2026-04-09: HPCSD Board Of Education Meeting

001All right. Good evening everyone. Uh today is April 9, 2020 2026. Uh welcome to the Hyde Park Central School District's uh board of education meeting. At this time, can I get a motion to adjourn to executive session for the purpose of discussing promotion, discipline, and employment topics for a particular person, persons or corporations? >> So moved. >> Second. Christine. >> All those in favor? >> I I opposed. Motion carried. We are now in executive session. ated FDR auditorium. Uh thank you all for being here. Thank you to our guests. Uh we have uh our one of our students here. We have uh several community members in attendance. When this campus was originally constructed, it really embodied uh a powerful American ideal. Uh and that is in times of challenge, we invest in our future. The

002school was built on the foundation of Roosevelt's belief that public works are the lasting community assets, giving back to the local community and offering vital spaces for education and civic life. Today, this capital project here at FDR echoes that same notion. We are not simply updating a building. We are honoring and revitalizing that initial public trust. We are ensuring that the promise of a quality comprehensive education for each and every student endures a modern 21st century setting. My profound thanks to our board of education, Palumbo Group, CS Arch, the future forward facilities forum, also known as the uh triple 4 or triple F, um our past superintendent, Principal Ruela, and our community for their commitment to this shared vision. At this time, I would like to introduce Board President Zagorski and Principal Roulla. Good evening,

003everyone. I do not have anything prepared nearly as nice as you. And and I'd like to thank everyone for coming, especially the front row here. It's uh good to see you all out here tonight. But um I've been looking at this um auditorium for over 20 years. when my kids were here. Um my daughter gradu my oldest daughter graduated in 2008 and it is really really great to see the improvements here right throughout the years of me coming sitting in these seats watching kids up here you know it's like well it'd be nice to get this thing updated someday and that someday has happened um thanks to the taxpayers who approved our capital project because without that it wouldn't have happened right so as we continue to invest in um our schools and our students

004um really thank you to the taxpayers who approve these projects uh going forward. That's all. Thank you. So, good evening folks. Um first and foremost, I just like to thank um everybody really the board of education, the Palumbo group, um the students here at FDR and the staff at FDR. Um, you know, anybody that's gone through a a home renovation, you know, you start out with anxiety, you know, and then the project happens, there's still a lot of anxiety. There's communication back and forth. What's happening? What's what are we doing? Does this look good? Does that look good? Um, you know, and then you have the conclusion, the end, and you have that exciting moment where you open the doors for the first time and you have that that new fresh auditorium, you know. Um,

005and when our students, when our staff came through the doors at the opening of this school year, um, when they saw again the new seats, the new lighting, the new paint, it was truly exciting. Um, they were excited. Our staff was excited. And then you get to the performances that you see, the the spring musical, the fall drama, um you know, the orchestra, the choir, um the band playing in it, and you truly understand that all of the stress, anxiety, hard work that uh everybody puts into it. the late nights that our board goes through discussing it. Um, our administrators and our teachers go through discussing the the various options is all worth it because in the end it's just improving um the school. It's improving the the community. It's improving the overall culture of

006the building. Um, so just a big thank you to everybody for um, going through the process and and again a congratulations I would say really to everybody in the student body and the staff and uh, for making it through it and coming out and and having a great auditorium at the end. With that being said, I'll turn it back over to Dr. Roman. So these projects are not possible without a team effort. Uh and so I want to thank uh the board. I want to thank the cabinet. I want to thank past superintendent. And you also have to have a really uh strong architect group as well as a construction group. And at this time, I want to call up the Palumbo representatives, Mr. Lou Rodriguez and Mr. Tom Chester up to the stage. Uh

007good evening guys. Um it's really uh great to be here with you guys during these kind of events. We've been here with Hyde Park for a long time supporting uh and sharing uh great visions from past boards, past administrations, new board, new administration. Um we're here talking about a 2021 vision. Prior to that, we did some great things. Athletic fields, science classrooms. I mean, it's it's great to have a vision and we love to share in reinventing spaces. Um, and I just want to say thank you that you've allowed us to be part of your ride. Um we want to continue to support you uh in any way we can and uh um just say we're super happy uh about the space and that the uh the students just you know back in the 50s60s

008uh this is a it's a reinventing of a space that you know students of today can really enjoy and um just really happy to say we were part of it. uh you know, Tom, our project manager, uh has been fully involved and uh you know, let him say a couple words, but uh I appreciate you um allowing us to be part of your your journey. Thanks. So, I've been part of this district for about half the amount of time the company has. I've gone through some administration and boards as well. Um I love being a part of these. We did some ribbon cutings in the past and it's uh it's really great to see that Hide Park continues to keep keep moving forward with new work, uh new visions. It's it's awesome. Uh we're both

009members of the community here and and so seeing seeing our community grow and and and be the forefront is is great. So, uh we look forward to future work. That's awesome. So, at this time, I just want to bring your attention to the plaque that will be on display outside of the auditorium. It sits um a replica of it is sitting outside of the auditorium currently on an easel. Uh additionally, um just want to uh once again just thank everyone who was part of this this project. uh without your support, your steadfast commitment to this amazing district, this this would not have been possible. Um and then just lastly, uh just uh let's officially open uh the doors and welcome our students, our staff, our community into this revitalized cornerstone of FDR. I'm going to

010ask uh our board of education. I'm going to ask um our administrators that are here uh to please come on up uh so that we can enjoy in the moment of of collectively cutting the ribbon uh to our new facility. So, please come on up. So, Haircut. >> Haircut. Yeah. >> Who's here? Whose haircut first? >> Linda, what you doing? Come on up. Come on up. You're part of this. Let's go. >> See you there. >> Come on up. Come on, Linda. >> All right, everybody pose for the picture on three. Say FDR. One, two, three. FDR. >> All right. We got 15 minutes. >> It's good. How's the renovation going? >> Just slow. Yeah, >> I exist. So do we. Evening everyone at this time I'd like to return to open session and if

011we could please ride for rise for the pledge of allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> Thank you. I don't think we have any agenda modifications. Um, can I get a motion to approve tonight's agenda? >> So, move Tibbitz. >> Second, Margaret. Any discussion? All those in favor? I opposed. Motion carried. 6.1. Upcoming events. Saturday, April 11th, is the Saturday Academy Birds of Prey and Steam activities at North Park Elementary, and that'll be from 9 to 12. on April 16th, Family Resource Center Autism Acceptance Event at Hide Park Elementary, and that'll be from 6:00 to 7 PM. Uh, April 17th is the FDR Junior Prom, and the location says

012contact FDR, and there's no time. I assume everybody knows what time that is. April 20th is the uh board of education candidate petitions are due and you have to submit to the district uh clerk at off at the office at 11 Boyce Road in Hyde Park uh no later than 5:00 pm. And then Tuesday, April 28th is the uh next board of education where the uh Bosey's vote will also uh happen that night. Um and that'll be at district office and it'll begin at 7 pm. And then uh April 29th would be the FDR Jazz Cabaret uh concert at FDR and that'll begin at 7 PM. Any other events? >> Okay, moving on to Pride. for >> FDR would like to acknowledge Madison Rowley and the ninth grade AVID program who received the 2026 youth

013black achiever award honore by Bula Baptist Church and was recently highlighted in the Hudson Valley Press for this accomplishment. Havlin would like to share that their eighth grade trip to Washington DC was an incredible success. Their students fully embraced this unique opportunity to learn and explore in our nation's capital bringing classroom concepts to life in meaningful and memorable ways. They are deeply grateful to their families for their partnership and support in preparing students for this experience. Their efforts made it possible for them to take full advantage of all that this trip had to offer. A special thank you goes to their faculty and staff for their outstanding organization, care, and enthusiasm. Their commitment to creating rich, engaging learning opportunities for their students is truly appreciated and does not go unnoticed. Ralph R's second graders went

014on a trip to Discovery Museum to receive a guided tour and complete steam activities this week before break. They are also organizing a tall and small ball on May 1st with tickets now available and their color run is scheduled for May 20th at Violet Avenue. Mrs. Conklin's second grade class has become pen pals with the Merist University cheerleading team. Before spring break, Mrs. Conklin's class sent out the first letters and were excited to come back to school with letters waiting for them. They are looking forward to continuing their pen pal ship and hoping to plan hoping to plan a meet and greet with the cheerleaders in May. 84 students completed the read read across America challenge this March reading for a total of 63,000 minutes. They received two Renegades baseball tickets or prizes such as

015books or figurines for their efforts. And they participated in the Sparrow's Nest dress down day just before break. And everyone wore their shirts to support this amazing organization. As we continue pride, I just want to amplify what Lauren just shared. Uh we have one of our students, uh Madison, who was recognized, and I I just want to highlight something that was written in in the uh Hudson Valley Press. Um which is uh a quote from her. She states, "In my mind, uh winning this award, I was just doing the things that I'm supposed to be doing. Be a good student. be kind, make a difference, and help others. Everything I do is for the goodness and never about getting anything back for it. And that really speaks to the core values that we have here

016in our district. Really is about making the right right choices, uh doing what's right, doing being respectful, uh being responsible, and we really appreciate um you know, her living up to those core values. Um and we're we're going to also be speaking about a number of individuals today who also uh subscribe to those values. So we're really excited to recognize those those individuals uh this evening as well. Uh I also want to highlight uh the um this the National Intercolastic Athletic Administrators Association has recognized one of our own administrators uh Beth Fletcher who's right in the back. She didn't want me to point her out, but she's right back there with the white. She is now considered a certified athletic administrator, um, which was announced by the organization. The certification is awarded to intercolastic athletic

017administrators who demonstrate a high level of knowledge and professional expertise in the field. To achieve that designation, candidates must complete a voluntary process that includes a comprehensive review of their educational background, professional experience, and contributions to the field along with a rigorous uh written examination, and a letter of support from their superintendent. Plus, don't forget to mail me my check, $20. Um, Beth joins an elite group of athletic administrators nationwide who have earned this certification. So, we want to give her a huge uh shout out and congratulations once again. And then uh just just want to uh we're going to recognize these individuals um one by one, but I I do want to congratulate our top 20. I want to recognize our families who are here and their support networks. All right, this work can't

018be done alone. These individuals are remarkable young adults that we cannot wait what to see what the future holds for each one of them. They are amazing. They represent the goodness of the school community and they do far beyond um academic excellence. They they are very involved in their communities. They're very involved in their in sports and other extracurricular activities. And we're super proud of each and every one of you. So, let's give them a round of applause, please. Okay, good evening everyone. I have the pleasure of sharing the artist and musician of the month and we are going to start with Keandre Campbell and she is a 12th grader here at FDR and Keandre is a 12th grade student whose teacher describes her as an outstanding artist and student. She fully invests her time

019and creative energy into everything that she works on and always goes above and beyond the requirements of each project to produce the best artwork possible. And is Kandre here this evening? No. We'll make sure she gets that certificate. Our next student is Sylvia Justino, who's a sixth grader at Havland Middle School. And Sylvia is a student who truly embodies determination and dedication. She has shown tremendous growth through her hard work and commitment to improving her skills on the clarinet. She approaches every rehearsal and lesson with perseverance and a gener genuine desire to learn, making her a wonderful example of what it means to be a dedicated young musician. Sylvia is always respectful and kind to others. She was selected to participate in elementary allcount band this year, which highlighted her musical ability and willingness to

020challenge herself. No matter what the challenge is, Sylvia always comes with a positive attitude and a smile on her face. And I believe Sylvia is here, so she can come up and get her certificate. Congratulations. And I think we're turning it over to Mr. Ruela for his staff recognition. >> So, good evening folks. Uh it's my privilege to um identify uh FDR's portrait of a High Park employee and FDR's portrait of a High Park learner. I'm going to ask uh Miss Rich and Mr. Kish to come on up here for a minute and stand with me. So Miss Rich is an exceptional individual that goes above and beyond her uh for her students and the FDR community. She's an exceptional educator that has been supporting our students in US history and AVID. She consistently demonstrates

021the ability to effectively communicate, not only by calling home, but by listening to the needs of her students and supporting them in their academic adventure. When you go into Mrs. Rich's classroom, you will see an environment that is rich with critical thinking activities that focus on project-based learning, socratic seminars, and carousel activities. Through her instruction, she looks to instill confidence in her students so that they are successful not only in school, but in life. Miss Rich embodies the characteristics of a responsible citizen through her honesty and integrity. She consistently shows the FDR community that she is an asset not only through her academic instruction, but her commitment to improving her lives of her students. >> I'm gonna have you wait here. And our portrait of a high park learner is SJ Kish. Mr. Kish exhibits

022several attributes of our portrait of a learner. He currently serves as the president of the class of 2026 and has demonstrated outstanding leadership in this capacity. As the president, he has clearly communicated and advocated for the class directly with the building administrative team. SJ has participated in football, wrestling, and baseball for all four years of high school and has served as this year's varsity's captain for both football and wrestling. Mr. Kish has demonstrated himself as a responsible citizen through his work with the High Park Youth Football Team and his volunteer work with Future Farmers of America. He has always he always enters FDR High School with a smile and is willing to work with all individuals in an effort to improve not only FDR but but the High Park community. Thank you. Thank you. So,

023good evening ladies and gentlemen. On behalf of the board of education, it is my pleasure to present to you the top 20 students of the class of 2026. I would ask our students to enter stage to my left where they will be greeted by our board of education members and then by finally Dr. Roman. Starting us off at number 20, Flavia Anderson. Number 19, Jascarin Kang. Number 18, Lee Castor. Number 17, Tegan Wright. Number 16, Assada Yakuba. Number 15, Celeste Gorez. Number 14, Colin Batita. >> Congratulations. Number 13, Briana Labulus. Number 12, Laura Burgerer. Number 11, Kaylee Cruz. Number 10, Phillip Corino. Number nine, Lauren Barrett. Number eight, Maxwell Goldstein. Number seven, Isan Inette. Number six, Nathan Romy. Number five, Alexis Duke. >> Number four, Samuel Goldstein. Number three, Gabriel Penny. >> Congratulations, buddy. Number

024two in the class of 2026, saludiatoran, Hudson Stali. number one and this year's validictorian, Roman Peton. >> Congratulations Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the class or the top 20 of the class of 2026. At this time, I'd say get your pictures. We got them all. We need more. >> We're good. All right. Thank you, guys. So, I think that concludes Pride, right? Nobody. Anybody else? >> Oh, I don't know. You want to take a >> If you want it cookies out this time. You guys good back there? Okay. Um, we'll move on to 8.1, the superintendent report with Dr. Roman. >> Thank you, President Zagorski. Just two quick announcements. Uh just a reminder, it was stated earlier, uh board of education candidates, there are two seats petitions are available online. They are due

025April 20th by 5:00 p.m. at district office to our district clerk Jay Mucula. Also, uh voter registration at the board of ed um meeting on May 7th, uh from 400 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at district office. this will be the uh the last opportunity to register to vote in the school budget vote. So, please come out and uh make sure you exercise your right. Thank you. That concludes my items. >> All right, moving on to 8.2 or FDR update with uh Principal Rua. So, good evening ladies and gentlemen. I'd like to first start by saying it's an honor and a privilege to serve as the principal of FDR High School. I'd like to thank the board of education, Dr. Roman, and all of the cabinet members, along with all of our district employees that work

026extremely hard to make sure that we're able to open up our buildings each and every day and support our students. I'd also like to thank my assistant principles, uh, Mr. Cowan, who was unable to attend tonight, Miss Weiss, and Miss Koser. I can certainly say that um I wouldn't be able to do what I do here. Um and we wouldn't be able to support our staff and our students without them. They are are an intricral part of the work that we do here. I'd also like to thank our PTSA. We have an outstanding PTSA that um supports our students and our staff day in and day out as well. Um you could see by them bringing in refreshments for our top 20 students. So again, thank you very much. So, uh, we can start out

027with our vision, our vision and our mission, uh, of the district. And what you're going to hear tonight is you're going to hear celebrating our successes. You're going to hear current work and our budget recommendations, uh, specifically the priorities that we looked at this year. We're going to first start with celebrating success. And I am going to ask uh Matthew Hurley and Raina Rea Hernandez to the podium to speak about sources of strength. Come up. Hello, my name is Matt Hurley and I'm a junior and peer leader in Sources of Strength. So, what is Sources of Strength? It is a student-driven program focused on su suicide prevention, mental health support, and wellness in schools. What is my role in sources of strength? So, I've been a peer leader since I was a freshman, and I

028think it provided me with valuable information that would be unavailable if not for our group. During my time in the program, I've learned to recognize my own strengths. I've learned about different different ways to raise awareness and prevent suicide. I've learned to help others find their own strengths. Personally, I feel like Sources of Strength is a vital program at FDR. Along with suicide prevention, it also raises awareness on stress, anxiety, and depression, all of which many students have dealt with at FDR. We meet two or three times a month where we plan and run campaigns throughout our school. With these campaigns, we have focused on some of these issues and aimed to help resolve them. One of my favorite and most impactful campaigns was one that was a small action, but ended up with big

029effect and was done on the sidewalks by the buses. One afternoon my freshman year, somewhere around somewhere around May, all the peer leaders, including myself, went out into the sidewalks with chalk and wrote positive messages. Some were funny and some were more genuine. I remember one group of leaders drew a large bee and wrote, "Be happy." Unfortunately, I don't have quite the same artistic abilities as some of my peers, but I definitely worked with my group to spread our message. Our resources of strength team is planning on doing this event again before the end of the school year, so we hope that some of you can come and check it out. Thank you and have a great night. >> Good evening everyone. Uh my name is Raina Hernandez. Um some of you may know me

030from the opening this year on this year's mantra um when I was representing AIM High. However, today like Matt said, I am here representing source of strength. Um in which I will be focusing on what it is, how it's affected me and what I have learned from it. Um, I would say that I was found in sources of strength um through a time of grief in which I was explaining that to Miss Lulua. Um, later on I found myself being a recommended person for this club and through that I reluctantly found myself at the peer leaders meeting being introduced to many different people, peer leaders and many different aspects of the school that I didn't know were available to me at the time. Me being a person that was very v vulnerable and in a

031state where I was struggling with my mental health, finding a group that represented um what many people do not think is always the most important and does reluctantly get pushed aside, which is mental health. I found it to be a great learning opportunity and a way for me to be able to spread awareness. Um like Matt had said, we have done many campa um campaigns in which we have reached the school. Um, one of my favorites personally was when in my sophomore year, which is the year that I had been appointed to this group, um, was when we did a photo op and we had everybody take a picture in a, um, little thing that we set up and then write down their strengths and we would put them on the board and we put

032them in the lobby. Um, I would say that was one of the crucial times where I remember feeling included and also felt very empowered to know that I was able to not only recognize my own strengths, but to recognize other people's strengths and put them out there so everybody knew that they weren't alone. Um, with that, um, I do want to say while Source of Strength focuses on mental health, it is not the only thing that we focus on. We focus on a lot of the aspects of what it is like to be on a spectrum of whether it's a spiritual journey, a mental journey, a physical journey, um whatever it may be. We have a full circle of what we focus on through our campaigns and through the things that we do in our

033community in which we are we are able to reach to our sports department, our BOE, um everyone honestly. And again, I just am really grateful to have had this opportunity to be here and not only to be here, but to be in source of strength. Thank you guys. >> I'd like to just say excellent job Matt and excellent job Raina. And folks, just one more round of applause for them. So, we're going to move on to um still celebrating successes. So, what this slide talks about is our graduation rates. So, over the past nine years, we've had consistent graduation rates ranging from 80 to 86%. Last year, um our 2021 cohort or the class of 2025, uh we saw a graduation rate of 83%. And to give you the context of what that looks like

034in Duchess County in terms of where we land, Duchess County's range is 55% up to 96%. Um, so want to talk a little bit about some of the things that contributed to our graduation uh rate last year. So we had uh three students that um received the skills and achievement commencement credential. So when these students receive these credentials, New York State doesn't um view them as a part of the graduating class. So they actually don't count towards our graduation rate. Um we had three students that transferred out of the district with no documentation and we were unable to identify where those students went. And then lastly, we had two students that moved into the district that um came in that were supposed to be in their senior year, but unfortunately didn't have enough credits or

035examinations to graduate with their cohort. Um when you take into consideration those eight students, that's approximately 3%. Um so that's something that our our district, our teachers, and and FDR, we have no control over. So those are things that that we're typically dealing with. But again, you see an 83% we're right in the middle of our range and we're looking to improve upon that. Um, also what I want to say is this is our four-year cohort and so we still have students that are within this cohort that are in uh FDR High School today and we are looking at approximately 3% uh increase with those students that are going to be graduating at the end of this year. They're on track. um they've made up their credits, they've made up their examinations. So again, in

036terms of that cohort, we're going to add an additional 3% with a five-year graduation rate. Moving on to our next slide. Um one of my most favorite slides to always talk about. I look at this as a component of what makes FDR a family. It moves beyond the classroom. Um, it in my opinion makes us a community, makes us a family, but also contributes to the classroom, contributes to the culture and the environment. Um, it looks at our clubs, our fine and performing arts program, and our athletics. So, earlier this year, we sat down and we looked and we said, what are our students? How many students are we impacting beyond the classroom? And when we looked at that, we said, okay, let's look at all of our clubs. and we have roughly over 20

037club clubs. We looked at our um fall sports and we looked at our winter sports and then we looked at students that participated in the fall drama and the spring uh musical. When we took into consideration all the students, approximately 70% of the students at FDR participated in at least one of those components. multiple students participate in multiple activities, but we 70% at least participate in one thing. In addition, I want to say when we go and we look at our spring rosters, which we're going to do uh in the upcoming weeks, and then we also take into consideration students that we send the BoseCTI, I really think that 70% is going to jump up quite a bit. Um and really I just wanted to highlight the various things that we do just to try

038and impact and and support every student when they come through the door. Um so just to speak about a little bit some of the clubs that we have. Um again wide range of clubs uh academic world quest hiking club aim high photography club ski club and varsity club. Uh we also have an excellent student government organization uh among all four classes uh as along along with our executive council. Um you know we have our NHS society and I have to highlight the National Art Honor Society. As you came in to the um hallway or the um main entrance this morning, you saw a lot of their artwork displayed. Um, again, just all different things that we're doing here to support students and um, let students enter the building and have a a fun, great time.

039When we shift over and we look at fine and performing arts, just to talk a little bit about our fall drama, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, that had 52 students that participated and were involved in that. When we look at the spring musical, Into the Woods, uh 65 students got involved and those those folks put on great performances that allowed our community to come in and not only support our students but be entertained and and really enjoy our fine and performing arts program. Um in addition, we had 19 musicians selected to perform at Area All State. When we shift and we take a look at athletics, um we're on a record year in terms of athletics. What I'm what I'm looking at specifically is our scholar athlete teams. And to be a scholar athlete team,

04075% of the students have to have a GPA that's greater than or equal to 90. Um, and so taking into consideration our fall programs, taking into consideration our winter programs, um, I I believe that our spring athletes are up to the challenge and I think that we've got a good shot of setting uh a record for number of teams that qualify for that this year. Um we had a number of teams that made sectionals. We had a number of individuals that also qualified um were state qualifiers. Just to shift and look at some student and some programming recognition, our AVID seniors, 100% of our AVID seniors have been accepted into a 4-year uh college and they've also earned a 4-year merit scholarship totaling $1.3 million. Um, you go back and you take a look at

041what our our band, our orchestra, and what our choir did. They came together and they performed for our veterans in a Veterans Day celebration where we were able to honor um, veterans throughout Duchess um, county right here in this very own auditorium. Our algebra 2 classes visited our elementary schools and they read books to the fourth and fifth graders to promote literacy. We had 38 student volunteers at our steam fair this year. Again, promoting sciences among our younger grades. We shift over and we look at what our counselors and our guidance staff are doing. Take into consideration college application week, which happened in our library. We had 392 total applications submitted with 89 col uh students being accepted into dcc automatically. Uh in addition, we had 28 other acceptances into Sienna and Sunni Polytech. Uh

042our counselors also hosted a college information night that supported 50 families. Uh they hosted a FASA event in the evening that supported a number of community members. And we organized a college fair where 17 colleges came in in our fall and our students were able to come just the day before um our Thanksgiving recess and speak with those representatives. Um, so again, just a number of things that we're doing. And again, I'd highlight a lot of things that our clubs and our staff come together to do is create some additional events like our formal dress wear, our Black History Month awareness, Red Ribbon Week, one of the longest running drug prevention campaigns, and this was our first year doing that. Um, Valentine's for veterans and senior citizens. Again, all supported by our staff and all

043supported by our clubs coming together and and host those events. Moving on to some additional successes. So, I want to talk just a little bit about a more positive school environment that we're seeing this year. Um, so what you see is 2425 school year data. Um, and that's last year we had 3.3% or 38 students account for 69% of the suspension rate. This year we're on a trend where we have 2.9% 31 students that are accounting for uh 69% of suspensions. So we're seeing a decrease in the number of suspensions and this takes into consideration in school suspension and out of school suspension. I would also note that we're seeing an overall decrease in um the number of referrals as well. One of the more impressive things that I want to highlight is the number

044of physical altercations. Um, anytime you have uh, 1100 students come together, we're going to have disagreements. Um, in a typical school year, what we had last year, there was 24 physical altercations. And generally, what you see is roughly between 20 and 28 or 29 physical altercations. Has been my experience, my time as an administrator here in the building. This year, we've had nine physical altercations. So again, never want to see any type of altercation, but definitely want to see those numbers going down. So really the question is is is why and how is this happening? So I would say a couple of components. Um you know, first it's the hard work of our assistant principles. They are meeting with students. they're mediating um and and they're educating students on how to communicate and work out

045each other's differences during those mediations. I would also say that our guidance staff uh plays an very important role in that as well. Um you know so a big component of of restorative practices. Another component in terms of social emotional learning is our second step program where um you know we've initiated that this year and our staff is uh following along in terms of uh secondstep lesson plans and then the building administrative team is participating in buildingwide um second step initiatives. Um another component too is our MTSS. Um so Miss Billings and Mr. Hurley play a big part in in our roll out for our MTSS structure. We're moving that along um slowly, but we're moving it forward in the right direction. And again, we're focusing on on tier one. We're focusing on tier 2.

046We have had a lot of implementation with tier three through our bright programs again and restorative practices, but really trying to target tier one and tier 2 interventions and move it out uh buildingwide. And you know, some of those tier 2 interventions you're looking at are implemented through again our guidance office. You're looking at safety passes. You're looking at check-in and checkouts. You're looking at afterchool programs like students first to support them um you know again academically and also sometimes behaviorally. When we shift over again, another success that I'd like for us to highlight was a decrease in our chronic absenteeism in the 2425 school year. So, our goal last year was to create and implement formalized practices to improve attendance. And in doing so, we saw a 5.2 decrease in chronic absenteeism. Uh up

047there, I just show I've shown the trends so far. What we have for the 22 23 school year, we're at 25.5. 23 24 school year, 28.8. 8 and 2425 school year 23.6. Um so definitely moving in the right direction with a decrease in chronic absenteeism. What did we do for that? We increased communication through uh mailing letters home. Um you know I'd say we increased communication in one-on-one meetings with students. Um that was happening again uh through the AP office and through the guidance office. Um, you know, in addition, I think the important thing kind of going back to what I talked about before was making and building a culture and building a family component, creating events like Presidents Wear Pink where our students come together and they want to be part of the culture.

048They want to be part of an institution um that that makes them feel good and makes them feel part of a a family. And that's something that that our varsity club organized um this year. So working on our current targets and current areas of improvement, we're still focusing on decreasing chronic absenteeism and our goal is to shift from 23.6 from last year down to 18.6% by June 2026. So as of March 2nd, we're at 22.6%. But we do anticipate and we are hoping that we see a trend downward as the year continues on. Um, I would note January, February, and March, we did see an increase in the number of absences due to to sicknesses. Um, and what I would say when we're looking at chronic absenteeism, you know, it's it's 10% of the school

049year. So, in the full length of a school year, 18 days absent. If you're halfway through the school year, you're looking at nine days would be considered chronically absent. So, you know, it's it's kind it's a moving pendulum in terms of looking at it over the course of the year. um what are we doing to target these components? Everything that we did from last year plus more. We're reviewing that data. Our bi-weekly attendance meetings have shifted to weekly attendance meeting. We've increased family communication. Um we in addition to our mailers, we have daily phone calls come home going home notifying families if their student is absent. Um, and one thing I would note for us, and it's not reflected in these numbers because these numbers take into consideration excused and unexcused absences. Um, the communication

050has allowed us to track a lot of unex or excused absences and we have a lot of excused absences, but at least we have that communication between the school and the family to ensure that, you know, everything's okay and to ensure that those students are able to make up work. Um, so that's a big part of the communication piece. Also, we're utilizing PBIS to promote a positive culture and you know what that is looking like is it's it's taking the concept of making attendance loud and proud. I don't know if you noticed, but when you walked in to the left, um, Miss Cooers created an attendance board, a scoreboard for us, and it's a fun way for us to, um, have, you know, a little bit of competition between grade levels. We want to put

051the data out there so not only our community sees it but our students see it and our staff see it. Also rolling on our interactive TVs. We have attendance data information between grade levels and that's updated daily. Um so again the focus is is making that information loud, making it proud and then we're also celebrating it through PBIS. In the beginning of the school year, um you know, we had um we celebrated we created a challenge where we celebrated classes that had 100% attendance for a week. In our second uh quarter, we wanted to shift and we didn't want to just say that the concept is, you know, perfect attendance. We want to say the concept too is celebrating um attendance that improves over time. So, our staff was able to go through and nominate

052students that had improved attendance over time, and we were able to bring them down and celebrate them as well. And in our third quarter, we're shifting back to focusing on uh again students with perfect attendance or high attendance, 95% above to celebrate them. And then we'll shift back into the fourth quarter to celebrate improved attendance. Uh again our next slide looks at uh specifically literacy through the lens of regent examinations. And so what we have here is our goal, our wildly important goal of increasing literacy instruction in all classrooms with the aim of improving the average of all regent examination scores from 66% to 71% by the end of this school year. And then the uh bar graph on the right there shows FDR um passing rates verse New York State passing rates. And in

053the interest of time I know Miss Nisel had reviewed the math and science uh regent examinations. So I would just want to highlight that you know in global we're neckand-neck with the state average. In terms of US history we're working there and we have a little bit of work to bring that up and and move that above our state average. And then in ELA, we do see consistently a higher average than New York State in terms of our our passing scores. And to note, these scores are passing 65% and higher. Um there are students that do receive credit for examinations um you know based upon specific criteria. But again, when we're looking at rates and we're comparing it to New York State, we're looking at a 65% model. Um so how are we targeting it?

054or I'll shift and I'll say why literacy first and why is that so important for the high school when we looked at the changing regent exams you know algebra 1 um two years ago US history two years ago um specifically biology and earth and space science last year um and geometry last year and then we're going to have a shift for ELA um chemistry physics and algebra 2 at the end of this year in terms of state and and their shifts in regent examinations we're noticing an increase in the amount of reading that students are having to do during those exams. Particularly, I'd want to note the biology and the earth and space um was a was a big topic I think around the state. And just looking at those exams, the the rate at

055which students had to read and process that information um you had to have a high high levels and had very strong literacy skills. So, we was really super happy to see that the district's focusing on literacy. very happy that we're going to focus on literacy here. So now I'll shift to how. So we're doing that through our professional development, our superintendent conference days. Um Miss Kryser Amy organizing our um witsy professional development. We've heard a lot of positive feedback from our staff about that. um over the course of those days and seeing the implementations in the classrooms, you know, through um things like quick writes and things like um because but so looking at making and creating more complex sentences with our our students. Um, in addition, when our administrators are going in and doing

056observations, we're focusing on and having conversations about how are we using those witsy strategies that we're learning in the classroom and how can we as administrators support our staff in doing that. And one of the things that we've committed to as a building admin team is to to try and I said try do 48 walkthroughs a week. Um, because again we feel it's important for us to be out in the hallways. We feel it's important to be in classrooms with students and in in classrooms supporting uh again our teachers. Uh in addition what we've done also is our faculty meetings have shifted a little bit. We designate approximately 20 minutes at each faculty meeting to an instructional strategy um that's focused on literacy. Um the most recent one we we worked on was philosophical chairs.

057We came together, we had debates and discussions as a staff, just as students would do, try to honing our own skills and promoting um and improving our knowledge of the instructional practices so that we can bring them back to the classroom. And then in addition, we have another 20 minutes that we spend in a collaborative session during that time where we're focusing on um again literacy within our own classroom. and and I've deemed them our critical friend groups because I I've we broke ourselves up and we pulled ourselves out of each department and we wanted to do a cross collaboration among departments where our science teachers are working with our English teachers to say what are you doing in your classroom to promote literacy how are you doing it what's working not working you know

058getting some ideas again across departments our next slide we're shifting ing over to um budget uh recommendations or our budget priorities. So when we look at this slide um our focus really in terms of looking at our budget for next year was enrichment opportunities. So you know what exactly are enrichment opportunities a lot of things that I spoke about uh pep rallies um field trips things of that nature. We wanted to take a look at uh our student and our staff supplies um hone in and really target um what we're using specifically. We wanted to look at targeted professional development. We also wanted to make a commitment to maintaining our Bosei CTI seats. Um, and I I'll I'll talk a little bit more about that in upcoming slides. Um, we wanted to focus on continued

059academic and attendance support. So again, that's programs like um PBIS and and sources of strength and then again the culminating um you know ceremony graduation for for all of our students. So, I I know a lot of you have seen this slide before. Um, so just a quick recap, it's a three-year investment projection plan. I'm going to focus on the 26 27 numbers um for our budget next year. And then in each year afterwards, 27 28 28 29 is based off of a 2.2% increase. So the first two slides that we have here are going to speak to the staffing at FDR and what it takes to to run the building. So in our first column, we have our administrative staff, we have our instructional staff, our clerical office staff, and our teaching assistants. In

060our next slide, we have our teacher aids, our student support staff, our security school monitors, and our advisors. Moving on, we're going to take a look at extra pay items. So, what does this account for? This accounts for our subs. It accounts for our overtime. It accounts for our chaperoons. Um, but it also accounts for uh our support programs like Regents Prep, like Students First. If we're going to need additional proctors for the PSATs or um the AP exams, it would come from there. Next we have travel conference and mileage uh dues and memberships and then our health services is our are what we need for uh operating our health office. Next we have our Boseies occupational and ed. So our BoseCI seats and you know I'm I'm thankful and very proud that we do

061always commit to trying to to send all of our students that want to go to BoseCI to BOCCTI. Um you know we we budget for 150 seats each year. Um this also is inclusive of our Bard program where it operates out of the BoseCI institution as well. Um where we have eight seats that are incorporated into that. Um, you know, what I would note is over the years the trends that we're seeing is an increase in the number of students that are interested in the trades and interested in going to BoseCTI. Um, you know, but again, we still think that it's it's fiscally appropriate to maintain the current levels that we're at for the district and the community. One thing I also want to note on this slide is textbooks. Um we have textbooks at

0625100 and that's to account for our um class that we're in uh introducing next year, our accounting class. Um but I would note that the following years after that that line item again drops to zero. So again that 5100 is to account for the textbooks for the accounting class that we're implementing next year. When you look at teacher classroom supplies and student school supplies, you see two numbers up there. Um the first number 34,469 and then the student school supplies 57,434. Um those were our projections in December. And what we wanted to do though is we wanted to commit to again a 25% reduction. And so we went back and and we sharpened our pencils. We took a look at those numbers a little more and that's where we came out to in terms of

063the red with 30,645 and 43,75 again for classroom supplies, teacher classroom supplies and student school supplies. And I'll talk a little bit about um how we came up with that and how we were able to kind of whittle it down. Next we have supervision and regular supplies. Um those are some operating costs of the administrative team. Uh we have teaching contractual. So that takes into consideration um our awards ceremony, our top 20 dinner, um you know, new staff uh uh lunchon or orientation. Uh and then lastly, we have graduation contractual. You're looking at um tent rentals. You're looking at sound. You're looking at um photography costs uh for running our graduation. And then graduation supplies. Um, that's essentially everything that we're purchasing through just our um our seals, our diplomas, our diploma jackets, and our

064cords for our students. So, this slide is a a financial summary. So, it's the areas that I wanted to focus on in terms of our reductions. And I did put textbooks in there because I thought it was important because that's a onetime expense for a class. I didn't want to leave that out. Um, so again, no reductions in terms of continuing uh for textbooks, but I think we're going to see reductions in in the future again in the next couple of years. When you look at travel conferences and mileages, we had a a small reduction of 753, but I do anticipate that number to go up uh a little bit is what we're hoping because we've made a commitment that two of our administrative um members aren't going to go to our AVID summer institute.

065So when I have a final price in terms of what travel and mileage would cost, we'd be able to to, you know, incorporate that in there. Um, we had a a reduction in supervision of $158 teaching contractual. Why was this such a large reduction of 7,000? So this goes back to our sources of strength program. So we would contract out with our sources sources of strength um program to um the sources of strength institution. I am confident in our administrative team and I'm confident in our um adviserss for that program that we can move forward with that program, maintain it and still even improve upon it without having to to sign up for that that contract. Um we were able to reduce graduation expenses a little bit and then when we look at teacher teacher

066and classroom supplies again you'll see that reduction of 25% roughly $10,000 from this year's budget. And how do we go about that? We utilized our BLT. We utilize conversations with our staff in terms of let's prioritize items that we truly do need and we're going to do priority um prioritize items and purchase for like the individual classroom. So we're not buying in bulk, so to speak. And then when you look at student school supplies, I would note that this was grant funded for this year and in years past. um 43,000 a reduction of 14,000 again at that 25% that we were looking at. What I would say a big component of that was was our incoming uh 8th grade class is smaller um than years that we've seen in the past. So we had a

067a big reduction in the number of graphing calculators that we were purch purchasing for our uh 9th grade students. So, we were able to really reduce that, save some money there. But then also, we went back and we looked and we had discussions with our BLT. We had discussions with our staff around the building and said, "What are our students really truly utilizing?" And what do we see waste? And based off of that, we were able to go in and we were able to eliminate specific things or reduce specific things that allowed us to come up with a reduction. And overall, we're looking at a rough reduction of around $34,000. So, the benefits of our investments and our recommendations. So, moving forward, um what this really says is we want to improve or continue to

068improve family communication and we want to continue to improve student experience, both of them, so that they decrease chronic absenteeism. And then we want to improve a a student achievement through targeted instructional supports again like that our Witsy professional development, our AVID programs um and and programs like of that nature. And lastly, next steps. Um we want to continue to work with our building leadership team to monitor and support our wildly important goals. We want to review attendance data and celebrate our successes. We want to support instructional practices that improve literacy with the support of witsy strategies. And we want to continue to monitor state uh graduation guidelines um in anticipate anticipation of what's coming up in in the years to come. And then we want to utilize various programs, clubs, and activities to create

069a welcoming and educate um educational environment. Um with that being said, I apologize for going over my time, but I'd take any questions. >> Any uh questions? Go ahead. Mike, first first of all, congratulations on the big reduction in physical altercations. That's that's really terrific. Hoping it's not a blip. Hoping it's a real trend. Um, a couple things. One, with regard to that, do we keep data on bullying incidents and trends as well? This that's something that that I' I'd be interested in seeing at some point. >> Yes. Yeah, we we keep all of our anytime a discipline referral is submitted um anytime that there is a student that comes down, we ask them to fill out statements. we maintain all of those records um you know to have an understanding of of what our

070trends are and then our assistant principles and and now our MTSS committee actually goes in and we review that data um to see what trends are and that actually helps us build areas of support around the building where we actually station and place adults as the day um you know progresses because we do see trends in more populated areas. >> Great. Great. because you know you know the physicalations is part of it but the bullying part of it is something I'd be interested not tonight but interested in seeing how how we're doing in that as well. >> Absolutely. >> The other thing is when we when we look at graduation rates >> I appreciate that you went back nine years but as a as a data guy I like to see trends and so without

071actual numbers I I can't see whether whether the numbers going up or down or you know so so I would really love to see that and and I think I've said it before I'm I'm much more interested in the ultimate or the five-year graduation rate. So if if you could at some point sort of provide those kinds of trend data, if if you gave it to Dr. Roman, he could include it in one of his weekly updates, I would really love to see sort of a graph of the trends over the last nine years, the five-year graduation rate. >> Thank you. >> Absolutely. >> Um and going along with that, um my questions were about the 14% of students that don't graduate. you explained the 3% that we don't have any, you know, that they're

072extenduating circumstances and we understand that. Um, but that leaves 14%. Um, and you talked about we know that there's a range. Um, you know, if we take the lowest because I've I looked into this extensively before tonight because I'm really c this is something that is really important for me. 14% is too much. And I'm not saying that you don't agree, you know, it is what it is, but 14% is a lot. So my questions are um are there correlations between the absenteeism rate and the graduation rate? Are we talking about the same students? Um you talked about in here that next steps you're going to review attendance data. Um could we review some graduation data because we don't get to see that. Um I'm just curious what those 14% look like and what we

073can do to support them because um without a high school graduation diploma it, you know, it makes things a lot tougher for them. Are these students who are in special programs? Are they, you know, who are they? So, so that's something that I would like to see. Um 83% because last year you did have a slide that had um multiple years and we were um we went from 83 to 81. Now we're back at 83, which is good. But um districts comparable to us are closer to 90 and above 90. So that's where I'm hoping we can get to, but and I know it's a lot of work and I know people are working really hard at that. But um you know, understanding that 14% would help. >> Sure. So absolutely. So what we've done

074and this is we've done this every year since I've been an assistant principal. we've established our our at risk protocols and um you know I going back to 2014 I have a list of every student that didn't graduate um from FDR high school and you know we do look at that we analyze that um you know what I would say we want to focus on and and what we continue to look and and try and focus on attendance I think is a big component um because if they're not here we're not educating them and how we're improving attendance through all the different programs I think is an important part but why we looked at how many students are participating in in programs again 70% I think we're higher than that when we take in those

075uh other spring fall sports but again we want to be at 100%. We want to see a student because when we're going to hit 95% or above for graduation every student that walks through the door is going to have a connection with someone that's here um or some program that's here. I would say from my experience uh specifically when we lose a student to a dropout for 20 days of non-attendance um I think we see correlations between um our economically disadvantaged students. I think we see correlations between students that don't have a connection to the building. And I think, you know, we have to continue to work, not to say that we haven't, but I think we have to continue to work at finding ways to make those connections to students early on, right when

076they enter the doors in nth grade. >> I have a question. Um, since it's a budget year, and I appreciate all your detailed budget um, numbers, I noticed, you know, you did reduce with teacher and student supplies. That's a hard one because as a teacher, I know that it probably wouldn't have changed too much what was in my classroom. But I look at a a thing here on slide 13 with the student support staff and that's $2 million, $2.5 million. That's a lot. Who exactly is student support staff? Is that lunchroom staff? Is that guidance counselors? I was wondering. >> That's our clinicians. >> Who that is? Say it again. >> Our clinicians. >> Yeah. Our guidance counselors, social workers, school psychologist, >> RNs and LPNs. >> Yep. Okay. >> Yes. Any uh questions on

077your side? >> I just want to say a comment in the regent exams. I'm happy to see we're outpacing the the state. Um I that's a trend I like to see continue in and broaden in the different uh regions exams because that's that's good to see that kind of data. >> Absolutely. Thank you. >> Thanks. All right. No other question. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> All right. Moving on to 8.3 our superintendent's recommended budget with Dr. Roman and Miss Mo. Good evening members of the board. Uh this evening I will be presenting the recommended budget. Uh I want to highlight the fact that uh although it was a very uh difficult process this year comp comparatively speaking in terms of making strategic cuts, I do feel as though um we have been um very

078methodical about looking at the various data points to make the reductions uh that we have proposed um as well as looking at ways to kind of think outside the box and be innovative. in terms of program delivery, uh, service delivery so that we can attempt to, uh, provide, uh, better, uh, quality of of of resources to our students, um, and our families. And so, uh, with that, everything that we present is anchored on our vision and mission. And at this point in the development process, uh we are in the final stages. Uh at this point, we're going to be presenting the recommended budget this evening. Um and then soon after that, uh the uh budget vote will be taking place on May 19th. The budget drivers, as you recall, we've been presenting on this because

079this is really um our north star. This is really our GPS in terms of the budget development process. Uh preserving programs and services for students. We are very proud uh that we have been able to preserve the programs that you have seen uh throughout the various presentations this year from our administrators from our directors that we've been able to sustain. Uh over time we are seeing increases in literacy. We are seeing decreases in chronic absenteeism. We are seeing increases in our math scores. You saw this evening uh decreases in physical altercations. You have seen uh our our administrators present on uh increases um in region scores. So we are seeing these trends um positive trends in terms of student outcomes and we want to continue to provide those resources and supports to our students. Uh

080while at the same time we also have to make sure that we are making those difficult decisions to s to financially sustain these programs uh over time. We heard loud and clear from the board and we really appreciate you know the fact that uh when we do look at grants uh we will be very cognizant of the fact that we have to think beyond the grants. So that feedback it uh is welcomed and we have you know we will be considering that as we engage in new grants um grant writing processes uh now for new opportunities that are on the horizon. Uh we are also uh ensuring uh that we continue to welcome feedback from our community. Uh so you folks are receiving really good feedback questions. Uh those are relayed to us and we

081really appreciate um that that dialogue because that allows us sometimes to think about things differently and we need that information because this is a this is a collective process. This is a process by which we want to ensure that our students get the best resources and supports so that they can thrive and we are doing so with our driver number four which is keeping the taxpayers uh in mind as we um move move along in this process. Um and then throughout this this process but also in general um our teams are looking at how are we being efficient and effective. We are looking at data more closely. we are looking at ways that we can strategic strategically reduce things. Um so the fact that our administrators are already doing this work they were very instrumental

082in this process. Uh we did not do this work in isolation. We worked as an administrative team to look at the various ways that we can strategically reduce um items from the budget so that we can continue to provide students with what we know is working based on the data. And as I mentioned before, and I I do want to amplify this again, many times when districts are struggling financially and there are are are huge budget cuts, uh the things that do disappear are fine and performing arts programs, athletics, uh extracurricular activities, clubs. Those things are what keep our students coming to school. Those things are the things that students feel a sense of belonging. Uh you heard from a student this evening, that sources of strength. That's where she found her voice. That's where

083she found connection. Those are the programs that we want to continue to preserve for our students. That's why we're very proud that although we had to make difficult decisions in this process, we are ensuring that we preserve the programs and services that our students need so that they can thrive. And so this is just a recap of the uh requests that came in uh those items that went from grant investments that we moved into the general uh fund budget and then uh lastly investments that will be supported through the final stage of our stronger connections grant. our strategic efficiencies um as we shared uh previously and one thing that I do want to highlight is that we had the opportunity to present some of the things that are happening in the district um at the

084High Park Library as well as the Statsburg Library. We had a small but mighty group at Statsburg Library. We had about six individuals there and what I can say is that they were very engaged in the process. Tanya was with me. Uh they were very engaged in the process. They it was it was really good dialogue. We had good feedback on how we can ensure that we continue to educate our community uh with regards to what's working, how do we get the word out. So those individuals that were there and I want to thank the director um from from the Statsburg Library as well as from from the High Park Library for hosting us. um th that's the type of engagement that we want to continue to to foster uh because that feedback is important

085for us to consider as we engage in this work. Um our students our students are also providing us with valuable input and so we want to continue to foster that type of communication during our our our snack chats in each of the schools. I have an opportunity to engage with staff that take advantage of that opportunity. Uh do all of them take advantage? No. But the the few that come, it's really good dialogue that we have. They do have really good ideas. So, we're going to continue to engage in various communication strategies so that we can continue to hear from the folks that are impacted by decisions that we have to make. and we do consider those um we do consider that input. So these are the areas uh of strategic efficiencies that we had

086discussed excuse me and we'll continue to explore uh these areas as we had shared previously. Uh these are the areas that we had to make those difficult decisions. Um the the one thing that we do want to highlight is that through attrition, through retirements, through through vacance, not filling vacancies, this this impacted three individuals. Um it in some districts, you know, we're looking at 70, you know, cuts. Um we were fortunate to be in a position where we could utilize some of our reserves. We were in a position where we can account for unappropriated fund balance. We are in a position where we look to redesign um uh structures and and and and um uh protocols to provide uh AIS services to students in a different way. Thank thanks to our administrators thinking outside the

087box. So we did some some really deep analysis on how we can do things in a different but more efficient way. These were difficult decisions. These decisions impact individuals. Um unfortunately with with where we are, we can't continue to fund every single thing that we currently have um in the current budget. Um and that and that's where the difficult decisions have to have to come into play. But we do um look at the various data points to help inform our decisions. So, in this slide, we're going to go over some of the larger challenges we uh were up against in building our budget. So, Dr. Roman mentioned um a community community resource grant that we had. It was a three-year grant. It was $3.5 million. And the grant period ends on September 30th, 2026. So

088there is roughly a million dollars left, but we had to move the salaries from that grant into the general fund because that grant does end in September. So, what we did is we um moved salaries into the general fund to sort of sustain the positions that we chose to sustain over the long term and we moved some one-time expenditures into the grant um that we could some instructional supplies um our summer bridges program things like that that happen before September that we can spend that money down. So, that was one of our strategic efforts um to keep this staff in place. We all have been talking about health insurance premium increases. We have uh the the Duchess the DHICK the Duchess Health Insurance Consortium set rates. They started at a 16% increase for active employees.

089We ended up at 10.98%. Um that has a budget impact of a little over $2 million. Uh our budgetto budget increase is $5.1 million. So you can see that our health insurance increase takes up a lot of the overall increase in the budget. um our employer contribution rate for employees that are not certified, non-certified employees or the employees retirement system went up 1% this year. So every gross dollar of payroll that we pay an employee uh in the employees retirement system, the district contributes 17.6% of their salary to the employees retirement system. Um we had a health insurance holiday for the last two years. So not in 2526 but the two years prior to that. So what that meant is the DHICK plan had some fund balance uh in their in their in their budget

090in their financial statements. They had acred some fund balance. So what they chose to do is give all of the people participating in the DHICK plan a month off in expenses. So that represented 2 roughly $2.1 million for us in 2324 and 2425 that we didn't spend that we budgeted. So that helped us increase our fund balance in those years which allowed us to put money into our reserve accounts that will be non-reoccurring. So also one of our challenges is we know that the state budget hasn't passed yet. So the governor has come out with her budget in a timely way in early February. Um the legislature responded to that budget. Um they proposed increases to foundation aid. She was at 1%. The legislature proposed 2% increase. Right now, they've extended um the budget, right?

091They've um funded the continuation of salaries to keep the state open and they're currently um debating some political topics at the state uh prior to voting on the budget and enacting it. So, we're still waiting for that, but we're hopeful that that will come in the next week. Sorry. Thank you. So, here is the tax cap calculation. So, this this calculation is an eight-part formula. It is prescribed by the state of New York. Some of the factors are provided by the state and some of the of the factors that go into the calculation are calculated by us. So things that the state provides are the taxbased growth factor. So that is literally changes in the brick and mortar of the community. So that would be new building, new construction, increases in the value of your

092of your real estate. Um the the state also provides the allowable levy growth factor which we know the cap is 2%. But because there are other factors in the formula the cap can calculate more than a 2% increase. So some of the things we calculate or add to this formula are the pilots. So the state wants to take into account that we get pilot revenue. So payment in lie of taxes. These are agreements with local businesses where they they negotiate an agreement to pay a pilot or an agreed upon amount instead of tax um assessments and tax rates. And so what we do is we reduce that from the tax levy calculation. We add it from the prior year and when we reduce the new new pilots that we'll receive. And then the c the

093capital tax levy exclusion is the net effect of any debt service that we pay for capital projects net of state aid that we would receive. So our current year tax levy calculated to be a 2.41 u million increase roughly and a percent change in the tax rate of 3.34%. I'd just like to point out that there are five taxing jurisdictions within the town of Hyde Park or within the school district of Hyde Park. the tax rates can change differently depending on the accessible value and the equalization rate changes within those five towns. Um but what we've chosen to do here is we've projected that 1% additional increase in foundation aid that the legislature has proposed um in response to the governor's budget and we are going to use that to lower the tax levy. So

094we're going to project some higher foundation aid and we're going to reduce the tax levy to the taxpayer. And that help me out here. Thank you. Um, so that that will reap the percentage of 2.92%. Thank you, Dr. Roman. Um, okay. So, the next slide here we have is the state aid projections. So the process of um projecting state aid for the budget starts with the governor's run. So the governor proposes a budget in early February and what she does is she distributes a report of all the districts within um the state by county and she tells us what our aid is for the current year and what she's going to use. She uses that as a baseline to project our aid for the for the next year. So we take those numbers and we

095adjust them. We adjust them because the current year aid um right the the projections are based on information that we have provided in our reporting to the state of our final financial numbers. And so we project what we think we'll spend um in certain categories of aid. So the ones with the arrows are expense-based aids. And so the aid is generated by what we spend. So we sh tell the state what we think we'll spend and then she tells us what aid that would reap us. And so what we do is we adjust that based on what the projection was when we told them that at the state and where we think we are at that point in time. So each one of these has um especially the the expense-based aids has a formula within

096it where some things are aidable and some things are nonatable. So um what we do is we look at those things individually. We look at the formulas associated with them. We look at our output reports. we um look at our expenditures for the current year and what we think that will because the current year 25 26 expenditures will generate the revenue for those expense based aids in 2627. So we do all that and we adjust our numbers and so what we've come up with here the takeaway is that we believe that the foundation the uh state aid increase overall will contribute to our budget $1.3 million towards that $5.1 million increase or 2.84 84% of a 2.84% increase. Can you help me with the slide? Thank you. So, this is going to help to contextualize

097the pressure that we feel in the reductions in the state aid increases over the long term. So, what this represents is after the pandemic, there was a foundation aid formula that was never fully funded by the state. So what happened is there was a lot of need for students after the pandemic. We had hired certain staff with the pandemic relief monies and we couldn't support those those needs that kids had with the money in the foundation aid formula because you can see right now with the foundation aid formula fully enacted, we're at roughly a 3% increase year-to-year, right? Or a 2% increase on the foundation aid. So, the state enacted the foundation aid formula to its full extent, and that drove um state aid up, the state aid year-to-year increases for districts up to to

098very high levels. And so now we're we're leveling out. So, you can see the decline or the increase in state aid from year to year is declining and will remain flat because the foundation aid formula is fully enacted. So the foundation aid formula is impacted by local local things. Um wealth factors, property values, um the number of classified students. There's a weighted average for classified students of 1.4 uh as opposed to one student. So they count the students that way, which gives us a little bit more aid. Um but we are actually considered uh on a the higher end of a wealth factor for the state of New York. So here you can see uh basically our summary of all of our budget-to-budget revenues and you can see where we had the taxes increase of

0992.1 million which we said was the 2.92% increase. Um and and the 1.3 million in state aid that we just went over. You'll see some other large changes here. We are no longer going to be transferring money from the debt service fund. Um this is a part of the calculation of our tax cap calculation or the aid that we think is associated with capital projects. So that is part of that calculation. And what we've done here is because state aid is flat and because like the combination of state aid and the tax increase will not fully fund the increases that we've budgeted or the 4.1% increase in our budget. We've we've decided to appropriate reserves. So Hyde Park has um healthy reserves and that's fortunate for us in a budget year like this where many

100districts within the state are struggling with these budgetto-budget roll forwards. This is a this is a statewide trend. This flat foundation aid is is really impacting districts across the state. We've we've been talking about in district about some of the the districts that we see that are cutting multiple um employees that are proposing 7% tax u calculation increases. So what we've been able to do here and that's long financial planning. That's long-term financial planning that's been very good is we've been able to appropriate reserves to balance our budget instead of making additional cuts. So this is just a little more detail on our reserve use. So we'll use two specific reserves. We'll use our employees retirement system reserve and our teachers retirement system reserve. And these are our balances at the end of our last

101fiscal year. That's how we we evaluate them. And so the reserve use, what we've done is we've estimated our expenses for next year and what our reserve use will be. And then our reserve use as a percentage of that expense. So I tried to keep it under 50% of the overall expense for the year and I tried to keep it under 30% of the total reserve balance. And so that's what we've done here. So here you can see the categories of of expenditure that we'll be spending our money on. You can see our employee benefits and I've organized them here in a way where we see the largest impact to the lowest impact. Um so you can see that the employee benefits overall inclusive of health insurance we saw the health insurance was 2 point

102um roughly 2 million but o benefits overall are 2.4 million or a 6% change overall or a budget increase. This represents 46% of the overall budget increase of $5.1 million. The next category that drives our expenditures is salaries. Um this makes perfect sense, right? So out of $131 million, we see we have roughly a hund00 million of employee benefits and salaries. Uh the next category is Boseies. This is where some of our high-cost kids uh attend special education uh programs. There's lots of things. Our CTI students attend Boseies. We we buy professional development services from them. We they provide management services. So that's another large category of expenditure. And the good thing about that expenditure is that it does drive the expense-based aid. Um, next is contractual expenditures and equipment. Um, our debt service payments

103which are flat which is good and our transfers to other funds. So we we reduced um our transfers uh the this transfer for this uh special ed summer program extended school year program went up a little bit and we we reduced our transfer to the capital fund for $100,000. And so that is our total budgettobudget change of $5.1 million 4.1%. To the board, I one of the things that I do want to amplify is, and I mentioned this at the last meeting, if we did nothing and we just rolled over the budget from year from last year to this year, that that dollar change was going to be $9.6 6 million. So we would have been talking about two things here. If we did nothing with regards to the strategic reductions, we would have been

104talking about how do we utilize more reserves or how would how would we uh look to increase the amount of taxes that we collect from from our community? Meaning that we would have we would have needed way beyond the tax cap amount or exceeded the tax cap amount and have to pierce pierce that in order to gain enough revenues to to um sustain uh what we had in the previous year. So we we h we we had to do these strategic reductions. My point is we had to do strategic reductions in order for us to look at what we were investing in and do the very best that we could to preserve the programs and services while at the same time reducing those costs in in that process. So I think that that's like one

105of the challenges that we were faced with. Um, where are we going to look to be more efficient and more and more uh resourceful with regards to the the revenues that we do that we do have and what can we do to maximize those resources so we could get the maximum output um and and and uh resources for students. >> So this slide represents the budget-to-budget increases over the last five years. So we can see that there was a corresponding spike in our expenses um as there was in the foundation aid. So that allowed us to increase our budget substantially two years ago. Um and you can see that our budgetto budget increases have been declining ever since. So our goal is obviously to keep monitoring this and to be consistent um with this level

106or less if we can in the future. This slide represents our admin, program, and capital budget. So, the state requires us to break down our budget into three categories um and to to disclose this to the public. And so, on the right there, you'll see a chart of the different categories of expenditures that they require. We put in these categories um and you can see our program budget represents roughly 76% of our overall expenditures. And just to be duly noted that uh our admin percent is a little bit less than it was last year. So that's good. So um in in the case that the voter uh votes no on the budget, um we have the opportunity to go back to cut the budget and to go back to the voter a second time, the

107board has a choice. They can either um go right to a contingency budget or they can choose to uh cut the budget and then go back to the voter. Um if the vote voter rejects the budget twice, we do have to enact a contingency budget. So what that means is we are not allowed to levy any more money than we did in the previous year. So that would require us right the levy reduction is $2.1 million yeartoyear. that would require us to uh the mandated cuts that we I calculated are are approximately 1.3 million, but we would have to either cut the 2.1 or determine that we could come up with more revenues at that point to cut the difference. So, we hope this doesn't happen, but it's important to tell the taxpayer what the

108consequences of a no vote are on the budget. And um there are very specific um types of expenditures that are contingent expenditures and those are all prescribed by the commissioner of the state of New York. There's lots of guidance on that that we can look to. >> The the the one thing that I I would say about about this amount is I just want to make sure that we're all clear. This would be an additional $2.1 million in cuts that we would have to achieve in order to comply with the contingency budget guidelines. That means that, you know, that's a significant amount of work that we would need to go back um to the drawing board and see where where are we going to strategically reduce another $2.1 million from from the overall budget. So,

109uh, I just want to just point that out. >> That's it. >> Oh, and this is a slide that represents our Prop Two. So, we'll have Prop One, which will be the budget amount, and then we'll have Prop Two this year. Um, only two propositions. And this is for buses. And so we have four large buses that are diesel fuel and three 30 passenger buses which are fueled by gasoline for a total cost you'll see on the proposition of $1,90,913 with roughly a 59.4% um rebate from the state on state aid. So the net cost would be $442 $911. So, as we conclude, uh we just want to point out, uh today's uh the superintendent's recommended budget, uh property um tax report card. Um and then the board adopts the prop one amount. Um the

11028th, uh we have the uh Bosey's budget vote. And then, uh May 7th, we have the budget hearing. And then lastly, uh we encourage all of our registered uh voters to come out and um exercise their right to vote uh at Havlin Middle School from 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. uh on May 19th. Um at this time, we'll pause and see if any board members have any questions for us. I just a excuse me, just a couple of points of clarification. Uh Dr. Roman, I thought I heard you say that other districts are cover cutting 70 positions. >> They're they're they're ranging. They're there are some districts that are piercing the tax cap. >> And that's what the other question Tanya, you said 7%. There are some districts that are increasing that that are going

111to pierce the tax cap to 7%. And some districts are cutting 70 positions. They're also presenting to the public if they don't vote on the 7% all of the very specific cuts that they would make that that they're indicating athletics on non-mandated program transportation, right? They're they're telling the public specifically what they choose to cut out of the contingent budget. So they've done that work ahead of time because they know that there's a very high probability that they won't have their >> the other thing just point of clarification is when you say the foundation aid is flat I I assume that means essentially they're going to be increasing it by CPI every year. Well, there is a formula that drives that number. And so from 2526 to 2627, Hyde Park is going to a hold

112harmless district, meaning that our actual foundation aid formula calculation would reduce our foundation aid from year to year, but the state, right, won't won't do that. They they do what they call hold harmless. So they won't allow our aid to go down. They will they will guarantee the minimum increase that they're going to guarantee in that annual budget process. So that's an annual process and the governor can choose to enact the foundation aid formula with in its entirety without the hold harmless which would then mean our aid would go down. >> So there is a possibility in future years that we will actually see a reduction in aid as opposed to a reduction in increases what we've been seeing. >> Correct. >> Okay. Thank you. >> How concerning is it that the state budget has

113not been approved yet? I mean, you know, if that drags on, we approve our budget and then say they cut foundation aid or any other state aid calculation or they go the other way and say, "Oh, we're, you know, just kidding. Here's 10% foundation aid." I mean, what does how does that like why do we adjust to that at that late stage? >> Well, remember a budget is a an estimate of all expenditures and revenues at a point in time based on all the information that we have. So we build a budget in a way that we hope that we can right. So for us that doesn't represent a lot of money in the overall increase from year to year. Right? That's that's good in this way. It's not good when we build a budget,

114but it's good that we wouldn't be impacted by a by a reduction or by a flat foundation aid like truly flat, not a 1% or 2% increase. They're they're not going to go down pro, you know, I don't want to say for certain because I I don't know, right? I'm not up in Albany doing those negotiations, but they are focusing solely on political issues right now. They're not really talking about numbers and everything I'm hearing is not about numbers. It's about what can they get um for holding out on voting on the budget. So, you're right, it is a risk to project those things. 100% um correct about that. But um I have not seen a situation in my career where the the legislature comes back with a projection and the governor bats it down.

115I haven't seen that happen before, but it is a risk. >> They make us get a budget by a certain date, but yet they >> we had the same situation last year. >> Yeah. >> All right. Any other uh questions? >> All right. Thank you. All right. Where are we? Oh, 9.1. Um, can I get a motion to enter public participation? >> So, move Tibbitz. >> Second. >> All those in favor? I opposed. Motion carried. Let's see. Please be advised that there will be a total of three minutes per speaker. I'll give you a little hand wave when you're running out of time. Um, there'll be a total of 21 minutes for the first segment. Uh, we ask that comments be respectful and courteous of all and please provide your name and address when you

116reach the podium. Would anyone like to address the board? Uh, Roman Pton, Free Stoutberg Drive, Hide Park, New York. I was just wondering because I thought the original plan was that you were going to vote on Proposition One on what was it like the 28th in like two weeks I think on the old slides and then you moved it to this meeting. Is it just ready to be voted on and like you have nothing else you're going to end up changing. Um, also I want to be honest, I'm not that big of a fan of the line graphs, but uh on the budget slide, but like >> of the what? >> The line graphs with the percent year to year. I don't know. That's just my feedback. Thank you. >> Anyone else? Okay, we'll close

117public participation. So, um, we voted on Proposition one and two, uh, last meeting, but I but I do think there was a mistake in this presentation that was out there from originally >> with with the timing uh, you know, like >> tonight has always been the night we vote on the the amount that's proposed, but there was a mistake in the actual presentation with the with the timing of it. Every year it's the same at that the FDR meeting. That's when we vote for the budget and then the next one is the Boseies and then the next one is uh I forget what it is but oh the actual vote. Oh no the budget hearing and then the and then the vote. Um as far as the graphs and charts and all that, we're going

118to have a a a board retreatworkshop. Um and we're going to focus on um charts and process and you know timing of things because I too am not a fan of some of the charts out here. Um as well as a lot of you know everybody has their own style and opinion on on what so we're hoping to you know take all this feedback and and come up with you know a deck that um is is more presentable um going forward. But you know yeah I I agree. So, any other comments on that? >> No, I think you cover. Thank you. >> Okay, moving on to uh 10.1 board subcommittee reports and professional development st updates. Any committees meet? >> Yeah. All right, that's easy. Uh board discussion uh including consent agenda items. Um I

119just uh had one thing. So um the treasures report like it hasn't been there for a while. I don't know if you want to comment on on that. Um >> I'll let I'll let T speak to >> Sure. We we started to look at so the treasures report formatting and we've we're working on a new format for the board that will be more transparent. It will include the bank account balance and the trial balance or what we call a book balance on a monthly basis. It'll show the carrying items. So um when I arrived we didn't have that treasures report in place and there has been some lag in time but we are working on a new format. I think it'll be new and improved. We're going to do an investment summary for the board

120as well as a collateral analysis. We're required by law to collateralize our depo deposits. So, we want to verify that on a monthly basis and we want to show that to the board. So, we're going to change our formatting a little bit and that those are I worked on them several hours today with the treasur and we're working on that format now as well as we plan to have the claims auditor's report at the next meeting. >> Okay. So, but we haven't seen one since I think November, right? So is the old format available that we can play catchup or >> we could we could >> I mean >> we could >> yeah I mean you know some format is better than no format right because I I think it I think it's been >>

121sure absolutely >> um since November. So we should kind of play catchup and and get something out there and then transition to the new format. Any other uh board discussion? All right, moving on to 11.1. Um, can I get a motion to approve tonight's consent agenda? >> So moved, Katie? >> Second, Christine. >> All those in favor? >> Opposed? Motion carried. 12.1. Uh could I get a motion to um adopt the proposed budget for proposition one? >> So move to >> second. >> Any discussion? I just want to say as um I it's been a tough year. Um I think this is since I've been on the board, I think this is probably one of the toughest uh that we had to deal with. Um certainly in the postcoid era it's definitely the the the

122most difficult. Um but you know I think it's going to be a challenge going forward right especially since state aid the foundation aid is going to be more of a on a flat thing and we're going to see increases in the the health uh benefits and salaries. So it's going to be an ongoing challenge. Um so but you know just I think good job to getting us to where we are um this year. All those in favor? >> I I >> opposed. Motion carried. Doesn't have to be roll call, right? >> Um 12.2. Can I get a motion to for the 2026 27 property tax report card? >> So move. >> Second, Katie. >> Any discussion? >> All those in favor? I >> opposed. Motion carried. Third 12.3, the New Deal apprentice program. Can I

123get a motion uh for that? >> So moved, Katie. >> Second, Christine. >> Any discussion? >> Um I'd like to propose what what I what I think is a friendly amendment and won't require any alterations, just a clarification. Um under the program, it talks about guaranteeing career paths. And I think last time Ryan, you clarified that that guarantee was upon graduation from college as opposed to from high school. I think there was a question there. It just says graduation here. Can we if can we add college to that? Is that >> it says graduation. So So this is asking for a clarification. >> Yeah. So no, it is for graduation from high school so long as they have completed the college coursework required for TA certification which is not a uh a full diploma. >>

124So I understand. So could we add that to the language just to be clear and and what that would be considered I think a friendly amendment that we would not have to that we could still vote on. Is that correct Jay? >> Yeah. I just want to make sure it's clear because I know there was a question last time and when I read it, graduation could mean a lot of different things. I just want to make sure it's clear in it. Right. Thank you. >> Any other discussion? All those in favor? >> I opposed. Motion carried. Uh 12.4 capital project change orders for Ferrari, Sasto, and SNO. >> So moved. >> Any discussion? All those in favor? >> Opposed? Motion carried. Can I get a motion to enter our second public participation? >> So moved.

125Tibbitz. >> Second, Christine. >> All those in favor? Opposed? Motion carried. We're now in second uh public participation. Same rules apply except this one is limited to uh 12 minutes total. Um and again please provide your name and address when you reach the podium. Any takers? I can't tell if they're coming. All right. They're not coming. All right. At this time, we'll close public participation. Uh 14.1. any other matters deemed necessary by the board. >> Can I just mention a recognition for retirement? >> So, we just want to uh congratulate uh Michelle LaGuardi from North Park Elementary School reading teaching assistant. Uh she's provided the district 16 close to 16 and a half years of service to our our school community. So, want to wish her congratulations on her retirement. Thank you. All right. Uh,

126any other matters? Uh, no need for a second. Exact. So, at this time, can I get a motion to adjurnn tonight's meeting? >> So, moved. >> Second, Christine. >> All those in favor? >> I opposed. Meeting adjourned.