001start. >> All right. Well, let's uh let's call our meeting to order. Uh we have all of our board members. Oh, >> there's Andrew. >> Will wait. Andrew, >> thanks for being here. Guess it's not cross country season, huh? >> Well, um before we officially get the meeting underway, I'm glad Andrew is here because uh we've got a little bit of a of a ceremonial presentation to make. Uh this is not to be confused with uh anything. This is not like a push him out the door or a goodbye or anything of that nature. U but um the last few years uh the high school has been doing an adopt a senior event and uh this year we were as a board uh fortunate to be able to adopt our student exeicio. So uh we've
002got a little uh a little something for you. Uh these are all small gifts from the board members and uh we we want to wish you the best of luck in your uh college search and decision and uh ultimate choice uh for going. Um we know you're going to you're going to do great things and uh we're certainly looking forward to your continuing uh great input um to our deliberations here uh at the high school. So, um, without further delay, we got a little something for you. >> I need a cart. I need a cart. >> Actually, Kevin, you probably should And then I'll read your dress up. >> Yeah, maybe. Now, before you sit down, how would you like to uh lead us in the pledge to the flag, please? To the flag of
003the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> Good evening everyone and uh welcome to our April board meeting. Uh we are going to uh start this evening with our annual presentation of the validictorian and saludiatoran for the class of for the graduating class in this case of course 2026. I'll turn it over to uh Mr. Oliver. >> Hello. Is this thing on? Yeah. Okay. Uh good evening uh members of the school board. Uh um as you all know, one of my favorite uh events of the year is to present the validictorian and saludiatoran of the class to the board. Uh this year is no exception. We have two great kids I'll be introducing to you tonight. And uh
004I was saying to Paul a little bit before the meeting, I can't believe we're already here in this this time in the school year because when I start doing this, it means everything else goes pretty quickly from here on out through the end of the year. So without further ado, Miss Satie Fent, would you come mind stand up here next to me? I'd like to introduce to the school board Miss Sadi Fent, the saludiatoran of the class of 2026. Msina Central High School is thrilled to announce the saludiatoran of the class of 2026, Satie P. Fent. She's an outstanding, excuse me, Sadi's outstanding academic performance as a result of her relentless pursuit of excellence and her passion for learning. Uh, Satie is a full diploma candidate in our IB program and will graduate with an
005advanced regent diploma with honors and mastery in both math and science and an overall GPA of 100.85. Uh, she's well-rounded and community-minded. Uh she is an athlete, a scholar, an advocate, a leader, a musician, an environmentalist, and so much more. During her time at Msina Central, Sadi has been a founding member of our On the Men Club. She is president of the National Honor Society, a link crew leader, captain of the rifle team, a peer tutor, a member of the French National Honor Society, Mohawk Club, French club, and track team, just to name a few. Her leadership and dedication are best exemplified by her role in organizing this year's Native American Day celebrations through which she was able to share her culture in a way that was both inspiring and admirable. Outside of school, Sadi
006is equally accomplished and involved. This year she earned the designation of Eagle Scout. This achievement took several years of mastering various skills and in true Sadi fashion she completed double the amount of work that was required. She raised funds and built several bird, bat, woodduck, and pollinator boxes, all of which she donated to the Nandry Nature Center. Sadi plans to study environmental science after high school, pursuing her love of nature and her desire to be a steward of the land. She has been accepted, let me see, Brown, McGill, Tus, right? I'm sure there's more, but those are the three she's sort of between at the moment. she hasn't quite settled on where she's going to college. Uh she was also the recipient of two different research grants for environmental studies. Uh we are totally confident
007that we will continue to hear about Satie and her accomplishments for a long time. Uh once again I would I'm pleased to introduce Satie as our saludiatoran of the class of 2026. Congratulations Satie. Satie is joined tonight and if you guys don't mind, I'll have you do a picture. So, if you want to get in the picture, come on down front. She'll be bo joined up front with her mom, Carrie and Dak Zaza. She'll be joined by her dad, Bill Fent, and his wife, Laura Fent, and her grandparents, which I had to ask because they look super young, Debbie and Brent Fent, uh Brent Fent, as well. So, if you wouldn't mind coming up to the front of the stage, guys. Go ahead. She'll be there for a master's degree. All right, Zach, your turn.
008Uh, at this point, oh, I'll wait for people to get back to their seats. I was a little overzealous. I apologize. At this time, I'd like to introduce the valadictorian of the class of 2026, Mr. Zachary Johnson. It is with great pride that Msina Central High School announces the valadictorian for the class of 2026, Zachary J. Johnson. Since joining our community, Zachary has steadily risen as the academic leader in his class. Throughout high school, he has chosen to take our most demanding courses. His intellect and retention of knowledge have earned him a nearperfect academic record, and he will graduate with a GPA of 100.18. having earned the advanced regions diploma with honors and mastery in both math and science. While it's easy to recognize Zachary's brilliance, which he is, what is often overlooked is how
009compassionate, generous, and supportive he is. Zachary has been acknowledged by many of those around him as someone who offers to help unprompted, avoids boasting, and is genuinely committed to lifting those around him. He is the very best example of what we wish a Raider to be. Zachary has become a vital part of the MCHS community. He's a long-standing member of the jazz, concert, and pep bands. He's a three sport athlete and he competes in our varsity cross country, indoor, and outdoor track and field teams. And this year is the team's math specialist, and we're pretty proud of this one. Zach helped lead our whiz quiz team to its first state final appearance in the history of Msina Central High School. He is also a link crew leader. welcoming our ninth grade class to the high
010school. Zach is a member of the National Honor Society, Spanish National Honors Society, and was recommended as a National Merit Scholar commended student. After graduating from Msina Central High School, Zachary plans uh to attend a 4-year university to study engineering. Uh at the moment, he's between uh Rochester Institute of Technology and the University of Buffalo, and I suspect he'll make a decision soon. But wherever he ends up, we're confident that he will because of his character and dedication to excellence, he will continue to make us proud. We want to congratulate you, Zachary, on this achievement. Uh, and we commend your dedication and wish you every success in the future. Ladies and gentlemen, the validictorian of the class of 26, Zachary Johnson. Zachary, why don't you go on up front and he'll be joined by his
011mom, uh, Kelly, and his dad, James, for a picture. Thank you guys. Well, thank you to our validictorian saludiatoran, their families, and uh to you, Mr. Oliver, for the presentation. We appreciate that. Uh next on the agenda is uh we have a uh required uh public hearing on policy number 7310 student code of conduct and uh invite uh Mr. Burke to um lead things off there. >> So policy policy 7310 was reviewed by the policy committee and there are two notable changes as we go into the public hearing on this. The first change is in relation to the new law that in effect this year on the student use of personal technology which can be found on page 11. And again that is to update that so it matches the requirements under law. And the
012other change is on page 15 the removal of safety protocols during the corona virus pandemic. Fortunately we are beyond that. We can remove that. No other changes were made. Any questions or concerns? >> Okay. >> Thank you, Mr. Burke. Um, next we'll uh open things up to communications from the uh the public and the press. Is there anyone here who would like to make a statement before the board? >> Uh I I do have a just a a a very brief uh statement of of requirements for uh our public comment session. Um if you would please state your name and uh the subject that you wish to address. Uh we would ask that all of your comments be direct be directed to the board as a group and not to individual uh members of the
013board. Uh that your comments are limited to three minutes and that uh um you not disclose names of school personnel or particularly students >> uh in your u in your comments. >> Yes sir. >> Please go ahead. >> Good evening. My name is Blair Seini. Two years ago, I made a lifealtering decision. I packed up my every piece of my life in Texas. My home, my belongings, and the proximity to my family to move over 1,800 miles away here to Msina Central. I didn't come here as a novice. I brought with me 11 years 11-year career in special education. In those years, I had built a reputation for excellence. I had never once received a disciplinary note, never faced a memorandum of counsel, and never had a single negative mark on my record. My career
014was defined by stability and a deep commitment to my students. I came to Msina because I wanted to be a part of the heart of a small community. I wanted to be the kind of teacher who knows their students names, their families, and their struggles. For a while, I believed that I had found that here. My performance reviews were exemplary. My relationships with parents were built on trust, and I was even honored to be in discussions about future administrative roles. I felt at that time that I was exactly where I was intended to be. But then, in just a few short months, everything changed under the new director of special services. The director of special services came gunning for me, no pun intended, and that 12-year legacy of exemplary service was systematically dismantled. Within a
015window of only three months, I received three memorandums of counsel. I went from being a celebrated educator and a candidate for leadership to be told to find employment elsewhere. It is a profound and jarring disconnect to be the exact same teacher who was recruited for my expertise only to be made to feel like a failure in a matter of weeks. I am still the person who builds bridges with the most challenging of students, the ones a lot of other educators give up on. Yet tonight, I stand here feeling as though those bridges have been burned behind me, not by my students or their parents, but by the administration. I left my entire support system in Texas because I believed in the promise of this district. To have that career destroyed so quickly after over a
016decade of spotless service has been devastating. I don't know what I want here tonight. Maybe I'm just here for closure. I am asking this board to look closely at the circumstances of my departure and the timeline of events that led to it. Consider the impact these administrative decisions have on the dedicated professionals you work so hard to recruit. We give our lives and our hearts to the children of this community and we deserve the same respect, fairness, and due process that we provide to our students every single day. Thank you for your time. Thank you for your comments. Is there anyone else uh here that would like to make a statement before the board this evening? Okay, seeing none, u let's move on to information and reports and we'll start with Mr. Andrew David's student
017exeicio report. So tonight we have a bit of a a more packed presentation with uh two main topics. I want to talk about the pdium emsina and um and then I promised that I would look into the electric buses versus um versus what we have now. So start starting off with the uh PDM it um it is a uh a district decided policy and when I was in Washington DC a major city we were given 15 or 10 for breakfast 15 for lunch and 20 for dinner for a total of $45 in a day. The GSA, the main and supposedly most restrictive um government body is pro provides rates on the next slide of what is recommended per um per district or per perh city at Msina towards the bottom it is recommended that uh
018the pdium is $63 per day in somewhere like the New York City it's 87 with the Maximum being about 90 for food. 63. That's $18 more than what we get for Msina. And I went to Washington DC. Um, and this also includes on the next side it says that it includes it's supposed to include both tax and tip, but ours does not. It makes sense that um that the school requires receipts and um it is required but the the way the school does it I feel is unfair to students and if it a student of low-income status were to travel on a trip like this I believe it would be difficult for them and their families to justify sending them on this trip that I went on. We went to a lead conference and it
019was one of my favorite school trips I have ever been on. The speakers were phenomenal. The leadership building um meetings were it was worth every moment that I spent there. But it did cost me. Every meal was not covered. I always had to pay probably 50% out of pocket and a lot of places did not allow us a group of six people not very large two adults four kids but we could not split the bill at a lot lot of places they only allow allow you to split split it usually four or five ways it's also mentioned that on that that's the rate per day, not in not mentioning anything about taking away that allowance if if a meal is provided for as Msina does it. Um, and then the first and last day of
020travel are 75%. So you only get that much of the days. Um, yeah. So, and then the other way that I've had experience with is uh traveling with NCTEP to Albany. They gave me a little over $200 for two and a half days and it was given upfront in the form of a check to the students. So, none of the students had to pay out of pocket or had to had the money beforehand to pay for the to get them food and then bring the receipts back. It was both less hassle and a more enjoyable experience as the students didn't have to worry about their budget or their um how they were going to pay for that food considering that it's a different organization under the tribal government and they have a very different set
021of rules that they follow. But I think there are certain things to take away from that. And um I think one of the things is that $45 a day is not enough, especially for a major city. Before I move on, is there any questions? >> Andrew, I I want to thank you for bringing this point up. And um do you have happen to have the policy number off the top of your head that you found? >> No, I do not. I don't know the specific number. >> Well, we'll we'll look it I'll look it up. But um but you're right and I apologize that you had had to pay that because the federal predium was $92 in Washington DC. So there I apologize there may be some oversight in that policy but as the uh
022policy committee chair I'll make sure that that gets reviewed. >> Yum and it was discussed in another policy um but I I might have had some oversight that it didn't apply to um to students versus our our staff. So we'll take a second look at that and have a discussion. Yeah, I I understand that the lead conference was very special in that um this this it was very selective. Only four students went only the leadership of the National Honor Society. And this is also very rare. I haven't I don't think I've ever seen students travel on the school pdium. But as I said, NCTEP does do their own predium when they travel with kids for the um trips to say Albany or any any any school trips that they take. >> But no comment from
023or no uh question from me but but a comment. Um uh I I have found that uh our predium rates first of all I think uh for board members attending say uh NESBA convention I think the prediums are a little bit higher but still not adequate for New York City which where is where we've been the last two years. Um on the other side of that coin I'm not a student. Um, I can certainly, you know, cover what isn't covered by the pdium. Uh, and I'm happy to do it. My housing is covered, my transportation is covered. Um, >> so, uh, I I think it it's it's a little it's a it's it's a bit different when you're asking students to go on these experiences. Agree. >> And, uh, not covering their, um, legitimate expenses.
024So that that is it's great information that you're bringing to us >> and quite honestly um Andrea it was brought up I'm going to say by Mr. Beck said I'm hope I'm not putting words into your mouth but at one point you did mention that you thought the rates even for board members when we traveled was was not very high. >> So we it it did come into a little bit of discussion but didn't go any further. So we feel the the pinch as well a little bit. Not that that makes it right but um true as Mr. Hag said it is probably more difficult for students. So, it's good that you brought that up. Thank you. >> Um, yeah, the the the hardest thing I think was receipts and um the way we ended
025up submitting it, I don't think think we got any back for it, but we just like took the large receipt and said like this part was this person's, this part was this person's, this part was this person's. But I don't I don't believe we that worked. I'm I'm not sure that we can do away with the uh the requirement for receipts. >> I believe that's true. >> But I I think an increase in the predium is something as as Mr. Monroe said can certainly be looked at. >> Yep. >> Well, moving on to electric versus diesel buses. So, I did a little bit of um research into the advantages and disadvantages of both and found that there are nuances and there are things that we probably haven't considered. The the biggest one being that even
026the longest of runs, electric buses can probably still handle. Electric buses can have up to 250 mile ranges. you account for cold weather and the heating system using electric for heating system that's about 30% less still over 100 you're getting closer to the um what what might be considered emergency distance but it would still reach that um that those long runs out to the territories and such. The other consideration though is that they're very expensive. Um often two sometimes three times the price for an an electric bus. But um the the current build process and the regulations for buses is not quite there yet. So, a lot of them have been shown to be either fragile or poorly manufactured and often spend a lot of times um just in a garage, not on on the
027roads doing runs like um in storage. And that storage is actually takes up a lot more space than a diesel bus. Often having um needing 10 to 12 feet between each bus, whereas diesel buses can be stacked right up next to each other. Um, I did find that diesel buses have like uh more things that can fail, but the electric buses are just less um tested and less understood. So, M uh mechanics would need different um certifications as well as firefighters to be able to handle those um high-owered batteries especially if there is a leakage or a break in in any part. Um, electric buses can be heavier, which can also decrease the um the capacity that they're allowed to carry with the current bus driver licenses, but it doesn't usually make too large of
028a difference. Um, the other thing that is that um, electric buses are more efficient in some ways but not others. Um, you may have heard terms like regenerative braking or um that electric vehicles have a lot of torque compared to gas. Diesel also has a lot of torque. Electric is just a little more efficient. And on higher speeds, diesel is still more efficient than electric. It's just getting up to those speeds where electric is superior. So on runs where you have lots of stops, say in town or where there's lots of hills or stop signs, those runs where you have to slow down or come to a complete stop quite often is where electric buses really shine. Often uh regenerating up to 20%ish of the battery that was lost. The um the diesel buses on
029the other hand have the advantage of being able to store so much fuel and because fuel is the gold standard of energy density um they're able to travel so much further and use um supply energy to so many more things that it becomes more practical and more well understood in for uh today's world. Um, another problem is that a lot of these bus manufacturers are um either declaring bankruptcy or not following through. This leaves um some electric buses or schools that have purchased electric buses with no one to purchase replacement parts or to service the buses or to contact when the buses have problems because they are new and they will have problems. But um you you may wonder like there are all these drawbacks to the buses like we don't we don't even have
030the infrastructure to support a full fleet of buses. We can't store them inside. We don't have the charging capacity at our bus bus garage to charge more than I'd say two or three. And there are costs beyond that in repairs and more certifications for our mechanics. But electric buses are the future and they will forever be the direction that we are most likely moving towards. And um they are safer as well as a more enjoyable ride for bus drivers and students being both smoother, quieter, and not producing fumes that students would have to walk through getting on and off the bus. Um yeah. Uh on the other hand, diesel buses do all of the opposite things. they um they are uh being phased out and eventually will not be able to be used. So, it's
031it's really a question of when you want to um when you want to hop on the bandwagon. Um New York State will mandate it eventually. It will probably not be for us for a long time due to extensions and um the fact that electric buses were not designed for rural settings. They were created with the idea of you're in a city, regenerative braking is going to be the largest factor that people want. And in those cities there's so many um other factors that contribute to emissions that it's important every every step is important to mitigate global warming as you've seen with this prolonged winter as from climate change. This is not normal. This is a cause. This is caused by climate change. Any questions? >> So, after your extensive research on this, what is your
032recommendation to the board? >> I say hold off as of right now. Um, we are still purchasing diesel diesel vehicles and New York State is trying to mandate them, but it is not yet. Correct. Yeah. But I think we should start considering and trying to budget for maybe one or two in the future as they will be um advantageous in these short runs through the city or through the town. And I think the the sooner you prepare your mechanics and the fire department and your buildings for electric buses, the better. So, I don't speak for the whole board, but from my perspective, it seems as though we're gambling on a new untried technology where our efficiencies and purposes are all put at risk to try a new shiny object. >> Yeah. >> At at the
033behest of politicians that want to compete with California to see who can make themselves feel better. I don't know if I agree with you on global warming. I would encourage you to keep studying it. I don't I think if you go back and do study and go farther back into the Earth's history, you'll see it was warmer and other climates are much different than we are actually at the coldest point that we've been at in a long time. But keep digging into it. There's lots of information out there and I think your presentation is tremendous for the efforts that you put into it to dig into it on your own voluntarily and I appreciate it. Um, as my mom is a bio teacher, I can speak on the fact that this is not the coldest
034ever and it's also the hottest in history. If you find a graph of global temperatures over millennia, it's a straight line until about 1970. >> Mhm. >> Where it has increased exponentially every year. the information's controlled. >> I'm just I'm just curious, how do you know that? Like who was measuring global temperature during the Roman Empire? >> So when you take an ice core out of the Arctic, >> they take them out of the ocean and the ocean sediments and the ice cores out of the glaciers. In the Arctic, you can measure different um frequencies of chemicals as well as concentrations >> and you can tell how long ago it was and how by how thick the ice is, basically how cold it was. >> Yeah. >> Could I just ask one question, Mr. Burke,
035while we're we've often talked about the expense with the infrastructure and the bus and the the projected future maintenance on these uh vehicles, um one thing that I was looking at in his slide when he mentioned high-risisk level four or uh level four electrical, is that going to increase our insurance costs as well for workers compensation as well as other things giving given the risk and liability of working? We haven't gotten that far to even talk about the insurance for the carrier, frankly. >> Okay. I don't mean to throw one more uh expense research on your plate, but you know, it's just one of those things that if you get the overall picture, what are we really looking at when it's all said and done? >> Yeah. I think one one of the big concerns
036when we first started hearing about the electric bus mandate was, would our lifts be able to accommodate the extra weight? and they're within range um for the newer lifts. Some of the older lifts perhaps not. Um but I think you know in our garage we would be okay with our three. Um again the insurance question that is uh I I'm not sure that we'd see a major increase on the actual insurance of the buses, but like Andrew pointed out um and the advice it all depends which day of the week you're asking um and who you're asking. So, in terms of bus storage, originally we were told park those things inside so that they stay warm um especially in the winter months and then because of that thermal runaway as Andrew pointed out then they
037were telling us keep them outdoors, keep them at least 6 feet apart and as Andrew pointed out now they're talking up to 12 feet and if we start putting our So again, there's some extra cost with doing things like that and we're really not sure what all of that means yet. Um still a lot of unknowns. Um, and some schools are reporting okay things and other schools, especially some of the ones more local to us are not reporting that. Um, you know, I think Andrew has some really strong advice here uh in terms of just hold on tight for a little bit and let's see where the technology goes and let's see exactly uh, you know, where the mandate is. And he in his last slide he talks as well about that. You know, the
038governor continues to call for some extension to the climate law and we're not quite sure where that's all going to end up in this budget process. Um we're only 20 days late. So, you know, just again hold tight. We'll hopefully see some type of action there. And uh um you know, and I and I will give Andrew a lot of credit. I think we've talked about electric vehicles at least for our last two maybe three meetings. And no offense to Mr. the Blanc. But yeah, he did talk me out of a Tesla and talked me into a Lucid. Um, so I will my wife will have lots of conversations with Andrew in the future about that expense. But >> can I ask a question also, Mr. Burke? Has Msina Electric been involved in any of
039the discussion and even DPW with the uh look at the condition of our roads now >> and our aging bridges? I mean, are there people in the village um community being um informed about this? Yeah, Mr. McMahon and I have we talked um and again we're still trying to figure out because again the technolog is changing in terms of the battery packs for the buses. What do we actually need? How much would it be? Um we really haven't gotten beyond the conversation about when to charge the buses. And you know with information that we had back in the fall, our conversation really centered around the idea of um having the buses on timers so that they begin to be charged sometime around the 10 o'clock hour. that would give us eight hours which would in
040theory bring them back up to full and that would somehow and I don't understand exactly how that works with Msina electric but that's a downtime for electricity use and that would actually he felt would be the most beneficial time um or the least impactful I should say >> and they feel they can handle the extra load >> um I'm not sure about that uh we did talk a lot about transformers and and how to get that power to the garage. We don't have easy access to that amount of power right now. Um, at one time, and I don't think he was necessarily joking, but um, you know, we talked about it might be cheaper to relocate our buses closer to a a substation >> um, than to than to try to get the power to
041our transportation facility. And there might be some truth to that. >> Um, it's not going to be inexpensive for new lines, new transformers, that type of thing. And I reckon this would probably come at a cost to the educational purpose of the school. Correct. And the students and the money we have to provide to students. >> Right. So, right now, if you look at it over the over the period of the 5-year bond um that the state puts out in terms of transportation, we're we're looking at, you know, in a few minutes we'll talk in the budget about our buses. They're around $175,000 per bus. At the end of the day, relatively we get about um 90% of that back in state aid. So that bus costs 17,00075. We start doubling that cost. Yeah, we're,
042you know, it's not inconsequential um for each bus, you know. And one of the other things that I think we also really have to look at too is when when we look at the cost, and this is what actually prevented me from buying an electric vehicle just a couple weeks ago. It was going to be a third vehicle. But when I started looking at the price of the ownership, which was good as Andrew pointed out, but the cost of actually fueling up with electricity really outweighed the cost for me to pick up another to pick up a lease and pick up insurance. It just didn't make economic sense at at this point. So, I think those are things that we really have to do. um this the school district in the Fingerlakes that did a
043great study is showing you know a cost factor per mile of three to four times per mile and again but that's with today's technology and I think as Andrew said if we wait and see where that technology goes um you know I think we can even say the same thing about Tesla vehicles when they first came out they were outrageously expensive and now you can pick one up for about the same cost as a conventional vehicle If this is the way of the future, the market's going to drive this and the price will start coming down, the technology will get better, and it may make sense for us down the road. I guess the ultimate question is from my other hat, will you be comfortable with an ambulance getting called to your house that's an
044electric ambulance or an electric fire truck at this point? So if your answer to that is no, then maybe we should also be thinking about that as it relates to school buses transporting our most precious cargo. >> Yep. >> Um on that last point, I would say yes, just because that electric vehicles are often faster, especially accelerating it from low speeds. And then on the other thing, um, >> I would recommend that like not buying an electric vehicle, but so much as either budgeting for it or looking into getting the certifications for everyone involved, right? >> Yeah. Right now, our transportation director and I, we've done a number of trainings on electric vehicles and on electric buses, um, from first responder side, which is good because that's also helping us from the operational side to
045know exactly how they're constructed. Um, it won't be this summer, but I would imagine in another summer or two, um, at least a couple of us will probably go to the IC factory, um, I believe it's in Kentucky, um, which is the international factory, and just see how these are really put together, the electric buses. Um, it's really nice to know how that is built from the ground up and see where all the components really are. Anyone else have uh questions for Andrew? Okay, let's move on to uh our pol No, not policy uh facilities committee report. Rober, >> good evening. The facilities committee met on Monday, March 30th at the uh cab. The board was present with our guest Jenny Kurtz from Appela Osborne, the designer for the track and field, uh Megan from
046King and King, and Peter from Gimo. We talked about the capital project uh design of the uh track and field and one of the important question was that we debated is are we going to put a drain around the track between the track and the field and we decided not to. We we don't have one now and we're going to gamble and not put one on a new project. With Megan, we talked about increasing the space of the gym with some different strategies. And we talked about the rooftop unit on the pool that will be heavier than expected. So, we'll have to either reinforce the roof or put that down on the floor. We decided to put it down on the ground, but that would eliminate the windows that we planned on putting on the
047pool. We talked about phase one that's going to be from June 27 to September 28 28 with Gimmo. Peter explained how he's planning the different phases and looking at priorities with the different schools. He's looking at costs and and looked at the present a lot of RF RFI to get an estimated cost of the project. We also talked about the capto outlay for 2027. We're preparing to install a window at the end the high school entrance and we're going to be doing a abatement on the junior high. And we talked about uh losing the service of the village for the trash collection. So, we'll have to go with a private sector which is over $100,000. Or we also consider doing ourselves, but we wouldn't save much and we would take a lot of risks. So
048that's about it of what we talked and the next meeting will be Wednesday, April 29th, next week. That's it. Thank you. >> Okay. Any questions for Rober, Mr. Monroe? Anything from the policy committee? >> Uh, real quick. Yeah, we did have a policy committee meeting last Tuesday um at the recommendation by Mr. Burke. He um we had some new information and uh if you remember uh we had a policy 7131 non-resident students that was updated um just a few months ago. Uh there was some information that we wanted to review and discuss on this policy. you will not see it on the consent agenda for approval because we are still actively um answering questions and updating information on that. But uh that that will most likely be in future policy committee updates. But that was
049the only thing reviewed. Uh otherwise we are all caught up uh on all policy review for the for the year. >> Okay. Uh any questions for Zach? Okay, we'll move on to uh my report which will uh hopefully be brief here. Um we are being asked to vote on the Bosey's administrative budget this evening. Uh the budget booklet and explanation of the administrative budget is linked to your agenda. Um the admin budget is the only part of the overall Bosey's budget that we vote upon and all districts uh in our Boseies are meeting tonight to do the same thing. The uh amount the total amount is a touch over $10 million and our portion is determined by student enrollment essentially the size of our district. Over threearters of the uh $10 million uh total for
050the Bosey's administrative budget is made up of Bosey's retiree health insurance payments. That's the the vast majority of that. U the other Boseies related item that we're going to be voting on this evening are the candidates for the Boseies board. They are all running unopposed for three-year terms and they are Todd Bates from Governor, Michael Miller from Wington, and Kevin Wells from Morristown. Uh we have a proposed uh 2026-27 board meeting schedule to uh decide on tonight as well. And the draft is attached to your agenda. Um, probably the biggest change, which I think is a real good one, um, is the date for the reorganizational meeting, um, that's proposed to be, um, July 1st. So there would be essentially no, um, interim period in between the end of the old school fiscal year to
051the beginning of the new school fiscal year, it' be the very next day. So I I think that's a that's a net positive. It's certainly a lot earlier than we've typically had our reorganizational meeting. And uh the last item that I have is the determination of ballot order for the trustee election on May 19th, our budget vote day. Um Ashley has the names of our candidates. There are three of them. Um not in a hat, but in a a little cup. And um if uh Andrew, if you wouldn't mind just drawing names for us, we'll determine the order that the the trustee candidates are on the ballot. >> How many positions open? >> Sorry. >> Is there only is there two position? >> There are two positions. Two positions, three candidates. >> Correct. Perfect. So
052just one at a time and we'll determine the order. So okay, so the first one is Patricia Murphy. Go ahead. Second is Joyce Juru. Pick the third one just so it shows, please. Thank you. And our third is Scott Goodfellow. >> Okay. Thank you. >> Thank you, Andrew. Appreciate that. And uh that is all I have for uh my report this evening. >> Now, was that a a sentencing or something to congratulate? >> It's certainly a a congratulatory uh thing. any anyone who has uh the um desire to run for the board needs to be congratulated for sure. >> Thank you. Uh we'll move on now to uh reports from administration. We'll turn it over to Mr. Burke again. >> Okay. Thank you. So, running through our budget and again keeping in mind that there
053are still some unknowns, namely related to the late state budget, but we're going to um get through that. The proposed budget for 202627, it stands at 78,15,46. That is an increase of 3.6 million or 4.9%. The most important part I think especially for our taxpayers is that that does carry a continued 0% tax levy increase. Um so again we are going to be making um do with the local tax dollars as they are. Just to re review, we set the property tax cap a few weeks ago. It is never really truly a 2% flat tax cap for Msina given some of our debt service monies. Our tax cap is actually 4.61%. However, again, we will be going out with a 0% increase. So, we could ask for up to 4.61 from the voters without a
054super majority, but again, we will be going out with zero. On our next slide, our projected revenues and our projected expenses. Again, our taxes staying consistent year-over-year. We are looking at uh state and federal aid of 53 million, almost 53.1 million and appropriating 4.8 million of our fund balance. I did want to just talk about that real quickly. when we start talking about appropriating that kind of fund balance, it should scare all of us because that's not sustainable over the long haul. This year, under our current budget, we appropriated $2.9 million and at the end of the school year, we anticipate that we will actually add just shy of $4 million in unrestricted fund balance. So, where we thought we would use almost three, we're actually adding almost four. So again, we're getting closer though,
055closer than I'd like to be. So we'll talk a little bit about what we're doing with our expense side um now and going into the future. And then we also have below that our budgeted expenses, salaries. We are a human service industry and when you look at our salaries, our employee benefits, that's making up 53 almost $55 million of our total budget. Then we also have the next big ticket item which is our Boseies expenses of 11.8 million and then our other expenses, supplies, equipment, textbooks, that type of information there. Any questions so far? >> Yes. >> Um could could you just review what you said about use of the appropriated fund balance? >> Sure. So this year under our current budget, we appropriated 2.9 >> and we're not using it. In fact, we have
056enough money left over from our state aid. And so basically our revenue outpaced our expenses. It's a great spot to be in. Um in fact, I think with Mallalerie, when you look at um later on in the U board meeting, the tax report card, you'll see that our unrestricted fund balance as a percentage of the overall budget is actually growing. Um, again, not a bad thing to happen. Um, but again, we're starting to see I can see next year where um, and this has to be full disclosure. I can see where we will not be adding in all likelihood to our fund balance. We may actually use some of that appropriate appropriated um, $4.8 million. And that's going to be our goal is to use as little or none of that as we possibly can.
057So you said you this is an increase in spending. Do you do you think that could be partly in due uh in part due to the switch to AP and cost associated with buying new materials for that? >> No, not really because we're not adding personnel and personnel is really the biggest expense of running a school. um the switch from IB to AP will have a little extra expense when it rel as it relates to training teachers with AP courses, but we also had similar expenses with IB. So I think we'll be I can't say it's going to be dollar for dollar, but on a $78 million budget, I don't think we're probably looking at more than maybe 10,000 at most. Um I I don't think but and some of those things too, Andrew, we
058would be using like if we needed new textbooks, we'd use the textbook money. Um so that cost is already taken care of by the state. >> Do we have a projection of how long our fund balance can run? So we have we have good news for this year in terms of the fund balance and then going into next year and then maybe two or three years if state runs remain the same about 2% or if they happen to decrease what does that fund balance look like for us long term. >> So we've been riding the the um the reinstatement of the gap the gap monies. Okay, we've gotten that back and then some >> and co. Okay, so what I can see happening is our numbers, our population at Msina is now starting to decline.
059We've been in a we've been not at that hold harmless because our population was consistent and our census was consistent. So our state aid growth was pretty good. Um you know last year we received I'd say quite a pleasant surprise with how much money we received in foundation aid. We knew I felt I knew that it was going to drop this year. I wasn't quite convinced that it was going to drop as far as it did. We under the original governor's proposal, we were standing at 1.7% in foundation aid growth. After our numbers were updated, which happens sometime in February each year, um our number dropped down because of our student population, dropped down to 1.3%. And that's where we stand. And so one of the things that we're also seeing is the governor had
060put out the year prior some really low numbers for the floor of what the minimum expectation would be and the legislature and the governor came to an agreement last year at 2%. The governor this year put out 1% again. Both houses of the legislature are fighting for 2%. I have a feeling that's probably where we're going to end up is at 2%. So and we'll talk about that in a few minutes too. I think we're going to see our foundation aid go up, but in the long term, are we going to be a will the state of New York be able to sustain 2% foundation aid growth each year? I think that's a major question mark. Um, it depends really everything really depends on how Wall Street does in New York. Um, and how many
061companies stay on Wall Street in New York and that's certainly a topic of conversation as well. Um, better left to the politicians. Um, so the honest answer on this one, Zach, is we need to be prepared for tomorrow and we've got to start doing this today. And and under Mr. Poretta and the finance committee. We're going to be meeting really monthly, not just budget cycle time, because we need to start doing these long-term projections. Folks, times are going to get tough. There's just no way, shape, or form around it. Um, one of the things that we talked about at our Boseies meeting back last August with our new DS, it was really a beg from some of us is to be bold. Think about the future. How can we capitalize on what we have? How
062can we maximize? And that's exactly, I think, what we as a board and as a school district here have to do on our local level is be bold. And I'm going to be talking to you folks um in the next couple of months through the finance committee about some bold things I think that we should at least talk about. These are not going to be fun conversations um but they're adult conversations that we have to have. Um, and one of the challenges I put out a couple of us superintendents who are um, getting a little bit lighter in the hair or grayer um, is we have to lead and and I think Msina, we also have to lead. We're probably the one district up here that is financially um, in a in a good spot
063um, with our reserves and with our fund balance. We need to be a leader in this conversation going forward and we need to be willing to have hard conversations. One of the board goals that you've established this year, it's really a two-year goal, is to talk about and to explore the idea of realigning our elementary schools from community school geographical models to one that's based on grade levels. And when we start looking at some of the class numbers um over the next few months, you're going to be able to see that there may be some economic savings there and not just the educational efficiencies that we think we can gain. But again, those are conversations that are coming. But Mr. Monroe, times are going to get tough. Um and I and I don't say that
064lightly. Uh we're also riding a really positive wave right now within our healthcare consortium. Our increase this year is 6%. Our reserves are strong um far stronger than we need to be and our fund balance is strong, but that tide is changing. We used $2 million of that last year. We anticipate we're probably going to use about 2 million of that this year. So the days of three and a half percent increase like we saw last year, 6% increase this year, it's not sustainable. Um some of us argued for 8%, but we also rec recognized the economic reality of um the other counterparts in in their schools and we settled at a 6% knowing that we were going to bring down some of our fund balance. Um, but again, 6% we're we're a couple percentage
065points lower than the national average on health costs. And again, that's just not not sustainable for the long haul. >> Is the same to be said for a 0% um tax as well. So, as long as I've been on this board, we've been fortunate, and I think even before me, uh, we've been fortunate to have a 0% tax. However, um you know, I think of in terms of if you look at a property reassessment when when a municipality uh foregoes a property reassessment and goes longer than they should and then it gets all piled in at once. We saw this in surrounding communities recently where it really gave sticker shock to some people in the public. And so, does it make sense? And as part of the solution in looking at this is the risk
066of gradual tax increase uh or should I should say is it better to be looking at gradual tax increases as we project down the down the line for the future instead of saying all of a sudden now we have to make hard decisions and guess what we're also at the tax cap as well to get people adjusted. I I think that we have such a strong fund balance and reserves that we can modify that over the course of three to five years. But I think you know one of the things I heard from finance committee I don't want to put words in people's mouths on that group but um we need to avoid any property tax increase until we know that we have squeezed every penny that we can without harming kids. Um and that
067that's really the goal here. So, as we go through um you know, and I'll talk about this in a few minutes, but every time we're going to have a vacancy, we're really exploring that. Does that vacancy need to be refilled? And are there other ways to gain efficiencies um with our staffing? Again, we we know that we're a people industry. That's where all of our costs are. So, we'll talk in a few minutes about how we're not replacing um an administrative position next year and how that can show some savings. We're also looking at um and and I might as well throw it out now, Summer Raider Academy. The numbers have been decreasing. Some on the board have been noticing that over the past few years. We also know that our junior high Raider Academy,
068our numbers um typically backs out at about 12 children total. And again, is that money well spent? especially when we have such other programs as you know the Msina recreation program of Lewisville wreck various camps and PAL and Horizons um there just a lot of competing interest for fewer and fewer students so now is the time to start making some of those expenditure adjustments and we are looking at that um within our special education department we're going to be meeting with our families uh 1211 at the mentary um and about just I think it's not I think it might be the end of next week and we're going to talk about some realignment and we're going to be realigning our programs um the classrooms based on needs of children rather than their street address and
069that way we can really hone in and and again gain efficiencies and have the right staffing um in those rooms. So we're going to see some decrease in staffing just through attrition. We're not necessarily talking layoffs at this point. Um but we've got to uh we have to right size our ship frankly um again our numbers are starting to drop not so much at the so if we when we look at our census numbers right now grade six through grade 12 we actually have a couple bubbles where we're around 200 students. When we get grades five and lower not quite so pretty. We're under the 180 under 160. One class is around 134. and we're seeing that kind of trend with our prek um coming in. So again, we're going to monitor these closely. We're
070going to make lots of recommendations to the board about whether or not we should fill certain positions or leave them vacant. So if if you look farther out at the diminished number of students and we I I don't know that we can totally put a number to it or run it against the state a formula but we can assume that eventually our aid will be going down. So this year I think at a certain point they'll take it away outside of politics. you know, it would decrease because our enrollment goes down and the aid formula runs based on our enrollment. And we haven't been at that point as long as I've been here. But at a certain point, you've got to um resize yourself based on what you are and what you have available, just
071like anyone does in their home. You got to scale your what you're spending on. And and I think Ron will get to it. I want to say we were estimating we might get upwards of $600,000 increase this year. >> Yeah. Overall total. >> Yeah. And our expenses, if you if you look into the budget and look at what our contractual raises are and all that, it won't it won't even cover those things. So if and if you look at taxing when we have all the as much money in our reserves as we do, you're not generating that much money. You mean if a 5% tax increase I I it's what do we get? 145,000 per 1% >> I think it's yeah a little neighborhood now but >> yeah so you're you're not gaining massive money
072and you got to go to the well to to the community to get it when when we if you look at what we're doing we're too big for the number of kids we've got we've got to change what we're providing and how we're providing it. So the smart thing and the easy way is attrition, attrition, attrition. It's it's not painless, but it's the least painful option. >> And we are looking down the road and and it's very difficult when you don't know. We don't even we're we're 20 days out from knowing what we should be getting. It's an annual thing. You're guessing all the way. But I I would prefer that we guess and try to prepare for the worst because then we can head things off and it keeps us right minded towards what's
073coming. If we get a windfall, great, but I don't think it's coming. Maybe, you know, Pat Brady told me for years, he used to always put up a slide about the gap elimination money and we had $9 million that the state owed us from what the foundation aid said we were supposed to get and they took away when they were in a bad position. So, I think the year that I told him, Pat, why do you keep putting that slide up there? They're not going to give us that money back. They started giving us the money back. And that's the tide that he's talking about. It was years and years and years to get that coming. In that same time, COVID happened and you had all these grant monies from the state. So, you know,
074we did the smartest things we could do in those times to to make the money and work to not create cliffs that we would fall off. Just so you know, I mean, it's it's to me it's it's >> normal things and a lot of other people aren't immersed in it to that degree, but >> we are looking as far down the road and at the worstc case scenario to try to prepare ourselves for it to make sure that we we we go at it the best that we can. So, I hope you know, >> yeah, that helps. I I agree. I think the the finance committee does a great job putting this budget together. I know it's not easy, you know, even with budget delay now. So, but I feel like even before you've the
075finance committee has been focused on on figuring out what is the worst case scenario down the line, it just seems now that it becomes where the belt gets a little bit tighter and then the conversation is, you know, what is the true financial forecast look like in two, three, four years down the line. And so the solutions that we're talking about are al are all really important. you know in long term it's good to look at the short term supportive strong budget but then also you know as a as a board we should all always be thinking about you know the um that long-term approach what does it look like >> Zach one of the things I think we need to be really focused on too is there's you know we had the Rockefeller Institute
076study on foundation aid with some some recommendations of of how to tweak the foundation aid formula and we continually hear from politicians we need to fix the formula The devil's in the details. What does that mean? Fix the formula. One of the proposals that's out there now is to increase the multiplier for English language learners. All well and good. There's also a call that has gotten absolutely no traction to multip to increase the multiplier for students with with uh with disabilities. That's going nowhere. That's what we need because that's where our biggest increase is. It's not with English language learners. Not that they don't have needs, but so do students with disabilities. And so I get really nervous. And I think I can't remember if it was Senator Stack or Assemblyman Gray at our legislative
077breakfast um back a few weeks ago indicated, be careful about what you ask politicians to fix because they'll fix it. Um we saw that with APR. So, if if we we need to we need to have a very thoughtful conversation um because it is rural New York versus suburban and metro New York um when it comes to these monies and we're starting to see some of that uh impact. Um again, all well-meaning. Everyone's looking out for their best interests of their local schools and their needs. Um, you know, and I would just caution everybody too, over, I think it was about 400 school districts out of the 700, 60% of the districts in New York State are right now at that hold harmless. Um, under the governor's proposal, 1% increase. Under the legislators propo legislative
078proposal, a 2% increase. That's a pretty remarkable number and that definitely cuts across both political aisles, Republican controlled seats and Democratic control seats. So the the impact is real. Okay. Um if we look at the state aid for Msina, this is based on the governor's proposal with the modified numbers. Again, the foundation aid showing an increase of 1.3%. Please don't get excited about too many of the other numbers here. Um, for example, that Bosey's numbers looks great, $300,000 increase, but that's because we spent that kind of money the year prior. Okay, so that's all that's all um expense aid. So, if we spend more, we get more back. Uh, let's see. Similar with some of the other numbers. Transportation, again, it's great. We went up 450,000 and we're anticipating that, but again, that's also due
079to fuel costs, parts cost, those types of things. Um and also the fifth bus that we purchased this year as opposed to four typically. Um the foundation aid number is the one that you really have to hone in on. That's that's true genuine state aid, not based on prior year expenses. On the next slide, again, if if we go from a 1.3% to a 2% increase um when this when the budget is enacted, that would mean an additional revenue on foundation aid of just over $256,000. If we get 2.3%, you can add a little bit more onto that um another h 100,000 or so. Again, we're not going to look, you know, we're not going to turn that away. Um, we'll take any extra that we get on our foundation aid. The next thing I
080think again we asked Boseies, our leadership, our new leadership team at Boseies to be bold and have they ever um they have been scouring coasters around the state trying to figure out how they can help us to generate aid and they have recently formed and had approval from state eder which is a um cooperative service for early college access. This is not anything that we've been doing or not been doing. We've been providing college course credit for our students. We just have not been getting any state aid back on it. So that we've been incurring the expenses but not getting money. Um under assistant superintendent Flynn, she has done a great job along with Mr. Oliver identifying the courses and identifying the full-time equivalent of the teachers teaching those courses. We've given an invoice to
081Boseies for this current school year. Next year, that um bill that we've provided to Boseis should generate approximately $175,000 in aid. I do want to emphasize though, this is just simply aid for what we're already doing. It's the exact same idea as the aid that we get back for expenses that we incur for transportation, for educating students with disabilities. Um, again, it's money that we've already expended and it's the same almost the same amount of work um other than for Mrs. Flynn um and Mr. Oliver perhaps as well on that. But again, we are really working hard to go after every possible um reimbursement from the state that we can that we can obtain. Um so again, $175,000 back in state aid next year is a a pretty remarkable number um even on our budget
082our size. So well done to Mrs. Flynn. Again, talked a little bit about reductions. Um, with the eventual departure of our director of student support services, we've met um, and we've come up with um, a plan to not replace, but to rather reassign some of those duties. It's not all without cost. Um, we will most likely be looking at um, some smaller costs uh, to help accommodate that, but again, we're going to be able to handle most of that work. and we've looked at the Raider Academy which also fell under um her leadership and we've identified two out of the three parts of Raider Academy. Again, keep in mind Raider Academy as you know Mr. Pred pointed out a few minutes ago that was all created and funded through COVID funds. Um those funds have
083now been dried up for this is our second year without that. So um the the decision was made not to use um the general funds to continue that. We are looking at a potential savings of about $150,000 just on this page. Um there is another position that we are not filling. I didn't put it on here. Um but at the high school we do have a science position that is being vacated. We are not filling it. However, we did leave that salary in the budget for the sole reason that um we anticipate that numbers may increase that we may see demand. So rather than having to come back to the finance committee next year and say, "Hey, we need that position back," we've left it there as a placeholder. um it could very well disappear
084after next year, but we wanted to give ourselves time to make sure that that really was something that was sustainable for the long-term academic performance of our students. On the next page, just going through some of our major health our major cost drivers. Health insurance at a 6% increase that's increasing by 656,000. We've budgeted an additional almost $900,000 for special education costs. Um you've seen that on a regular basis where I've asked for additional pair of professionals to support students with disabilities throughout the course of this year. Our Bosei CTE cost is anticipated to go up 139,000. That's driven by a three-year average of our student our student population that we send to Boseies. And at this time, our trash collection contract is estimated to go up about $50,000. Um, not quite as bad as
085we initially thought, but uh, still a substantial increase. Once again, I want to applaud the leadership team. Um, every one of them came with extraordinarily reasonable requests. Um, again, I've shared with the board two years ago when it was approaching about $3 million worth of new requests, I went into panic mode. Last year, they brought it down. I think we were nearly uh, you know, just slightly over a million dollars and we got that number paired down. This year, I'm not sure we even hit a half a million um, in terms of new requests. So, again, just a great job by them really identifying what is absolutely necessary. At the high school, we are looking at um, providing in-person summer school. We talked about that previously with our change in attendance policy. We anticipate that
086we may see some extra students this year not make it through their courses. So, we want to make sure we give them every opportunity for success in the summer. Band and orchestra equipment and auditorium supplies really have not been part of our budget. We've been using forward spending. Um, that's not a real great way. So for long-term sustainability, we've asked to include that in the budget so we actually have that as money that's earmarked for these two very important areas. Total cost is around 87,500. In special education, we have a 1211 classroom that is currently um staffed with a paraprofessional that's an aid. It technically should be a TA and that's um one thing that we'll be doing. That conversion is approximately $16,000 to go from an aid to a TA. And we are also
087looking at adding an occupational therapist. The occupational therapist, that's a mandate on many student IEPs, and we're just simply not able to fulfill that with our current staffing levels. So, the total cost on special education here um for new requests is 116,000. Had to really hold Mrs. Flynn back in on these requests on the next page. Um, we do need new science lab kits which I didn't put in here but we'll be purchasing those through Boseies so we get our aid on that and an additional mentor mentee collaborative meeting. The total cost under um that division is $7,625. Athletics, we anticipate about a $1,000 increase to the cost of officials. a new huddle camera for boys and girls hockey. Also some ice rental increase. I think we budgeted 2,000. The um rifle team um which
088our saludiatoran is a member. Um they need new rifles and we're looking at I believe adding two new rifles to that. And again really happy to talk about girls wrestling. Very successful year this year and looking to continue to grow that. Athletics will go up by 15,75. Real important on transportation, we are asking to purchase four dieselpowered buses at a total cost of $757,638. >> Quick question. What is a Hutle camera? >> That's just the name of the company that we use. Um, it's a basically it's a >> it's a rotating camera that can follow the action on the ice. >> Wide angle. >> Got it. Okay. for watching. >> Yes. >> Got it. Okay. Thank you. >> Under the request for facilities, he asked for three scrubbers. Um the floor scrubbers at the elementary
089schools are getting to the point of being beyond life expectancy. So, we settled on one and we'll have one for a spare for the other two buildings. We'll add that in over the next couple of years to get that done. And supplies 113,000. That looks like a really high number. This is not actually new money, but we've been purchasing toilet paper, tissue paper, cleaners, garbage bags through forward spending. That's not a real great way to budget for facilities if we don't have forward spending money. Basically, money that at this time of the year would be um available. I would like to get that in the budget. That's where it belongs. Um we'll always still be a year ahead because we're doing forward spending right now to buy those supplies, but then he'll be able to
090buy them next year again. always being a year ahead, but it needs to really be part of the budget, especially as we get down to um the tough times. And we talked about this at least at the last meeting um budgeting for a second school resource officer at $150,000. We are asking again um within this budget to have a $100,000 capital outlay. Again, this is aidable at approximately 90%. It's our building aid. And what we're looking at doing next year is to start tackling some of the asbestous containing floor tiles at JW Liry. And this very well may be a multi-year project. Um it all really depends on how the quotes come in if if this gets approved. On the next slide, just to recap, the budget of 78,15,46. That is the only proposition. The
091contingency budget, if the vote fails, um the contingency budget would show a savings of 1.629 million. And what that does, it is eliminates the purchase of almost all equipment, the buses, and the capital outlay. And finally, just a reminder, our budget is scheduled for May 7th at 6:30 p.m. I'm sorry, May 19th from noon date at the community center. And we do have, as you saw, we drew the names of the uh order of the ballots. Three candidates for two positions. Any questions on the budget? And I would really like to thank the finance committee. They put a lot of hard work into this. Okay, that's everything I have on the budget. Uh the next item is a request to dispose of last year's ballots. Um that does require board authorization. We have a retroactive
092bus request. It's really an amendment. Um PAL was unable to take the the trip that we had already authorized because we shut down early that day. Um so this is just to authorize their new date, which again has already taken place. The Lewisville Summer Recreation Program is requesting again um utilization of two of our buses. They pay for the drivers. They pay for the cost of the fuel. Plus, they also pay $10 per day per bus over and above. And finally, requesting that the board accept a $500 donation from Northern Credit to Jefferson Elementary for this to support the sixth grade field trip. >> Okay. Thank you very much, Ron. Appreciate that. Um right now uh if there is a desire among any board members to uh hold an executive session to uh discuss uh
093any personnel actions that we may be um taking action on later in the meeting or for any other reason. Uh now would be the time to uh request a motion for that. Uh if not, we can just continue with the open meeting and and not have an executive session this evening or we can do it at the end of the meeting if you prefer. >> No, but I know. No. Yes, I did. She is certified. Yes. Yes. Sorry. Sorry. She is. I was saying it was a different question. Sorry. Is is there a request for an executive session from any board member? >> Yep. I'd like to make a motion for executive session. >> We have a motion. >> Can I ask a question? Is it is it for items that we're going to be
094a acting upon in coming up in the agenda? Is it for other items? Because if it's for other items, I'd prefer we wait till the end to let everybody else get out of here because there's really no action coming off of >> correct. >> Yeah, I'm good for the end. >> Okay. >> Yep. >> Okay. So, continue with open session. Is that what I'm uh for now? Is that what I'm hearing? All right. In that case, we will move on to recommended actions. And first is the consent agenda. Uh do uh I have um any request for any of the consent agenda items to be moved out of the consent agenda and into the items for individual action. Okay. Hearing none, uh I would entertain a motion for the consent agenda items. >> Okay, we
095have a motion and a second. All in favor? >> Any opposed? Okay, moving on now to other items for action. Uh, first up is the approval of the Boseis administrative budget for 2627. >> So move second. >> Any questions or comments? >> All in favor? Okay. Uh next is the appointment and approval of the Boseies board candidate slate for 2627. >> So move second. >> Questions or comments? >> All in favor? Okay. Next is a resolution to approve the Msina Central School District budget for 2627. Second. >> Okay, we have a motion and a second on the budget. Any questions or comments? All in favor of the budget? Okay. Any opposed? Very good. Uh, next is the approval of the Msina Central School District property tax report card for 2627. >> Second. >> Okay. Motion
096and a second. Any questions or comments? All in favor? Okay, that carries. Uh, next is the resolution to dispose of ballots. >> Skip one. >> Did I skip one? Oh, excuse me. My apologies. I did skip one. Um, next is the approval of uh the 2627 board of education meeting schedule. >> Second. >> Okay. Any questions or comments? All in favor? Okay. Now, the resolution to dispose of the ballots. So, move >> questions or comments. All in favor. Next is the approval of a bus utilization request from uh PAL. >> So, move second. Any questions? All in favor. Okay. >> Approval of a um the Lewisville summer wreck program bus request. >> So move. >> Second. >> Okay. Any questions or comments? All in favor? All right. And uh next is the approval of an
097MOA with the Msina Federation of Teachers. >> So moved. >> Second. >> Any questions or comments? All in favor? >> All right. Um next is a resolution uh number one. We'll call it for an administrative leave. So, >> second. >> Okay. Um, any questions or comments? >> I I I do have one comment. I was just wondering with this resolution, >> uh, just as a one-off and not a normal situation, um, if we could add, um, subject to further board action. Say that again. Um so where it says um authorizes the superintendent to return the employee to active employment at the superintendent's discretion if we could add subject to further board action. at the end. Those five words at the end. >> Does that uh does that violate your um ability to manage the district?
098>> I don't think so. I think we'd be fine. >> This would be a one-off. I just want to be very clear >> for only Yeah, it wouldn't be a standard resolution going forward. Yeah, >> I see. Yep. Um, okay. >> So, you're not talking about for this one, but for anything else in the future, >> correct? Yeah. >> Yeah. Yeah. I would just run that language probably by the attorney, but I don't see that being a problem. >> Perfect. >> Implying our decision would supersede runs. >> Um, subject to further board action. >> Mean vote on it. >> Yes. But then if we disagree, >> it would still be a recommendation by the superintendent just as >> appointment. >> Mike likes if you're if you're going to make comments. >> What are you >>
099I'm sorry. I was saying is that does that our voice supersedes the superintendence in that case? Is that what we're saying? >> I believe it would be. Yeah. >> I think >> it still be at recommendation. So just as appointments are now, >> so they sometimes they're appointed and they start and then we approve it retroactively. So in this instance, you'd say we'd have to wait until we actually had a meeting where we agreed with that recommendation. Yes. >> Before that person could come back to work. >> Yes. So we require the the superintendent to act with the board, not go the opposite way. Make sure that the board is on on board. >> I I don't know that I >> I don't know that we need to I feel like we'd be micromanaging Mr.
100Burke >> if we don't I don't disagree. I just think that this is a governance in this case. >> A governance. >> I I understand where you're coming from. >> Yeah. >> I I just don't I mean ask the attorney. I I don't know if >> but I I don't know. I don't know that we need that language. >> It It's already retroactive now. But I think what you're asking, Zach, is not so much the placement of somebody on on leave, but the return >> return. Correct. Yeah. >> Honestly, I don't think that does anything to this to my office. Um, >> if if there was something that said, "Okay, we need to return somebody sooner than later." We could always call for a special board meeting to get that done sooner than later. Um,
101>> yeah, >> that would be better rather than waiting. >> Okay. So, let me be clear. >> Mike, please. >> So, what you're asking for is that the resolution that's put before us be amended and then we vote on it. >> Correct. Only for the return. The placement remains the same. >> I know. But is that parliamentary procedure? Like can can you We're having a discussion right now, right? we're discussing because you would have to make that motion and you would have to get a second. >> This motion would have to be rescended first, the one that's on the table now. >> So, this would have to be rescended. Then a new motion would have to be made and get seconded for us to vote on it. So, what if >> to resend this one?
102What if it dies? What if not enough people are interested? then we would be forced to vote on this vote on this motion. >> Okay. Okay. I just wanted to be clear what our procedure was. >> Mr. Monroe, were you asking to re to for this motion or for future motions? >> Uh just for this resolution. Just not all future resolutions. Yeah. No, just >> Okay. Yeah, that that's what I thought you were getting. >> This is just a one-off request in the language of this specific resolution. Okay. >> In the place in the only uh amendment I'm requesting is uh in the return and not on placement. >> And this is for resolution number one only. >> Yes. >> Okay. >> Can I put a motion to resent what we just proposed? Yes, that's
103what we would need to do. And then uh theoretically um it would need a second and then Zach could could um offer a motion to add additional language. >> Can I have a second? >> Second. >> I I would Let's start over, please. I would like to uh request a motion to table this um resolution number one as written. >> So move. >> Second. >> There's a second. Okay. Uh and uh all in favor of tableabling this motion. Okay. Any opposed? Okay. I think we have a Did you get that? Okay. >> So, now Mr. Monroe. >> Yep. So, I'd like to propose an amendment to resolution >> one number one, administrative leave. Whereas the language in the superintendent to return the employee to active employment at the superintendent's discretion where it is placed as
104the superintendent's discretion be as uh with board action subject to further board action. >> Oh, subject to board approval. >> Yes. Is that acceptable language to you? >> That's acceptable. Yes. >> Can Can you >> It kind of takes away the fact that we're leaving up to superintendent's discretion and then we're saying with board approval. That's that's two opposite things. I mean, it doesn't >> superintendent's recommendation really with board, not discretion. It's a recommend. Then then we view it exactly like every motion that we vote on. He recommends it and we choose if we agree with it or not. >> Yes. >> And so I mean that's what I'm thinking it is. But so I think the discretion has to be changed as well. That's the point. >> I would like to hear the resolution
105that you're proposing read >> exactly how you how you are proposing it please. >> Yeah. Absolutely. Um >> u give me a minute. So the superintendent to return the employee to active employment subject to further board approval. >> So are you saying that >> Andrew? I'm sorry. This is this is not this is not something for you to be u involved in. >> My apologies, but that's really the way it is. One more time, Zach. >> Uh, so in that last sentence after March 27th, 2026, so say and authorizes the superintendent to return the employee to active employment. Subject to further board approval. >> Subject to what? Board approval. >> Further board approval. Further board approval. I think the uh the word further is is not necessary. >> Subject. Yeah, you can eliminate that if
106you board. >> Subject to board approval. >> Zach, could you read it one more time after the March 27th thing? And author >> and authorizes the superintendent to return the employee to active employment further to board approval. >> Pending pending further. Okay. Okay. All right. Are we clear? >> I guess so. >> So, is that's your uh your motion. Do I have a second? >> Motion. >> Second. >> We have a motion and a second. Are there any questions or comments? So, we would have to convene as a board with a quorum and vote with a majority to return someone to active duty. to return the subject of this resolution >> to active employ someone >> to active duty who is currently on paid administrative leave. >> Is that correct? >> I believe that is
107what we're >> that's correct >> voting on. Yes. >> Okay. Um it was we've had a special board meeting and we did have a quorum and we did um conduct our business and um there were some people who were not happy about not being able to participate in that because of timing. Um, some people were out of town, some people had uh prior commitments. So, um, are we all in agreement that it doesn't matter which five of us are in attendance that the rest of us are going to then acquies our vote to the five who are available? >> That's that's the legal requirement. Y >> I know that. But I I just want to make sure that everyone on the board understands that that that's what that means. It means whatever five are available.
108If they're only five, whatever decision that they make, the rest of the board is going to be not vocally against that decision. They're going to be okay with it. That would that would have to be the case with any any meeting any meeting. >> There are times when people can't be available. It is what it is. Life gets in the way. >> So that's that's the way it is. If there's a quorum, there's a meeting. Whatever happens happens. >> Absolutely. >> Just as long as there's not going to be a pay cut when I miss a meeting. >> Yeah. Exactly. >> Okay. We have a motion and a second. Uh are there any other questions or comments on this particular resolution as amended? All in favor? Any opposed? Did you get that, Ashley? Could Could
109we just see another show of hands for those in approval? >> And those against. Are there any abstensions? >> I think that was everyone. >> Okay. Moving on to resolution number two for a paid administrative leave. So moved. >> Second. We have a motion and a second. Any questions or comments here? All those in favor? Any opposed? That carries for approval of personnel actions. We'll turn it over to Mr. Burke. I recommend approval of action items listed as 1 through 21. >> So move >> second. >> Any questions or comments? >> All in fit. >> I did have a question about number one >> confirmed. >> And um let me just postulate this if I can do it so that it remains anonymous. If uh number one is found to be inaccurate then um it
110there would be no action taken on that. Is that correct? >> Yes. Number one is predicated on a certification having been obtained on January 30th. >> Okay. Okay. Thank you. Any further questions on the items number one through 21? All in favor? Any opposed? >> Okay, Mr. Burke. >> And I also recommend approval of items 22 through 25. >> Second. Questions or comments? All in favor? Any opposed? That carries. And that is the end of our business on our agenda for tonight. Um, is there any are there any uh items for a future agenda that uh board members would like to uh propose? Uh, I would like to comment that the moving of executive session to later in the board meeting, I actually really like >> because uh >> he he likes the uh moving
111executive session to later in the board meeting. >> Yes. Um I'm wondering where we are with the senior um pre-graduation items and also with the lifetrack survey. >> So Mr. Oliver has um finalized his committee and he'll be getting to us I think any day with a request. Yep. He's nodding his head uh for that initial meeting. >> Okay. >> And the lifetrack survey is I believe closed. So, I'll have to go back and look exactly what our numbers were, but I think we were somewhere in the 80 plus plus 80% maybe close. Let me look at the numbers. I'm not sure exactly how we ended. >> Okay. >> Any other items for of new business? >> Yes. A few weeks ago, many weeks ago, maybe a few months ago, I asked if it would
112be a simple solution to move grade six to junior high and move grade 8 to high school to make some room in elementary school where we have more room in high school. Would it be an easy fix for our space we have? >> So, we actually just talked about this uh at our last advent meeting. There was a conversation that came up um as a result of a study that was done a number of years ago about moving grades seven and eight to the senior high. Um and given that it came up at the admin table, um it's something that I think we need to consider the it's it's a pretty big lift to to do things of that nature. Um and then there's a lot of philosophical commentary about do you want junior high
113students with upper level high school? Not that they don't necessarily do that in some of the smaller districts. Um, >> but I was not talking about moving seventh grade to the high school. Just moving eighth >> to the high school and sixth to the junior. >> If you move just eighth grade, that that would be something we could take a look at as well. Um, and that might be more doable. Um, the only problem when you start talking about grade six and seven, they're different certifications. So teachers certify grades 7 through 12 typically in the in the core content areas and it's 26 or B2 B6 um birth through six. So the certifications are different. So could we house grades six and seven in the same building? Physically yes, but share the same teachers. No,
114other than um music, fizzed, art specials, the art. Um >> so it might be might be a good option. >> It could be. So we we'll look at it. >> Yeah, >> absolutely. All of those things will be on the table. >> I like the bold thinking. Anyone else with items for a future agenda? Um one more shot. any um any desire for an executive session following uh our adjournment? >> Yes. Motion for executive session. >> Okay. And uh can you can you tell me uh what your reasoning is? Um I I don't expect you to be able to quote the uh the legal verbiage personnel. >> Okay. So uh I I believe that we would be um uh going into executive session to discuss items leading to the appointment, employment uh suspension, resignation, dis
115discipline of particular persons. >> Correct. >> Okay. Um then uh we will not adjourn here. Uh we have a motion for uh an executive session. Do I have a second? >> Second. >> We're not gonna reconvene. We're not going to vote on anything. >> We will not be voting, but we we will be re reconvening to adjourn. >> Second. >> Uh all in favor? Any opposed? Very good. We will uh reconvene uh to adjourn at the close of executive session. There will be no action taken. >> Appreciate