to the board of education, to the different departments, all these things that were able to set some structures in places because of that great partnership. And like Mike shared with you, and you know this, it's an outstanding facility. So, what we really talked about first was the facility and experience for our community, right? So right now we've got community members in the fitness center, in the pool, on the walking track, and they're utilizing this as a great resource for them. Well, we wanted to make sure that we made that experience what it should be. So with the support of the school district, we've been able to upgrade the um fieldhouse office. Got to remember that's the first place our community walks in. So now it becomes rightly so a a high quality
041space. We have outstanding supervisors and window workers who are fan- friendly and we've talked about how we interact with our community, but it really became a nice space when we began our entry and working with our staff. That was their thing. The floors were dirty. Um the walls, they hadn't been upgraded. So, your support in rebranding that room and we're still in process. So important. And I look at Sam and I talk about team effort, right? We come from the world of athletics where teamwork is so important from security to buildings and grounds and custodial. They have been on point with us. A part of this has been making sure that we clean up our pool and we talk about storage in that pool area. What stuff is upstairs on that walking track, the fitness
042center? Do we have a maintenance plan to ensure that the facilities are being used? to ensure that the facilities are being cleaned. So when our community comes in, I will tell you constant night conversations with Rey the night guy and with whether it be Steve or or um one of the other security are on Brian or or Yasen or whomever. They have been on point for everything and again it improves the experience that our community will have. So we really talked about that that facelift of the facility, the improved user experience. We've talked about safety and security and I reference the security staff. We had a conversation in December about they had the old school way of people would come in, present their license, we'd hold their license, they'd write their name down in scribble
043if you see how people write their names and then they'd leave that night and if we ever really needed to know who was in our facility, we really couldn't read the names, right? So working with security every other space we have tonight we use Raptor system for any community member that's coming in to the board meeting. So we are currently using Raptor. We have a clear concrete system. We know who is in there when they're in there. It it clearly states if they're going to the pool, if they're going to the fitness center, if they're going to the track. We have a system. If they go from the fitness center to the track, we have it noted in Raptor that they're using both spaces. We know when they check in, we know when they check
044out. So, from a safety and security standpoint, it's consistent with what we do in our entire district. And it's clean. Now, when we need to do our our reports and you look at our our community use, and Mike will talk more about numbers uh in our next few slides, um we are used a ton. You remember we're open six days a week, Monday through Thursday, 6:00 to 9:30, Saturday and Sunday. So now we have clear concrete systems and from a safety and security standpoint, if something were to go wrong, we know exactly who is here, what happened. And I think those combinations of really taking care of our facilities because it's an outstanding space, but we got to make sure we take care of it and keep it that way. And that is cleanliness. That
045is making sure that we have processes to clean it. That is making sure that we have processes to fix equipment when it goes down. To ensure that the spaces are there and again like Mike referenced earlier, our goal is to make sure that we have all these systems in place for whomever comes in, you know, next long term, they can just take it and run with it. Uh but again I can't uh say enough how much those partnerships are so important whether we've worked with HR security custodial the communications department the buildings we talked to Tom Hamilton we need this we're having some discussion about about uh fitness center use and uh been on point so thank you very much at this point in time Michael will talk more about community use obviously you can
046see the numbers quite large I doubt there's any other community in the area that can say these types of things. But you're looking at the total visits. Looks like the fitness center is obviously something that's very big in this community. Um get a lot of people in the pool, especially on weekends. We get family swim, so we get a lot more for that. And then obviously the indoor track is not used as much, but almost 10,000 uses in 2025. It's amazing. So this is just a a historical comparison. Um if you look 21 was coming out of co so that's why that number reflects the way it does and then each year it has improved as far as overall overall visitors obviously the biggest jump is going from COVID to a normal year there's always
047going to be a big jump there but then it was increasing this last year wasn't as much but you're up you're pretty there's a there's a lot of people so you're not going to increase when you get to that high number as much as you would have in the past especially coming out of co >> you Another piece of what we do is so we're open to the community, but it's also about facility rentals, right? We are a community resource and Mike referenced sort of that pecking order that we utilize for the spaces. So again, as we reference different departments, we work handinhand with athletics and with buildings. I think of with ComicCon that went on uh this past week and was extremely successful. Um that was a partnership to ensure that we did everything
048necessary to make sure that space was ready to go for our community. Our facility rentals there is a tremendous amount of use and that's where our office and Mike and I are fortunate in our previous life as athletic directors. We work with the entire community. We work with business, we work with internal whether it be teachers, custodians, principles, we work with people trying to utilize. So again, being fan- friendly, but having clear, concrete conversations about our rental procedures and the pecking order that we use, that partnership is so important. I think of color guard and their season through the winter and work to their culminating event and that partnership ensuring that it runs very well. So all of the groups, whether it be our feeder programs, our youth sports, um whether it be nonprofits or
049forprofit, which again becomes a little bit of a revenue boost for us. You you think about um some of the cheerleading competitions that we had this past um this past season. Um but the reality is we work hand inand with them and we have really tried to shore up the processes of expectations of the groups and when they come in and how they leave it and how they work with us and that partnership goes along with obviously custodial security, our yellow coats, our supervisors and ensuring that they know exactly what they're doing because we expand access to the district but we really want to make sure that we don't lose access for our internals. So like Mike talked about what we're doing with Flet now, we want to take care of the internals first and
050then as the externals come in, we offer those opportunities to partner with them. But again with clear concrete expectations and really working to assist them to ensure that it is everything they want it to be, but that everybody's held accountable and we got structures in place to make sure. You look at our facility rentals from July 125 to to um right now currently we've had 8 894 uh43 8,943. You see math was not my forte um going through college but um so those are our total requests. Obviously, again, we want to take care of our interest in district folks, right? So, that's the bigger group and our feeder programs, right? We want whether it be the arts, whether it be music, whether it be athletics, we want our kids to have the opportunities to learn
051and grow at a young age through those feeder programs and have that partnership. And then obviously our nonprofits and our profits. But you could see the total request. Again, Mike referenced it. We've said it a few times, just an outstanding facility, but it's it's it's such great um PR for this for this school district on how we open it up, but we want to make sure that we do it we do it right and we have systems in place. >> When he was talking about some of the groups coming in, it came to mind that one of the biggest things you get out of it is say you're holding a cheerleading competition and the basketball boosters are running the concession stand. So, that's really the big benefit for you when you're running events. Um, you're
052helping to put enough money into the pocket of some of our other programs. So, that that's that's huge as you're looking at that. Um, everything that they're doing is is bringing the community together. The the Fall Fest, we have PTO family swims for each of the schools that are great. The Comic Con had over a thousand people. Um, they stopped in to see us today to say thank you and said that was way beyond what they thought would happen. So, there's some great events going ahead. Um, looking for other opportunities to help um engage the community. Um, we want to be able to um look ahead to the Gate summer celebration which will be on June 27th and we appreciate everything everybody's done to support us while we've been here. Um, it has been a
053really good experience for us. Um, so when we think about what's next for the community wreck side of the house, um, obviously, you know, we're we are very eager to get our new community recreation supervisor here and, um, engaged in this work, um, continue strengthening those systems and and the operations and keep building that user experience. Um, we kind of talked about this throughout, but really um, communications, community engagement, public relations. This isn't just one thing that we do. It's really the collective of, um, the way that people feel when they're here, the way that people think about us when um they when somebody mentions our name, right? We want people to have a positive feeling about us. We want people to have a good feeling about the work that we're doing, how we're supporting
054kids, how we're supporting our community. And so, um, certainly these these four areas, communications and creating awareness and and educating, right? Staff wellness, creating that culture right within our own staff first. Um, the community education piece is that opportunity to learn and grow more. And then certainly the community recreation piece is that access to to um stay active and and engaged as well. Are there any questions? Thank you to the communications department and Mike and Mike. I've never formally met you, but I know you deal with my husband a lot. So, thank you very much. And we appreciate your support for sports boosters. We did make $7,000 that day for the crazy cheer event. It's amazing. And it was just my husband and son working. Thank you. Great. >> Any other questions? >> Okay. I
055know that there was a request for a cahoot. So, unfortunately, I'm getting word that we're out of time. So, I'm sorry I can't, >> but uh I promise that I will follow up with that in the future. >> Thank you everybody. >> Thank you. >> That's an arrestable offense. >> Congratulations on all your awards and the growth in numbers and accolades. You guys are doing amazing work. So, next up we have the capital project update. That's a tough act to follow. Well, thank you Eva and team. Um, some quick introductions because we have a new face. Uh, Joe Pada with Campus Construction Management. >> Uh, good evening. I'm Mitch McCallister from Messi Design Group. >> So, we'll give you a Thank you. Quick update on the future ready 2025 capital improvement project. First, I want
056to say thank you to everyone for attending that was able to the Spartan Park grand opening. It was a great time. Your uh district does a fantastic job putting on events like that. And for anyone that wasn't able to get one the day of, I did leave a commemorative baseball and softball for you all. So, the last month uh was not we did not do a lot. The weather was not very cooperative with us for anything outside, but our site work contractor has mobilized and as of yesterday has started the site work for the fencing that will go around Spartan Stadium. Our general trades contractor uh drywall and finishing painting in the operations center and then the middle school ceiling in the cafeteria was removed in anticipation of our steel work and air handler work
057in the summer. And our mechanical, electrical, and plumbing contractors continued their work inside of the operation center. We're very close to completion with these trades. Uh, and we should start see those wrapping up in the next month. So, in the next month at the operation center, completing all the drywall for both the mechanic space, the new bathrooms, and the training and warming kitchen space, painting of that, completing the MEP ruffins, as I said before, when the weather cooperates, replacing the shingle roof that is on that building, and then starting the exterior pergola work that will be for the warming kitchen. And then, I mentioned before, they've started the foundations for the fencing around the Spartan Stadium. Budget-wise, we're 6% build through March, and we have not spent any dollars out of our allowances. So, very
058looking good so far. Uh, some photos. In the operations space, there will be a large training room that can be divided into two. You can't really see it in this photo, but there's a large steel member that will hold the uh folding partition. This is where the gauge triilai food pantry will fit inside the operation center. This is the new ADA bathrooms that will service for the public uh from Spartan Stadium. This is the mechanic space in the operation center. Uh this is an existing wall, existing windows. This will be where all their desks go. And then on the other side of the room, there'll be a dedicated storage space for each of the trades of your mechanics in district. And then this is a photo of where the warming kitchen will be. And then
059a little bit further along in in March, uh there'll be a lot of cabinetry in here. This is where pizza, hot dogs, things will be served out of for the concessions. And then the middle school, this is what the building looks like with the ceiling removed. Very exciting. All right. In addition to uh what's currently in construction, we have uh few projects at different phases of design as well. Um with phase two that is uh currently in SED for approvals. Um this work includes scope at uh nine buildings. So it's pretty good size phase. We have an addendum we got to get into the the state for some changes, but uh that's moving along. Um phase three is just in the high school and middle school and it is currently in schematic design. We've gone
060through field work and documentation. We've identified um a mother's room location and roofing replacement scope areas that will see that's going to be um it's already in design and it's going to go to the state at the end of the year. And then phase four is back at the high school and middle school and Florence Brasser and that's not going to be designed until 2028. So got a little ways on that but um we've already started looking into bits and pieces of it. So that's it. >> No questions. Thank you so much. Next up is the budget adoption presentation. Mr. Mallister, right? >> I won't tell um Kurt if you did better or worse than that, but you did a great job. Thank you. Um so, good evening uh Vice President Dr. Richards and the
061board of education. Thank you for having me. I'm here to talk about the budget adoption briefly. Um so, just a little update on where we're at and then a couple of other details. This should be very quick. is that um tonight is the anticipated adoption of the budget by the board of education. Um it's typically at this meeting that we do this. Uh and so we've shared much of the detail in prior meetings um relating to what's included in the budget and also the finance audit committee has been very involved as well. So with that um the expenditure proposal of 4.8% 8% increase budget to budget or 6.7 million. Again, it's a modified zerobased no frills budget. Those um details or those budget drivers as we call them um specific to this budget were shared
062at a previous board meeting. Um and so we can um certainly go back and reflect on those, but a majority of the costs are tied to salaries and benefits and also an increase in debt service costs which is offset by state aid which is a very large chunk of that increase. In terms of the revenue plan, we don't have a budget from New York State. They continue to pass budget extenders and so we've been in this position for the last two years. This is the third year in a row where there's been budgets that have been late. And so in these scenarios, um the board still has to adopt a budget and then we put that budget out to the public. And if in a worst case scenario, we didn't get as much state aid
063as we had previously anticipated, then we would need to use additional fund balance and reserves to help cover any budgetary gap um that existed within the structural um expenditure budget. So, with that, um, we will continue to, um, wait with baited breath to see what the state comes back with acknowledging that our foundation aid increase right now under the governor's proposal was 1.42%. We're hoping for a little bit more, which will allow us to reduce our reliance on fund balance and reserves. In terms of the propositions and board election, um, there's two propositions on the ballot. One is the annual budget. The next one is the bus purchase using capital reserve funds um with a reminder that uh in terms of the bus proposition, we're going to be using a substantial amount of reserve. So,
064we created a a plan and the public approved a reserve to allow us to start reducing our reliance on issuing debt for buses to save approximately $200,000 a year. So, that's a a plan that we kicked off a little over a year ago. Again, it's one of those many um mechanisms we've been doing in terms of both expenditures and revenues to try and maximize funds for the district and and uh be as efficient as possible. Um so this is another big win in terms of district finances. So there's four seats available today. We did the the um the name picking of um who and where people are going to be on the ballot. So, we have um five candidates for four positions in ballot order. Uh incumbent Michelle Jennings, incumbent Adam Reinhardt, incumbent Katherine Davis,
065um were the first three. Um Tina Carney and Angela Stout. Angela is in attendance here this evening. Hello, Angela. Um is um we have two individuals who are interested in uh being on the board and so they have put in petitions as well and will be on the ballot. So, we're very excited um for the upcoming meet the candidates night to have um more conversation with them. Oh, and that's all I have for tonight. Are there any questions? >> No questions. Thank you, Dr. Paul. >> Thank you. >> So, next we'll move on to approval of consensus agenda. Can I have a motion to approve the consensus agenda? Mr. Long, Miss Manella. Questions or comments? All in favor? Vote is unanimous. Can I have a motion? Approve to We're moving on to approval of consensus
066items. Can I have a motion to approve consensus items C through G? Miss. Littlewood, Mr. Reinhardt. Questions or comments? All in favor? The vote is unanimous. Now we move to action items. Action item A, acknowledge board candidates and election ballot placement. Can I have a motion to acknowledge board candidates and election ballot placement? Mr. Long, Mr. Reinhardt. Question the comments. All in favor? Vote is unanimous. B. Can I have approval of the 2627 property tax report card? A motion to approve the 2026 20 through 2027 property tax report card? M. Davis, Mr. Reinhardt. Comments or questions? All in favor? Vote is unanimous. Can I have a motion to approve the 2026 2027 board of education proposed budget? Miss Littlewood, Miss Davis, questions or comments? All in favor? Vote is unanimous. Next, we have approval of
067the 2026 2027 annual budget and propositions. Can I have a motion to approve the 2026 2027 annual budget and propositions listed on the agenda? Motion, please. Mr. Reinhardt, Miss Manella. Questions or comments? All in favor? The vote is unanimous. Next, Monroe 2 Orleans Bosey's proposed 2627 administrative budget. Can I have a motion to approve the Monroe 2 Orleans Bosey's administrative budget of 9,500 9,000 on the board? 9 million 577430,000 for the 2026 2027 fiscal year. Mr. Reinhardt, Mr. Bonowski, comments or questions? All in favor? Vote is unanimous. Next vote on the Monroe 2 Orleans Boseies board candidates. Can I have a motion to vote on the Monroe to Orleans Boseies board candidates as listed on the agenda? Miss Jennings, Miss Manella, comments or questions? All in favor? Vote is unanimous. And now we're at superintendent
068comments. >> Thank you, Dr. Richards. So, I'd like to begin tonight by sharing some important school calendar changes that were just approved by the board. Thank you. An important caveat is that in the event of an emergency closing, this schedule may be adjusted again. But as of right now, the last day of class for high school students will be Tuesday, June 16th, but exams will continue through June 25th. The last day of school for both middle and elementary school students will be Tuesday, June 23rd. Monday, June 22nd and Tuesday, June 23rd will be will both be half days for students in grades UPK through 8. And we'll close out the year with our 10-month staff on Friday, June 26th. It's been a busy couple of weeks in the district since our last board meeting. Last
069week, the district held its first ever ComicCon event. More than 1500 people visited the Spartan Fieldhouse for this inaugural event hosted by our very own Gates Chili Libraries program. There were vendors, crafts, and activities and a cosplay contest. Major kudos goes to high school librarian Angela Brody, Angelina Brody, and district instructional leader Matt Harvey for pulling off a spectacular event. I can tell you that my child absolutely loved it. We had a blast and I know that a ton of people who u maybe don't uh participate in all types of uh athletic events and contests of that sort. This is a type of event that gets to um some kids that maybe don't participate in in other things. And so I think it was a really great opportunity, a really great inclusive opportunity um to
070engage a lot of students um that maybe don't engage in some other um activities in the district. Another big celebration we had since our last meeting was the grand opening of Spartan Park. Our team pulled together to move the event up a day in the face of some bad weather headed our way. Between the hundreds gathered for our ribbon cutting, the drum line prevading providing a great beat, and the serum ceremonial first pitches between seniors and younger students, it was a home run. Shout out to our MC extraordinaire, Keandre. Unfortunately, Keandre is not here tonight, but he did an incredible job. Last week, Gates Chilai board members and administrators attended the Monroe 2 Orleans Bosey's annual meeting where they presented the annual Bosey's budget. Several members of our board and cabinet team attended the event,
071which was prepared and served by culinary, baking, and food service students, including two Spartans. And a special shout out to Boseis 2 exeicio Xavier Williams who kicked the meeting off with the pledge of allegiance. He is our Bosey's first student exeicio which is a great honor for the district. Last week, GC HS also hosted its Sumo Kum Latte breakfast with 16 students being honored and celebrated for their hard work and achievements. Each of these students is graduating with an average between 95 and 100. Really impressive. And in collaboration with the Urban League of Rochester, the high school also held their early recognition ceremony for black scholars. Our students hard work, dedication, and commitment to success represent the very best of our school community. Earlier today, we found out that for the fourth consecutive time, Gates
072Chilai has been named in the best communities for music education by the NAM Foundation. A major kudos to our music music department for everything they do to make Gates Chilai a great place for music education. And safety efforts at Gates Chilai earned the district the Udica National Insurance Group's school safety excellence award. Oh, that's a mouthful. For the 2026 year at the platinum level, which is incredible. By receiving this award, Gates Chilai has been recognized as going above and beyond in providing a safe, healthy, and focused culture of learning. And there was a very robust application process. And I can tell you from the office of instruction, Zelica um really did a great job in helping us pull a lot of information together very quickly to get that application in. Earlier today, the five candidates
073running for board of education participated in the process to determine ballot order. I know I shared this a little while ago, but in ballot order, the candidates are Michelle Jennings, Adam Reinhardt, Katherine Katie Davis, Christina Tina Carney, and Angela Stout. The three candidates with the highest votes will earn a three-year term, and the candidate with the fourth fourth fourth highest number of votes will earn a one-year term. Remember, the annual budget vote and board election is on Tuesday, May 19th from 6:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. in the Spartan Field House. And finally, if you're looking for something fun to do tomorrow night, look no further than the elementary volleyball tournament sponsored by the Gates Chilai Education Foundation. Doors open at 5 and the games begin at 5:30. We hope to see you there. And that
074is all for my report tonight. Thank you. >> Thank you, Dr. B. Can I have a motion to adjourn the meeting? Anybody want to go home? Mr. All right. Hart, Miss Davis, comments or questions? All in favor? We are adjourned.