001Great. Good evening everyone. Today is February 12th, 2026. Welcome to the Hard Park Central School District's Board of Education meeting. At this time, can I get a motion to enter executive session, please? >> So move. Tibbitz. >> Second, Margaret. >> All those in favor? I opposed. Motion carried. We're now in executive session. Good evening everyone. At this time, I'd like to return to open session. And if we could please rise for the pledge of allegiance. >> Take corners here. 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. Uh we don't have any agenda modifications, right? Okay. Can I get a motion to adopt tonight's agenda? >> So moved, Christine. >>
002Second. Any discussion? All those in favor? I >> opposed. Motion carried. Upcoming events. Okay. Friday, uh, February 13th, no school superintendence conference day, all schools. Monday, February 16th, it's a holiday for President's Day. All schools are closed. Tuesday, February 17th, holiday for Lunar New Year. All schools are closed. Uh Thursday, February 19th, community schools se celebrating Black History Month at Hide Park Elementary, and that'll be from 6:00 to 7 p.m. Monday, February 23rd at uh Violet A Steam Night, and that'll be at Violet A 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, February 24th is Netherwood Steam Night, and that'll be at Netherwood at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, February 25th is the Havlin Pops concert and that'll be at Havland at 6:30 p.m. And then our next board of education meeting is on February 26th and that'll be at district office
003and open session begins at 7 p.m. Any other upcoming events? Okay, moving on to Pride. Lauren >> FDR would like to share that on Friday, January 23rd, the Katherine Street Legacy and Family Support Program hosted its 35th annual MLK breakfast, an event honoring community leadership and youth excellence. Among the morning's highest honors was the recognition of FDR High School senior Kiara Winfrey, one of only three students selected across the Hudson Valley as an MLK youth honore. Addressing a crowd of over 200 guests, Kiara delivered a moving tribute to Dr. King's legacy, sharing her personal commitment to community service and her aspirations for the future. In recognition of her achievements, she was presented with a commemorative plaque and a $2,000 scholarship toward her upcoming college education. Havlin would like to extend their sincere thanks to FDR
004for hosting their eighth graders as they continue to strengthen their transition from 8th to 9th grade. They truly appreciate the ongoing support from the FDR administration and counseling team, which made their visit during the second to last week of January both welcoming and informative. It was a valuable opportunity for the students to experience the building firsthand and learn more about the academic programs as they move forward with the scheduling process. North Park is taking part in the American Heart Association Kids Heart Challenge led by PE teacher Emily Clark. In fizzed classes, students are learning handsonly CPR, ways to keep their hearts healthy, and building jump rope skills to understand heart rate and how it changes with activity. Staff members were read to show their commitment to students learning about heart health. For the third year,
005students also created Valentine's for veterans in part partnership with Michelle Hitching's office, connecting their work to the PBIS trait of the month, which is kindness. Ralph R would like to thank Bobby Goodman for setting up a visit last week from one of the Harlem Wizards, Big Jay. He met with their third and fifth grade students to help get them excited about the bad apples versus Harlem Wizards game on February 27th at 7 p.m. Students have been working hard on their middle ofear diagnostic assessments as well as practicing for the New York State assessments with the annual simulation. And they are getting ready for their family math night event on February 19th from 5:45 to 7 p.m. Violet Avenue third graders wrapped up their forces in motion unit by designing and testing marble runs. Students planned,
006built, adjusted, and evaluated their models as part of the Steam Challenge. In Mrs. Ellis's ENL C classes, students explored Lunar New Year through reading and writing activities. They created lanterns describing their own character traits and made zodiac wheels showing their birth year. PBS leaders hosted an interactive assembly, The Case of the Missing Basketball, where students practiced problems solving strategies such as staying calm, thinking it through, and asking for help. Teachers also recognize students for strong problem solving and positive contributions. Next month's focus is ownership, reminding students that taking responsibility for their choices, actions, and learning helps build this school community stronger. >> Thank you. >> I have some pride. I have lots of pride. Good evening everyone. Uh I do want to share um you see on the slide we have some healthy smiles. I
007want to say thank you to all the folks through the community schools. Uh we have students that are receiving dental cleaning. Uh and you can see this bright uh young young man with that bright uh smile. Um we certainly have a f of future that is bright here at HPCSD. Uh so just want to say thank you to all uh the families that are participating, all the staff that are supporting this this initiative. Also want to recognize um all the staff and students that participated in our junior high all county uh music festival. Uh we had many uh school districts that were represented and just want to thank all those that were uh participants in this and making this a huge success including uh Mrs. Amy Martin and the entire staff at the high school.
008Before we go on to that, I do have a couple of more uh points of pride. First, um before you enter, there's a couple of benches that are right outside uh the cafeterium. Uh just want to say thank you to Kurt and to Walter who have been uh helping to to get those back and refurbish them. Uh Debbie St. wanted to be here, but she couldn't. So, um want to make sure that that shout out is made. Uh we also want to recognize our school resource officers. This month is school resource officer month and we appreciate everything that they do to keep our our students, our staff, our schools safe. Um and then uh Sparrow's Nest um once again just an overwhelming participation across the district. Um Sparrow's Nest is a local charity that feeds
009people uh that are impacted by cancer. And so just want to say thank you to all the HPCSD staff that participated in that. And um a huge thank you from um Mrs. Ellis from Ralph R. Um and then uh lastly, I do want to share that we have in our weekly communication and our high park highlights, we recognize, um positive attendance um throughout the district or positive points um or things to remember uh to continue to support the district in our um efforts to increase student attendance. And uh we want to recognize a a a student um Aston Roange uh from Ralph R um who shared um that he is new to the district. Um he loves um his school um and um he says you have to be kind and you have to be
010respectful to make friends and I look forward to seeing my friends at school. Uh so we highlighted him um this past week. uh and we we will continue to highlight um students who also gives us give us some tips on how to make sure that you're prepared and ready uh for school each and every day. Uh that concludes my items. >> Yeah. >> Okay. I am very pleased to recognize two students this month. We'll start with the artist of the month. Um, and this is Declan and I believe it's >> Frost. Um, and Frost >> Ross Frost >> Drossst. Okay. Thank you. >> You're welcome. >> Declan, as we can see, is from North Park. Uh, and he's a fourth grader. And is Declan here this evening? Awesome. So Declan is a fourth grade student
011and consistently demonstrates exceptional skill and creativity in the art room. His artwork reflects strong craftsmanship, thoughtful planning, and create a great attention to detail. He often pushes boundaries by approaching projects in unique and imaginative ways that set his work apart. He is always focused and dedicated to his work. His kindness, creativity, and genuine care for others and his art make him a wonderful role model and truly deserving artist of the month. And according to Dean, he says, "I believe art is important because art is everywhere. If we did not have art, everything would be boring." So, congratulations, Dean. come on up for your certificate. Congratulations. Okay. And next we have a fifth grade student from Violet Avenue School, Alisandre Pasmino Beretto. And is Alisandre here? Great. Hi, Alisandra. And Alisandre sings in the Violet Avenue
012Chorus and plays the cello in the Violet Avenue Orchestra as well as district or orchestra. She also plays the piano outside of school and has shared her piano playing with the general music classroom, which has been a beautiful addition to the music activities in class. Alisandre has a great attitude in orchestra, chorus, and music class, and she always tries her best, and we appreciate the way she shares her musical talents. And according to Alisandre, I love the way music stimulates my brain and I enjoy listening to lots of kinds of music. Congratulations, Alisandre. Come on up here. You're welcome. Okay. And at this time, I think we are going to invite Miss Wilbur up to recognize a staff member and a student. Good evening and welcome. Welcome to Netherwood. One of the highlights of the
013evening is um being able to present the portrait of a learner and portrait of an employee award to uh two very deserving members of the Netherwood community. I would like to take a moment uh to present the portrait of a learner award. This honor is reserved for a student who doesn't just excel in their studies, but who embodies the character and the spirit we hope to see in every member of our school community. Today, that student is Samantha Strang. So, when we look at Sammy, we see a hard worker in the truest sense of the word. She has mastered the art of perseverance. When a lesson is challenging, she doesn't back down. Sammy strives, she asks questions, and she stays the course until she reaches her goal. But what truly sets Sammy apart is the
014light she brings into the room. Her smile and her enthusiasm for learning are genuinely infectious. She arrives every single day with a positive attitude that lifts everyone around her. Beyond her academics, Sammy is a model of kindness and integrity. She stays true to herself, treats everyone with respect, and has a wonderful sense of humor that makes her a friend to all. Sammy, you light up this school. You are a role model for your peers and a joy for your teachers. As we present this portrait of award to you, it serves as a reminder of what it looks like to be a dedicated, kind, and resilient learner. Please join me in celebrating our portrait of a learner, Samantha Strang. >> She has a few words. >> Good evening. I would like to take a few moments
015to thank Mrs. Wilbur and the board of education for this honor. I'd also like to thank the entire staff at Netherwood for nominating me for this award. It means so much to me. I would also like to thank my family for always encouraging me to be the best I could be both inside and outside of school. I have always loved school and have enjoyed my time at Netherwood since my very first day. I'm extremely grateful for the loving and supportive learning environment the school has given me. I'd also like to thank my teachers, past and present, for helping me be the student I am today. Thank you, Mrs. Ackley, Mrs., Mrs. Manning, Miss Cullen, Mrs. Miller, Mrs. Plant, Mr. Leech, and Mr. Leech. You have all helped shape the person I am today through your
016dedication to your students and your love of learning. To the entire staff at Anotherwood, I promise to continue to be the best student I can be throughout my school career. Thank you again. Now, the next award is also one that is really challenging um to choose. And this year, I uh put it out to our staff to vote, which was a little different from last year. Um so, tonight we're here to celebrate someone who doesn't just show up to work. She creates a learning environment for her students to thrive in. It's my absolute honor to present the portrait of an employee award to Joan Miller. And then I'm gonna I'm gonna say a little more. Is that okay? Thank you. All right. And there's your All right. So, Joanie embodies what makes an excellent teacher.
017The critical thinking skills she has instilled in her students are undeniable. Joanie knows that before a child can think critically, they have to feel safe, seen, and supported. Walking into Joany's classroom, you immediately feel it. It's fun. It's vibrant. And most importantly, a shared learning space. Every student in her care is happy to be there because she they know she cares deeply about their success. Whether it's reaching out to caregivers, working directly with a student, or staying late to perfect a lesson plan, she's often here as late as I am. Joany's effort is relentless. But Joany's impact doesn't stop at the classroom door. those of us who work alongside her. She is the ultimate collaborator and the one who keeps us laughing. She's a mentor who is always open with her time, a leader who
018consistently brings new ideas to the table, and a teammate who is there the second you need support. Joanie, you embody every attribute this award stands for. Your dedication, your leadership, and your prof profound love for the children of High Park Central School District have shaped our community for the better. It is with great joy that we h hand this portrait to you today as a testament to your legacy. Please join me in congratulating Joanie Miller. All right. So, good evening everyone. Oh, back to you. >> Yeah, it'll be you'll be in a minute. I just >> just at at this point anybody that was here for pride especially with the young ones if you want to leave now it's a good time if you you don't don't feel compelled to stay for the rest of
019the Okay, moving on to um 7.1, our superintendence report with Dr. Roman. So just in terms of um presentations uh this evening um the only thing I do want to highlight in terms of report out is um we are working through our budget this evening. We are going to be sharing um some information um as we go through this process. Um at this point that's the only uh item I have for this evening. We're going to give right into the next next section. >> Okay. >> Now you're 7.2 or Netherwood update with principal Wilbur. >> All right. Thank you everyone. I would like to take a moment first to um thank some of our behind thescenes um support. So our tech department who this evening could not happen without them along with our custodial staff.
020Um, and a special thank you to Michael for always jumping in and creating such amazing videos, which you will see in a moment. And to Walter and Corey for making our building always shine. I know that you guys take pride in your work. Uh, thank you to the members of the board of education and cabinet for providing the space for us to highlight all of the positive work that happens here at Netherwood Elementary School. And finally, thank you to our families, students, community members, and to our staff. uh we couldn't do this day-to-day work without you. Okay. So, for this evening, we are going to follow the um same framework that has happened in the other uh other board meetings where we're going to celebrate successes and the impacts of prior investments along with uh
021our current working targets for improvement and then budget uh recommendations and priorities um and where they uh apply to. Before we begin that though, we are excited to um have our student showcase. So I am going to ask my PBIS adviserss to come up because they are going to uh speak very briefly and then we have a very short video of uh our PBIS program which I know we talk a lot about um but you don't always get to see the ins and outs of what happened. So they are going to highlight a little bit of that this evening. So welcome to uh Gabby Espazito and Aaron P. So when you're ready to do the video, you just push that. Okay, sounds good. >> Hello, I'm Gabrielle Spazto. I'm a speech pathologist here at Netherwood.
022>> Hi, I'm Erin P. I'm the social worker here at Netherwood and we're the PBIS coordinators. We're excited to share some of the highlights of our work this year with you. We have some amazing student helpers that are here with us tonight and we would like to introduce them. Leah, Samantha, and our mascot, the Netherwood Nighthawk, also known as Davis. Our student helpers are going to share a little bit about why they enjoy PBIS here at Netherwood. >> Hi, I'm Samantha. I'm in fourth grade. And I want to tell you a little bit about our gacha tickets. Students can earn gacha tickets for being safe, respectful, and responsible. We can get gachas during class, on the bus, in the hallways, at recess, and during specials. Gotachas get pulled each Friday, and we get to earn
023prizes. Hi, I'm Leah and I'm in fifth grade. One of my favorite PBIS activities this year was the winter workshop. I got to go on stage and help the lead holiday songs. I also enjoyed being a fifth grade buddy and helping the kindergarten and first grade students participate in the Grinch yoga, decorating and decorating a snowflake. >> Hi, I'm Davin. I am in fifth grade. I have really liked being the mascot this year at Netherwood. I come to all the assemblies and give high fives and hugs to all the students. It has been really fun being the mascot and it really makes the students so happy. Okay. Thank you so much to our student helpers. We are really proud of the PBIS program here at Netherwood. Um, one of the things we did this year
024was we created a superhero attendance comp contest that aligns with our district and our BLT attendance initiatives. Um, the grade with the highest attendance by the end of the second quarter was able to earn an ice cream party and third graders were excited to win this contest by having the highest attendance in our school. Another important piece of PBIS is incorporating families into our work. In October, we partnered with the PTA and we joined Netherwan to invite families to decorate a pumpkin with us. We also sent home a quarterly PBIS newsletter to families with updates, recent events, parent tips, and highlights going on in our school. Some of our other PBIS initiatives are a staff, student, and teacher spotlight board, our gotcha ticket program, and hosting our first winter workshop filled with activities promoting gratitude,
025positive relationships, and bringing the whole school together to celebrate. We would now like to share a video with you about PBIS at Nether. Everyone has the same langage, so they notice child being safe, responsible, respectful. >> Everyone has the same language. So if they notice a child being safe, responsible, respectful, they can earn a gotcha ticket. I am so happy we have such a robust PBIS program because it really contributes to a positive school culture. The students really are invested for doing the right thing, which rewards those who might go unnoticed. PBIS stands for positive behavior interventions and supports. It is the most widely used school climate behavior program because it reduces problem behavior, builds community, and increases student and teacher well-being. We focus on being safe, respectful, and responsible throughout our school community. Some
026of our PBIS initiatives include Gotcha Tickets for recognizing positive behavior, our teacher, staff, and student spotlight board, our superhero attendance challenge, and our first winter workshop. by being respectful and kind. How to iron doctor tickets is that cuz um by being responsible and helping other good friends, doing what you need to do and listening to the teachers and follow directions. Um, I feel really proud of myself because I really earned them and I then that and that makes me feel good because I did something good and I earned them. It like makes people feel special and it like they know that they're like being seen by like the school. >> I enjoyed the sing along, the fun making the fun snowflakes and showing what we're grateful for. What I liked about the winter workshops was
027the Grinch logo, >> the spotlight board is because like when like students and people are up there like the right kind stuff about them, >> feeling welcome at school >> and I like about PIS me means that doing the right thing. I like seeing the mascots and um and being with all my friends, >> winning the um ice cream party and the eating the ice cream. >> Our PBIS program here at Netherwood has been such a positive experience for our staff and our students. PBIS supports some of our other building goals. It celebrates our positive attendance and overall behavior within our school. We're going to actually segue in perfectly to um one of the points of pride. Um you'll notice throughout um my presentation um I really wanted to focus on all of the really
028positive things that are happening with our building. Um PBIS being one of them. And as a result of our PBIS program, we are seeing um behaviors and discipline decrease. So you can see here I have um over the last couple of years just the out of school and in school suspensions uh rates and they have dropped significantly um due to several reasons. one being our PBIS program um where we are looking at discipline um data and also you know the uh initiative for attendance students are here and they're present and they're feeling more valued within our building um which also might be contributing to some of that um work um I don't want you know the negative numbers here to overshadow all of the positive behaviors that we do see on a day-to-day basis um
029I really have to give a huge shout out to our support um and counseling staff staff. So, we um added a school counselor um last year and that has really really helped in support some of our students with maybe with higher needs particularly around um you know deregulation which may increase um you know behaviors or negative behaviors. So, having that support staff and the counseling staff work really as a team has really helped to um kind of curb some of the discipline things we may have been seeing a couple of years ago. So without them um these numbers definitely wouldn't be where they are right now. Um moving in on to some of our academic data. Uh I am really honored the fact that last year was my first year here and to see um
030the amazing achievements that are happening across our building. So I have included here our New York State um ELA and math data. And as you can see, um, from 2024 to 2025 in ELA, there was a 20% increase. Um, and in, uh, math, we had a 13% increase in students who are achieving in math and ELA. And those are really huge numbers. So, kudos to our staff. Um, yeah, our staff who is working really hard. I might steer the ship, but they are doing the work. Um, so I really have to give shout out to them. um and to the students who are really embracing uh what their teachers are teaching them and and running with it. Um with that said, another really kind of amazing piece on this next slide, um we are actually
031outperforming um the state average in math and ELA in grades three through five and even overall as a building. So, um we have lots of reasons why that could be happening. Obviously our teaching staff is phenomenal. We have also built um really positive relationships with merist. Uh they have students who are coming in who actually even just started this week but worked with our staff last year where every Wednesday over a semester. Meris students are coming in and helping to work on targeted um supports within the classroom. So, not only do we have the supports of our staff, but we are able to utilize some of the MERS students who are learning um and helping to enhance our programs. We have also um through our MTSS work really targeted um supports and intervent inter interventions
032for students through the data work that we're doing um which is also helping us to make sure that we're giving students the exact instruction that they might need individually or within small groups. Um so we are really proud to uh to share that work um and those results. The other um point of pride and celebration that we can have in positive things that are happening around the building is our chronic absenteeism has also declined. So in 2024 2025 we really had the initiative to help improve attendance and we uh were able to see our numbers drop from about 19% chronically absent down to 15%. Right now we are standing at around 18% was a which is a little higher than where we would like to be. However, um our attendance team has been working really
033diligently um to out provide outreach to families so we can be supportive and find areas where we can help families um to get their students to school. It also helps to build positive relationships. Um and we're really mindful in when we place um and where we place afterchool events to try to target days where kids might be out, whether it be a Friday or the first day back after a long weekend. we tend to um have some have some of our after-school events there to help improve our attendance. While the number is at 18% right now, this same exact time last year, we were at 20%. So, um you know that that's also a positive outlook on it. And right before the break, we really did have a lot of students who were really ill.
034We had a lot of flu um and kind of serious illnesses. Um down to one of our kindergarten rooms had maybe five kids students in it one day. Um, so we're hopeful. Um, we have a goal that I'll share with you here on the next slide. Oops. We are looking, one of our goals, uh, in literacy is to improve our literacy proficiency on the NWA from the 62nd percentile to, it should be the other way around from the 67th percentile to the 62nd by June 26, 2026. Um the other building principles did focus on um state test scores for their literacy goals. With the increase that we had um with state testing, I wanted to look at our building a little differently. Um we do have four 812 programs here which are not represented in
035our New York State assessments. And I feel that it's important to take a look and see how we're improving across the building as a whole. So, taking time to look at those NWA scores um and where we're performing there, that will help me to get a better idea across the building, how we're doing. Um, as far as attendance, uh, we are looking to decrease chronic absenteeism here at Netherwood from 15% in 2025 down to 12% by the end of the school year. We are already um, you know, in that trajectory, a little ahead of where we were last year. So, I'm excited about that. um some of the budget recommendations when we start thinking about um next year. We really wanted to take a um a look at and continuing to support our PBIS program
036and our attendance. We also want to make sure that we're providing enriching opportunities for our students so that way they want to come to school. And then another piece is making sure that we are um providing our classroom teachers the tools to support students within the classroom. Um, one of the examples of something, you know, I wanted to think about when I was budgeting is kindergarten. Um, you know, they're learning letters and so one of the things we had talked about with the kindergarten teachers are trays, um, with letters that kind of come as a kit rather than using the Velcro, which sometimes falls apart. So, you know, just making sure that we're thinking about those things when we're getting ready to, um, budget and how they align with our priorities here within the building.
037So, we did uh look over our three-year investment um projections. Um and the you can see the numbers here for all of our um staff, which we know that um the staff uh is where a lot of the um budget line money comes from, right? We have um our uh administration staff, our instructional staff, clerical, teaching assistants. One thing that is also a little bit different about um our building is you might see like the teaching assistant line a little higher or the aid uh teacher aid lines a little bit higher than some of the other buildings but that is because of our 812 programs and we do require uh more support here within the building. Um, as we move along, um, I was in a little bit of a different position than some of
038the other building principles when they were getting ready to present their budgets because they weren't, uh, necessarily planning out their budgets for next year. So, our original numbers that are here um, in black are the numbers that were the projected for next year. Now that I've had an opportunity to sit down and start looking at my budget, I was able to cut and reduce um some of the school supply line and the students supply line to really match um the needs here at the building rather than just rolling over the budget lines that we had the previous year. So you can see here in orange, I was able to reduce the school supplies by almost $3,000 and then the student supplies um down by um between5 and $6,000. Um so then I projected out the
039savings uh for 27 28 and 20 28 29 from that. Um so I did add those numbers there since they the original numbers were more projected and the ones in orange are the reduction that are more actual. Uh let's see. And then we'll continue with some of our um health and guidance supplies and travel and conference um and membership dues. which puts us here at just over $6.8 million for next year and then the increase over the next couple of years. So, our financial summary uh for next year for 2026, uh like I said, we really looked at that in a really meaningful way uh when I was going ahead and doing the budget for next year, making sure that everything aligned to our priorities and our um initiatives here at the school. So, our
040textbook line, um there's no new investment there. For school supplies, we actually have that um almost $3,000 savings. And then for our student school supplies, it is an additional $10,000 because the 10,000 or the the money that was uh allotted for our student supplies was through grant funding last year. So, it is a total investment of about $7,000, but that is reduced um by almost $9,000 between the uh student supplies and the school supplies savings that I was able to um come up with. Some of the benefits of those investments um is to maintain the improved trajectory of student achievement. That's really important. We want to make sure that even though we had those huge gains last year, we are continuing that um particularly through our ent our targeted instructional support. We also want to
041deepen our social emotional learning and leverage the PBIS framework uh to continue that supportive um learning environment. We want to continue to proactively engage families to improve attendance rates and reduce chronic absenteeism and then also increase um experiential learning opportunities. um particularly between around uh reading and writing. So our next steps will be to optimize that MTSS framework and make sure we're making sure we're using data to um streamline interventions um and continuing our PBIS supports. Uh one of the things we've been looking at through our data in PBIS is that uh lunch and recess tends to be an area where um we do see a little bit um more uh you know it's more of a problematic area where there are things that come up within our day. So we've been working as a
042PBIS committee to come up with an alternative recess option. Um and so part of our budget money would go to there. Um we are continuing to use informed data practices to improve our literacy. And then we want to s celebrate our successes, which this is one opportunity that we really get to celebrate um is being able to highlight this for you and our community. So um the last piece is making sure that we keep cabinet informed of any updates or changes within our our budgets or in our um goals for the year. But we are really excited to um kind of head into the end of the school year in a really positive way and have a good solid plan for next year. So thank you I just have a comment. Congratulations to you and
043the entire Netherwood community for these impressive numbers. That's >> Thank you. >> That's what we're here for to see that kind of results. So, thank you very much. >> Great. Thank you. I'd like to say that I appreciate, Principal Wilbur, that you re um you sort of reworked your budget and didn't just roll over the previous projections. So, that shows just conscientiousness and a thorough look at what you're what you're looking at and what we're you're projecting. >> Thank you. >> I guess I'm saying um congratulations. Um, scores are going up, morale is amazing, and you're cutting your budget. That's That's like a trifecta. That's a trifecta. Um, I especially like the I'm going to piggyback off what Katie said. I think it's important for us to show um everyone that we want to provide
044what's best for kids, but we can do that in a fiscally responsible way, and you certainly have done that. So, thank you, and congratulations. >> Absolutely. Thank you. I um I'm not gonna be a Debbie Downer. Um but but I am a data guy and you gave us data. >> Sure. >> Um and one of the things I always look for is context. I need to know what what this means in the larger and you did a nice job with the the ELA overall as we showed us the increases and things like that. Um but when we got down to the chronic absent No, that's not the one I was looking. I I where am I looking? I had some there was some spot where I thought trends would be nice to see. Oh, you
045know what it is? It's the ELA within the grades. Y >> I always like to see cohort trends >> and um >> I don't know if you can provide that, but just just notes for the future. Whenever I can whenever I can see how a particular class is changing over time, these numbers are terrific. So you you should be very proud of that. The other question, the only I guess the real substantive question I have is um you talk about increasing literacy proficiency from the 62nd to the 67th. So that's where I really need some context. So I don't know if that's a a a modest goal or an aspirational goal or how or really what I'm asking is how do you come up with that number? I want to increase by 5%. What is
046the process for? So I looked at the over the last couple of years how we progressed and really kind of ultimately went middle of the road. So it is an an aspirational goal because with the NWA there isn't huge amounts of growth always like those percentiles usually only go up a few points. Um, so that's why you might notice it's only it five points doesn't seem like a lot, but in NWA when we're looking at percentiles, it does it doesn't always trend lines and that's that's really I just wanted to know how you got the numbers. So, >> absolutely. >> Any other questions? >> All right. Thank you. >> Thank you. Next up, uh, 7.3, our 2627 budget update with Dr. Roman and Christina. >> Good evening, members of the board. Um, I believe we
047have this superstar in the house somewhere. >> Oh, he just stepped out. So, um, this evening we're going to continue our conversation and I I just want to um give kudos to Mrs. Wilbur and her team for the outstanding uh progress that they're demonstrating. Um, and I think one of the things that um is really has really been our focus is looking at our budget um not simply rolling it over uh with the zerobased budget approach. And so our administrators have been charged with really putting their best thinking uh forward given the fact that we are um looking at a significant hike in our um health insurance rates. uh that's going to be uh a a challenge for us and so we are being very um uh conscientious in terms of our investments and we
048have done uh a lot of activities um uh throughout the past couple of weeks to to start talking about our next steps. So we're going to walk you through that this evening and tell you a little bit about what the thinking has been uh thus far. And so our budget drivers are are really key because that really is um what is driving our our our our our uh budget process. One of the things that you notice uh this evening is that the investments that the board has approved and the community has approved are yielding positive impacts. Right? We're seeing students respond uh behaviorally uh to the supports that are being put in place. Um do we see behavioral challenges? Absolutely. Um but we have the infrastructure with guidance counselors with social workers, psychologists in every
049school to be able to meet the needs that are present and we are able to take a restorative approach to addressing some of the behaviors that we do see. So we are looking to improve um the the social skills for students so that they learn how to address uh things appropriately in school. So we are seeing the impact of that. We are seeing the impact of the investments in terms of our reading uh program. As you as you saw, our reading scores are our literacy scores are going up. And so we want to preserve the programs that we are seeing positive um outcomes for students um as we engage in in this in this process. We also want to make sure that we're financially sustainable because we don't want to start something and then have
050to stop. Um so we are really looking at picking apart um every investment that we have across the district to make sure that number one there isn't a diminishing return uh because if we're investing in something we want to make sure that we're still seeing um positive outcomes um in in those investments and we want to make sure that we continue this uh for the long haul. Uh and then improving efficiencies. Um, so we are asking all of our administrators to please think about not just your area, but think about across the district, especially if you've been here for quite some time. There might be better ways of providing services and supports that we may not be thinking about because we live it each and every day. So, all hands on deck and uh all
051eyes and ears on on the budget. And then lastly, and most importantly, making sure that we balance the needs with that of the um taxpayers. Uh keeping them in mind because ultimately uh they're voting and we want to make sure that we're showing them that every investment that we make is yielding a positive um um outcome. And that's the reason why we have structured the presentations the way we have so that you can see that these these are not just expenditures. These are investments in our kids and our families so that we can actually see them thrive in our school system. The alignment um as I mentioned before we are driven by our strategic plan. This year we are really focusing on the two areas that you are constantly hearing from each of the presentation
052and that is very measured and and and strategic on our part because we want to make sure that we are all on the same page. we are all working toward a specific target. Although it's contextualized for each of the schools, we still want to make sure that we're aiming uh for that districtwide goal, which is to improve chronic absenteeism and literacy rates across um all areas. So, I just want to give one more plug to all of our administrators and our staff because they're really behind this. They're really owning it. They're really supporting the work. uh even in transportation you see literacy in the buses um they are helping us um in facilities they're helping us by making sure that the environment is conducive to the work that we're trying to uh create so everyone
053is working toward the same uh mission and vision in terms of the budget development process um we are still working on looking at all of the line items um in each of our budgets. And the reason for that is we are looking for cost-saving measures to be able to cut on the investments that we're making if possible. Um and we're using a very measured approach. And I I'll speak a little bit about that, but I'll I'll pass it over to Christina to kind of just quickly review this, which we've already done. Just highlight. >> Yeah. >> Thank you. Um This is an ongoing process. The first charge was to ask the administrators to do the zerobased budget, but then we're diving deeper and we're trying to balance that with some the state aid and tax
054levy calculations. Um, as you know, the state astates based on projections. So we have to really dive deep into those because we have to evaluate the efficacy of those numbers. So some of those projections are based on spending. You're conservative when you estimate your spending, but you have to really evaluate that so that you can reflect the true number so that you can estimate the actual state aid because that's going to make the difference between how much you're going to have to levy. We have to evaluate the tax levy calculation because part of that calculation includes those projections from the state aid. So you have to have good numbers to be able to calculate the formula to get the right tax levy limit. Then once we determine that we have to calculate the budget gap
055and that may again mean another round of looking closely at some of those expenditures. The biggest expenditures we have in a school district are are people and the benefits. So sometime we may have to look closely about are there any areas through attrition that we may be able to evaluate more closely. So it's a very measured approach. You don't want to take it halfaphazardly without giving it consideration and also try to evaluate the intended consequences of every decision and recommendation that we make. So in terms of the process that we engaged our administrators, one of the things that we have been compelled to do is really look um at every area. Um we we may not have been put in this situation in the past because we've been able to use a rollover budget process,
056but because of these significant increases, we have been compelled to look at every single uh line item. In terms of uh the work, we really have been asking our administrators um several guiding questions. Um what can we scale back on? What can we do without um and still have the intended um outcomes? What are some things that we can modify or perhaps negotiate better contracts? Um do we have uh current investments that don't align with our um our priorities? Are there opportunities to consolidate services, perhaps adjust schedules? Um and and so those are all questions that we have posed and our administrators are really thinking outside of the box um in ways that we haven't been forced to do uh previously. And I think it's it's taking a a longer time, but I think it's
057a really good exercise that we're engaged in and we are finding uh cost-saving measures that similar to what was presented this evening by Mrs. Wilbur, there are ways that we can still provide uh some of the the the the tools that students need. Maybe not at the, you know, highest level, but at a level that they'll be able to continue to perform and do well. Thank you. Um we've shared this slide before. Um this slide is important because we keep following this information. At the beginning of the process, we give you some of the parameters and the estimates. What's changed on this slide is the teachers retirement system. Um at the beginning of the budget process, they send out a bulletin that says the estimated rate is between this year it was 8.25 through 8.75.
058Um we received the notice that the rate has been set at 8.24 which is slightly lower which is um amounts to about a $220,000 saving based on original estimates. When you budget that you always have to look at the high end because if you underestimate that and the rate comes into higher you're going to be at a deficit. So that's been a significant savings. The rest of the things we've talked about, the ERS rate is set. Um we're evaluating all the Bosei services to make sure they're still appropriate and at the current levels. Health insurance is still an ongoing conversation and as we've said in the past, that final rate will be set in March. Um, these are some of these outstanding budget items. We're working on tax C calculation and I think I've mentioned
059before that that formula includes pilots which are payments in lie of taxes. We continue to monitor the status of upcoming pilots to see if they'll have an impact for the tax year. It also includes our debt service and building aid figures. As we come to the close of these projects, the debt service, basically your mortgage for the projects is going to kick in, but also on the other side, the state aid for those projects will activate. We want to be intentional about evaluating those payments and aligning them with the state aid to minimize the impact on the tax levy. Uh we've been working with our financial advisors to dep determine when the projects will be complete and factor in when we will be re begin to receive building aid on those projects. While we've seen
060the governor's projections, we have to evaluate them closely because th as I've mentioned several times, those are estimates based on projections. Particularly with regard to our building a we know when those projects will be complete. The state doesn't have that information. So presently those state aid projections do not reflect the completed project for which we will start receiving building aid. So we want to be able to calculate that and include that information because it will have a significant impact of the tax levy calculation. Um, we want to also be conservative when at when considering state aid revenues and we're working on our BOSI services requests with regard to revenues. Once we have all the components of the tax cap formula and we can calculate the allowable levby limit, we'll compare that to our state aid
061projections to determine a recommendation for the amount of fund balance to appropriate andor the use of any district reserves and at what recommended levels. As Dr. Roman has spoken about these are our categories of expenses that comprise the budget. As you know, several of these categories are fixed such as salaries which are determined by negotiated contract, pension rates, and health insurance rates. As we move through the budget process, we've been drilling down into each of these categories to determine what, if any, reductions we can make. And as Dr. Rowan mentioned all of the administrators have been asked to make recommendations for cost savings. We'll continue to comb through all of these categories to create a responsible budget. What I will share is that any new and and we have very few new um uh requests
062for new items in the budget, those are being evaluated. Similarly to uh previous years, uh we want to make sure that it aligns with um our priorities and then we use this rubric to determine whether or not it's highly aligned or not aligned. We've already met with the administrators um with regards to those requests. Um we're taking a look at all of the cost-saving strategies um and we will be prepared at the next meeting to go over what those strategies are. Uh one of the things that I I do impress upon uh the team and I do want to share with with the board is that we are looking at this this notion of diminishing returns. Uh when we're evaluating programs and services uh we are um evaluating it for diminishing returns. Again, just if
063an investment is not yielding the outcomes that we expect, uh we are making sure that we look at um how do we perhaps reallocate those funds to something else. Um and and that's the work that does take time um because we are looking at data to support those decisions. And then uh in terms of next steps um the next meeting uh we'll be uh discussing the budget and tax cap calculations. Uh we're also going to be sharing with you the cost-saving uh strategies which will outline uh the things that we're looking to um reduce, modify, um replace, reallocate. So we're going to be providing the board and the community uh that update. A and again just it it does take time. Our administrators are are really working hard at this. Our our team, our cabinet
064is working on on this. Um so I'm very optimistic that we will get to um a a a budget that is fiscally responsible that will continue to provide us with the um the supports and services that students are going to need to continue um the progress that they've demonstrated thus far. Um but we also have to keep in mind uh the facts are that our foundation aid um is flat. Um we have minimal increase um and we have this this expenditure of the high interest or excuse me the high insurance rates uh which um before Christina had shared we're looking you know at you know $3.75 million uh of an increase. So those are all things that we're we're considering. Um, and at the next board meeting, we'll be able to provide you uh with
065those strategies. >> Anything else? >> All right, that concludes our our items. >> So, in one of the uh newsletters the board gets, it said that the foundation aid was 2.96% increase. Every district will get at least 1% on average 3%. Is that factored into at this point or do we have to wait until April 1st when the the budget is final hopefully? >> So yeah, that's what Dr. was talking about. Relatively flat like 1% on your foundation aid is $350,000. >> That's what's in the governor's projection. That doesn't become law until the legislature votes on it. That's why we have to be conservative with those estimates. Generally speaking, what the govern in the most recent years, what the governor has been projecting has been what the state aid is usually at. Um the things
066that have a little more wiggle room are your expenses such as transportation aid. That's based on what you spent the pre this year Boseis aid. So those are the things that we want to kind of drill down to to see what were our previous expenses, what do we think our current expenses are so that we could project what the aid's going to look like next year. >> All right. >> Does that answer the question? Okay. >> Any other questions? Um, I don't know if this is a question to be answered tonight, but um, you know, while we're asking all the schools to look at their expenses, you know, the the other piece we look at is income coming in. And something I've been wondering about, I don't know the answer to, is how do we
067monitor the non-taxable properties in our town? Um, we have a lot of them. I think people would be surprised. We all know of some of the bigger ones, but there's a lot of smaller. and and how can we check, you know, is this that somebody applied 15 years ago and they're forever going to be untaxable land? Like, how do we manage that? Because I just want to make sure that um I know part of it has to do with the town, but um what are our processes clarifying and checking to make sure that that data is up to date and accurate? >> Does that make sense? So I can just tell you part of the process. >> Yes, >> it's reaching out to each of the town assessors just to make sure that their roles
068are current and there isn't any there aren't any changes that we're not aware of. So I've done that. >> So I get that. So we're checking with them. But how do we know there are checks in place to make sure that >> they're checking? >> Yeah. Yep. That's exactly what I'm >> That's a better question. >> Um because I think, you know, here we are nickel and dimming trying to to find every penny we can, right? Um but we still have this bigger issue. >> Yeah. I'm hoping the fact that we're asking them for that confirmation is prompting them, but I can certainly look into more direct ways to evaluate that. >> Okay. Thanks. Any other questions? >> All right. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> All right. Moving on to 8.1. Can I get
069a motion to enter public participation? >> So moved. Second. Is there a second? You got that? >> Okay. Um, all those in favor? >> I opposed. Motion carried. We are now in open se open uh session. A total of three minutes per speaker for a total of 21 minutes will be allotted for the first segment. I'll give a little hand wave to start wrapping it up. Um, at the 3minut mark, um, we ask that all comments be respectful and courteous of all and please provide your name and address when you address the podium. Would anyone like to address the uh, Roman Pton, Freestber Drive, Hide Park, New York? Um, I am kind of like a worried guy and I know that making a zerobased budget must be like much more difficult than rolling it over,
070but like when do you think you'll have a preliminary budget done because I'm worried that like we get it like very close to the end and then we find something wrong with it and then we're like scrambling and I just don't want that to happen. So, thank you. >> Okay. Would anyone else like to address the board? Teresa Miller, 40 Woodland Circle, uh, High Park, New York. So, good evening. I'm returning as a situation within my son's class continues to escalate, and I'd like to know what is going to be done to ensure my son's safety, as well as ensure my son is receiving the proper education that he and every other student have a right to. I spoke to previous I spoke previously about a student threatening to bring a gun to school inappropriately
071touching others and now most recently last week he punched my son in the stomach. These behaviors are continuing to escalate and have resulted in harassment of my son and I need to speak up for my son and advocate for him. There are 21 students currently in his classroom. The student who sits alone needs to be watched constantly and spoken to constantly throughout the day. The teacher should not be made to be an unofficial onetoone for this student as well as expect to properly educate the other 20 students in the classroom. I understand the student has rights, but so does my son. The distractions that he causes, the behaviors he has, and the physical altercations that occurred are causing the rights of my son to be violated. My son cannot receive a fair and proper education.
072With all these distractions, it is also not fair to the teacher to be put in this situation. I need to know what is going to be done to ensure that my son is protected and that he receives the quality education that he deserves. I mentioned at the previous meeting asking if we were waiting for something to happen before doing anything. And again, this has escalated to a physical altercation with my son. So, please let me know what else we're waiting for to happen before the school decides to step in and do something because clearly whatever is in place is not effective. again, what else needs to happen before we step in to protect my son and other children in the classroom that want to learn and who are following directions and abiding by the rules.
073Um, recently also there was a gun threat in Putnham County that went publicized that was on the news and when there was a gun threat in Hyde Park's district, nothing was mentioned and many people were very very unaware of the situation. Um, if things continue in this manner and escalate continues and the school continues to do nothing about it, I will have no choice but to file DASA reports, reach out to the Department of Education, Division of Human Rights, and potentially obtain a lawyer who will assist me in ensuring my son is protected. I'm stating this as a concerned parent trying to protect and advocate for my child. It is disturbing and upsetting that it is coming coming down to this in order for a student of your school district to be protected. Thank you.
074Would anyone else like to address the board? Okay, at this time we will close public participation. So Roman, we have a sk we published a schedule, right? So there will be actual numbers and you know in and enough time to react to it, right? You know that's part of the legal process of of doing the budget. So rest assured we'll have time to to react. Um do you want to address the next uh the next comment? >> So what I will uh just share uh without specifics um you know when when these matters do occur um I I strongly encourage families to have a sit down with the building principal. Um I will certainly make myself available uh to have that meeting. Um, without getting into the specifics, a code of conduct is what we
075use to make sure that we follow and there's a list of interventions that are outlined in the code of conduct that that are are followed and have been following that we've been following. Um, so that's one of the things I would I would strongly suggest um just so that we can schedule a time to meet and let us put our heads together to figure out um you know how we can best support your child. Thank you. All right, moving on to 9.1 board subcommittee reports and professional development updates. I think we have the future forward facilities forum. You want to comment? >> We're there too. >> I'm talking a lot. You can talk. So, at our future forward facilities forum, which is really looking at all of the facilities at at the uh in the
076district, we are we were interviewing a couple of new uh potential architecture firms where we're thinking we're looking at shifting our regular architects for all for the for the foreseeable future anyway um as we develop new plans for this. and we interviewed two and those two architecture firms also made a presentation to the board tonight. Um, I don't think we've made an absolute final decision about which one we're going to go with, but when we do, we'll let you know. Did >> I miss anything? >> And the uh design committee. >> Oh, that's right. That's right. There was the there was the um call it the the renaming of the Oval Office. Um there was >> not not the renaming the field the field. Sorry. It was a but has a dedication of >> here
07724 to4 it has been called the oval office and we had u the board approved a dedication to uh coach >> rag thank you um and we looked at some plans for what the the new arch in name and signing will look like at it and I think we're we're leaning towards something that would be calling it the the oval office facil um sorry sports complex >> sports complex and then room underneath it for plaques dedicated dedicating various parts of it the football field the track the various other things um to try to provide opportunities for recognizing really special people who had a big impact >> uh school boards association >> okay yeah that's Who else? Next one is DT. >> Sorry, school board association. Do we have an alternate that can go when somebody
078when Right. Isn't Isn't that the one where we have an alternate? >> We had two board meetings. >> Okay. My question was about the alternate. >> So, so the the meeting that that was missed was one of our meetings. >> It was the same night as our meeting. So he couldn't go >> and neither could the >> Okay. And our other board couldn't go. That that was my question because we have an alternate for that because that's an important committee. >> Okay. Thanks >> DT. Um I attended DT the district leadership team on um February 5th and we compared um well we summarize in summary we compared the New York State portrait of a graduate with the Hyde Park portrait of a learner and um so one of we identified strengths and opportunities under both
079and one of the things that we both or we wanted to add under ours obviously would be more collaboration because ne it was not mentioned under each portrait either the New York State or the hide park and then Christine you were there was there anything else I missed there >> I think that was >> yeah it inspires we talked about that and we heard from different groups like your um future forward facilities forum right Yes. >> The only thing I would add was that we were basically looking side by side at the state's portrait of a graduate with our portrait of a learner which we had done a few years ago. And one of the things that I found really impressive was that we were very preient. Um, basically their portrait of a graduate looked
080an awful lot like the portrait of a learner which we did a few years ago. And I think one of Dr. Roman's goals here was to make sure that that our portrait of learner sort of aligned and what changes would we have to make to make sure that we were capturing everything that blue ribbon panel did. And I and I walked away thinking we're we're it we're probably ahead of the game. We're doing great. >> Um special ed. Um yes, special ed subcommittee met on January 29th. A couple of points to mention. Uh parent involvement surveys went out. They were mailed and sent by sent electronically. There's one survey for each family. We had some discussions about uh being able to include conversations for families that have multiple uh students in our special ed programs.
081uh special ed department is attending council on exceptional children conference to focus on ICT classrooms and behavioral supports which kind of aligns with some of our district goals. And then uh little budget impact data for new students to the Hide Park School District um that come to our district with out of district placements. There are seven that have transferred in, two more possible, and um two have transitioned back to district programs. So that's pretty much >> any other. >> There you go. That's working. I attended the special ed committee also. good conversation, you know, good format, always uh, you know, helpful to know what we're doing internally in our district. Um, the suggestion I made was um, is there any way a lot of our committees, you know, include some of our parents, our technology
082committee, the DT, etc., etc. So, you know, understanding that, you know, there's a lot of things that are discussed in special ed committee that are confidential that you couldn't have in an open form with parents there. But my suggestion moving forward is to look for a way to be more inclusive. Maybe there could be what I suggested a presentation at the start first half of the meeting and have parents involved and then we could at the second half of the meeting maybe have internal, you know, members of the board and people who work for the district discuss things that are confidential. I just think it's important to get some more parents in that committee like we have at the other committees. I I'd really believe that because you know my wife and I, we attend
083the Duchess County um adoptive and foster parent committee monthly um in Picy and that's all parents and it it's very very helpful to hear perspective of parents at that actually committee and so forth. So, I'm just I'm trying to look for a way to enhance our special ed committee to maybe bring in some speakers. Um, and I know we do surveys like Margaret said, and there's value in that to try to bring in speakers to include some parents in our committee in a portion of it. And since we're doing a lot of these things now online, you could have one half where it's, you know, open forum non-confidential and then that closes and then the confidential meeting is made for the internal things. Just a thought because that's what I'm hearing. >> Um, is it
084okay if we continue the conversation? Did you want to go first? >> Okay. Um my thought on that is that I think that the special education committee as it stands is more intended for the special education department to convey what they are doing behind the scenes to the board so that we are aware of what they are doing. It's not necessarily a place for collaborating and coming up with ideas about how we can make our special education department better. And I'm not saying that there's not a valid place for that. But the special education committee as it stands is more an informative committee. It's more of a way for the special education department to tell us the board what they are doing right. Um for example what I reported tonight um having and I agree
085there's always room to include parents 100%. Um what I reported tonight was financial peace. I would be and I I understand you could break the meeting into pieces but an important part of what we do is looking at our kids the finances the legalities um I don't think it's appropriate to have parents in that part of it but I know we used to have a special ed uh committee where there were parents teachers and it the whole tone of that was very different so certainly looking at something like that where there's we used to call it the special ed task force if anybody was around a few years ago. Um, and that's where all of that work happened. And I know that our special ed administrators go um have community outreach and they meet with
086community groups. But as far as a board specialed committee in the um in keeping true to the purpose of that meeting, um I think we need to find other ways to pull parents in. I I wouldn't feel comfortable having parents sit in on our legal talks and um and our our parent stuff and and our time is is valuable. Um so then you know we're taking a meeting and extending it and you know how do we decide which parents? So so that's something that um yes I want to look at how we can include parents more. Um very valuable population we need to speak with and I believe I know for sure at that meeting uh Mr. Spence, when you brought that up that uh Melissa Lawson and our director of special ed absolutely agreed
087that they would meet with this person from the foster and adoptive parents. So, they're very open to meeting with outside um agencies. I just don't think this is the meeting for it. >> Yeah, I think we're just maybe we're talking, you know, it's it's semantics. So maybe then um investigating reforming, you know, what you term the special ed task force for something like that um to try to be able to have more opportunities to be more inclusive for the community. I mean, I know I I think that Melissa and the special ed department, they do a great job. We get updates at executive sessions. We get board notes every Friday and anything that's pertinent. Um, you know, no offense, but a lot of times in the special committee, you know, there's not a lot there
088that like is really new for me as a board member. Um, so I'm just thinking maybe it's a task force, maybe it's not a committee, but it's a task force to get those parents in and really to show them, you know, these are some things going on, you know, at the school or these are some opportunities in the community. Um, you know, I think a couple years ago I mentioned maybe we could make like a handbook for parents to try to help them like navigate the very complex um waters of special education cse. So yeah, maybe it's a task force, >> but there is a there is a a handbook for special education. Every every time you ask for special education services, anytime your kid gets evaluated, you get it. I have about 16 in
089my in my house. So, it it does exist. It's there. And I think that there I I don't know. I I would love to see more parent involvement. I would love to see more parent involvement here, honestly. Like there are so many places that parents can come and talk and um I think a lot of the issue is people taking advantage of that really. So, I don't >> I think I think Christine, you may have stole my thunder. because I was going to suggest that of course we always want community input not just from the parents of of the children with needs but all the community and we have an opportunity at this but we also have that somewhat in limbo community chat where we said if there was a particular issue or particular something
090that a group was interested in we could we could formulate one of those and it seems to me that rather than a task force and the task force is usually something you do if you think there's an issue and you want to address it and I want I want to know I I want um Joanna Murphy to know that I think you guys do uh you know a terrific job, right? I think I think you are student focused. I think you're professional. All the interactions I've had with you, we've had you with the executive committees, I'm I'm nothing but impressed. >> Certainly. I mean, I I stated that that's not what that's what I'm saying. Yeah. Yeah. Um what I'm saying is um yeah, there's guides that certainly are handed out to parents and that's
091obviously the law and we follow the law and so forth. I I just wouldn't say that they're the most, you know, parent friendly, especially for somebody who doesn't really know the system and so forth. So, um I'm just looking for more maybe I didn't explain myself well, you know, somebody who speaker is saying this is what's going on for high school parents of special ed for placements and you have a speaker come in and say, "Look, if you're a parent of special ed kids at the high school level, this is what's going to happen after they're 21." or if you're a parent of you know elementary and you're considering you know the special ed services these are some choices you know that's that's not just in a you know a guide you have to be
092a Philadelphia lawyer to understand um so that's something I'd just like to see more more of more offered you might not get people um I don't know if it's necessarily like one and done chat but I think it's something we could look into if we've given it in the past >> yeah and we we have offered um workshops for families. We have brought in um organizations to speak to families and we'll continue to do that. We appreciate feedback and we are constantly learning and growing and um adding things that people request. So, um, you know, and as I said at the special ed subcommittee, I'd be more than happy to meet with anybody who we think could bring value to our families so that we can share that information. >> Okay. >> So, I'm just
093not going to solve it. I know, but I'm not really talking about I have full confidence in the special ed staff. What I'm saying is having that person out there for the community to ask the question. >> We're not gonna solve it tonight. Let's let's meet. Uh you could take this offline. >> That's That's what I'm saying. >> Okay. You said it. >> Thank you. >> Okay. >> Appreciate it. >> Okay. All right. Moving. Uh any other committee reports that aren't listed? Oh, wellness committee. I'm sorry. There was one. That's not you. Who's wellness committee? >> It got postponed. It's next week for the weather. >> Sorry. >> Yeah. >> It's okay. on on the agenda item 11.1 is first consideration of policies. >> Okay. >> And so the policy committee I just wanted to
094say that there's a you know when you click on that there's a there's a table that Jay puts together with the comments and underneath that are the policies we looked at with the comments and proposed changes there. Beyond what you see there there was nothing that I felt needed to be brought up specifically. >> Okay. Any other committees? Moving on to 9.2 board discussion including um consent agenda items. Excuse me. We have something in administrative content. Initial discussion. Boris Bosey's board member nominations will take place at the March 12th board meeting. Michael Reel and Bryce Holland will not seek reelection. Therefore, DC Boseies will have two open seats for the next term. Board members are asked for nominations to fill these seats. The this is to give our board members time to consider nominations for
095the Boseis board. The rules are as follows. Education law does not limit the number of candidates a board may nominate provided that the nomination is by official board resolution. The nominee resides in one of the following eligible component districts. Arlington Beacon, Dover, Milbrook, Pine Plains, Pikipsy, Reinbeck, or Weebatuck. and the nominee is not an employee of any component district in Duchess County. Note the Hide Park, Pauling, Red Hook, Spackenkill, and Wingers District currently have a resident serving on the board, the Boseies board. Residents of these districts may not be candidates for the election this year to serve on the Boseis board. However, nominees do not have to reside in your district as long as that district is not currently represented. an employee of a component school district in the duchies Duchess Boseis region may not
096be a candidate for reelection or for election. So I guess it says in short if you know anybody that you want to nominate talk to them bring them forward. Any other consent agenda discussions? All right. Um, can I get a motion for tonight's uh consent agenda? >> So, move Tibbitz. >> Second, Christine. >> All those in favor? I opposed. Motion carried. 11.1 policy first consideration of policies. Um, can I get a motion in a second? >> So, move tickets. >> Second, Katie. >> Any discussion? All those in favor? I opposed. Motion carried. 11.2 capital project change orders phase 3A $35.7 million for Ferrari and son. We're buying a Ferrari. >> Ferrari and Sunso construction. Uh, can I get a motion in a second? >> So moved. Christine. >> Second. Katie. >> Any discussion? All those
097in favor? I opposed. Motion carried. Capital project change order phase 3A train us. Can I get a motion in a second? >> So move Tibbitz. >> Second. Katie. >> Any discussion? All those in favor? I opposed. Motion carried. Capital project change order phase 3B 35.7 million at Netherwood. Can I get a motion in a second? So moved Christine second Katie. >> Any discussion? All those in favor? I opposed. Motion carried. 11.5 tax adjustments. These are when people people challenge their taxes and quiz for you. What uh what fund is this? No. Can I get a motion in a second? >> So moved. >> Second. K. >> Any discussion? Tax certi. Um, all those in favor? I opposed. Motion carried. >> I know. Sir, taxert. >> All right. Moving on to 12.1. Can I get a
098motion and a second to enter our second public participation? So move tickets >> second Katie. >> All those in favor? I opposed. Motion carried. Uh same rules a total of three minutes per speaker. This time it's limited to um 12 minutes. Uh please be courteous and respectful for all. And please provide your name and address when you reach the podium. Would anyone like to address the board? All right. Since there's since there's no one, we'll close public participation. Any other matters deemed necessary by the board. Okay. No need for a second executive session 15.1. Can I get a motion in a second to adjurnn tonight's meeting? >> Second, Katie. >> All those in favor? I opposed. Motion carried. Meeting adjourned. Thank you everyone.