001Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. Heat. [Applause] [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] [Applause] Heat. Hey, Heat. [Music] Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Applause] Heat. [Music] Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] [Applause] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. [Music] Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Applause] Heat. [Music] Heat. [Music] Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Applause] Heat. [Music] Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] I'm [Music] Heat. [Music] Heat. [Applause] [Music] Hey, hey, hey. [Music] Heat. Heat. N. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Applause] [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. [Music] Heat. [Music] Heat [Music] [Applause] up here. [Music] Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. [Music] Heat. [Applause] Heat. [Music] Hey, heat. Hey, heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. [Music] Heat. [Music] Heat. [Applause] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Applause] Heat. [Music] Heat. [Music] Heat. [Music] Heat.
002Heat. N. [Music] [Applause] [Music] Heat. [Music] Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Applause] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Applause] Heat. Heat. N. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. Heat. [Applause] [Music] Heat. Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] [Applause] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] [Applause] [Music] Heat. Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Applause] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] [Applause] Heat [Music] up Heat. [Music] Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] [Applause] Heat. [Music] Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] [Applause] Heat. [Music] Heat. [Music] Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] [Applause] [Music] Heat. Hey, heat. Hey, heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. [Music] Heat. [Applause] Heat. [Music] Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] [Applause] [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat.
003[Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. Heat. [Applause] [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. [Music] Heat. [Music] [Applause] Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Applause] Heat. [Music] Heat. [Music] Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. N. [Music] [Applause] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] [Applause] [Music] Heat. [Music] Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. N. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] [Applause] [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. [Applause] Heat. Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Do I have a motion to convene the October 15, 2025 meeting of the Lovetown Board of Education? Phyllis, do I have a second? Jen. All in favor? 6. Uh, okay. At this time, do I have
004a motion? Well, we did that already. Do I have a motion to move into executive session for the purpose of discussing negotiations with the CSEA bargaining unit matters involving the employment history of a particular persons matters that would impact public safety and to seek advice from district council? Do I have a a motion? Mike, do I have a second? Maryanne. Uh all in favor 6. We will return at 7 p.m. for the audit meeting. Please note that we'll recite the pledge of allegiance when we return to open the audit meeting. [Music] [Applause] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] [Applause] [Music] Heat. Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Applause] Heat. [Music] Heat. [Music] Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] [Applause] [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Applause] Heat. Heat. [Music]
005Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Applause] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] [Applause] Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] [Applause] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. [Music] Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Applause] Heat. [Music] Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] [Applause] Heat. Heat. N. [Music] Heat. [Music] Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Applause] Heat. Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] [Applause] Heat. Heat. N. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Applause] [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. [Music] Heat. [Applause] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Applause] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Applause] Heat. [Music] Hey, heat. Hey, heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. [Music]
006Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] [Applause] [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Applause] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. [Applause] [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. [Music] [Applause] Heat. Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] [Applause] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] [Applause] [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Applause] Heat. [Music] Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. N. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] [Applause] [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] [Applause] [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Applause] Heat. Heat. N. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Applause] Heat. [Music] Hey, heat. Hey, heat. [Music]
007Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] [Applause] [Music] Heat. Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. [Music] Hey everybody. [Music] Heat. [Applause] [Music] Heat. Hey, heat. Hey, heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Applause] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. [Music] Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. [Music] Heat. [Applause] [Music] Heat. Hey, heat. Hey, heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Applause] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. [Music] Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Applause] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Applause] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] [Applause] [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. Heat. [Applause] [Music] Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Hey, heat. Hey, heat. [Music] [Applause] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat.
008Heat. [Applause] Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] I'm [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] [Applause] [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] [Applause] Heat. Hey, heat. Hey, heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Applause] [Music] Heat. Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Applause] [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. [Music] Heat. [Music] [Applause] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. Heat. N. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] [Applause] [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Applause] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Good evening everyone. I would like to welcome you to the audit meeting of the Levittown Board of Education. May I have a motion to reconvene the meeting? Jimmy, may I have a
009second? Phyllis. All in favor? 6 nothing. Okay, tonight we have a special guest joining us for the pledge of allegiance. Please welcome Brandon Lane, student from Macartha High School. Please rise for the pledge of allegiance. [Applause] All right, please rise. Place your right hand over your heart. Repeat after to me. 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. [Applause] Brandon, thank you very much for leading us tonight. We really appreciate it. Thank you. >> And I just wanted to just show everybody just a a picture that Brandon made for me that is beautiful. And then I am going to display it in my office in the superintendent's conference room. >>
010All right. Thank you so much, Brandon. >> A look how excited it is. >> Okay. Okay. It is with deep sadness that we share the passing of Jacqueline Seaman, a foreman a former staff member of the Levittown School District who passed away on Monday, October 13, 2025. Jacqueline began her career in Levittown in 1974 as a part-time teacher aid and went on to serve as a special education teacher at Macartha High School, assistant director of special education, and later director of pupil services until her retirement in 2001. Throughout her 27 years of service, she was known for her dedications to students, professionalism, and genuine care for others. We extend our we extend our heartfelt condolences to Jacqueline's family and friends. At this time, may I please have a moment of silence for Miss Seaman as
011well for all those serving our country at home and abroad. Thank you. Okay, Christina Lang is excused from tonight's meeting. Before we begin this audit meeting, just a reminder that for anyone who wishes to speak at public be heard tonight, please sign up on the sheet no later than 7:30. >> Okay. Uh, thank you, Miss Morangi. Uh, at this point, I'm going to turn the audit meeting over to our assistant superintendent of business and finance, Mr. Michael Fabiano. >> Thank you, Superintendent Winch. Uh, yes, tonight we have a presentation uh by the um accounting firm of RS Abrams uh which will be presenting um the uh annual report. Uh before I introduce uh the partner there uh I want to uh acknowledge members of the business office uh who were present tonight for the presentation
012who uh really made this uh possible. Uh we have our treasurer Miss Linda Dolich. Uh we have our accountant uh Martha Anderson and we have my uh executive assistant uh Sue Tam. Uh so many thanks to them for getting this done. Uh and uh as you recall this year we got it done on time. So we're very pleased with that. And um uh so with that I'm going to turn the microphone over to Miss Ali Betaglia who's partner of the firm RS Abrams. uh they are our external auditors and they render an opinion on the preparation of our financial statements and uh uh Mr. Metagi has prepared a brief uh PowerPoint presentation to walk you through uh the various reports and footnotes. Okay, good evening everyone. So I am very happy to say that we
013did we saw a huge improvement this year. we were able to get it done by the October 15th deadline. So, right after last year's meeting, Mike set up a whole entire meeting for us to meet with Cullen and really came up and took that management letter comment seriously and came up with a timeline and for the year- end closing so that we could issue the financial statements on time. So, I do want to thank the business office and Mike and uh Cullen's group as well. So I'm happy to report the district did receive unmodified opinions on the financial statements as well as the extra classroom activity funds. Um this is in audit is language that is the best opinion you can have. So we had no issues appining on the financial statements themselves and like
014I said the business office was very cooperative during the audits. Uh for the management letter, I'm happy to report that there was uh last year's management letter findings have either been all implemented or sub substantially implemented. Uh we just had one issue uh two issues this year with the accounts payable. That was really the capital projects fund which I spoke with Mike and he already put in a procedure in place so that this will be uh rectified for next year. There was a couple extra classroom comments and it was from the Macartha High School and the Wisdom Lane Middle School that we had issues for. The next we so that there's two required communication letters. The first one was the management letter and the second one is a board governance letter. We're required by our
015auditing standards to let the board know that if there's any new Gazsby statements that were issued this year. There was Gazsby statement 101 which you'll we'll go into a little bit later but basically it uh re-evaluated on how we calculate the compensated absences liability and this is only on the districtwide so it does has nothing to do with your general fund your operating budget you still pay as you go there's also accounting estimates utilized within the financial statements especially with the actuaries with the pension and then the oped report there was definitely no disagreements with management we had no difficulties encountered in performing the audit, we had two corrected misstatements, so they were over our materiality threshold, so that's why they're attached to the end of the board governance letter. Um, and then the management
016representation letter we did receive signed. So, this is the financial highlights. This is really where you want to hone in on is the general fund. So, this is your uh reserves. So, your workers comp and unemployment reserve, you had interest allocated to those reserves. the retirement contribution reserve for the TRS and the ERS. The TRS is limited uh by law to 2% of the prior year's salaries. The employee retirement system um does not have a maximum, but usually we see anywhere from 3 to 5 years. You're just a little over three years, so you're at a good threshold for that. And then the employee benefit acred liability is at 132. your compensated absences liability before comp 101 because the second piece of comp 101 you cannot use your epilar reserve and it's at 160,000 so
017you're close to that um reserve being fully funded the capital that's voter approval so you did you utilize this year you got the approval for the 18 million so you did withdraw from your capital reserve to send over to your capital projects fund the appropriated fund balance was the same as last year you kept it the name at the 9.9 million. The unappropriated was at 5.4 million. That's your open purchase orders that you had commitments for that will be rolled over into the next school year. And then the unassigned is at 10.9 million, which is at 4%. You're not allowed to exceed 4% of next year's budget. So, you're exactly at the 4% mark. And then this just go shows you that the capital fund also did increase due to that voter approval because you
018did send over the 22 million. So the four million was the uh use of the unassigned and then the 18 million was the voter approval of the capital reserve school lunch fund um did decrease um overall and then these are your the fund balance restricted fund balance your reserves. So you started with 44.3 um you utilized 20 million 950 so $18 million out of the capital reserve and then the 2.9 out of the ERS reserve you allocated interest of 4.9 million and then you were able to replenish some of those funds so you funded by 1.7 million to come to 30 million 1.1 this is just a nice roll forward so you could see how you started the year and then where how you wound up at the end of the here. So overall, it
019wasn't too much of a change. It was 10.4 million that you opened up. Your fund balance appropriated for your uh the capital, the 4 million. The revenues over budget was 8.5 million and that was mainly in the use of property uh your interest earnings and your state sources line. The expenditures other financing uses incumbrances under budget of 12.5 million was mainly in your essential services, special ed, and employee benefits. And then comparing that 12.5 to your total budget, you're at F4.4% which usually we see anywhere from three to 5%. So I think that's a good mark to be in. You allocated the reserves, the 6.7 in the charts from above and then you appropriated the 9.9 and you wound up with your 10.9 million. So this is uh just to show you that the real
020pro uh the revenues increased by 10 million. Um the increase in state sources was mainly in your general ex excess cost and lottery aids that you received. The real property taxes increased by 4.5 million and that was mainly due to uh your voter approved budget. And then the local sources that was um due to the interest earnings because the interest rates were higher this year. Okay. Um and then if we look at our expenditures, it did increase by 10 million. Um I'm sorry, 38 million, but mainly that was really due to you the expense of the capital reserves sending over that 22 million to the capital fund. Otherwise, the instruction was due to um routine salary and step increases. Um and then we have employee benefits due to the higher insurance premium rates, pupil transportation
021increase due to routine salary increases and a rise in maintenance costs costs and general support routine salary causes as well. So overall, you do have a healthy balance sheet. So this just shows you why you should have good reserves at the 4% mark. So that it helps you if you have to go out for borrowings. It helps reduce the interest costs. Uh it helps uh state aid shortfalls. So just having those uh reserves in place. And then we did, like I said, we had Gazsby 101. So what this did was it takes your regular way how we normally did it was taking your contracts employment contracts and seeing who applied and having see what they would be paid out at if they retired. What 101 does it comes up with a usage calculation. So we
022have to look at the other bargaining units come up with a probability that what they're going to take out in the future and use that rate. So in essence, so that's why your the employee benefit uh compensated absence liability went up, but you can only fund the reserve of that 160 that I I mentioned earlier. So the only the old way, you can't include that usage rate. So and like I said, this is just for districtwide. So they're just trying to come up with a long-term liability. Next year, Gatsby's keeping us busy. So we have number 103. Um, I think this one is going to it's going to be good for transparency and I think it's as board members, it will help you understand the financial statements. Basically, it's going to take all the budget
023information out of the MDNA. And in that supplemental one where they show you the original budget, the final budget, the revenues and expenses, and then the over under budget, now we're going to have to actually comment on why certain things decrease to increase. So from your original budget to your final budget if you had budget transfers if there was significant fluctuations in the budget as well as the revenues and expenditures. So it's going to be footnotes on the bottom. So that's something new for next year. And then 104 we already did this. It's just clarifying the note disclosure for capital assets which we have already um implemented. So that's no change. And then I'm happy to take any questions. I don't really have a question here. Mike, >> I'm sorry. I don't really have a
024question here, but I do want to say this is a very good report that we received this year. I'm very happy with it. I'm sure all the board members are as well. Um, there were times when back in the day, uh, Eelar account had over $30 million of it and you weren't allowed to take that money out because then we had no need for the absence of leave reserve, but by law we couldn't take it out. We had this money festering in there. We did eventually get it out and we used it for tax reduction, facility repair, uh upgrades across the the entire district and our time. Um I'd like to see that, but like I said, I'm looking at this we actually wrote some notes down here, but um to paraphrase it, we reduced
025our financial de deficit. We maintain strong funding. That's great news for the families, our staff, everything in the building, everyone associated with the schools, taxpayers. Our net position increased by over 10% total assets. That's the total assets minus liabilities of course. Um, very happy with everything in here. Um, thank you to our business office and thank you for the board for uh, supporting these things and putting policies forward that actually moved the district into a very put us in a very good position. Yeah, I just wanted to mention that I know that over the years um there uh there were many times where there were audit comments that were not addressed um the same ones year after year after year >> and really I want to say that starting with last year's audit report like
026we and the previous one we cleaned up like so many of them and obviously it doesn't just happen by accident that happens obviously from you know our business department both from Mr. Fabiano as well as all those who work for him and uh as well as working in in collaboration with our artisting firm. So just thank you for all those involved to be able to clean up a lot of the issues that we had. So thank you. >> Thank you. >> I I just wanted to say I I've been on the board 15 years and I really think this is the cleanest report that we ever received. Um and I'll defer to our historian over there, the the oldest member of our team, Jimmy, and ask him for a comment. He knows in tenure. >>
027Only in tenure. That's correct. Not in age. Only in tenure. I do agree with uh my colleagues that this is the cleanest report that I've seen in my 27 years. Thank you. >> Awesome. >> Okay. Thank you, Mr. Fabiano, and to your office and to the auditing team. We are very, very grateful for all the hard work and the precise work that you do. So, thank you. >> Oh, thank you. >> I just can I add one more thing, please? Um I do see that transportation was one of our biggest increases and we are trying to work on this to retake uh transportation not contracted out have done in-house. I'm sorry can you guys hear me? I have a sore throat. So um but if we can bring this back we can bring that cost
028down and tremendously. We do it better than anybody. >> Yeah that and that's our goal. Our goal is to continue to work to build our bus driver fleet and our bus attendant fleet, which we uh or or our staff uh which we continue to do. It's been been a struggle, but we're hoping that with our CSEA negotiations, I see uh President McNaldi out there uh that we're we're we believe we're making some good headway to uh be able to increase the those ranks. So, yes, I agree. Nothing like having your own transportation department, honestly. >> Yes. >> Any other questions? No. Okay. Thank you. >> Okay. >> May I have a motion to adjourn the med the audit meeting? >> You don't have >> Jen. >> Do I have a second? >> Phyllis. All in
029favor? >> Mike 6. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Okay, that concludes our audit meeting. I think we just wait till 7:30 or it >> I guess we can start and then you can just leave the the form out there until 7:30. >> Yeah. Um >> immediately follow >> Okie dokie. Do I have a motion to convene the October 15, 2025 regular meeting of the Levittown Board of Education. Maryanne, do I have a second? Jen, all in favor? 6. Thank you. And this is just a reminder. This is just a reminder that if you do want to speak this evening, please sign the sheet up on the desk before 7:30. Okay. Thank you. All right. Right. All right. At this time, I would like you to pay attention to the student artwork. Please take a
030a moment to enjoy the beautiful artwork on the walls of this room and our hallways. We are so thankful to the students and faculty at Northside Elementary School for sharing their talents with us. Thank you very much, North Side. Okay, at this time I would like to turn the meeting over to Mr. Winch. >> Thank you, Mr. Margie. So, um, October is nationally recognized as board of board of education appreciation month. And tonight we pause to recognize and celebrate a group of extraordinary individuals who give so much of themselves in service to our students, our staff, and our community. Our Levittown School District Board of Education. Uh these seven community members serve not for recognition or reward um as there is no compensation. Um but instead out of a deep commitment to public education and
031to the belief that every child deserves the opportunity to succeed. They are elected officials but yet unpaid volunteers. They spend countless hours attending meetings, reviewing reports, visiting schools, and making thoughtful decisions that shape the educational experience for more than 7,000 Levittown students. Their work has an even broader impact, touching the lives of over 1500 employees and 50,000 community residents. Their work requires not only time and knowledge, but also compassion, courage, and a steadfast dedication to doing what is best for children. Tonight, we honor them as a group, but also individually for their service and their impact. Uh, Miss Christina Lang, our board president, who unfortunately uh could not be here tonight, has served on the board for 10 years in various leadership roles. A resident for 21 years and a proud parent of three Levittown
032students. Miss Lang brings a wealth of experience in world language, ENL, and curriculum development. Her thoughtful leadership and belief in meaningful learning opportunities for all students guide her every decision. Our first vice president, Miss Peggy Morangi, has been a devoted board member for 15 years and a Levittown resident for more than 70. A retired for decades for decades. A retired elementary principal and lifelong educator, Miss Morangi's career and volunteer work reflect her passion for children and community. Her wisdom, limited historical knowledge, because it hasn't been that long. and compassion are invaluable assets to this district. James Moran, our second vice president, has dedicated 27 years to the board and a lifetime 64 years to Levittown. A proud MacArthur graduate, parent, and longtime volunteer, Mr. Moran has given decades of service to our schools and community
033organizations. His professional experiences provide unique insights for our district, especially in the area of transportation and buildings and grounds. His voice always reflects care for our students, their families, and our employees. Maryanne Adrien, trustee, has been a board member since 2015. A Division Avenue graduate and lifelong resident, Miss Adrienne brings professional expertise and community leadership through her work with the Kuanas Club as both a past president and now lieutenant governor for the South Central District. Her perspective is shaped by her deep roots and her belief in service and collaboration. Miss Phyllis Dalton, trustee, joined the board in 2023, bringing 25 years of experience in education as a teacher, reading specialist, assistant principal, and principal. A Levittown resident for 40 years. Miss Dalton's voice on the board reflect both her educational insight and her strong connection
034to our community. Jennifer Msina, trustee, is a special education teacher who has served in multiple leadership roles on the board, including president and vice president. A parent of three Levittown students, Miss Msina's deep understanding of student learning needs and a advocacy for inclusive practices enrich our district's work to support every child. Michael Papis, trustee, has served on the board for 18 years and is a proud parent of Levittown graduate. A retired NYPD officer, community coach, and Kuanas leader, Mr. Papis brings both experience and heart to his role. His voice reflects a deep commitment to service and to the success of every Levittown student. Together, this team represents decades of dedication, thousands of volunteer hours, and a shared belief in our mission, success for every student. Their decisions affect every classroom, every program, and every opportunity
035our students receive. They celebrate our successes, wrestle with our challenges, and always keep our children at the center of their work. On behalf of our staff, our students, and our families, I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to each and every one of you. Thank you for your leadership, your integrity, and your commitment to building a brighter future for Levitan. Your service is a powerful reminder that public education thrives because of the people who care deeply enough to serve. We are truly grateful for all that you do. So, please everyone join me in a well-deserved round of applause for our board of education. >> So, wait a minute, Todd. We don't get paid for this. >> Yeah. Yeah, after 18 years you asked that question. >> I thought my wife was taking the shake. >>
036A lot a lot more than that. Um so, uh usually we are joined by some um representatives of elected officials. I'm not sure if anybody's here from any elected office. I don't want to skip over them, but I wasn't sure. I didn't see anybody sign in. So, no elect, but we did receive for the board of education um some citations. one from uh it's from Mckvitt from the Nassau County Legislature. So, if you remember, they used to give individual ones. We've tried to tell them just give us one and we'll we'll hang it. Um we don't need individual ones for everybody, right? Yeah. And then a second one is from uh Congressman Tom Swatz. So, we thank them one certificate. So, we thank them for those citations. Uh, I would now like to call up
037representatives. I think I saw representatives from our PTA come on in in the back there. I'm not sure whether they were here if I saw them or not. school. School board members make an important decisions that shape our children's education from policies and budgets to curriculum and leadership. Their work required knowledge, dedication, and countless hours of personal time. On behalf of the Levittown Council of PTAs and all PTA units, we thank you for your service to the children of Levittown. We uh give you 75 or $175 in gift cards for the uh Wisoman uh food pantry. [Applause] Thank you so much. Uh uh we thank you as well and and we'll thank you further in March for all of your countless hours of dedication uh to our students as well. It's wonderful to partner with
038you uh on behalf of our three bargaining units, ALSA, CSEA, and LUT. And I do see their presidents here. So if you could just kind of wave when I mention your name, Charlie McNelte from CSEA. Uh yeah, John Avina from ALSA, our administrative unit, and Mr. John Cala from LUT, the teachers. um have provided a small gift of appreciation in the bag. Uh so if you want to look at that, you may I know I I told you you couldn't until this point, but um is a small expression of their gratitude uh for the time, commitment, and thoughtful leadership the board provides. Uh the bargaining units especially appreciate ongoing efforts to foster open communication, mutual respect, and strong employee relations throughout the district at all times. Uh so many thanks to our uh our three
039units for always working with us collaboratively to make sure that we're providing the best education for kids and this is just a small token of appreciation on their behalf. So thank you. [Applause] Now you may remember in the past we used to do um posters uh that were would adorn the back of the of the room from our elementary schools uh from our students thanking the board. I think we decided to try and change things up this year. So, at this point, I'm just going to turn this over to Dr. Zerianis for the elementary presentation. >> Hello everyone. So, for board appreciation month, our elementary schools wanted to create a special message to express their sincere gratitude for your support. The conceptual idea for this heartfelt video came from Division Avenue High School principal, Mr.
040Meyers, and our elementary team expertly brought that vision to life. I want to extend a sincere thank you to all of our elementary principles and assistant principles who coordinated with their students to capture the wonderful moments you're about to see. A special round of applause is owed to Dr. Mau who skillfully produced and edited this video weaving together the voices of all six of our elementary schools. We are now proud to share this short video a small token of our immense appreciation for all that you do. For board appreciation month, >> we wanted to show you just how much your support means to us. So we asked the experts, >> our amazing students to tell you themselves. >> Get ready for some thank yous. >> The new books look so cool and the new library
041is the best place to eat. >> Thank you for our new library. Recent East Broadway just got a major upgrade. >> We are climbing, sliding, and smiling every day. [Music] >> This is awesome. >> This is so much fun. >> Thank you for our new layout. And the fun continues at Lee Road. The new playground is the 12th of the town. It could not be more. [Music] Thank you for making recess the best way. >> At Garter Avenue, our love of reading has a beautiful new home. Our library updates have made it the perfect place to explore new worlds. [Music] Our library is so bright and comfortable. It makes me want to read a million books. >> Thank you for making my office. [Music] We are here in our new gymnasium thanks to you. Thanks
042for your generosity for our gym and it's at officially floored us in the best sway possible. The upgrades you've given us are more than just shiny services and screens. They are a huge boost to our school spirit, fitness, and fun. >> The new school is so shiny. I thought I can wait at myself. It's like jumping jack. And don't get us started on the new TV. In the gym, we've been screaming with excitement. Now we can watch workout videos, fun announcements, and even learn cool new moves like the pros. And from the bottom of our hearts and the bottom of our sats, thank you. >> Thank you for helping us bounce higher, run faster, and learn better. You have made a real difference. >> On behalf of our students, staff, and family, thank you for
043your leadership and commitments, making our school a place where every child can thrive and come alive. Thank you for hiring the best teachers and staff. We are so lucky to have a school board that works so hard for us. Thank you for making our school a great place to learn. [Music] >> Your dedication and support >> help us reach our goal of success for every student. >> So from all of us, >> the staff >> and especially the students, thank you for everything you do. [Music] [Applause] That was phenomenal. So, thank you so much, Dr. Z, and for Dr. Mau and for all of our principles at the elementary level and assistant principles for helping to put that together. That really was great. So, thank you. >> And and and addition I would like to
044add from the board of education. Thank you so much. You make our job here very enjoyable uh fruitful and certainly rewarding. And I'd like to take this time to thank from the board of education all our administrators, our teachers, our staff and our students because without all of you we wouldn't be where we are today. So, thank you so much. >> So, now I'd like to welcome up uh Sulk Middle School and principal John Zenagleon. >> You you can you can invite up whoever else you want. So, Mrina from Wisdom as well. >> Yeah. Good evening. My name is John. I'm the principal at Wisdom Lane Middle School along with the principal at Sulk Middle School, John Zagle Leone, and the assistant principal from Wisdom Lane Middle School, Mr. Craig Olla. Uh we'd also like
045to thank our the advisor of the National Junior Honors Society at Sulk Middle School, uh Victoria Gianmpo, and then also the two go adviserss at Wisdom Lane Middle School, Miss Donella and Miss Laura Halverson. Okay. Um we would like to thank the board for everything. [Applause] We would like to thank the board for everything they do for us and for our students. And the students say it's so much better than we do. So, I'm going to call our students up now to give you a little [Applause] Good evening. My name is Thomas Santosis Jr. and I am this year's president of the National Junior Honor Society at Sulk Middle School. I would like to introduce a few other students with me tonight. Grace Foster, vice president of the National Junior Honors Society at Sulk Middle
046School, and Troops Sonni Kenisha McCarthy, Ryan Erkavan, and Tahia Khan, members of Wisdom Wayne Student Government. [Applause] behalf of Sulk Wii Miss Middle School and Wisdom Lane Middle School, we would like to recognize and thank the board of education for supporting our supporting our students and our education. We know that the job of a school board member is a tough one. Thank you for long hours that you spend in meetings and in on committees helping schools and pushing for policy and programs. [Applause] and an extra special thank you for attending both Sulk and Wisdom events to cheer us on. [Applause] This year, we would like to present you with a gift of the of bleacher seats to show our appreciation. Thank you for making Levittown schools the best that we can be. [Applause] Thank you.
047Thank you. Thank you, honey. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. >> Christina, >> can you hear me? That swap with yours that way into Jet. Oh, I I don't have my phone out here. [Music] >> Oh, that's >> okay. At this time, I do see some familiar faces that have come on come on in and I'm sure that you have many places to go tonight in regards to the board meeting. Just prior to our high school presentation, I would like to just ask our elected officials who have come on in to uh come on in and do their presentation for the board of education tonight. Then we can do a maybe a group photo, which I'm sure you you'd love to have. >> Yeah. Hi. In case you don't
048know me, I'm Dennis Dunn, town councilman, and I'm here with a a wonderful citation from graduates from the Levertown School District. myself, Division Avenue, and then after me came Kate Murray from this school right here. This was the high school. And then the the the last one to come in, but probably the best, John Ferrett, our supervisor. We have a beautiful citation for the entire school board. Usually, we bring individuals and give to each one of you. So, if you want them, we'll bring them over. But right now, you all do such an incredible job. And you know, I I just love this school district. I've been to a lot of them in the area, and they're all very, very good. You're special. This is the best school district in the county, probably in the
049state. So, I thank you for what you do. Each and every one of you work so hard. So many years. I've known you since I had hair. That's a long time. And it was black. So, so, uh, I just come to say thank you and God bless you. Keep up the good work. Thank you, Councilman Dunn. Hello there. For those of you who don't know me, I'm New York State Assemblyman John Mculan. Just want to say that I'm very proud to be here. Each and every year we come here and it is an honor, an absolute honor to thank the board of education. Isn't it? Aren't we here for a good cause? And let me tell you something. From some for somebody who first started out on the Island Trees library board, I know the
050volunteerism and the dedication it takes to do this type of job because it is not easy. You don't get paid and you come here every single day to serve the population. So, thank you for what it is that you have done. Let's give him a big round of applause. I'd like to also thank the administration here, the students, the faculty, and all the parents who make this school district such a success. Thank you to each and every one of you, and God bless. And on behalf of the New York State Assembly, I too have a citation. Thank you, Assemblyman. Good evening, everyone. My name is Kayla Knight, and I'm here on behalf of County Executive Bruce Blakeman as well as State Senator Steve Rhodess. And while I'm here on behalf of two people, I promise
051I'll speak only once, um I just want to extend um my my gratitude and um my my basically congratulations for all the hard work that you do. It truly takes a village to ensure that our students have the necessary resources and support that they need to grow, to learn, and ultimately succeed. So, thank you so much for all the hard work you do. greatly appreciated and I look forward to seeing what happens this school year and all the success in the future. So, thank you. >> Thank you so much. And you want to do can we do one one group photo or is that all right? So, could the board members just come on in front of the uh of the table here for one photo? [Music] Um, okay. So, now I'd like to welcome
052up uh from Division Avenue High School, interim principal, Mr. Jeffrey Myers. [Applause] Oh, Mr. Sheen, you're coming up, too. Oh, you both present. Mr. and Mr. Sheen from MacArthur High School. So, you gonna introduce whoever else you brought with you as well? >> Are you forgetting about Mr. Sheen so quick? Okay. Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. On behalf of MacArthur High School, including my two assistant principles, Mr. Ryan, Mr. Maroy, as well as our senior class adviser, Miss Rollson, as well as Division Avenue High School, uh, including, uh, interim acting principal, Mr. Myers as well as uh Dan Fazio and Mark Curtis. We would like to just extend our sincere appreciation for everything you have always done for us on a regular basis. Your steadfast support is greatly appreciated. But to really express the sentiments
053the right way, who better than our two senior class presidents, Anthony Ross and Manav Dubet. [Applause] Good evening. My name is Anthony Ross and I'm the senior class president for the MacArthur High School class of 2026. I would like to introduce the other class officers from MacArthur here with me this evening. Corresponding Secretary Eve Lin, recording secretary Nicholas Sanchez, and adviser to the superintendent Ethan Balo. On behalf of the on behalf of the students of MacArthur High School in Division Avenue and especially the senior class of 2026, we would like to thank you all for your service to our school district. We're excited to kick off uh to be here to kick off tonight's return to school year. Thank you for joining us this year at all of our annual homecoming and dig pink events.
054We always enjoy seeing you at all of our school events, the many plays, concerts, sporting events hosted by the Generals and the Dragons. We're looking forward to a fun-filled year of spectacular events. >> Good evening. My name is Manav Deb and I am the student council president from Division Avenue High School. This evening I have the opportunity to introduce to you Shuta Vervali the senior vice president, Jay Patel, the junior vice president, Mason Zoo, secretary, Diaad, treasurer, Jenna Muhammad, sophomore vice president, and Arthur Bedallian leazison from division avenue. We would like to thank you. Okay. All right. We would like to thank you for your service to our school district. The talents of our students of Division Avenue will be on full display this season at our upcoming homecoming parade and Dig Pink event as
055well as the marching band championship weekend at the end of the month. The students at MacArthur and Division know that to be at all of these events, it takes countless hours and evenings away from home. Please know that your time and dedication to the students and community of Levittown are greatly appreciated. Please accept this gift as a token of our appreciation. Each bag contains a flash drive, pen, and small journal, a regulation size drawstring bag filled with some snacks, car decal and magnet, some spirited accessories, including a bracelet, jibbit and game day pin, as well as a winter hat and a trucker hat, and even a custom towel, so you are prepared for all types of weather. With all that included in your game day bags, there's one additional item we wanted to include. When
056thinking about a gift to convey our appreciation for the all the time and effort put in by the board of education, we wanted the gift to be something personally handcrafted by our students. This gift has a symbol created by the members of our boys district volleyball team. The hag the tag hanging from the center of your bag is a symbol created by the joint team incorporating both mascots. We believe it truly embodies the collective spirit of the community that the members of the board of education demonstrate. Please enjoy this special gift. Thank you everyone. [Applause] and everybody that is in attendance from Macarthur High School and Division Avenue High School. Uh it is really wonderful to see our high schools collaborating with each other. Um it's something collaboration is something that the board is a
057huge supporter of. So for everybody that came here tonight, from the administrators to the staff to the students to the teachers to the parents, we truly appreciate all that you do for us. Thank you so much. [Applause] And just from the central office team, just say once again a thank you to the students and to our our faculty and staff for like Miss Mangi said um all that you do and and everything that you did to put together such a a wonderful evening. Um, and obviously for the board of education, your leadership, care, and dedication continue to shape uh our school district to be one where all students can succeed and our staff feels valued. So, we're deeply grateful for all that you do and all the time that you dedicate to Levittown community. So,
058thank you. That does conclude our recognition uh portion of our meeting tonight. We are going to move on to uh my comments and reports. And the first uh item on here that we're going to discuss is um school security. Um at the last meeting um actually it's been now this is probably the third meeting uh late August then September and now um we've been talking about our current uh security measures. Um and then we talked about the security survey that was done back in August. Uh we then discussed in September with our student liaison just a little bit of further feedback on the survey. At that point the board had asked for me to um develop a presentation to provide to the board tonight to talk a little bit more in depth about armed security
059uh what other districts are doing, who's doing what and uh for the board to consider uh whether or not this is an enhancement to move forward with here in Levittown. Uh I'm not going to go through this is on every every presentation on security just in regards to the fact that it's a cyclical nature that we never stop never stop talking about security. Um we are always looking what we're doing evaluating to determine if uh what's what we're doing is working and what we can do to make it safe. Uh so this is what I already said to you that you know we started this um this in this particular school year back at August and then at the last meeting. Uh and that brings us to tonight. So, it was specifically requested and I
060did print this out for the board at the tables just so that it was if it was easier for you to see. Um, who has what, right? So, um, I would say that that pretty much as the years have gone on, uh, definitely more and more school districts across the country have incorporated armed security into their u their safety measures in schools. In regards to Long Island districts, News Day had done an article back in 2024 about what districts on the island, both Suffach and Nassau, had armed security. Uh, and so this is the information from that article from May of 2024. Um, it also indicates whether or not the armed security uh is the district's own security staff that's armed or if they contract out uh and meanwhile their own security is unarmed, but
061the contracted security is armed. I will have you know that there have been other districts that have added armed security um since then. I try not to put that in print unless it's already been printed because I know that many schools and having uh spoken to their superintendents are don't like their security plans to be shared publicly. Um but I will tell you that local districts around us have added that are not on the list. Um and others across the island have have added them beyond this list. Uh in reg um in regards to the um I guess before I do anybody have any questions on this chart in regards to who has it >> without revealing the names do we have a total of the amount of districts that are in Nassau and suffic
062>> I don't but but in that list like I am I know there are at least three or four that are not on that list >> from from Nassau >> no just in general from the island and at least one is a a neighbor that um touches our board and I do know that have gone to like the quad meetings, right? Our our superintendents are are divided in Nasser County into quads. So, we're on the south the southeast quad and uh I know there are other districts in the southeast quad that are having the same conversations that you're having uh at this moment. So in discussing and reaching out to uh both um Alterris through Bill Mi uh our security coordinator in the district as well as other superintendents in both Nassau and SUFFK. There
063are two main structures um or or logistical operations that arm security comes in. It's really two two different forms. One, like I said before, is that a district will contract with a private vendor for armed security. Typically in that model, armed security remains outside the building at all times, usually in an unmarked car uh and only enters the building in the case of an of a of a significant situation. Um, and that typically runs, and this is based upon our size of of our district, anywhere from 3/4 of a million to a million dollars each. Uh, Masipa has this model. Farmingdale has a very similar model. It is contracted, but I know they did um, and this is public that they were able to hire um, some of their own internal personnel uh, through the
064the contract then, but still same model. Um the other model and this this my home district has this model as well for several years now. Um there there are about three or four companies that do private armed security. Covert being one of the main ones. The other model is to arm some of your current staff, some of your current security staff. Um it's it's less money because typically they get paid a salary differential for being armed. Um but it's still less than a private contractor. Um, and it would depend upon the number of guards that you arm. Like right now, we have about 40 security aids in the district. Um, the districts that we spoke to, most of them did not arm all of their security aids. It was just maybe half. Um I I
065yeah I would say generally at least like two per bill because what it is is that if somebody's sick or if somebody's you know out of the building or whatever it may be that there would always be somebody who was armed on camp. >> Are the armed security are they former law enforcement? >> Yes. >> All of them? >> Yes. >> Thank you. >> Now the contracted ones I I can't speak to. I'm just talking about in regards to the districts I've spoke to about when they arm their own staff. Uh the district is then responsible for training, annual training. Um armed security staff have to have a different license. Um and just in regards, just so you're aware, about 50% of our current staff have that armed license. Potential benefits. Uh and I'll just
066mention benefits and and potential issues, right, in regards to this. Obviously, the the number one, I think, potential benefit of having armed security is that armed security is on campus, whether they're in the building or outside the building, um could potentially react more quickly to a situation than waiting for police response. Now, police response in Nessa County is very good. Uh I want to say it's about two minutes. Um but obviously, if somebody is on campus, then that response could be uh much faster. It could be a possible deterrent to issues that come up if people know that there is armed security. It may discourage anyone from attempting a potential act of violence. Uh and it also uh as a potential benefit could provide community reassurance knowing that there's another layer of protection in the
067bill. Potential drawbacks. Um there is a debate on effectiveness in regards to research on armed guards or or um SRO's and buildings about whether like the statistics don't really bear out one way or another that it it has shown over time that it's works or doesn't work. Um school climate it could potentially make students feel anxious because someone now on campus has a weapon. Obviously costs and sustainability is a drawback and that as I showed you before there is a cost involved. Um and then the possibility of escalation of risk meaning that introducing weapons into a school you do obviously increase the risk of an accident or misuse as opposed to not having right. So uh then there's also some additional liability um if it is misused or or some accident occurs or the individual
068who is armed does not fail to act. I then tried to like come up with some FAQs based upon questions I know you've asked me in the past about this topic kind of like out there in case there are questions that you may have. Um if the district employs its own staff as armed security would additional insurance be required? No. nicer. Our insurance provider would not require additional insurance. Confirm that. Um, if we instead went with a contracted security, would they enter the school for any reason other than responding to an active situation? Um, no. And I just mean obviously up to the board, but the what those that have it, they their answer is no, they don't. Uh, if the district hires current district staff as armed security, will weapons be visible in the
069building? This was a question actually. thing that came up from one. We met with student councils in both high schools um about the concern about students seeing weapons and they would be concealed. They would not be um like a police officer in the building where you see the gun on the hip. If the district employs its own staff as armed security, would all security staff be armed? That would be a board of education decision. Um in in most districts, only certain staff members are armed. Obviously, there would have to be a screening process if the board chose to do this about who would be armed and who would not be armed. Um, and would there be annual training? Yes. One of the districts that we spoke to actually had a membership at a uh firing
070range in order to conduct the annual training. >> Would the district still maintain close collaboration with Nass County Police Department if it adds armed security? Absolutely. We I will say have a fantastic relationship with NCPD and with Al Taris. Al Taris has been a tremendous value add to the district since they came on board and we work extremely closely with NCPD uh as you know both in this on this table as well as in the audience send out messages quite often about you know when we have a security matter that we're dealing with we're involving NCPD uh that is our first call. So we would continue to do that. They work with us on our lockdown drills on our security plans. uh Mr. Mian um kind of has them on speed dial. So um we
071are very proud of our relationship with NCP. Uh what does the research show about the use of armed guards? Research on effectiveness is very limited. Um so there isn't any report I could show you one way or another that says this is what you do. If you just do this then things will be okay. What percentage of schools uh sorry about the missing s uh have armed security uh nationwide? And once again, this is not something that is like heavily researched, so there's not necessarily the most up-to-date information right now. But um nationwide, it was about 31% in 2005, which then rose to about 43% 2016. While there isn't really uh a single source of information, estimates put that now close to 56%. Across the nation. So um like I said, the board had asked
072for me to provide this information in regards to discussing about this next option. you know that every year we talk about what are we doing next? What is the next thing that we're doing? Um you know I I will tell you that as as I do believe as time goes on this will become an eventuality. I just don't see that issues across the country in regards to school violence is going away if anything. So I think it's about the board discussing what the board's comfortable with in regards to um what the next level of security going. So this point I'll turn it over to vice president. >> Okay. Thank you uh Mr. Winch. Thank you for the uh presentation. Um, and among the board, I would like to hear from everybody that would like to
073speak. So, please raise your hand to be acknowledged so everybody gets their time to speak. Marian, thank you. I do have a whole lot of questions. Um, but I'll just start with uh the first two. So, when you had on your frequently asked questions about um if we decided to use our own security staff to arm, uh who would do that screening? Um, and what do you screen for? Um, and then also what does the annual training look like? Is it just gun certification? Is it like active shooter drill training in a school setting? Like how is that? >> Um, what does that look like? >> Do you know, Mr. M? I know you're back there, but what the annual training looks like or Thank you. >> Can I ask a followup? >> Sure. Um,
074and then just a followup to that in regard to like the training, like what are the standard operating procedures? And then I guess this would have to be something we would need to discuss as a board. Um although some of the stuff I probably wouldn't want to talk about in public, but um but what would be like a standard operating procedure? Like say heaven forbid the armed security is um dealing with the situation. Do they have to stand down until the police arrive? Like how do we figure out those steps >> in state train contract all the proceeds to have place that's working come up with our own because I know like in reading about um other schools across the nation um many of the incidents um the SRO's were told to stand down and
075wait until law enforcement arrived. So I don't know if that was something in their own procedures or something that just happened. It was just a curiosity question >> referring to right something like that. uh you have to be guided by what what procedures are and do have a great work relationship with them where if we actually ask men to come help us train I don't think they'd ever tell us no because something that benefit them and the community long question ask I will ask the other district that I can get my uh my feelers out to as well as our law enforcement uh Thank you, Marian. Great questions. Yeah, and to add to that, I would just want to say I know Michael, myself, and uh Mr. Winch uh last year and the year before
076and the year before that went to the national convention and the state convention and we met with Homeland Security and we met with the Secret Service. They did a presentation together and a lot of the questions that's being asked, they were answered and we've been doing a lot of research and a lot of digging on this. So this is not a topic that we take lightly. Um so in addition to the questions Maryanne has asked, we will be asking questions constantly just to uh rest assured that we have the latest research um and what the data is really reflecting back to us in certain situations. So Michael >> statement here uh so for would this be the same as the security armed security training New York State has? referring to the actual state courts for
077the army. >> Um >> I'm thinking it has to be >> it would have to they'd have to immediately they'd have to have that initially prior to actually being employed or uh put place in school. So we've come up with procedures specifically. >> I didn't know it off the top of my head but to answer Marian's question 8 hour preassignment training 16 hour on the job training 47 hour firearms training course. Uh course components include classroom instruction on the use of force and 40 hours of range training with weapons qualification and that's this and annual requirements as well. 8 hour inservice training 8 hour annual firearms training 8 hour uh annual renewal. So the initial one is is extensive but each one the components are eight hours a piece there. I just couldn't I didn't
078know off the top of my head so I'm sorry. >> Hey >> I I do have other questions. >> Go ahead Mike. I'm sorry uh my notes. Okay. So there are a lot of reasons anyone come with reasons for and against in this matter but there are a lot of reasons for it. One is enhanced security, rapid response to threats, a visible deterrence and known visible deterrence if people know that this building is probably has armed guards in there. um the the officers that we have plus the ones that go through the training are caught the escalation um and also to build the relationship with the students uh so they there's trust involved so they could actually tell you you know Mr. Smith. Uh, we this guy might have a gun, but he's bragging about
079it in lunch. Things like that. Um, also former law enforcement, you never lose it, by the way. You know, you it's always in you. Is any any law enforcement in the audience? Former? You're never going to lose that that training. You look at things, you say, "This doesn't look good." That doesn't mean it's not good, but it gives you the ability to let me look a little further into this. Um it obviously gives better response time uh obviously um psychological reassurance for a lot of people uh students staff and like I said the biggest thing is building relationships with the students in the building um and that's anywhere in policing build relationship with the community the better relationship you have the better job of policing you end up doing um there is no anywhere in
080this world there is AI that will pinpoint where a shot is fired. Spot shooter. Matter of fact, if you do go to some cities, you see shot spotter on the life polls. Don't buy a house there because they don't put shot spotters in areas where there are no shootings. There's simply there's excess of shootings here. Don't buy a house there. That should be a red flag thing. I don't want to live there. And there are none in Letown, by the way, which is good. Um, so let me get my place back here. Um, so as I was saying, while a machine, an AI cannot pick up where a weapon is, as a law enforcement officer, if I'm watching you and I'm looking at you, you look a little suspicious. Eventually, the gun is uncomfortable if
081you're secretreting it and you end up moving it. Move the weapon. I don't have weapon. end up wait here and a good law enforcement officer sees that and that's the person you can approach everything okay I see you moving something around your waistband another thing is um the shots in almost every single case the initial shot took place outside the building and the person still came in the building you know I mean that's an issue um response, who seized it, who heard it. Um we have good cameras around our buildings. Hopefully, you know, someone could hear it as well. Um where am I on here? Okay. So, but the last thing I'm going to say is we all have valuable things in our life. It's not our house. It's not the fancy car you just
082bought, the Lexus, whatever it might be. It's our children. There is nothing more valuable than that. And I when I go into the city or with my family, I I don't carry as much as most officers do. But when I go into the city, I carry because I'm allowed to carry. And if I'm taking the subway and I'm going to Arthur Avenue in the Bronx, I'm carrying. You never know I'm carrying, but I'm carrying because I'm going to be there to protect my family. And I think there's no one who can deny that you do anything for your children. You hear stories about, you know, people jumping in front of cars so their child doesn't get hit. It's so simple to in theory to protect our children that extra layer of security. And I know
083that if I'm was a bad guy and I know that this store has a lot of money, this Jew a lot of money, but they have no armed security and this one doesn't. Whoever has the armed security, excuse me, whoever has armed security, I'm going to the other one. Simple as that. Because even the bad guy wants to come home alive. Um, so I hope I didn't bore you here with past history or stuff like that, but those are my thoughts. And >> thanks, Mike. >> Thank you. Yeah, I I just have a few comments at this time and then we'll ask Phyllis and Jimmy for their comments. Um, back in 1985, I started working in a school district and back in 1985 when I started working there as a teacher, the most important thing
084that I used to guarantee the teachers, I will give your child the best prescriptive education so every child can learn. And that was my central focus. That was my promise to the to the community at that time. roll forward 30 years later and I'm I'm a principal now in a building. That is not any longer my first promise to the teacher to the parents. My first promise is that I will try every single thing possible to make sure that every child that enters my school building leaves in the same condition that they arrived. And I honestly can say from the workshops that we've been attending, for the research we've been doing, and from having spent over 40 years in a school system, I can't make that promise anymore. And it's disheartening. And I remember it
085was probably about four years ago, we had maybe five, we had a presentation here by Nassau County Police Department and they were talking about response time. And yes, I'll never forget it because it I I just know I couldn't sleep for days. He told me the response time at that time was wonderful. It was 1 minute and 52 seconds. When you look up the damage that could be done in 1 minute and 52 seconds, it was haunting to me and it has haunted me ever since. So, uh, with that being said, I personally and professionally and as a member of this board believe that we need to do every single thing we can to protect our children. I've been in several dis school districts that have armed guards in the school. You wouldn't even know
086that they're there. I've interviewed some of the children that go to these different districts and kind looked at me like, "Huh? We don't even know. it's it's not a big deal, you know. So, to them, it's not a big deal because you don't see it. But I think as the uh administrators and the teachers and parents, it is a huge deal. So, that's that's my comment on the direction that I believe we should be moving. Jimmy, >> uh yeah. Um, I agree with everything that my colleagues have stated and uh, you know, in my 27 years of being here in Levittown on the school board, I thought we would never ever have this conversation, but uh, unfortunately this the world we live in today and uh, the conversation is here and and I agree that
087we have to do something to protect our students um, and our staff and uh, you know, um, the The other thing is that you know what we already have security guards in our uh employment. What happens with the CSEA guards? I I know you told me this, but what happens with them? >> Well, I mean, let's just take the two different models, right? So if you um if you went with the outside the building contracted model um you I don't think there'd be any change because we would still need our security aids in the building and we have you know several rovers that would still exist because we you know these cars would be stationed at that building the whole day. So they would be an add-on only and if it was with let's say
088you were going to hire from within CSEA um then it wouldn't right there'd be no right >> there would be no change. So I don't think in either model it really affects staffing. >> Well like all right so you you answer my question. I guess what I mean by that it affects it does affect staffing if you go with the outside model because you would add on 10 you know for the schools 10 different additional folks from a contracted company but you wouldn't you wouldn't be reducing what you currently have >> in my opinion >> I just wanted to make that statement that it hurts me to have this conversation it does but we're at that point and we have to make a decision and you know I I'll say publicly I am in favor
089of Thank you, Jimmy Phyllis. >> Okay, so I'm going to tell you a story. I started as a teacher 1985 in New York City, and the last thing I ever would worry about is any sort of gun and violence and shooting in a building in 1985. And then in 1998, I took on a role as an assistant principal in a building and we had not a shooting but an intruder just because a door was left open and he came in and traumatized some of the uh it was a K to 5 building. some of the girls in that building and that one mistake it accident the door was left open changed the entire the entire tenor of that building and now when we hear I know for myself when I hear there was a shooting
090in a school churches and schools were supposed to be I who ever heard of that like that's what I my head me a church and a school were kind of off limits and now when I hear about a a shooting in a school or a church I'm like oh no not again that horrifies me that I can say oh my god not again it shouldn't even be a thought in my head and that's sobering for me but that's where we are now in 1985 some you know naive person who was like, "This is the greatest place to be." And here we are now having this conversation because things have gotten to this point. And I think that we do have to uh really think hard. I I am in favor of of of I'm not
091sure of the plan itself, but I think we do need to to protect our our most precious, like Mike said, our most precious uh resource. >> Thank you. You want me to circle back? Any other comments, questions? Mike, >> thank you. So, we go to uh conventions in New York State and internationally and with educational purposes and we bring back lots of good stuff. Um, we also there's security issues as well that you go to. And one thing to this day that really hit me hard was there was a teacher, I believe it was Parkland and kindergarten teacher, and when the shooting happened, she put all her children in the bathroom, told them to kneel down, and I'm going to get choked up here. And this teacher got on her hands and knees and stood
092was in front of that door protecting her student. And this woman was a hero. Thank God that the shooting didn't take place. But to be willing to do something like that, to stand in front of four and 5 year olds is it's godly. And no teacher should ever have to do that again. It's nightmarish just thinking about that. Um I I just know that go to Yankee Stadium, City Field, I'm going to say Sha Stadium, but that's I'm dating myself there. >> UBS Arena, anywhere Madison Square Garden to watch professional athletes play. You get wanded, go through your pocketbook and everything. But and there's armed security in that place as well. The security vestibles we have, they're a nice option. But if someone comes in that says, "Here's my license." And gets scanned in, how
093do we know they're not carrying a weapon? How do you know we're not letting the wolf in the door? You don't. And honestly, every single board member, every single superintendent, anyone involved in a school district, the day before, the night before that incident took place, they all put their heads in the pillow and said, "We're doing everything we can. We're really, we have a fantastic system here. The bad guy only has to be right once. Um, we have to be right 100% of the time. to protect the most valuable people in our lives, our children. And I'm done. Obviously, I have to I'm not going to take up any more time. Sorry. >> That's okay, Maryanne. >> Sure. Thank you. So, I'm not, you know, 100% on board, but I'm also very open to having
094the discussion like we are. Um, and I do appreciate everybody's commentary and and experiences. Um, and I do believe we need to do everything that we can, but I also, you know, in doing a lot of reading like see that, you know, there's no real empirical data that, um, shows that armed security can significantly reduce shootings uh, or acts of violence in schools. Um, and I do believe that if somebody really wants to do harm and get in, they're going to no matter what. Um I mean could it be that an armed security can mitigate further um damage possibly. Um but you know that they'll always find a way in though like they did in Parkland, like they did in Yubaldi, like they did in Appalachi, Georgia um during during those shootings. Um I also
095believe that and this is just a more general statement um security measures is a multi-layered multifunctional approach um and it isn't just about the armed security. I do think that there needs to be um a stronger focus on like preventative measures. So like mental health or some type of um stronger um preventative program in our schools so that we can identify um because and I don't know a lot of the the lookbacks on events that occurred were missed signs, right? we missed we missed that sign from this this person coming into the school. Uh we missed that detail or we we didn't see it. And so my belief is that you know even if we do this the core of the issue is that those signs and those mental health concerns for students that are
096coming in and murdering people is being missed somehow. And it's it's no negativity towards our district or what everybody's doing, but it's just something that I feel like is really the bigger discussion that needs to be had. >> I couldn't agree with you more, Maryanne, but I I will add to this that and I know this might sound like we're going off the topic a little, but I don't believe we are. I'm going to address a point that you added. Um, as far as the mental health piece, uh, 100% correct. I said the the problem which I've addressed with you before Todd and other conferences that I've attended, we don't have we have psychologists in our school and we have social workers in our school. We don't have mental health counselors in school. They're not
097um accepted by the state of New York. So if you want to talk about really identifying significant issues among children at its inception, at its younger years, our training that we have, our social workers are wonderful. Don't get me wrong, our psychologists are wonderful, but it's a total different shift and perception of what you're looking for. So I agree with you. We've gone somebody was just at that workshop with me that we just went to and it was all on mental health. You were there. We went to a workshop on mental health and it and it was by so many agencies uh throughout Nassau and Suffach uh county and we asked so many questions and um I was so gung-ho when we came back thinking oh okay well let's take let's think about this perspective
098of hiring mental health counselors and we can't they're not c certified through the education department it's so it's a it's a total different approach so yes this isn't a single focus problem. A and we've been doing research on this for years and it's just come to the point now um where we're we're looking at the other districts around us. We're looking at uh what's happening out in society and um this is not something easy that that the board is is not taking very seriously and has done many years of research. um in doing what we need to do. But I I for for me, and I only speak as a member of the board here, I really know, and you said it too, Maryanne, you're right. If somebody's going to want to get into that
099building, they're going to get into that building. But I want to be able to say, well, we mitigated the damage by what we did. The proactive, it's it's not it's not something anybody wants to do, but you know, you think they have arm guards in banks. They have arm guards. It where and and and our our kids aren't uh 100% protected. So, um that's that's my thought. >> The one last thing I just want to say is that um I'm not 100% sure also that um you know whether we decide to go forward with this, like if we did decide to go forward with this, I would rather have those thoughtful discussions on how to proceed not upfront. like I I I'm not really comfortable talking about like we we always there are some security
100measures we don't talk about upfront. I feel like this might be one of those things that maybe >> Sharon is that is that a problem? I think >> there are things that can be discussed in executive session when it comes to matters of public safety and certainly you know like the protocols and the steps that are going to be taken and in what order is entirely appropriate and you know I would urge you um you may have seen before when you started having I I started pick because I was going to stop it depending on where it went um so you know you will be able to talk about that in executive session. >> Good point, Marian. >> Great. Okay. >> So, so well, I mean, I I just obviously the conversation's great. Um, but
101I do think that if the board is interested in making a decision, I do think there has to be some consensus, right, Sharon, in regards like where do we go moving forward? like is is the board deciding that it's going to adopt arm security? Is it like what's what's the next step for the central administration? You would want to adopt a resolution. Um you know, there are also some issues that we probably should talk about outside of public session. So then would it make sense to then because it just how it sounds for me it sounds like there is a majority of the board that is interested in pursuing armed security. So would it be that we would put look to put a resolution on the next meeting that then the board could have a
102final deliberation and then approve or not approve that night? >> Uh yes I I mean if the board wanted they could even add it tonight but I think uh you know it's fine for the next one. I actually think we should wait till the entire board is here to make a decision. Um even though it appears that there might be uh consensus to go forward, but I think everyone should be able to weigh in. >> I I I agree um that they should weigh in, but I I really don't want to make this that the entire board has to be here. I think the entire board has to weigh in and if we have the next meeting and people don't people are not here again, I I it's not something that I would like to
103just keep dragging on. We've been dragging this on for years. So, I do I I Oh, I don't think we should do a resolution tonight either. I'm just saying at the next meeting, if we put this on for exec session, the next meeting and extend the session probably. Um, I really do feel that we have to have that discussion again in executive session. Um, but no, I'm not in I'm not in favor of putting a resolution on for tonight either. No. Can you uh Sarah, can you explain to the people in the audience what exact session what we do in exection under this issue? Thank you. >> This one um okay so executive session is where the board uh and the superintendent meet privately. Um it's part of the board meeting, but it's not open
104to the public uh at the it's up to the board and the superintendent, but normally they also have uh you know members of the central office staff and myself as districts council. And there are certain uh subjects that pursuant to the New York State open meetings law are appropriate to be discussed in executive session. things such as matters involving uh individual students or individual personnel matters. Um things that have to do with discipline uh and matters that involve public safety where you know you don't want to have a discussion in public and have a recorded meeting of, you know, here's our strategy of here's the step by step what we're going to do if there's an intruder, you know, at building X. you don't you don't want that stuff out there for obvious public safety
105reasons. So, the board can meet in executive session. That's why um the board does that normally before the main part of the meeting, but the board convenes in public session and makes a motion to go into executive session, which was done at 5:30 tonight. And then you know we meet we discuss the matters that are appropriate to be discussed in executive session that we won't discuss out here. Um and then we continue with you know regular session and the board can go into executive session at any point during meeting that they need to do so. >> Thank you for the clarification. Okay. So >> so so just one one last thing because I just want to make sure I have this correct for the next meeting. So, what I'm going to do then, similar to
106how we do um items that are not part of the consent agenda, right, that are that we believe are going to lead to discussion and may or may not get approved, I will put a resolution on regarding armed security in the non-consent agenda and that way for the next meeting because I do think also it's important for the public to know that it's going to be discussed. And as much as we do send that out on social media, um we do post the the entire agenda the weekend before, at least people would then know that if they and and the 29th meeting happens to be a regular meeting. We don't typically have two regular meetings in October or in any any month. It just happens to turn out because of our audit, we weren't sure
107if we'd be ready tonight. Uh so there would be a regular public be heard at that meeting as well. At least people could have an opportunity to come out and speak if they so choose. Okay. >> Yep. Okay. All right. >> Okay. I think I have I think I'm still on. Um Okay. Uh thank you. That was a a great great conversation. I will say have a lot of those this year, which is wonderful to see. Um so I just want to then go on to some lighter things. Um the first thing is uh some changes to our board of education website. You may remember that um the board had requested uh some changes to the board of ed website that had some more information about board members for the community to see. And so
108I'm just going to turn this over right now to Dr. Z who's going to kind of walk you through what we've done so far. >> Excellent. I'll just wait a moment there. Thank you. Pull it up. So you remember at the last meeting we began to show you an overview. Um it was before any of the um board bios etc were on there. So, in the last couple of weeks, I want to thank all of you for working with me to help to craft your bios. Uh, we really, um, tried to make sure we were able to highlight all of your, um, experience, commitment to the community, um, and even what you enjoy in your personal time. Um, but we're wonderful to see um, all the updates, even our two student liaison. So, thank you.
109We were able to add them um, to our page as well. Um, Derek, would you also be able to show like the landing page? This is when everyone clicks in and is able to see that. But our new uh just go to uh the BOE more BOE resources. Thank you. So this is exactly what all of you had talked about needing um some cleaning up. So I want to thank Anthony and alone for working with me. But I think we made this like super clean now. Um everybody is listed. When you click into somebody's name, it goes directly to their bio showing our next board of education meeting right up front. everybody's pictures, including our student liaison. Um, if you want to have a different picture, you can give us a different p. I can
110see your faces. We know how this goes with the IDs. Everyone wanted new pictures, but we did our best to prepare for tonight. And I think we pulled your um photos probably from Power School. And then if you scroll down again, we all of this information um that was requested as well, an overview of what the board of education does, uh what our public meeting is, public be heard, etc. And then we cleaned up the whole area where our board minutes um live. So only the current year is now visible. And then we have the drop down. So a major overhaul, a major cleanup. I think it's a lot cleaner. Uh a lot more information that is available to the public. And again, I do want to thank our web master Anthony and Vanessa for
111helping me to collect um the information and um you know, everyone for looking over and approving their bio. I love first of all thank you everyone for such all the hard work that went into it. Um can I make a suggestion on like the top of the page like where it says BOE >> like maybe with like the drop down it could be like BOE homepage and then >> Yes. Right. Like reorganize it maybe. >> Yes. I totally understand what you're saying. Great idea. Thank you. >> I think it's beautiful. Oh, well, thank you. >> I'll let Mr. Ensalone know that as well. It was a good partner. >> I think Miss Adrian actually is the one who sparked this idea. Am I correct? So, >> you were, >> uh, thank you, Dr. Z, uh,
112and to the computer department for that. The last thing I'm just going to mention in regards to my comments and reports is I shared with the board, you know, we're working on some um some branding for the district to kind of get a little bit of our information out there about all the wonderful things that go on in our school district. And so we worked with Syntax Public Relations on a onepage uh snapshot basically of district successes because every meeting I'm telling you about some other award that we're winning or something else. you know, I don't know what really happens to that information for the community, but um we'll be using this flyer really for this year at a lot of our events. We'll be us sending it home as part of as a pull
113out from one of our newsletters since that is one of the few items that goes to every resident. uh also actually with some of our real estate companies in Levittown because I think a lot of times um we focus on just getting the work done and so like many people mentioned earlier about your dedication um that I think a lot of what we do goes unseen and unheard uh and it is really some phenomenal work that's going on here. All of our secondary schools have received designations and awards from outside agencies. Wisdom was the most recent one that was in news day over the weekend where uh they're an amy school of distinction. and one of only three on Long Island. Um, you know, like and it go I'm not going to read the whole
114document, but it really kind of goes through a lot of the different areas where we've been designated as amazing. Um, as well as a little snapshot on things that we have that are going on. Um, we felt it would be good, we used to do this long ago with our real estate firms in the area just to kind of share, listen, people looking for houses. This is what we're all about because we are very proud of what we do. We think you do a great job. There's always room for improvement as we've shown tonight in regards to our conversation about security, but um we want to we want to make sure that everybody sees the best of what we do um very easily and I know that the board's been very interested on making sure
115that our um branding is a little more front and center than it was in in years past. Miss Marine, I think you yourself was a uh someone that was very passionate about. >> Yeah, because Yeah, I do too. But I I'm just going to take a second to read a few things on there because I think this is so important that I think in today's day and age, most people don't really even know, you know, when they throw up on the news, you know, the percentage of graduates across the United States and in New York. Like our graduation rate last year was 99%. That's phenomenal. more than 30 interast interscolastic athletic teams, over 60 dual enrollment college courses as well as AP courses allowing students to enter college credit in high school. I remember one
116of my nephews graduated from division and he entered a Maris not Maris um John J in the city with 30 credits. He started as a sophomore. You know how much money savings that is? So that's that's huge. We have 7,000 students. We have more than a 100 extracurricular activities offered across the 10 schools. And we voted as the best community for music education for over 25 years. So just those few snippets really gives you the branding that we want people to really know about Levittown. So I think it's a great flyer. Thank you. >> It's just a start. Just a start. >> Thank it. Is it? >> So >> um I can add something here. >> Yes. >> Um okay. So now I have a grandson. He's 2 and a half years old and I
117go to all the playgrounds with him and I got to tell you something. Uh Lee Road double double yay East Broadway triple yay. He loves them. Uh he actually makes me feel a lot younger also climbing up with him. But uh really good stuff. Our tennis courts have lighted tennis courts now. There's so much things that this commu, this school district offers to our community that don't show up anywhere except on newsletters like this, but it's out there. You can play tennis at night. Our football, if you looked at our football fields, they look like a a small D2 school. They're that beautiful. Um the baseball fields and the softball fields are being turfed. I'm a baseball truest. I believe in grass. However, we're one of the few schools that do not have turf fields.
118And if during playoffs, if the field's unplayable, we have to switch our lose our home team advantage. Could be for three games also, you know, for a three-game series. Um, and it's actually a disadvantage to us at this point. But, um, that was a grant from uh, >> yeah, the board was able to secure a more than a half a million dollar grant from Nasser County to help put towards those fields. That's correct. >> Yes. Um, anyways, we got amazing stuff here for you. Uh it's not just about schools, you know, it's it's we're a community and we're building a bigger and stronger community where you don't have to join a club to play uh tennis at night and things like that. >> I'm good. Thank you. >> Thank you, Mike. Mr. Wing, >> thank
119you. Just uh my last thing is follow up to prior public be heard questions. This from our September meeting, we had three people speak at public be heard. So as our is our process, we do respond in writing as well as at the next board meeting. So from September, this is the next board meeting. So, uh, one of our public be heard speakers was Car Carmine Fiori. Dear Mr. Fury, thank you for attending our recent board of education meeting and for sharing your thoughts during the public be heard portion regarding the possibility of hiring armed guards in our schools. We value community input on matters that impact the safety and well-being of our students and staff. At this meeting, the board of education directed the administration to provide additional information about school districts that currently
120employ armed guards. This information will be shared and discussed at our October 15th board of education meeting. Safety of our schools remains our highest priority and your engagement helps ensure that we continue to carefully examine all available options. We appreciate your commitment to our school community. Uh Christine M. Morrow, dear Miss Morrow, thank you for attending our recent board of education meeting and suggesting that the district explore the purchase of the life equipment for our schools. We appreciate your concern for student safety and your willingness to share ideas that may enhance our emergency preparedness. Please know that we have previously been approached regarding this product when we last investigated this equipment. It was not FDA approved and therefore was not recommended by our district medical director or Nasoboseis. For those reasons, the district has not
121previously moved forward with a purchase. That said, we will investigate the possibility further to ensure that we are aware of any new developments, recommendations, or guidance related to this equipment. The safety of our students and staff remains our highest priority, and we value your engagement in helping us maintain a safe environment for everyone. I do believe the company is coming in at the December meeting to talk about their product. Uh and finally, uh Mattie Bies. Uh dear Maddie, thank you for taking the time to share your feedback at our September 2025 board of education meeting. We value the perspectives of community members, especially our graduates, as they play an important role in helping us strengthen our schools and ensure the best possible experiences for our students. We remain committed to working together with families and
122residents to support our mission of success for every student. We appreciate your continued involvement in support of the Levittown School District. Those were the three uh responses to public be heard. I think I uh answered all questions uh from from previous board members. And that concludes my report for tonight. >> Thank you, Mr. Winch. Okay, let us move on. I just want to as far as comments from the board, I just wanted to say I attended a dinner the other night for Steve Costello, our baseball coach from Macartha High School, was inducted into the Nassau County Hall of Fame for coaches. It was a great night and a very humble man that was honored in a in a very beautiful way. Okay, next we're going to move to the board liaison. Are you ready? Sarah,
123would you like to begin, please? Sure. Um, hi everybody. Good evening. My name is Saroya Kono and I am the student liaison for Division Avenue High School. So, first off, I want to highlight some things that have happened recently. So, our guidance department has been very busy over the past few weeks. On October 7th, guidance started holding their college application boot camps for seniors during their lunch periods and off periods in order to give students more personalized help with their college applications. Additionally, our guidance counselors held a college planning night to help students and their parents prepare for college. And they have been hard at work writing our letters of recommendations for our seniors. Guidance counselors have not just been helping our seniors, but they've also met with their new freshman students during their lunch
124periods on Thursday. Students got to meet their guidance counselor as well as play some fun games with them and get to know them better. Even though it was freezing cold outside that day, everybody said it was a success and that they had a lot of fun. Um, in sports, many of our varsity teams have held their senior nights where underassman team members made posters for our graduating seniors to celebrate their accomplishments, their dedication to the team, and their overall work they have done. Uh, additionally, Miss Wheeler's anatomy class has been quite busy learning about strokes and the brain. Students got to watch a video learning more about the different types of strokes and medical professions that they can go into. They completed worksheets and a virtual brain dissection to prepare for the sheep brain dissection
125lab that would be done in class. Last Tuesday, the students came to class and geared up with their aprons and gloves in preparation for the lab. Students got to label different parts of the sheet frame and dissect it into some sections that can't be viewed from the outside. Uh Mr. Mr. McDermott, the head of the science department came in as well as the interimm principal, Mr. Meyers, um, to view the dissection. Students were very intrigued and one said, "I was very excited when I heard we would be dissecting a sheep's brain, and the lab did not disappoint." Um, overall, it was very successful. I know they had a pretty good time and found it very interesting. So, we definitely have a lot of future doctors in that class. Um, then as for what's coming up,
126pep rally and homecoming are taking place this Friday. Our clubs and honor societies have been working hard to complete their banner in time for the parade. And thankfully, a large number of students have come out to help. Each grade is encouraging their students to come to the homecoming parade to hold their banner, show division pride, and earn some points for spirit night as well. Additionally, National Honor Society will be holding their first ever Dunk the AP event where people can pay $5 and get three throws at our dunk tank where Mr. Fazio has so kindly agreed to be dunked. >> Yes, that's at homecoming. So, let's just say I was talking to him earlier and he said it's definitely going to be cold outside, but he figured people would want to dunk him, so he
127was happy to agree to it. So overall, homecoming and pep rally are going to be a great time and we're encouraging all students, especially the freshman class of 2029 to come out since it's their very first homecoming at division. And one last thing in terms of music, our marching band will be heading up to Syracuse for their championship weekend on October 25th and 26th. And we are wishing them the very best of luck. >> Thank you, Sarah. [Applause] All right. Uh, hi, good evening everybody. I'm Ethan Baloyo. I'm uh the student liazison for MacArthur High School. Uh, I'd like to start by saying there's a lots of there have been a lot of great happenings and events that took place in general nation since our last meeting. First, we had an extremely enthusiastic and fun-filled
128pep rally on Friday, September 26th on our turf field, which was per which was the perfect segue to our phenomenal homecoming day on the on Saturday the 27th. It truly was a beautiful day as our parade was spectacular with an enormous number of participants from both Sulkq and MacArthur followed by all of our pregame homecoming festivities on our beautiful turf field. We honored all senior football players, band members, cheerleaders, and kickline along with their parents as well as our homecoming grand marshals Haley Cosman and Elias Cologne and of course all members of our homecoming court. Uh I myself was in that homecoming court and it was great to uh see everybody from the board there during the parade. Um we also crowned this year's homecoming king and queen which was Vincent Orandello and Kaye Huggard.
129Congratulations to everyone who helped make this special day so beautiful and also to our varsity football team with her huge win over Jericho High School. Way to go Generals. On September 30th, Miss Brazinski accompanied her college marine biology students to the Long Island Aquarium in Riverhead. They participated in a boat in a boat ride that sailed the Picconic estuary where they viewed various organisms of different fishes and witnessed all of the wonderful exhibits portrayed in the aquarium. Uh upon arrival back at the school, all students stated they had a great time and found the experience to be extremely informative, interesting, and beneficial. On Friday, October 10th, we received a very special visit from the popular companion dog named Arbus. He spent an hour with us and several groups of students that pre-signed up to see
130him thoroughly enjoyed the time they spent with him. The buzz of excitement in the building was clear and obvious and we can't wait for another visit from Arvis, >> right? >> Yeah. Yeah. No, from what I from what I've heard, everybody everybody's like rushing to sign up. We we heard it on the announcements. I think signups filled up within like the hour of of announcing it. So, yeah. She's asking that because there was some discussion about the dog and about like people find the dog cute or not. And so she's trying to build a case. >> I think he's adorable. >> He's cute. And so >> he's a greyhound and he's absolutely adorable. He's adorable. Thank you, Ethan. You don't need to say anything else. Clearly, >> I mean, I personally didn't >> I'm just
131wondering why is she asking these weird >> I didn't I didn't like personally see the dog, but um No, I know a lot of the students enjoyed their time with with our business. >> You invalidated Yeah, I'm good. I'm good. At the last convention we went to, we had to uh stop Mrs. Adrien from stealing the companion dog that was there. >> Okay. Thank you very much for your wonderful Oh, you >> I have a lot more. Yeah. Yeah. Uh so some some exciting upcoming events that uh that I have uh we have coming up. Our uh annual district financial aid night uh featuring keynote speaker Mary Lawyer from Sienna University will take place tomorrow evening at 7 o'clock in our auditorium for all senior students and their parents. Uh additionally, our dynamic marching band
132color guard and kickline will be performing in the annual news day marching band festival at the Mitchell Field Athletic Complex on October 21st. Uh, and our annual pink out football game against Long Beach High School will take place on Friday, October 24th with a kickoff time at 7 o'clock. Tons of breast cancer awareness merchandise and raffle prizes will be available and all money raised will be donated to the Babylon Breast Cancer Foundation, which supports breast cancer patients in our community. Come out and join us uh for this important cause and let's go Generals. This concludes my report. >> Thank you, Ethan. Peggy, I I would just like to say that I will take the burden on from the board and do a site visit with Argus um and make sure that he uh is up
133to snuff. And um I will do that on behalf of the board. I'm just thank you for your sacrifice at doing that, Mary. I truly appreciate it. >> And you will be wonderful. I can assure you that. Okay. Thank you everybody. Thank you, Sarah and Ethan. Next, we're up to public be heard. We will now move to our public be heard period of our regular meeting. This is the opportunity for members of the community to speak. All questions are directed to the board of education president. Each speaker is limited to three minutes in total. Each speaker is expected to use the microphone and clearly state their name and address. Okay. Our first speaker is Maddie Bucky. Thank you, Vice Chair Morang, and good evening, Todd and board members. Um, my name is Matty Buckies, and
134I live at 1297 Shaw Place in Seafford. One of the things I like doing in this community, that's why I attend these is advocating for the little guy, people with developmental disabilities. People with disabilities are the most discriminated people in the world. But we obviously my topic tonight is about the reform that we need to make to the special education system. For example, one of the proposals that would be to prohibit um any any would be to limit the use of a behavioral intervention plan or a functional behavioral assessment for for children that are in that are in from that are in preschool through third grade with the exception if they committed a drug charge, a firearms charge, or a certain criminal act that warrants this type of behavior. One of the other things we
135have to do is reform suspensions for also for students in kindergarten through third grade with the exception once again of a drug charge, a firearms charge, and a and a certain criminal act. But one of the things I really was advocating for is to ban any CSSE chairperson or director from denying a student in their wishes if they want to take an AP or an honors classes if if their wishes are that the that the student takes a self-containment course. That's one of the things I've been fighting for. And the second thing I do agree with district security is that is a top priority. And I know Sharon, you summarized it beautifully that there's some things that, you know, we can't discuss in public, but has to be discussed outside, but you know, any votes
136have to be taken in public session. And I do agree that we need arm guards and, you know, and and we definitely we have a ID badge mandate. I'm not sure. Did we guys did we had ID badges back on in 2001? Yeah. No, I mean some had implemented that and I know you you probably saw Yeah, that's probably back then and I can tell I was born in 2001 and I'm and I'm very proud to say let's keep moving forward with the progress and obviously you know you obviously know I'm not I might sound like you know this like very funny but you know actually cuz one of the things that you would see on Wednesday night is Jerry Orbach and Law and Order that would be a good thing. So, with that everybody,
137please have a great night and happy Thanks and have a great Halloween. And don't forget there's a letter that's attached that I'm not going to speak about, but I do need to be included in in the letter and if the board's open for that consideration. So, with that, please have a great night and God bless you all. And I want to point out that Ray Romano was actually in this room once when they were filming an HBO movie. So, God bless you all. And hopefully, you know what? If anybody watches that, you probably could see Jerry Orbach on law and order. Thank you. >> Thank you, Maddie. >> Okay, our next speaker is Tina >> as I break your microphone. >> That's okay. >> Oh, wow. That's good reach. Okay. >> All right. Yeah. Well,
138that's all where my money's going. Okay. >> We need to start your time, so you're >> Sorry. Okay. Hold on. All right. Good evening. My name is Tina. Um I'm at 30 Wing Lane. Um I'm here tonight as a concerned parent and homeowner. I want to speak about the growing imbalance between rising school taxes and the reality many of us are living in. I recently made renovations to my home for my growing family. Yet, instead of being encouraged for improving where we live, my school taxes more than doubled. Now over $20,000 a year after a 4 4.8 tax increase was passed. And this amount doesn't even include my property taxes yet. Um, sorry, hold on. Um, which adds an additional burden. I'm now expected to come up with another $7,000 by November 10th, which is
139incredibly stressful. This increase does not help the children because now my parents like me are forced to struggle just to make ends meet. High tax creates stress for families and take away resources that could otherwise go towards our children's needs. At this rate, my kids might not even have a home to live in. Families like mine are being pushed to the breaking point. We love this community and want to support our schools, but we also need fairness and transparency and taxes are calculated in how the money is used. My children are considered workers at Gardener's Avenue School, which means my first grader has to cross North Jerusalem Road to get there. A busy and unsafe intersection, especially when I have two other young children with with me during drop off and pickup because both my
140parents have to work to make ends meet. Grandparents are off there bringing children and there is no disabled or handicapped parking available, which makes the situation even more challenging. The drop off system is already chaotic and stressful every morning. We need a better system for drop off and pickup, including improved parking, maybe a parking lot, possibly staggered drop off or pickup times to make it safer and more manageable for families. I'm asking for balance for the board to find ways to support education without forcing hardworking families out of their homes. We all want the same thing, a strong community, a bright future for our kids, but that future depends on keeping families here, not pricing them out. Thank you for your time and for listening. Thank you, Tina. [Applause] Our next speaker is Tony Schneider.
141Hello. Good evening. My name is Tony Marie Schneider. I live at two Wildflower Lane. My child, Jackson, is a first grader at Gardener's Avenue School. I also have a daughter, Brinley, in New PK at Tender Gardens. And I also have a 2-year-old. Um, I grew up in Levittown. I went to Gardener's Avenue and I love this community. So, that's why I'm here because I want to discuss the bus transportation, student safety, and the fairness of busing ability within our tax district. I understand that the district has a policy defining a walker based on certain distance. However, I need to emphasize the critical safety concern for my child. My six-year-old is a designated walker, but his route requires him to cross over North Jerusalem and Gardener's Avenue intersection where even the crossing guard at that section
142says, "This intersection is crazy. There's accidents all the time here." Now, as of right now, I'm walking them because the weather is nice and I notice a difference. Um, but once this implemented weather comes, I'm going to be driving and when I'm driving, I'm a I'm disabled. I'm not working. So, there's no handicap spots for me. So, now I have to bring my child across the street because people get there at like 6:00 in the morning to park. Not to mention from UPK, they're parking there at 1:45 to pick up their child for 3:30. They're sitting outside of the school waiting 2 hours. and to speak about safety of our children. There's these unmarked vehicles in front of Gardener's Avenue sitting there and I don't think that that's appropriate. Um I feel like this is
143a huge safety risk for my child. Two houses down from me gets a bus. So I feel it's unfair. I understand that there is a set desk, you know, 7 or whatever it may be, but as a mother, I am concerned about my child's safety. There's no way a six-year-old is able to walk to school on their own. There's no way. My husband is working. My grand my mom and dad are both in their higher 70s. No handicap parking. We're parking on a street, double parking, trying to lug a two-year-old across Gardener's Avenue. Uh, East Broadway implemented um, you know, a pilot system where they're doing the drop off circle like Island Trees has. I know it's a different school district, but Gardeners is not. We have two semicircles. Why can we not do this?
144I was told because it's a busy road. Every single school is on a busy road. Um, I just feel like everyone talks about success for every student and giving each student the appropriate resources to thrive and I feel like child safety and their transport is what needs to be the first step. I thank you for your time and I just really hope that you guys hear me out because for a bus to have to pass my house to go two houses down, it makes me feel like my child can be at risk but the house two doors down, they're okay. And I don't think that that's fair. >> Thank you, Tony. Okay, our next speaker is Jen. Good evening everyone. My name is Jen Caker. I live at 43 Eve Lane in Levittown. I'm a
145Levittown resident of 24 years and a parent of two MacArthur students. I'm here to express concerns about the proposal to arm school security officers. Arming security officers bring major new expenses, weapons, training, certification, ongoing reertification. These costs will either raise taxes or or divert funds from academic programs, student support or building maintenance or sports. The most comprehensive research shows no reduction in injuries or deaths during school shootings when armed officer is present and in fact higher fatalities in those cases. The strongest evidence supports threat assessment programs, mental health services, early intervention, and safe reporting systems are the reduction to violence, not more guns on campus. Officers who discharge a weapon and kill a suspect often experience PTSD, moral in injury, guilt, lasting psychological strain, and that trauma can ripple across the school community and be
146worse if the victim is a child. Since the tragedy at Sandy Hook, Levittown has made extensive and ongoing investments in school safety. And these include in investments in hardened classroom doors and locks, installation of security vestibles, all at all men entrances. I mean, when I first moved here, you could just walk in, um, more than 600 interior and exterior security cameras, creation of a command center, and the list goes on and on. If the district has already invested millions of dollars and years of work strengthening the safety and coordination of our schools, and if professional law enforcement can respond within two minutes, what problem is arming security now supposed to solve? Levittown is not a rural district isolated from emergency response. We are part of one of the most densely served regions on Long Island.
147If the board is going to serve the the community like they did last spring, it should be done by a professional agency and interpreted by an independent expert. I urge the board to prioritize evidence-based preventive measure rather than weapons. Require transparent costbenefit analysis before any proposal that increases the financial, legal, or human risk as well as taxpayer dollars. and refrain from emotional appeals and base policy on data, context, and evidence. Be transparent about how this is paid for. And please take these points into serious consideration before moving forward with arming security. I recognize this is not an easy decision and you have all been wrangling over this for years. The bottom line is that the school district has been made safer since the the devastations of previous school shootings. And I recognize that. I have
148lived in this community for a long time and I recognize everything from the tennis courts, the improvement of the the curve fields, everything. I've lived here for a long time and seen that and you all doing a wonderful job. And with that, I'd like to recognize Board of Education Appreciation Wink week and thank you so much for everything that you do for our district. >> Oh, good. Good timing. [Applause] >> Thank you, Jen. Okay, thank you all for being here and for sharing your thoughts and insights with us today. We appreciate the time you took to prepare your remarks and the effort you put into coming here to share them. Your perspectives help guide our discussions and ensure that a diverse range of voices is heard. Thank you once again for the participation and commitment
149to our school district. Please know we will reach out to you prior to our next meeting. Okay, we now move to the agenda. Do I have a motion to accept item 4.1 on the agenda? Phyllis, do I have a second? Jimmy, any discussion? All in favor? Phyllis. 5. Do I have a motion to accept 4.2 on the agenda? Maryanne, do I have a second? Mike, any discussions? All in favor? I have nothing. Okay. Now we move to the consent agenda. Do I have a motion to accept items 5.1 to 58.18 on the agenda? Phyllis, do any discussion? All in favor? I didn't get there yet. I'm mixing it up a little. Thank you, James. Do I have I'll I'll start over again. Do I have a motion to accept 5.1 to 58 on the agenda?
150James, do I have a second? Maryanne. Any discussion? All in favor? 5. Okay. At this time, wait, this is the agenda to read. >> At this time, we would like to make an addition to the consent agenda. Do I have a motion to suspend the 24-hour rule rule and add uh item 5.20? >> I she is going to >> it says on my sheet 520. >> I had to make a change because it it was labeled as four point. We already moved past four. So, I'm adding this to the bottom. So it be 5.2 5.19 is the suspension of the 24-hour rule. 5.20 is the new ID. Got a vote on the 5.19 to suspend. >> Okay. Can I have a Thank you, Maryanne. Second Mike discussion. Nope. All in favor. I'm all in favor.
1515 nothing. Thank you. >> You just read the motion, right? >> Okay. Recommended motion resolved that the Levittown Board of Education does hereby suspend the policy rules to add agenda 5.0 >> 5.20. Thank you. Deputy Superintendent recommended motion. Whereas the board desires to create the new pedological position of deputy superintendent. Whereas the board desires for the position of deputy superintendent to be a new administrative deput deputy superintendent tenure area and whereas Dr. Beth Zerganakis is currently employed by the district as assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction in the assistant superintendent for curriculum instruction tenure area and whereas the board desires to appoint Dr. Zeranakis as the deputy superintendent and whereas Dr. because has expressed a willingness to voluntarily transfer from the assistant superintendent for curriculum instruction tenure area to the deputy superintendent tenure area. Now
152therefore, be it resolved upon the recommendation of the superintendent of schools that the board hereby creates the administrative tenure area of deputy superintendent and be it further resolved upon recommendation of the superintendent of schools that the board of education the board hereby appoints Dr. Zuranakis as the deputy superintendent and transfers her to the position effective upon Beth's ed. >> I got tired of saying that. And I said the name wrong too. >> Dr. Z. Execution of a letter stating that she is voluntarily accepting the appointment and transferred to this new position. And be it further resolved upon recommendation of the superintendent of schools, the board of education, Dr. Z's tenure in the position of deputy superintendent affected upon Dr. Z's execution of a letter stating that she is voluntarily accepting the transfer to this new
153position. Do I have a motion, Mike? >> No, no, discussion. >> Correct. >> Right. >> Yes. James, >> make >> the motion. James, do I have a second? Phyllis, any discussion? I I I can't. Huh? >> No, I got make a comment first. Boy, everybody knows what they're doing up here tonight but me it seems like. Gee Louise, >> little fussy as we've been here for hours. >> No new kid here with this. >> No, one of the things I want to say is the the main reason that this recommendation has been made is Dr. Z has been such a tremendous um edge to our central office team and to our district and she wears many many many hats. Um so we are very grateful that Mr. Winch has made this recommendation and the board
154from we will see in one second is very grateful that she's accepting this position. Okay. Do I have a All in favor this sending this? >> I was going to say something. >> Oh, I was going to say you are fantastic. >> I was going to say >> tremendous addition to this district >> and you've anything we've asked you to do you've done with excellence. So >> you well deserved here. [Applause] A real quick statement, Peg, a real quick one, and I've said said it many, many times. Anybody that can get me to start reading again has a special place in my heart. You deserve this. You really do. >> Okay, good. Thanks. Okay. All in favor? >> I didn't say what I All right. Thank you. Now we move on to Ed. Congratulations Dr.
155Z. >> Yes, congratulations. [Applause] >> Okay. Uh ad hoc board policies first read. So as you know uh we have our um very uh active and prolific um policy committee from the board of education. Uh and it is now comprised of uh Miss Adrian, Miss Msina and Miss Gadis and myself. And uh we have several new policy, not new policy, several revised policies on the agenda for a first read. You also have it printed at your desk. Uh it was also sent home in regards to revisions. The these are not major revisions to these policies. If you look through the red line, you'll see that it's a it's some wording. It's some cleanup. Uh some of them got sent to the attorneys if they were related to like legal things like code of conduct and
156so forth. So, um, once again, it's just kind of bringing them because we want to transition all of our policies into board docs, but we want to make sure they're all clean and nice. And so, um, these, like I said, there's no substantial changes, just either legal changes or some wording or numbering, things like that. Bless you. >> Bless you, Manny. >> Bless you. >> Uh, once again, this is only a first read. They'll be on next for a second read. Um, if you have any questions, let me know. But I do want to thank the policy committee only because like it's intense. like if you want to participate like it's like real like people spend like a half an hour on a policy right like so it's good fun um but it is >>
157I told I told Maryanne by you know see you would >> we have 290 policies so like it's a lot it is definitely a multi-year process >> no and I like that you know it's a slow process but it's a very thoughtful process and we have a great team going through everything so >> and I'm sure you're doing a thorough job I have no doubt thank you for doing that it's very arduous I know Okay. Our upcoming dates, October 29th is our regular meeting. May I have a motion to adjourn the meeting? >> Maryann, do I have a second? Phyllis. All in favor? 5. Meeting is adjourned.