001Good evening all. Welcome to the board of education regular business meeting. Today is August 4th, 2025. Can I please have a motion to open the meeting? Annie one, Teresa 2. All in favor? That's everyone. It is upon recommendation from the superintendent of schools that the board of education enter into executive session to discuss specific legal, collective bargaining, personnel, and other matters in accordance with the open meetings law. Can I have a motion to enter into executive session? Uh Kelly one uh two. All in favor? That is everyone. Uh we'll be back um in about >> 7 o'clock. Thank you. Welcome back. Can I please have a motion to exit the executive session and re-enter the public meeting? Annie's one. Theresa is two. All in favor? That is everyone. Let's please all rise for the pledge
002of allegiance. I pledge allegiance 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. >> In case of an emergency, please direct yourselves to the illuminated exit signs in the back and the side of the auditorium. This is a smoke-free building. Smoking or vaping is not permitted. At this moment, we're going to do the administration of oath for newly elected board officers, Jenna Prada and John Weston. Even though they were sworn in before and attended a prior meeting, we didn't officially do it in public. So, this is going to be your moment. Got to keep the paparazzi out. All right. I, Jenna Prada, do solemnly swear I will support the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution
003of the State of New York and that I will faithfully discharge the duties of board trustee according to the best of my ability. >> Stay here. >> Want to try that again without this? Mr. Weston. >> Okay. I, John Weston, do solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of New York, and I will faithfully discharge the duties of board trustee according to the best of my ability. All [Applause] right. Can I please have a motion for a Well, I I'll repeat this. The purpose of this public can I please have a motion for a public hearing. The purpose of this public hearing is to share information on and hear from interested parties on the district-wide safety plan proposed for 2025 2026. Can I have
004a motion? Teresa one, John 2. All in favor? That's everyone. Okay. >> Thank you. Uh Mr. Stein could not be here. I wish I had as much energy as he usually does for these meetings. He will be uh doing a presentation in September talking about safety and security for the district. There will be things I will not cover tonight because I'm just talking about the safety plan. He will cover that and much more in September. Just want to put it out there. So, tonight's public hearing is in regards to the district-wide safety plan. Uh, the Huntington Union Free School District, as all New York State School Districts must maintain a district-wide safety team, uh, consisting of, but not limited to trustees, administrators, teachers, parent organizations, um, school security personnel, law enforcement, and emergency agencies. So
005we thank them each year for all of their activity in helping us review the plan, craft the plan, make adjustments. We come together. We seem to work well together. Uh Mr. Sin usually adheres to uh different regulations, but we review the plan and that's what I'm going to be presenting tonight. Um the team also convenes uh when a plan adjustment is required by the New York State Education Law. So, we'll probably have a couple of meetings this year knowing some changes that are forthcoming. This is the district-wide safety team. Uh, as mentioned, you will see many uh different individuals in many different positions. Now, one of the things that sometimes can be a little bit confusing is you have a districtwide school safety plan and then you have a building level emergency response plan. So,
006the district-wide plan, it's broad concepts, policies, and procedures. Um, it outlines strategies rather than specific details. It is approved by the board. It is also something that is put on the district website. Building level emergency response plans provide very detailed strategies and it is just given to specific district personnel and students should an emergency response be required. Um this plan is deemed confidential and it is not shared with the general public. We do share with uh two agencies. Um we share with second precinct and we also share with the New York State Education Department. That share happens annually by October 1st and that is a requirement. The school building level emergency response plan is crafted using the building level emergency response plan template. Um, initially developed and distributed by the New York State School Safety
007Improvement Team as expressed. We do submit this to uh the second precinct and the New York State Police. Um, it includes standardized language and definitions. um FEMA shelter in place, hold in place, evacuate, secure lockout and lockdown. If you remember, I'm pretty sure Mr. Stein started the conversation last year, if not the year before, of some language changes that they were going to be doing. Uh last year, it was lock out and lock down. There can be a lot of confusion with that. Even with me typing up and writing out the notes, he said, I was confusing them. So I can understand how people who do not use them regularly would confuse them. So um as of July 1st, New York State does not want us to use lockout by itself. It now needs to
008include the word secure um due to the confusion and that is uh a mandate. It's not an option. We are still waiting for their published work on this. Um there's usually like a one page which I'm going to show you on the next slide. So you will see here the emergency response, shelter in place, hold in place, evacuate, secure, lockout, and lockdown. Um, they have not pushed this out yet with the word secure. I wrote it in there and put it in red because we know that was forthcoming. So once the literature is available, we will make sure that this is placed in the proper hands as well as the proper areas within each school building. Um, we do practice shelter in place drills, evacuation drills, fire drills, and lockout drills. Uh, Mr. Stein will
009go into more detail about, uh, all of the different things we practice and how they're practiced and how many times they're practiced when he does his presentation in September. He looks forward to telling you all of those things and his very animated way of doing it. on the district website, the draft has been available. Um, we did provide a snippet here. So, if you are on the front facing page of the district and you slow scroll down some, you will see daily downloads. If you click on districtwide information, the district-wide school safety plan 2526 draft will be the first thing you see under finance and management. Um we made some movements to make that very easy for anybody to gain access uh to review this plan. Um this just outlines some safety and security initiatives
010and tools. Uh workplace violence assessment was something that went into place for school districts in January of 2024. We have done the assessment. We will be doing another review of the assessment in the coming months. Uh there were two there's a two-part workplace violence training that will happen annually. The second part is uh required for administration. The first part is for all faculty and staff. That is an annual requirement. So even though I'm sure people will not like seeing that again that is something that will be on the list of annual trainings that occur. Um we have done tabletop exercises and simulations. There is ongoing administrative and staff training. Uh Narcan active shooter workshops, CPI training for all the guards. Uh RAVE application was offered to teachers in 2025. That will be something that we
011will continue to offer. That is an optional um opt-in. Uh so there's a process to that. They have to go through the training first before they can be opted in, but we did have teachers participate in that this current year. uh parent notifications for lockdown drills. That's also something that is on the newer end within the last year or so. Um in the way in which we have to notify um we've clearly made modifications and structural adjustments to a lot of our buildings. Uh safety and security is a top priority for us and it shows throughout our school district. Um, we make sure there's signage throughout the district and tons of mental health initiatives. Just uh in case somebody doesn't want to pick up the entire document and read every single line to find the
012changes, we do like to outline where there were adjustments from one year to the next. So on page 10, we added the section to include workplace violence prevention. Um it's just a snippet. This is as expressed a policy that is required and we are constantly reviewing, evaluating, and updating as necessary. Um there have also been updates to pages 13 through 20 in regard to the remote plan to include any new applications uh that the students could have access to. And then on page 22, there were changes to personnel as personnel changes uh occur. And we cross-check to make sure everybody's phone numbers are correct. Any questions? >> Okay. >> So, I just wanted to say thank you and I appreciate um the attention to detail and certainly uh all the initiatives and tools for uh
013student and staff safety. Um, I did have a question about the workplace violence uh assessment. You said that you're going to be um doing another one this this winter, I think. Um, is there a procedure in place to collect and review data related to workplace violence? >> So, uh, there are a couple of different tools um, for the assessment that was actually done by an outside organization. They came in and walked the schools. um their everything they wrote up uh really spoke highly of Huntington and how serious we take safety and security and the measures that we used from uh the gentleman going around attempting to open doors and the doors being locked uh not finding things jarring doors. So that was separate. Uh they also provide as part of their package for the workplace
014violence training they offer a survey. So when we send out the training to staff saying here's the link, watch the video, please complete the survey. That's an annual piece. The survey is then reviewed by myself and Mr. Stein. So we actually took all of the they it's in through Google form so you know you have all the charts and graphs in the background. Um we reviewed that. We uh also did a presentation to a separate committee than the district-wide safety. Um you have uh health and safety committee which is a separate entity and required. We went over those results with them to identify what are things that seem feasible, what are just nonallowances that we need to communicate a little bit better with staff and faculty and what are things that cost money. So we
015did review that. I believe it was in June with them. Um, so that will be something where that committee will get back together and then we'll push that information out to administrators to see what we can do and what we can educate on. Um, and for the most part it's, you know, can I put something in my blind? Do you have a stopper that I can do for the door? So, there's just some things that are not allowed. Uh, but we want people to know that they were heard. So, we probably will provide some of those results when we send the next, hey, you need to complete also, hey, this was the survey results and we're working on it in the background. I think I answered everything you asked. Okay, >> not a problem. >>
016Anyone else? For public consumption, can you just kind of describe to us what Rave the Rave application is? It is a app on the phone um that allows for quick emergency response. Um it could be police, it could be fire, it could be medical. Um I remember when I first got it on my phone, I put it in a folder. It's still in that folder because I was really concerned uh that I would hit the button and then the police would be called. But it is in regards to like the radius area. So I do have to be in district. If an emergency were to take place, I could open the app, hit that, and the calls disperse. Um, administration is also notified in the event that the app is utilized. And that notification happens
017whether the administrator is on site or off. I think a year or two ago, we had something happen at um a sporting event and that button was hit. Uh I was notified I was not here at the sporting event. Um, so that quickly allowed us to contact Mr. Stein to get an update and make sure that everything was copetic. >> Thank you. Any other question? >> Just to follow up on that, do you have any data with regards to how many staff members actually have downloaded the RAV app? Is there a way to show that? >> Um, I can I know how many people took the training? I don't have it on me, but I can bring that for the next meeting that way you're aware. >> Okay. All right. If no other Oh. >>
018All right. >> Um, just a quick question. So, is the new camera that's at the high school booth that is the license plate reader, is that on here or not? Because it's just in the pilot stages, I believe. Right. >> In regards to the actual plan. >> Yeah, it's probably not fully um >> I don't know if that would go in the safety plan, but I will uh ask Mr. sign if that's something that ever would be put in the plan or if it's just a safety measure that we have. >> Okay, cool. Thank you. >> No other comments or questions. Can I have a motion to close the public hearing and return to the regular meeting? John one, Teresa 2. All in favor? That's everyone. Okay. >> Thank you. All right, moving on to
019the approvals and FYIs. First one is the board of education meetings of reorganization meeting July 1st, 2025. Uh request for approval from the board of education minutes from its reorganization meeting dated July 1st, 2025. Can I have a motion, please? Jenna one, Tom two. All in favor? That's everyone. And then the board of education meeting minutes of July 1st, 2025. Can I have a motion for approval? Annie one, Teresa 2. All in favor? That's everyone. We have some FYIs from 3 through six. Any questions or comments? Move on to the treasures report. It is upon recommendation from the superintendent of schools that the board of education approve uh the treasures report of June 2025. Can I have a motion? Agenda one, Tom two. All in favor? That's everyone. And then the warrants. Uh the it
020is upon recommendation Mr. President of schools that the board of education approve the attached warrants which were certified for payments on July 2nd 2025, July 16, 2025 and July 30th 2025. Can I have a motion? Teresa one Annie two. All in favor? And that is everyone. Right. We'll move on to communications from board members and our superintendent. you know, we get updates in our um we get weekly updates. And one of the weekly updates that I got that I thought really stood out was the AP scores, the results of our AP scores. Uh in 2025, I see that the total AP students that took the test in our district was 450 compared to 2021, we're only 347. And even just last year was 43. That that in and of itself was 11.66% increase from year
021to year. Um, but the beauty of it is how well we're doing with these AP scores, right? So, you look at AP students with scores three plus or higher. 379, that's a 23.45% from 2024. And the number of exams that we gave in 2025 was 1,19 compared to 2021 where it's 781. I mean, this just outlines some of the amazing things that this district is doing and that we're really opening the doors for everybody. Um, the fact that we have this many students taking these tests and doing this well really says a lot about our district. Uh, and then I open it up to any other board members. >> Um, good evening board and community members. I hope everyone is enjoying their summer and beginning to prepare for the upcoming school year. Um, as Mr.
022Palasios mentioned, I'd like to extend my congratulations to all my peers who took AP exams back in May. um scores were released on July 7th and the high school has recorded significant improvements since 2021. Over 80% of students scored a three or higher above um or above on their test and that's something we should all be proud of. Not only this, more students have been taking the challenge by enrolling in AP courses and it's truly amazing to see everyone pushing themselves and succeed through hard work and dedication. In addition to this, the high school is also offering a college application boot camp for the rising seniors prior to the college application process. Many students are taking advantage of this opportunity um to start early with their applications and they appreciate the helpful re resources being
023offered for this intensive process. Fall sports tryyouts are just around the corner and this year students must complete an online registration form in order to participate in tryyouts. It's a way of making things convenient and keeping everything organized. And finally, the high school is looking forward to welcoming the freshman class of 2029. The freshman seminar will take place on August 21st, 22nd, and 25th, which helps with the transition to high school. Freshman orientation will take place on Tuesday, August 26th, which consists of anformational assembly where students are going to receive some advice on how to navigate the next four years. Current students of the high school will give tours of the school and address what the high school offers regarding clubs, societies, and more. And that's all. Thank you for your time and I hope
024everyone enjoys the rest of their summer. >> Thank you. Anyone else? >> Yeah, I just want to piggyback on uh both of the last comments here from board members um where we are uh talking about uh the AP scores. Not only the do we offer more here in Huntington, and I guess I'm saying this for the the entire community, do we offer more in Huntington and breadth and scope of the different uh classes and exams that we take, but uh not only are the numbers bearing out that students are getting college credit, which are going to help them down the road for um you know, possibly not only using those credits once in college, but also getting an opportunity to make them college ready, to have children have the opportunity to see what college is
025like. our students uh colleges uh acknowledge this realize this and it's almost um expected by a lot of high achieving colleges that you need to do these uh types of courses and Huntington offers them uh you know in spades just a wonderful amount of uh classes that we have here but I just want to also point out for the amount of children that are taking these exams that still might not be passing per se just the mere experience of having gone through an AP course makes the uh students more college ready and studies show that they do better once in college even if uh not having gotten you know a three, four or five which usually where credit is given uh simply by that. So, I I really want to applaud um uh you know,
026Beth and uh Brendan here for like you know being uh very active in making sure we get these classes in here, but also for the community uh to know that uh we have a program that's really second to none and it's really great seeing the results that we've gotten this past year. Just shifting gears real quick. I just wanted to uh thank our Long Island delegation of our members of Congress for advocating for the release of federal funds that were previously being withheld. Um especially Congressman Garbarino who I spoke to personally about the issue. Um, and I know that he was advocating with the White House and so were our other Congress members on Long Island and uh for that successful release that of money that we all needed. >> Beth, it's all yours. >>
027So, I have a a lot of topics this evening. Uh, the first one is summer programs. Uh, our extended school year program at Wood Hall is going very well with a few weeks to go. I'd like to thank Miss Rich, Mr. Nakarado and the staff for doing such a phenomenal job with our students. It's probably the highlight of my week when I try to get over there to visit and see all the kids and they're having a really wonderful time. Um, our elementary summer program at Jefferson ends at the end of this week. The staff have provided a fun and engaging summer experience for all students in attendance there as well. Uh, thank you to Miss Miss Burner and the teachers who are running that program. I'd also like to extend thanks to Miss Lynch
028and Miss Margette and Scope for running a great summer STEM, music, and art program for our students at the high school. Some facilities updates. Uh we have a lot of projects that are ongoing or nearing completion such as solar at Jefferson, boiler replacements at Flower Hill and Southtown, science room construction at Finley Middle School, switch gear replacements at Washington and Southtown, mechanical upgrades at the STEM cafeteria, partial roof replacement here at STEM, and a long-awaited athletic field lighting at Huntington High School. I would like to thank our contractors, Rick Rouse, our director of facilities, our facilities team, and Dr. powers for all of their work in this regard. You may have even noticed a small project where a small retaining wall was put around our rock at Huntington High School just to spruce it up
029a bit. Uh we appreciate the attention to detail that our facilities department is taking to make our spaces look even better. Uh our curriculum office is busy reviewing regions data, AP data, and benchmark data as we plan for students to come back in the fall. I also wanted to uh just shout out our uh district on the phenomenal job they did with regard to AP. Uh we had an increase 12% in the number of students who are taking the courses this year. Um a 26% increase in the number of exams, a 23% increase in those who scored three or greater. And um it was just really such great data to get back and uh just wanted to share that out as well. Um, we also, our senior class received $26,458,17652 in scholarships this year as
030they pursue their post-secary dream education dreams. So, again, how proud could we be that our students are were, you know, given 20 over $26 million to support their future. So, just wanted to shout out our senior class. Um, we're also in the process of planning welcome back workshops for administrators which take place over two days as well as our new teacher orientation which is also a two-day workshop experience for our incoming teachers to learn about all the facets of their new positions and work and the work that they'll be doing in Huntington School District. Uh, the guidance office has sent out reminders about the common app boot camp and college admission essay review which will be taking place next week. We have a great turnout so far. So, if you haven't signed up, please make
031sure you let us know about that. Um, and I'd like to also wish our HBDMBB a great season as they begin camp next week at Finley Middle School. In the area of food service and finance, I would just like to remind families that we will continue to provide students with free breakfast and lunch at all schools for the 2526 school year. That's a wonderful offering that we're able to provide. Um, we also received our Moody's rating where we hold an AA aa1 credit rating. This rating indicates that our obligations are of high quality and subject to very low credit risk. In summary, the rating reflects the district's strong financial financial stability and affirms our ability to meet debt obligations with a high degree of certainty. So again, not something that might be on the forefront,
032but that certainly is important for the bones of our district and our ability to sustain our great programs moving forward. I would like to thank Dr. Harris and our business office for all their work in keeping our district financially healthy. In NICE news, uh they recently adopted the new academic expectations related to their portrait of a graduate. The plan includes requiring education in finance and climate effective in the 2627 school year. The new graduation measures and the portrait of a graduate will not be fully phased in until the 2930 school year where at that time every high school graduate will expected at that time every high school graduate will expected to be academically prepared, creative innovators, critical thinkers, effective communicators, global citizens and reflective and future f focused. Um, this updated version also emphasizes that
033every portrait of a graduate should be viewed through a culturally responsive and sustaining lens. Please note that we expect to hear more from NISD regarding regent examination and their potential sunset as a requirement in the 2728 school year. So there are a lot of changes on the horizon um where we want to you know continue focusing on making sure all of our students are critically thinking, able to communicate, be able to participate in a global society. With regard to intermediate school planning, we remain unwavering in our commitment to excellence and to providing all students with a highquality rigorous education. As part of our mission, we are looking to enhance the intermediate school curriculum to ensure consistent high expectations across all subject areas. We plan to build upon our strong core instructional model, one that challenges
034students, fosters academic growth, and encourages students to reach their full potential. We are also expanding access to enriching elective style courses. This plan will allow our intermediate students to benefit from innovative offerings in both civic readiness and STEM, which are two essential pillars of the portrait of a graduate that I just mentioned. This forward-thinking model, which really is unmatched on Long Island, will include but also will go beyond traditional classroom learning. It will provide real world hands-on experiences that empower students to become not only strong learners, but future ready leaders. The presentation from the board meeting on July 1 is posted on our website along with the FAQ. It's been shared via parent square and we will continue to refine prior to the board meeting discussion on September 8th. Back to an older topic regionalization.
035Uh we held our fourth meeting on this topic that might ring bells from last year. Uh we focused our efforts on two priorities at this time. They are finding cost savings in transportation on routes for private, parochial, mckin, vento or boseis placements in districts in close proximity to one another and to consider also exploring options to provide students with opportunities to take AP courses collectively in a district where a course may not be able to run due to very low enrollment. Um, by October 1st, we need to just let Boseies know if we will commit to further exploring these topics for future implementation. And lastly, the cell phone policy. Uh, I'd like everyone to note that beginning September 1, there is a New York State requirement to have a belltobell ban at school. Um, I'm
036very surprised when speaking with people perhaps um, you know, socially that they a lot of people in other districts still may not be as aware of this change. So, I do just want to reiterate that um, we did adopt a policy as required by August 1st to comply with this ban after receiving stakeholder input. We are asking that our parents, guardians, guardians, and students assist us with the implementation of this policy at all levels. We ask that to the greatest extent possible that cell phones be left at home. However, should a child need to bring a cell phone to school. Please note that it will need to be stored in their locker or cubby, their locker at the secondary level or their c cubby at the elementary level throughout the day out of sight. The
037device should not be seen at any point from when they arrive at school until they leave at the end of the day. A general letter will be going out to all families from Mr. Cusac reminding them them of this new policy. This will include the main office numbers should any parent need to reach their child. Additionally, the principles will be sending out more specific communications to their families closer to the end of August regarding this policy. But we do ask for your support in implementing this. This will be a large lift particularly at the secondary level. And we do ask for community parent and guardian support. Thank you, Beth. I have a question with regards to the phone policy. Are they allowed to use it during the breaks uh in between periods? >> No, it
038is it is a bell-to-bell. Uh we had waited for quite some time from the governor to find out what the actual regulation would be. Um and we had initially thought it was instructional time, but it was it's very clear and our policy states it is from the beginning of the day to the end of the day. So, they are not able to be utilized during lunch. They're not able to be utilized during passing time. Bathrooms, they really need to be out of sight from the moment students enter to the moment that they leave. >> I have another question on that. Um, so they're not mandating that that the school collect them and put them in a pouch or anything. Is it up to us to make our policy you can put them in the lockers
039or is the state saying you can put them in in lockers? >> You need to to provide a storage location and a locker is a storage location or a cubby at the elementary level would be considered a storage location. Um, some districts are purchasing pouches. Um, some districts have had some success with that or great success with that. Others have reported that it hasn't been as successful because of the time that it takes to put them in the pouches and that there are some ways to get around those pouches. Um, so many districts and a lot, you know, we've all from all of the groups that we're in, we've collaborated across the island to see what, you know, how how is the best way to address this and at this time this is the plan
040that we have. >> Okay. >> I also have a question. Um, some of my peers have asked me, does that affect the usage of other devices such as laptops, Apple watches that they personally own? Apple watches, yes. Um, the district provides every student with a device. So, that device will still be able to be utilized. But personal devices, Apple watches that relate to the phone, yes, those are also included in the ban. >> So, they can't wear an Apple Watch at all or they just can't be seen using it. >> That would have to be put in their locker or in >> But they can't have it on their wrist. not have they cannot wear it on their person. >> Wow. >> So students that listen to music on their on their phones during art
041or whatever, they can't do that anywhere. >> They will not be able to do that unless there is something included in an individualized education plan or something similar that would state that it's something that they're required to have. >> Okay. I have two children, so I I do understand. Um they talked to me about this at dinner a lot and how this is going to impact their life. And I understand and we're going to move forward. >> We have no choice. >> We don't have a choice. And and the reality is we do see kids are distracted and we do see that kids are really, you know, looking at their phone. We see that adults are looking at their phone a lot more and we really want them to focus back on socialization, you know,
042communication in a cafeteria, those types of things. But again, this was um it was very specifically stated from the governor's office as to what we needed to comply with. Anyone else? All right. Okay. Moving on to public commentary. This time we open up our regular meeting for public commentary. Public commentary is open to resident and employees of the Huntington District. Speakers are limited to three non-transferable minutes per person. There will be a maximum of 30 minutes total for all comments. We will open it up again for a second public commentary towards the end of this meeting. Priority will be given to the com to the comments related to today's regular business meetings titled items for discussion and action. Public commentary is a time dedicated to sharing your thoughts with the board and your input is
043valued. It is meant for expression rather than dialogue. So, please understand that direct discussions with board members or administration will not be part of this public commentary. When you approach the podium, please identify your affiliation to the district, whether you're a resident or an employee. Use the form at the podium to sign in. Please refrain from naming any students or employees of the district. As you're signing in, I just want to say I'll give you a 30 second heads up when the timer is almost up. Okay. Um, I'm Kristen Schmidt. I have three kids in the district, a rising 10th grader, eighth grader, and fifth grader. Um, I'm very happy about the cell phone policy. I'm just wondering at Finley it seems like using your locker is a very successful way to monitor phones. Um,
044and it's just having a ninth grader who I don't think has seen his locker ever. I'm just wondering what the plan is to try to get kids to use their locker and have time to be able to access their locker to enforce, you know, this plan. I think that to me seems like a big hiccup or maybe they just need to be forced to use their locker. Obviously, they've been there a long time. Um, but that was really my only thought and whether or not there will be given to parents like a list of what are the consequences for being caught with the device in school because I think it's really important that people are very clear on how it's going to be rolled out. But overall, great. >> Thank you. Is that good enough?
045Sorry. Hi. Thank you for all the talks you gave. Um, I agree with her. I really am for cell phone policy, but given I have a six-year-old and three-year-old, I haven't heard them request having a cell phone. I do think that the kids are going to still go through their lockers and it's very hard to see when they open their lockers and they reach for their phone. It's I mean it's it is a very tall order to uh accomplish and hopefully going forward you'll find it. I also have a question regarding the safety. I have actually last year talked to Mr. Hender about this. the buses. Um there was like a confusion with the bus getting lost and I learned that day that I spoke to you that the district doesn't even have a way
046of knowing where the buses are. You said that you're working on it. There was supposed to be some pilot plan implemented in February. I'm just wondering if that went to effect. If there is like a steps taken because uh as I mentioned that day, you probably won't remember it's been a long time. It is uh a little bit concerning that uh it's going to take a bus not showing up for a certain number of time for the district for the school to reach out to the transportation and transportation talking to the you know the bus contractor then they're trying to figure out where the buses are. That just seems to me very uh concerning regarding especially small children that I do not want to ever give them a cell phone if I can. So I
047won't be able to know where they are. It would be great if I can uh see where they are. And just a comment, thank you for trying to make the school safe. It's very sad. It makes me very sad that we have to take all these steps, but unfortunately we have and thank you for trying. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> No one else. We'll move on to items for discussion and action. It is upon recommendation from the superintendent of schools that the board of education adopt the attached district level safety plan for 2025 2026 as well as authorize its public posting. Can I have a motion please? Jenna one Kelly 2. All in favor that's everyone and believe right. Good evening. Uh, prior to me starting this, I just wanted to answer your question.
048Um, so we are actually in receipt of GPS um, for all of our buses at this point and we will be rolling out a parent app so the parents will be able to also identify where their children are at all times. So we are in the process of doing all that. So good things are moving forward. Okay. All right. So, um, back in the fall when we did our, uh, strategic planning, one of the items that came up was to review our website and, uh, social media and how we can continue to increase communication. Um, and so back in April, we sent out a survey and, um, that survey was open until about May 16th when uh, it was closed. And during that time period, we had received um 140 responses. Um so here at
049Huntington, our public relations team excels at informing, connecting, and engaging our community. Mr. Marlo and Mr. Hoops do a fantastic job. Anytime we we need something um to be communicated. Um they are quick to to act and and um provide any information they can. Uh so I do want to thank them for the countless hours, even the late night texts and early morning uh phone calls in order to get the communication out there because I know that that's not always easy to do. So we appreciate all of that. Um we do believe that communication is a key focus area in our strategic plan and that's the reason why we wanted to get some community input. Uh we're committed to continually improving and ensuring accessibility, transparency, and engagement uh throughout. And this feedback will also guide
050us in how we enhance our website and our social media platforms. And we've been actively looking at ways that we can continue to reach not only uh district members um but also community members as well. So who took the survey? Uh we had a wide range. Most of them came from parent or guardians. Um and here's just the breakdown of the 140 people who ended up filling out the survey. And so we wanted to know about the homepage content and um right now actively um from the beginning of school all the way till June um there are four brand new articles that are written on our district website each and every day. So that's a total of minimum of 20 articles that get published a week about some of the great things that are happening
051around here. And we wanted to know whether or not we wanted more students uh centered stories or if we wanted more factual information. and everybody's just looking for a wide range of both. And we are I will get to where we heard some feedback that we needed to potentially enhance and I'll share with you some of the strategies and things that we're implementing to try and get some more information out there. So, most people do visit our website daily, sometimes a few times a week. Um I do know that when I have um requests about contracts and um I need to go to other school districts websites, sometimes it's very difficult to find. then I do think that we are an extremely transparent school district that has a wide range of information on the website.
052Um, but one of the feedback that we did receive is how can we find some of that information because we do have such a wealth of information on there. Um, and so I'll get to some of the recommendations and how we are hoping to enhance that accessibility very quickly for families. So, people overall thought that the website was easy to navigate. some found certain things to be very tricky to do and I will also get to that once we get to what are our next steps. Um, and we listened to every we read every single comment and and we tried to think of a way to to make sure that all of the communication that we have is crystal clear, easy to find, um, and and answers a lot of people's questions. So, most people
053will go on social media. We know that our younger students love to go on Facebook and they love to go on to Instagram and some of our families do as well. And some of the feedback that we received from there was they wanted more small blurbs and action shot pictures and that's something that we're going to really be working on next school year. We most certainly increased the number of stories and things that we posted on our social media this past year. um we we really made a conscious effort to try and have as many stories as possible fed through social media, not just on the website, but onto social media. And I do uh you know want to share with everybody that that's going to be our continual um process. Another thing that uh
054people wanted to to receive is some videos of some of our concerts and and things that can be shared via social media and we are actively working on a strategy to to get that out there as well. So overall, the communication that we received, everybody loves the parent square. Um it it's an easy thing for individuals to read. You can actually set a time frame as to when you want to receive those messages. So if you're very busy in the morning and you like at 6:00 at night, you know that you can sit and you can receive it. You'll actually get an alert from parent square with a preference as to what time works best for you and your family. um email and text notifications, website, Facebook and Instagram were relatively on the same platform,
055but everybody enjoyed the the parent square. Um, one of the discussions that Miss McCoy and I had recently was not only getting the communication because we really are a lot of wonderful, wonderful, wonderful things that take place in the school district. We have a lot of programs that we offer. Um, and we want to be able to capture everybody so that everybody knows that if they are a taxpayer here in Huntington or they're thinking about moving to Huntington that they would want to send their students to our public schools. So, what we are planning to do and implementing is doing a two time a year newsletter um that will be shared with all community members uh which will highlight, you know, the $26 million that our seniors received um some new initiatives that are taking
056place. uh the programs and the platforms that we have to really highlight to families who are just moving into the district or potentially thinking about moving into the district to really set us up for for success because this is such a special place to be. So once again, people wanted more on social media content. um they really wanted those student stories and they felt as though sometimes the secondary really had a lot more of the um the content and certain clubs might have been specifically uh more publicized and advertised um than other clubs. And so one of the things that we're implementing with our PR team um is we are going to if you are in a club um it is the responsibility of the adviser and also appointing a social media coordinator a student
057um to actively work with our PR team to send some pictures some updated highlighted stories so that we're really getting a wide balance and a wide range of information. Uh we've also spoken with our building principles who did a really great job this school year, especially at the primary and intermediate level of really showcasing and sharing some of the special events that were taking place in their schools. So we were able to kind of show because there's nothing better than than going onto social media and seeing your kid in the stand smiling. Um and knowing that that's something that they did for the day. So that this way at the dinner table and you said, "How was your day today?" And they said, "It was fine. I learned nothing." You can actually have an actual
058conversation with them and say, "Oh, I saw that you had this assembly today. How was that?" So we are going to continue to focus on um making sure that we have a wide range of of content for for all families. So we got a lot of strengths and I will say that Mr. Hoops and Mr. Marlo have been doing a wonderful job. Uh they survey indicated that the communications were timely, they were informative, they were engaging. There's a strong presence on social media highlights and student achievements. The district website is appreciated for its design and content layout with 20 stories a week. Parents felt well informed through the parent square updates and that's a platform we'll continue to use to to push out content and information. Our building principles are either doing Friday or Sunday
059letters each week so this way you know what's happening in the district. Miss McCoy is doing a monthly um newsletter. Um so we'll continue to do all of those things and they felt as though the photo and story quality is consistently praised. We have the wonderful um Mr. Darren Reid who uh is at many many many many many events taking photos um and and he is just a the phenomenal photographer. And we also have Mr. Hoops who carries his camera around at all times as well just in case. I think he has it over there on the side. If you want to take a picture of me soon, Mr. Hoops, that would be great. Um and then here are the recommendations. So, individuals found that it was very very difficult to find the interactive calendar
060tab on the district website. So, I will show you on the next slide. Um, we ended up creating a calendar tab at the top so that when you click it, it'll immediately take you to um the wide range of different calendar options that we offer. One would be the onepage sheet of how many uh days of school there are, what are the holiday breaks. There'll also be once we finally receive it from the uh printer, we'll receive the full district-wide calendar as well as the interactive calendar which is consistently updated to reflect any of the things that we have going on. So, we already did that. Um increase visual content showcasing classroom learning and events. That's something that we're going to continue to work on. Taking quick photos um and putting them up on social
061media so that families can see that. Highlight a wider range of student voices including academics and the arts. And we're working on that with our social media coordinators. As I shared before, share short engaging blurbs with photos on Facebook and Instagram. Not having it as um detailed, but more just small little snippet and blurbs. And then if they would like to read more if it's a district website article, they'll be able to click on the link to take them there. Um continue to promote consistency across the website and social media back uh platforms. The virtual backpack link, which we also rolled out this past year. um that's where we're receiving flyers for for um either district events or nondist sanctioned events. Um that is updated regularly on a a Google spreadsheet. Um so you'll see
062when when I get to the next slide how easy that's going to fe be to find that as well. Um providing video content. Uh they want to see videos, not just pictures. um they want to see their students performing in in certain things and we're working on that as we speak with a position um to to kind of highlight and assist us with some of that. And then also instead of labeling the parent portal, labeling it the e- school parent portal, which we also already changed. So if you go on our district website now, uh you'll see at the top there'll be a calendar. You click on the calendars and it's going to take you to this section right here. All the way to the right are going to be the different calendars that we
063offer in our school district, including the board of ed meeting calendars, the one-pager, and then eventually they'll have the big um the big packet of, you know, each month and all the events. And then also at the very very top is that interactive calendar, which is consistently updated. You'll have the flyers and the dates for district sanctioned events. And then you'll also have that virtual backpack. And if you click on the backpack, it'll take you right to any of those flyers and notices. So it' be very quick and accessible for you to get that information. So overall, I want to thank everybody who did take the time to fill out the survey. Um it has been instrumental in guiding our continuous improvement. We're proud of the great things that are happening here in Huntington, and
064we're looking forward to sharing that with all community members. Um and all taxpayers in the district. And then we also look forward to continually enhancing our communications and district experience together. Um we're always listening. We're always receptive to feedback. And like I said, I just want to one more time thank Mr. Hoops and Mr. Marlo for the job well done uh and the countless hours that you do to to do all of this. So, thank you. Are there any questions? >> Um I just wanted to thank you for this and also um really excited that the driver's ed information is finally in that spot. It's really hard to find. Um I was just curious about the you had mentioned the club. Each club will have a a coordinator for social media. Um, and will that
065be like a monthly goal that they'll once a month submit or seasonally or I guess some it's going to be difficult because some clubs um don't you know they'll have a busier season. >> Correct. Yeah. So, it really is contingent upon how many events they have, how many how many meetings they have. Um but for the clubs that that are 10-month clubs and they have something actively going on, our expectation will be that not only the adviser but the social media coordinator, student coordinator um will will be able to provide monthly or you know by monthly monthly um updates about their clubs that we can either push out on social media or have a district website article about. >> Great. And the principle is the same like monthly you envisioning. >> Okay, awesome. Thank you.
066>> Yeah, >> I've got a couple of questions. Um I think this is great. I love seeing the results of the survey. Um I completed it myself so it was I'm happy to see that there were other um comments similar to mine and also I like the different ones as well. So seeing all the different um thoughts about this. So another question about the social media coordinator. Um each club will have a coordinator in addition to the advisor or will it be by building? >> It'll be each club will have one. So similarly most clubs either have like a president and a vice president. this would now also be another position that would be held within the club organization. >> Okay. So, and now as we know kids are overloaded with their studies and everything.
067So, if if they're not holding up those responsibilities, is there any accountability or anyone that would proactively reach out to those clubs and say, "Hey, can you send us some content? We haven't gotten anything in a while." >> Yeah. So, we we would press on the the adviserss to kind of oversee that and make sure. And Mr. Hoops is also continually um hammering people down for information and sometimes they get them back very quickly and sometimes Mr. Hoops has to to to make a special visit to the adviser and say I need something for this club please. Um so we are going to work on that um between the building leadership and then also the adviserss um they'll really take a central role in making sure that we get some of that communication expressed out
068there. >> Cool. Okay. Um sorry I wrote down my notes. Um okay so will there be one of the comments and my own included admittedly was that we would like to see more representation of different students and uh you know arts athletes everything. Um, so will there be a formula to really make sure that it's proportionate and commensurate to the representation across the district or is it just kind of is like is there any kind of calendar or >> So Miss McCoy as you know um is very detailed and loves her lists and uh you know her maps and her plans and she she does have a a and I mean that with with nothing but love. Um but uh Miss McCoy does have like a weekly breakdown I mean a monthly breakdown of of
069items that we would like to see pushed out. Um and we kind of had that discussion uh with Mr. Hoops with Mr. Marlo as well as with our building principles and directors. Um additionally we also have Dr. Wadawa who has joined us and he is um very quick at getting information and communication out there. So I think you'll see a real increase in the number of arts and music um articles that will also be presented. >> Great. I I do just want to comment though that you know sometimes the feedback we get is you know we're not getting as much from the primary level. You know the primary buildings have they're much smaller so they don't lend themselves. Not saying that there's not a lot going on but you you have less numbers of students
070you have less clubs. You don't have the athletics. You don't have the the you know that kind of experience. It's a little bit different. There's a lot in the classroom that's taking place but there aren't before and after school clubs at a primary school. Um then when you take high school, when you take the number of athletic teams we have, um you know, we're in the hundreds. When when you take the number of fine and performing arts groups we have, we have a much smaller number. So the proportionate level will never be a perfect situation. Um I think what we want to really do is highlight every good thing that we see um to the greatest extent possible. Um I know we've we had when when you know when we when I started in this
071position, I met with Mr. hoops um pretty regularly about this and you know sometimes he is you know hammering down the door like can you please give me some information and he's and he you know he needs people to provide the content and this is with any situation with PR the we need the content to be given to us so we're really trying with this student coordinator to give them also an opportunity to showcase themselves because a lot of students are very interested in social media um to help them to foster the highlights for the club but I I don't think there could ever be a a real formula. You know, if a team's making the playoffs um or the marching band is going to states, like those are the and if you have 10
072teams making the playoffs, we only have one marching band. So, you're not going to see an equal number of articles. >> No, that's proportional to what? Yeah. So then if you've got you know three three arts classes say and seven sports classes it should be a 30% you know that should be proportionate to not so much the number of students but exactly what you're saying that's what I meant >> I just don't know if it'll ever be as perfect as we might want it to be to that >> one other thought actually so when I was a primary parent I would look at the Instagram and be like it's all the older kids and I want to see what's going on in the younger classes and now that I'm a high school parent I get
073that there's so much more going on. There's so much more opportunity for reflection and, you know, graphic bases and articles and things like that. But I it just occurred to me it might be nice to show more primary articles just from like a PR perspective to show the community. Most people that are looking for houses or to move into the area, they have young kids, so it might it just something to think about. We might want to show showcase all the amazing things our primaries do more often. Not but I I completely get that there's not a whole lot I think that's also where our uh newsletter when we when we create that that newsletter will we'll have the opportunities to really highlight um all levels to to everybody who who is a taxpayer here
074in in the district which I think will really be able to capture uh some of the wonderful things that that we're doing here. >> I love that. And then um two more I'm sorry I'm hiking two more questions. I don't say anything and then I and then I'm a waterfall of questions. Um uh so okay um are we how are we staying on top of like the changing climate in terms of technology and which platforms are using which technology be it on social media or website is that something that >> so Mr. Hoops can tell you the exact number of individuals that visit uh the district website uh a day which stories get the most traction um and he's consistently reviewing those numbers to make sure that um viewership is up not down um just
075to make sure that we are uh you know grabbing every audience member. So, he is consistently looking at that that information. >> And what about changing formats? Like, are we thinking about using reals and things like that or like a student takeover or just different ways to use the technology that's out now to be more engaging? And not to say it's not engaging, but to just keep up with different trends and things like that. >> That might be something in in the in the future down the road. Um, right now we are trying to capture the videos for specific events and things like that. Um, reels. Um we you know maybe one day we can get there uh but right now we're just going to continue to try and enhance in this direction and then
076of course you know we we'll continue to always look and modify um in areas that we think that we can accomplish it. >> Okay. Maybe something the video broadcasting team could look into or the student coordinators be a good person. >> Cool. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> I just want to uh commend the district administration for doing an excellent job in prioritizing uh communication with the community. Um, obviously that's an important thing for the school district and I just want to say that it's incumbent on all of us as parents and uh district residents to engage with the district now in all of these various platforms and share the amazing things that are going on in our schools. Um, you know, to everybody and anybody that you talk to, obviously it's out there and
077you're doing a great job of prioritizing that. Well, we need to do it as the receivers of that information and broadcast that great information as well. >> Yeah. Thank you. >> Sorry, really hopefully fast question. Um, what age range will a student coordinator start? Obviously, not in like the primaries, but >> no. So, at the primary level, there there are only a handful of clubs. One of them being the drama uh club, the others are the gardening club and things like that. That'll really be more of an advisor role. Um, I was the adviser for everything but the the drama production. Um, so I can tell you that that is something that that content can easily be pushed out for at the elementary/intermediate level. Um, really in middle school is where we're looking to to
078grab our our start of uh, you know, giving our younger students access and a voice to to be able to share the content of one of the some of the special events andor scholarships or charities that they're they're working on. Um and then obviously at at the high school, we're looking for them to really be taking over a full leadership role um in that capacity. >> Thank you. Good good great response to I guess what we're looking for, which is the objective is to get out the message that we are the great district that we all know that we are. Uh and I think you're doing a wonderful job, Mr. Hoops. I I see you constantly writing and I know that it's so important for you to get these stories out there. And what I
079like most about some of these stories is that you really you're personal. You you get to the uh to the comments, you speak to the students, you speak to this parent, you speak to the teachers. So, it's great work. Um I'm I'm glad we've done this. Um food for thought, right? I I met with a few students on Friday. They're heading back to college. They're going back as seniors in college and they had been through our dual language program. um they did some study abroad last year and they just told me their story about how their dual language program helped them in college and helped them in in their study abroad. Um the all the students that I spoke to were former mocktra students. They're uh going to law school, but they'd be willing to
080put together PR reels for us if we ever get to that point where we're putting out their reels. I know that we're talking about the stories of what is happening today, but the stories of what some of the students got out of our district and the experience that they got here may be of some value as we promote our district and the great things that we do. >> Great. That's a good idea. Thank you. >> Yep. >> Anybody else? >> All right. Thank you. >> Right. If nothing further, we will go to curriculum and instruction. Mr. Kusk. >> Thank you. It is upon a recommendation from the superintendent of schools that the board of education approve CSSE CPS-SC submissions as delineated. >> Can I have a motion? Annie one, Teresa 2. All in favor? That
081is everyone. Personnel. It is upon recommendation from the superintendent of schools that the board of education approve personnel items on schedules 5 6 8 10 11 13 16 19 20 and 22. >> I have a motion. Tom one, Jenna 2. All in favor? That is everyone. All right. And now business. Dr. Harris. That usually never happens to me. I have a couple items to read off. It is upon recommendation from the Superintendent of Schools that the board of education approves business items K through 01, 03 through R, and T through U. Can I have a motion? Tom one, Jenna 2. Any questions, comments? All in favor? That's everyone. >> Okay. It is upon recommendation from the superintendent of schools that the board of education approve business item 02. >> Can I have a motion? Kelly
0821, Jenna 2. All in favor? That's everyone. I abstained um because of my relationship with Northwell Health. >> All right. Last one. It is upon recommendation from the superintendent of schools that the board of education approve business item S. >> Have a motion. Teresa one, Annie 2. All in favor? That's everyone. Again, I abstain because of my relationship with Northwell Health. >> We have some exciting donations. Um, our first donation is actually from an anonymous donor and they are presenting a donation of assorted uh, sensory toys and activities including um, Funko Pop toys and dolls, cars, arts and crafts materials to various schools. And this donation has an approximate value of $1,250. Thank you to our generous anonymous donor. Um, our next donation is from Northwell Health. They are presenting a donation of 350 backpacks
083filled with school supplies. This donation has an approximate value of $9,450. That's amazingly generous. Thank you. And finally, uh the Washington Primary PTA is donating uh $550 to offset the cost of upcoming field trips. So, thank you to the PDA. [Applause] >> All right. And now to public commentary. It's the uh second public commentary. Same rules apply. >> All right. If nothing closing remarks by board members. >> I think somebody wants >> Oh, sorry. >> Just one point about the website. There's a very big discrepancy between the mobile version and desktop version. I even had issues that then I went to fill out forms. I could not find the current one. It was from the last year. I had to call. They were like, "Oh, yeah. You're on the phone." I said, "I even picked,
084you know, the desktop version." They said, "No, you have to use a laptop. It only shows the last year's form." Like stuff like this, especially in a district that I don't think everybody has a laptop or computer access at home. It's very important to check the mobile version, make sure everything is accessible or is it still consistent for the both version. That's just something to think about. It's a not a very big issue, but when it comes and also again there were some forms uh regarding the transportation that we had to fill out. I got a call from the lady unfortunately I forget her name. She said there are two other forms you have to fill out. I was like okay where can I find her? She was like you have to come in in
085person. Again, these are little things that are very easy to fix to make less work for people here and for easier for the parents to find everything in one place. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> And now closing remarks by board members. It's actually an item X. It's rare that we get to an item X, but closing remarks. >> Just want to give a quick comment. Leading up September 12th, the booster club will be having uh a fundraiser and honoring uh John Lurco. Um life uh his family's been here for decades and a lifelong um Blue Devil himself. His uh two of his children actually were seriously lifelong Blue Devils going to Duke University. And um uh we will be having uh there'll be live entertainment that's there. Um we are looking for uh anybody
086who would be uh interested perhaps uh uh uh adding baskets things of this particular nature into the planning stage. But if you would like to reach out and please do so to the booster club we are on the school website and also uh on um sorry uh the website and what am I uh blanking here for one second. Sorry. Uh, our app that is the least used app according to our Oh my goodness. >> Social media. >> Instagram. Oh my goodness. Oh my goodness. I was going to say Facebook, but uh I was going to really date myself there. Um, anywh who uh if you would like to uh you know join in on the festivities on the 12th, um we would love to have you uh honoring uh uh an individual that's done an
087awful lot of work, especially with uh Mr. Palasios in the mock trial. uh uh field. So, thank you. >> And now you said it's September 12th. Do you know the time and place? >> September 12th, American Legion Hall uh starting at 7 o'clock. >> Great. Thank you. >> Yep. >> Anyone else? >> Nothing further. Take a motion to adjourn. Annie one, John two. All in favor? Have a great night.