001To the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for it stands one nation under God indivisible and justice for all. I need a motion to approve the minutes of the September 18th monthly meeting and October 9th special meeting. >> Make a motion. >> I need a second. >> Second. >> Any discussion? All in favor? >> Okay. I need a motion to accept the treasur's claims and financial reports for August 2025, September 2025 claims, and October 2025 financial report. >> So move that. >> We need a second. >> Second. >> All in favor? Any discussion first? All in favor? >> Yep. >> Okay. Anyone have anything that they'd like to speak about that's on the agenda in the audience? Okay. Now on to student report. Yay. >> Get her going so she
002can get to the Tucker Ball. >> That's right. >> We appreciate your comments tonight. >> So I present to you a overview of what has been going on in the school year so far. and um in collaboration with student council sorry um in collaboration with some student council events that have happened. So the club fair started early on. It was back to school night to provide information about our clubs to parents ranging from botney clubs, sad clubs, student council, different art clubs, and cultural connections. There's a wide range for everyone to be involved in some way. Student council also set up a table during lunch periods and met with students um to encourage student participation in the many club offerings. Um as part of student council, the walk to Alzheimer's September 27th was a community
003service event where it helped to raise awareness for Alzheimer's. Um Miss Fusa rec uh recruited volunteers and participants for this event, advertised and promoted. Um, student council members attended this event Saturday, September 27th, and helped with various activities such as cheering on those who were walking and uh setting up the flower garden, as you can see in the photo. Uh, this week has been a very busy week, not only for um the students in the school year, but as well for student council. Spirit week um went on this week, it's still happening. On Tuesday was anything but a backpack day for everyone and seniors did anything but a car. On Wednesday it was a day of service for the seniors, but in the afternoon there was a class hallway decorating which the winners were announced
004this afternoon. Um today was surfers versus bikers uh inspired by the team beach movie and the bonfire uh unfortunately was cancelled but the Tucker Bowl is going on as we speak and tomorrow is blue and gold day to show uh school spirit and there's a contest for the seniors who are dressed in the most blue and gold as well as a car decorating contest. Um that ninth period there will be a pep rally for all the uh sports and there's a homecoming game as well. For sports so far girls soccer has um won against Southwood homecoming and one against Southampton. They did have a rough patch in the beginning but so far they have been increasing uh with their plays. Boys soccer their stats are nine to four. Playoffs are in sight. They have been
005outperforming last year's season record doing very well. Volleyball has um playoffs are in sight. They have been doing very well against other schools and performance is on the rise. Foam band is a success. There has been a noticeable increase in student conversation as can be seen in hallways uh classrooms and lunch breaks which led uh to the positive impact in our overall school community and student performance. remarkable day of service. As I mentioned before, uh yesterday, October 15, we had the community service day of service for seniors to participate in different various activities. Um we came together to give back to the community, dedicating this day to support local businesses and organizations. Throughout these service projects, students build um stronger relationships with their partners and peers, as well as making a real positive impact. Their
006efforts reflect on our uh district's mission of service, civic engagement, and commu community partnership while also fostering personal growth, developing leadership, teamwork, and empathy. Uh I'm proud to say that our my senior class has been very well on being involved with many different things, whether it be school events, outside school events, or community service. Um I've seen various commitment in each. Um these are some photos from there was various different places where for the day of service seniors were able to um give help. Sang Lee Farm group for the east end. These are some photos of seniors helping out. There was the Kutch Suffk Historical Society. Manituk Laurel Library. Um as you can see participation has was very well. Um Turtle uh at Breakwater was another place where seniors signed up to participate. Um, Southtown
007Animal Shelter is where I participated. We helped clean windows for the cat's room, uh, the dogs. We helped domesticate some of the animals that were a little more feisty, but it was very nice. Um, Northford Community Theater was another area as well as Miss Rose class. um Kutchug East Elementary School and Cass were some these are some of the few um choices as well as Kutchuk Library and Landcraft Garden. Um other uh events and activities guidance administered a school day SAT for seniors on October 7th. Many seniors wanted to give um SATs one last try before college application. So it was a very nice opportunity for seniors to take the SAT again. Guidance also administered the PSAT to the 10th and 11th grade students on October 15. And guidance will also uh hosted a college
008fair today uh during third, fourth, and fifth periods for grades 9 through 12. Uh it was a very nice opportunity for seniors to take a good look at some of the colleges that they might be applying for, juniors for um to make start making a list and focusing on colleges that they'd like to apply to in the future. Um, the freshman class attended a field trip to Long House on October 15. October 15 was a very busy day for many grades. The junior class will be attending a field trip to the 9 uh 911 memorial on October 22nd. Upcoming student council bonfire is happening now or was supposed to happen on the JV baseball field. Trucker bowl is tonight at 700 p.m. Senior most spirit contest and car decorating contest is tomorrow. Prep rallies tomorrow
009in school ninth period and homecoming game tomorrow night. Boys are versing center riches girls versus Port Jefferson and I'm hoping to see a good win for us. Thank you. >> Thank you. Good job. [Applause] >> Okay, we're going to skip B and we're going to go to C for tenure recommendations. Mr. Petrey >> or no? >> I'm going to pass it over to Mr. Algro. >> Mr. later. >> She didn't know we were going to pass over that one. >> No. >> So, we actually have um Jackie O' Conor and Julia Bel Fury here. I don't know. Is this on? It is. Okay. All right. So, Jackie, do you want to come up first? Embarrass you first. I am pleased to recommend Jaclyn Okconor for tenure as a teaching assistant in the Mata Kacha Junior
010and Free School District. Throughout her tenure with the district, Jacqueline has served in a variety of roles supporting our special education students, including as a one-to-one and shared teaching assistant in both integrated co-eing and special class settings. In every role, she has demonstrated exceptional dedication, compassion, and creativity in meeting the needs of her students. Most notably, for the past three years, Jacine has worked with students who have significant communication needs. She has been their voice, but more importantly, she has empowered them to find their voices through the use of alternative communication methods. Jackie approaches each individual child recognizing their strengths and supporting their challenges with patience, humor, and optimism. Jackie's gift for Gab brings energy and joy into the classroom. She often creates imaginative stories and songs to help students remember information and stay engaged.
011These moments not only enhance learning but also foster trust and con connection. One parent had shared with me that when Jackie was a one-to-one for their child, they would visit Jackie's weekend workplace in Greenport just to see her. An extraordinary testament to the impact she has on ch on the children she serves. Her colleagues describe her as a loyal friend, a dependable teammate, and a passionate educator who turns everyday moments into opportunities for learning. She consistently goes above and beyond to support students and staff alike. Jacqueline embodies the qualities we value in our tenure teaching assistants. Commitment, empathy, creativity, and a deep belief in every child's potential. I wholeheartedly recommend her for tenure, and I'm confident that she will continue to make a lasting, positive difference in the lives of our students. So, congratulations [Applause]
012Thank you. >> Julia, it is also my pleasure to recommend Julia Beluri for for tenure as a teaching assistant in our district. Over the course of her employment, Julia has served in a variety of roles supporting our special education population, including in integrated co-eing classrooms and special classes as both a one-to-one aid and a shared teaching assistant. In every setting, she has demonstrated exceptional dedication, professionalism, and care for her students. Julia's work is characterized by her patience, her compassion, and genuine commitment to student success. She is an in she has an innate ability to connect with children helping them feel safe, confident, and valued. Her support extends beyond academic assistance. She fosters emotional growth and independence in every student she works with. Her colleagues consistently commend her flexibility, reliability, and collaborative spirit, noting that she
013is a trusted and respected member of the team. The impact of Julia's presence is best reflected in the words of her students. One student said, "I love Miss Be because she cheers me up when I'm sad. I love walking with her. Miss Be is the best because she helps me read longer books. When I saw her on the first day of school, I felt happy. I feel Miss B keeps the school safe. She will give me reminders that help me. I feel I really like it when she comes to the gym with me." And finally, the last student said, "I love when she helps me with my writing. She taught me how to spell and write words." Julia's colleagues echo these sentiments, sharing, "We are so lucky to have Julia as part of the ICT
014classroom. She is patient, kind, and caring. She touches the lives of every student she works with, and we want to thank her for all she has done each and every day. Julia exemplifies the values and professionalism we seek in our tenur staff. I wholeheartedly recommend Julia for tenure, and I'm confident that she will continue to make a positive and lasting impact on our students and staff for years to come." Congratulations, [Applause] Thank you, Marilyn. Thank you, ladies. >> Okay, Mr. Petrey, superintendent report. Fiveyear plan, fiveyear strategic plan. >> We got a lot. >> Yeah. So, I am going to start with um my superintendent's report before I go into uh the five-year facilities plan as well as an update on the district strategic plan. >> Um >> fiveyear facility. Um, first of all though, uh,
015kudos to the kids and the administration to see the amount of things that are they're actively involved in in such a short period of time and you know the the the variety of things that they were involved in. Thank you, Lisa. Um, is tremendous. Again, we're only a month into school and uh, that that's a lot going on. Um, some other things going on within the district. I want to commend uh, Mrs. Brennan and her staff uh for a very successful off-campus evacuation drill uh that took place last Friday at Cut Geese. This it's a massive undertaking um to move your whole student body to different off-campus sites um and something that's not easily done. Their planning and their prep and then the coordination with Southold PD as well as local fire departments. Um it's
016really a community effort and it's it's something to see. But I think it sends the message we take the student safety very very seriously and it's really good to practice all of our drills. The high school drill had to be rescheduled. Um one of our sites was having an issue. They're going to be doing their drill on October 24th. Um every month talk about active. Our NJRTC units always incredibly active and it's uh every month I feel like I'm giving an update. Uh I want to congratulate the NJRTC orienteering team for finishing in first place in Lynen, New Jersey. Uh the invitational there. There were seven Northeast schools competing from New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and PA. There are three different levels. Um yellow being easiest, orange, intermediate, and brown the hardest, toughest. Matitechuk students
017um were uh awards were achieved by first place yellow by Charlotte Blasco, first place orange by Katherine Abbott, and 21 third place Brown by Colin Reeves. So congratulations to those guys. Uh the annual basic leadership training also took place over the weekend at Camp Baiting Hollow. So congratulations to all the commanders, officers, and cadets on a successful weekend and for the honors, promotions, and medals achieved by so many of them at that event. Um, our cadets and our instructors, they do certainly stay very busy. I want to take a moment to congratulate Jay Chen for violin and Melody Hammerly, alto saxophone and Julia Sheldon for alto, who were selected to this year's um, New York scheme all county ensembles. Matech is represented in all three ensembles, band, orchestra, and chorus. Even though we don't have
018an orchestra, um, we do have students that uh, J Chen plays the violin. Um, our musicians were selected based on their exceptional NISMA scores last spring. They will take part in intensive rehearsals this November alongside the best student musicians in Suffach County, culminating with a concert on November 14th. I also want to congratulate Raphael Morice, our dedicated district liaison, on being honored as this year's Helen Wright Prince Award recipient um for his work as a neighborhood liaison. Um, this was awarded by the Southtown Antibbias Task Force. This is a a big award out here on the North Fork and welldeserved um and reflects Raphael's ongoing commitment to building stronger, more inclusive communities and the service that he provides for our district, our students and families. Um encourage everyone to check their mailboxes for the fall
019newsletter will be coming soon. And then I also sent out a letter to the community on uh the wellwater here in the district last week. Um we know that some of the wells within our community are being tested. There's already been some media coverage of that. Um, and uh, they're finding some PA fobs in some of the wells, which as I understand, I've been getting an education on water wells and and P fobs and Pabs. Um, but it it's quite common. So, as part of that, in reaching out to the Suffach County Department of Health um, to find out what was going on, we decided we have two wells that we wanted to test that we use for irrigation. all of our facilities. The water comes in from Suffach County Water Authority. It's municipal water.
020It's tested. It's clean. Um but we wanted to test the two wells that we have that we utilize for irrigation. Uh one of those wells came back. The levels were so low it was actually considered drinkable. Um the other was slightly elevated. And so with that, we met with the Suffach County Department of Health and they made some recommendations which we really already follow. Um we water at night. Um and uh you know we limit our watering to only when it really needs to be done and uh there we make sure that there's no puddling and things like that before we utilize those fields. Um so we're following those recommendations. You'll see as part of the 5-year facilities plan. We are looking at potentially uh hooking those wells up uh those irrigation systems up to
021county water. Um but again, we want to look at the cost of that. you know, it might be out of an extreme abundance of caution. You know, as I've learned, I think this this POB's in all water almost at this point in time. And so, we want to make good decisions, not just knee-jerk decisions. Um, and again, incur the ongoing cost of of county water when we do have our own wells. Um, but a letter went out in that regards to the community. Uh, Stefani did an excellent job of telling you about all the excitement going on with homecoming and the spirit week. Um and then Kacho Geese was also heavily involved of their own. They would won't let the high school have all the fun. They uh they had a full week themselves. Uh
022and then Kacho Geese also hosted a very successful fire prevention um safety days this week. Uh they were filled with learning, engagement, and community spirit. Uh the fire prevention program which is a joint initiative between Matatechuck and Kutchoke fire departments provided students across all grade levels with hands-on age appropriate experience to reinforce the importance of fire safety. Um and they also had a helicopter land on campus which was very exciting. I I tried to make it over but I I was unable to. Um you heard about the day of service uh again which is always an excellent opportunity for our students to go out and give back to the community that provides so much for them. Um as well as providing some it's an another educational opportunity. There's only so much we can teach the
023students here within the brick and mortar. So it's nice when they are able to go out and do that and then they always reflect very positively um on our school system when they go out. The feedback we get is always excellent. Um there is the districtwide family night on October 27 22nd. So we hope everyone plans an evening together that that night. Um and then I do want to invite the board uh to the installation of the new native garden at MHS. That's going to be on Thursday, October 23rd um from 12 to 2 uh right right here in the uh the courtyard. Hopefully you can attend. Uh the students in the high school botney club culminated their project with the rew wild organization by creating a native plant garden to restore ecological balances and
024educate peers about the importance of native plants. So that'll be again something that they see every day as it's in the courtyard. Um so thank you to the Rew Wild organization for partnering with us on that. We do have a superintendent conference day on November 4th. Uh that's election day. School will be closed for students. Um, Kart Geese will be doing some curriculum instruction work in their building and we are still in the process of developing a program here at the high school for our high school staff. Um, the wall of honor ceremony will be taking place on November 10th at MHS. Uh, this will be our 9th annual dedication ceremony. Um, after last year's ceremony, there are presently 175 honores on the wall and we are expected to induct 10 additional members this year.
025Um the community is welcome to attend and this is really a great way to honor our alumni and staff that have served our country. Um so if you can attend, please do so. Um as you may know, um our varsity football program had to fold due to a lack of participation this year. Um but not giving up, they are uh the football program is looking to build interest back up. We know that that starts with the youth. So, all three districts um have have done or are doing units in flag football um for our fifth and sixth graders um as well as our junior high kids looking to build some interest. And then the football program, that's the coaches and the athletes um they are holding a free clinic um on October 30th, November 5th,
026and 6th um for grades four through eight, boys and girls. and that will be at Greenport High School in their football field from 3 to 4:30. Um I have uh today I received um the notification for this. This will be going out in in all of our communications and it'll be promoted in our gym classes and again hopefully looking to generate some interest in that program. It really does start with um the youth. Uh this is school board recognition week. Um, so I just want to take a moment to thank the school board for their service. I think it's always important to remind the community that you are volunteers. Um, and you do this as a service to the community. Um, and the fact that you care about the education in this community as well.
027Um, so I want to I want to thank you for that. Uh, Lisa and I got you some little gifts there just as a it's a little little thank you. Um but uh you know again this week it's really about promoting awareness and understanding of the important work performed by our local school board. Um public schools form the bedrock of our communities and our country and democracy thrives with educated citizens capable of critical thinking and civil discourse. It is our local school boards who ultimately are responsible for student success within our community. It takes it takes strong schools to build a strong community and these men and women volunteer countless hours in making sure our schools are helping every child reach a higher level. Um again, their key work developing a shared vision and goals
028for the district, ensuring strategies, resources, policies, and programs align with district goals, assessing and providing accountability for student achievement, supporting a healthy school district culture in which to work and learn, evaluating the superintendent, ensuring continuous improvement, setting the budget, and much much more. Um so again, thank you so much for the work that you do. We really do appreciate it. This is a very strong school district and it's because we've had very strong boards of education for a very long time here. Um so again, thank you for your service. Um and with that, I'm going to jump right into uh an update of the 5 years facility plan. Again, this has been an ongoing plan, living and breathing. Um, I'm going to give you a little bit of a history lesson about some of the
029work that we've done since this plan was created uh four years ago and then some of the priorities and things that we think that we need to be doing going forward. Again, tonight's a conversation. This is not me saying this is what we're doing. These are just I want to that's why we're doing it in October to get the ideas out um well before the budget season to receive any input from the community from the board administration um and and really kind of steer some of the work that we've been doing uh here within the district. Again, I remind you when we do all of this work always tie everything back to the mission statement. Are the projects that we're doing and undertaking, are they supporting the mission of the district? So when we started
030this process in December of 2021, um this was based on an ongoing plan that had existed. Uh we had the architect come and do a building condition survey on all of our facilities as well as input from the board at an administration. So you can see the long list of different projects that were identified at that time. And this list, some things have fallen off the list. We've added some things onto the list and I'll kind of walk you through the history of it a little bit. Um, oh, one of the things to consider with the plan um is we're always reassessing and and looking forward. Um, we update this plan annually. Um, completed work falls off the plan. Uh, additional necessary repairs come to light. There are things projects that we've taken on that
031weren't in the initial plan. Sometimes there's been a shift in priorities from either the administration, the board, or the community that they've come to us, you know, with different things. One of those examples is the basketball courts over at Laurel. That was never on the radar. The community came to us and that was a project that we got done. As well as the ability and means of the district to fund these projects, that could always change. So, we we we tackle what we think we can uh do so while being fiscally responsible. Um, and then there's other anticipated costs and other hurdles. Construction costs have been a little crazy since CO um, you know, and that's something that we've had to contend with. So early on, um, we put new boilers at Cutog West. Uh,
032we put some fencing at at Cutog East. We did a high school athletic field renovation. Um, we did a Cutog East rip and replace of a section of the roof near the main entrance. and we put new burners in at the junior high. This is all work completed in 21. Uh in 22 we did the junior high BMS system that was the temperature controlled system in all the rooms in the junior high. Um we provided uh fiberglass oil tanks at at a at a that came out of a recommendation. Um we put the Kacho Geese walking trail in. Uh we've been working on our district-wide technology upgrades. uh chipping away at that work. We had to do a recotating of the high school track. Uh again, finishing up some of the other roof work at
033Kutchog East. Um and really replace and a big section of the technology upgrades was replacing the servers and that work was done all in 22. Moving forward to the following year, um we did install a heater in the greenhouse. I'm going to come back to that because we wanted to expand our programming into the winter. We're in school in the winter for most of the year. Um, and we were unable to use the greenhouse. Big project that we did was the high school stem wing renovation. Again, that was voter approved in the spring of 2022. Um, we did the rest of the roof recoding at Cutog East. We also took on the high school roof recoding project. So, in both facilities, um, the roofs are all done with a 30-year warranty. We replaced the playground
034at Cutaw Yeast, again not on our initial plan, but when the company that created the playground made the playground, they went out of business. We couldn't get the parts. Some things needed to be repaired. We've recommended we replace it. Um, and then we also did the Laurel basketball courts in 23. Uh, last summer we did the tennis courts uh had to be redone. We turfed those. We created a cut uh a learning outdoor learning space uh space at Kutchog East. Um again, additional uh roof work at Kutchog East and finalized the project here at MHS. We did an additional field renovation um and then a path to our track uh for um handicap accessible. And then we also took on the air conditioning of the second floor and kindergarten wing at Kutchog East. And then
035in this last year, uh we completed all air conditioning in all of our classrooms districtwide, which was nice that that happened before that heat wave hit last spring. Um we completed a shade replacement in all of our classrooms throughout the district, giving uh the classrooms a needed facelift. Uh through a grant we did all of our interior lights have been now switched over to LED. They're more efficient and they're certainly more effective. Uh they've brightened our rooms and hallways. Uh Mr. Kelly's begun a classroom painting program where his team in the summer they're tackling 25 classrooms every year, giving all of our classrooms a fresh cone of paint. Um the bathrooms at Kutchog West were renovated. That work is actually ongoing. Um, and it's being done by district staff. And then our big project, voter
036approved in the spring of 24, completed this past summer, was the junior high fascia Koopla work. That was a big project, long awaited. I shared some pictures of the condition it was in prior to it being refinished. And then just some close-ups. The uh I like the one picture on the left because it also shows the roof recoding throughout the district. Um, that that was done. So, a big project, happy to get that finally done. Um, so anticipated future projects, things that we know were on the list or things that we've talked about are things that people have brought to our attention. Um, early on it was mentioned the classroom bathrooms and the multi-tool bathrooms at Kutchog East. Um, that came from the architect. We've looked at the bathrooms, the board has looked at the
037bathrooms. They are in pretty good condition. Um but we we we keep them on the plan as something that might want to be dressed at at some point in time. Um there was talk of a pole barn at Cut East to store some of our equipment um for uh the grounds and facilities at that point. You know, at this point in time, we feel like we've created we built the pole barn here at the high school. It's holding all of our equipment and we can transport equipment as needed. Um so we've put that off. Um, we talked last year about the painting and flooring upgrades for MHS kitchen and the service line. Um, upgrading uh that part of the facility. Uh, the conversion of steam to hot water in our junior high classrooms. A much
038more efficient way to heat our classrooms. Uh, new boilers in the junior high. They are the original 1934 boilers. We've replaced the burners, but they are the original boilers and you can no longer get parts for those boilers. um window replacement and wood scraping uh uh and paint that cut out west. Um the windows are in dangerous condition um and they are not efficient and the wood and so forth of that building is really starting to deteriorate. Um and then we are are proposing we add a glass greenhouse at MHS. We've put the heat in, but it's really not doing the job that we needed to do to use it the way we want to be able to use it. Um we are also uh in doing so it would uh support a CTE curriculum
039potentially uh by utilizing that space in agriculture. So that that's a project that we'd like to add and then Mr. Worth had come one of the sports and flow in their popularity. Um tennis has gotten very very popular as of late and we have presently four tennis courts. You're supposed to have seven tennis courts because you're supposed to have seven matches go on at a time. We've made it work over the years. Um, but one of the the challenges that we're having is is transportation. Schools are not able to get here in time and we've had to end some of our matches early. So, there was talk about increasing uh the number of tennis courts that we have. Um, revisit that again in in in a couple minutes. Um, again, I remind you priorities in
040front of you. going to drive the timeline. Uh the goal is to get as much of this work done before there would be any consideration of taking out a bond. So we've been chipping away at this and funding these projects through our annual annual budget. We've utilized repair reserves at times. Sometimes we're using budget balance at the end of the year if we have some excess funds to knock off some of this work. And then um we've uh created a capital reserve that we fully funded and we've now since created another capital reserve to get a lot of that work done. Um and as I remind the board, our timelines are fluid in getting this this work done. So at present um the capital reserve that we created in 2022 uh presently has 5.3 million
041in it and our repair reserve has 1.6 in it at this time. And um so we presently fully funded that reserve uh from 2022 and we created a new capital reserve this past spring voter approved. Um so you know the funds are there to tackle some of these projects. It's again what are the priorities? I my next presentation is going to talk about potential um state aid cuts and the desire to have very healthy reserves to potentially offset those cuts. Um so we need to make some good decisions with with the funds that we have saved and the work that we want to do. So going into this year, um some of the projects that uh are that we're having conversation about the cut west window replacement and trim repair and painting. That project is
042coming in at just shy of $800,000. This would be something that we'd recommend would go to the voters through capital reserve. >> Sean, can I just ask it's I know the repair reserve it's hard to get things that go under that. Mhm. >> Wouldn't this be under the repair since it's a trim repair? >> It's although it says repair. >> It's really No, what you really It's upkeep. You know, this is if if something catastrophic happened and Tom, give me an example. >> The boiler goes and and we don't have time to go to the voters and do a capital repair. We could go >> because you don't need approval with the repair reserve, >> correct? >> Okay. Thank you. Um so again at this point in time um we've tried to tackle projects that
043directly impact students time and again but we can't ignore the the fact that um we do own that facility whether we were utilizing that facility or not at cut west we do have a responsibility to keep it up and um so there is the safety because we do use it um those windows are dangerous they're highly inefficient um but we need to preserve the building and and and that that work um really does need to get done. The glass greenhouse at MHS um that was a cost that's a removal of of the one that we presently have and and the uh installation of a new one um would be a $350,000 project that would come out of the capital reserve. Um so not only is that going to support our current environmental science program, um
044we'd now be able to use it as a CTE pathway in agriculture. Um and uh did a presentation on portrait of a graduate. This is just another potential pathway that kids would be able to follow. Um we we're also partnering up with Cornell. Um we've even talked about maybe potentially mimicking what we've done with the carpentry program and running a program out of that space. Um the MHS kitchen and serving line. Um again, it's it's a little dingy. Um could use an uplift. I can't remember the last time that work was done, but you're talking about painting, lighting, and flooring. Um, that project uh when we last had an estimate done on that was $250,000. Again, that would be a capital reserve um uh project that we would uh look at. And then we also
045got pricing. Um we looked at different versions of what new tennis courts would look like. So to um to build have space here at the high school to do things. So, one of the conversations was seven official uh new courts at Kutch East and providing lighting for that. The price came in at $2.3 million for that project. That was something we looked at as an administration. I just wanted to follow through and share those numbers with you. That's not something that we're looking to do or that we're recommending. Um Mr. Wormouth is looking to uh get prices and also try to identify a location. Maybe we could add three additional courts somewhere here on this property. Um, but again, you know, and I went over the numbers. Our numbers are increasing in tennis. We're seeing
046tennis and golf are becoming more popular, but you know, I'm going to go into a five-year strategic plan where we're going to talk about decreases in enrollment. So, again, it was something that that we wanted to look at and and get a cost on. It's not something that we're recommending at this point in time um to do the tennis courts. We may come back at some point in time um if we could find a location and maybe do three um you know without the additional uh lighting stuff. That was like the Cadillac version and and and there it is. Uh again um very expensive and you know some of the projects that are on this list. You know, I I remind the board that we we have um uh bonds falling off in 29 and
04730, and at that point in time, if these were outstanding, we're going to try to chip away these the best we can without going out for a bond again. And and we will look to do that. And I I think we could probably get a lot of that done. The conversion from steam to hot water as well as the junior high uh units, that's a big big project um with a with a big tag because now you're talking about aspesus ab forth and so on. Um but new boilers, the bathrooms, bullbar, field lighting, if something that's something we ever wanted to do. Um those are things that were talked about and so I keep them alive and it's part of the conversation. Um but those are things that are, you know, not in the immediate
048and projects that we may want to tackle somewhere down the road. any questions or comments about anything with the uh the facilities? >> I just want to once again thank Tom and all the guys that work for you, Tom. Really, you when you look at this and you see how much has been accomplished, it is really remarkable. Thank you. >> The the amount of work that's gotten done and again, it's every time we're doing these projects, it is a burden on Mr. Kelly and his team because they're they have their day-to-day that they're doing and and the summer work that they're doing. >> And a lot of those projects are things that we were able to do inhouse with our guys, all the air conditioning, bathrooms, um the lighting, the shades, that that's all stuff.
049And again, I give Tom a lot of credit, hiring guys that have the skills to do that type of work. We got a great A team. Um we really do. And they've saved us a lot of money, but not just that, they get these projects done and done on time. Um, so when we're done with all these projects, I don't know what Tom's gonna do. Um, because he just he's he's like Tigger. He's just all over the place all the time. Um, but uh again, Tom, seriously, thank you to you and your team because it is a tremendous amount that we've been able to get done. >> And John, >> yes. Going going back to the water pollution. Um is there any way to filter that water? >> There is. I know uh Tom has
050spoken to John Brillo our district architect about that. I think the initial feedback on that was that the cost were very large system. I'm I'm not worried about us being on on county water, but there's it affects a whole lot of houses and and residents in the town in the in the area whether it's possible for them to filter their water >> if if they're not on a public water. >> Yeah, they can filter them. There are filters. I have a well and there are filters that you can get for it. >> The question is how how expensive and >> the initial cost is expensive for like a reverse osmosis, but it's your work. >> You also need like a special carbon filter. So my well is old. We actually had my own water tested
051>> like in the early summer. Um but we have to wait six months. So we have old water softening systems. You have to wait to figure out what you need before you get a whole new system. >> Cheaper than going for county water though where I live. >> Right now it is. Yeah. >> Um and then I wanted to you last November I met with the board and I I wanted to to launch as part of our district goals, but having a strategic plan and again it's to we anticipate significant state cuts um coming down the pipe. It won't likely happen in this next budget cycle. an election year. um but uh logical rein seeing some pretty significant cuts the following year and then also addressing um the declines of enrollment and how can we
052best do that and and I shared some different options with the board last year and I wanted to continue to follow up and keep this conversation alive and that is it's not a one and done um because these are things that are headed our way and and and knowing that I feel that um it's our responsibility ability to to plan and and try to address them the best that we can. Um so again, uh the foundation aid cuts um you know that we pretty much know are coming um increasing the needs of our students. So I'm going to share some demographic data with you. Um and the continued decrease of enrollment and you know so these are challenges. Um but I I also want to look at this as potential opportunity as well and not
053just say you know oh this is going to happen to us and let it happen but how could this potentially provide opportunities um to become more innovative to collaborate a little bit better with neighboring districts to find new efficiencies um so that we can continue to provide we work very hard to provide a top-notch education um for our students and service to our families. So we want to make sure that we can continue to do that. Um, so I want to kind of talk about the state of where we are and I'm not going to go as ind depth as I went last year. I'm go through this, but I think it's important to capture and celebrate the program and what's been created um here within the district. And I am primarily focusing on the
054secondary level because when you talk about our enrollment declines, it really does begin to impact your your programming at the secondary level at a far greater rate than it does at at your primary rates. But we offer 17 AP courses. Um we have 49 high school electives, eight support classes for students that struggle. This is above what's required um by New York State law. These are things that we've identified um as supports and we know it helps our students. We have 39 sports teams, 12 of which are combined with other districts. and we offered 36 secondary clubs. Um, which is, uh, quite the curriculum, quite the the level of opportunities for school districts, a school district our size. Um, and and they're very diverse. And I'm not going to go through all these, but I
055share them with you so that you can see the broad scope of offerings that our students have. Sports offerings, a list of our combined sports. That list just keeps growing every We are not the only district on Northport having some challenges at the moment as well as our our secondary club. We really work hard to create something for everybody and to give our students a broad scope of experience um while they're here. Um we're preparing them for a world where we really don't know what they're going to do. It's always changing and it's become more important than ever that they have a broad scope of experience to help them drive some of their decisions going forward. Um, and then when I talk about that program, I want to also quickly talk about equity and transfer.
056It's something that we don't often talk about. But I think we've worked hard at Madata Kutchov to make sure that students graduating from Mata there's equity in their transcript uh in comparison to students coming from a larger district. Um and uh you know so that that's one of the drivers of doing that. We want them to appear competitive. Um you know just because they come from a small school we don't want them to not be able to fill their transcript with things that make them uh attractive to uh to college. universities. Uh when we talk about the anticipated foundation aid cuts, we um and again, not to go over depth into it, but it's an adjustment in the aid that you get from the state based on your population. And we are a a safe
057homeless school, a safe home school where you can never get less than you got previously. So we were at our biggest in in 2012. We graduated 160 kids. Um, and our numbers have never gone down. What the governor is proposing, and it looks like what will happen is they will be adjustments based on your your school district enrollment. If that was to happen, um, we would lose about $1.3 million annually in state aid and our number would be about $600,000. So, that would be significant. That would have a significant impact. Um, and that's why having our healthy reserves is also very important. We're tied up in what we're allowed to use our reserves for. But part of the conversation is that when these cuts come down, and they wouldn't be staggered. It wouldn't likely happen
058at one time that uh they would lessen the range on how you could use your reserves, and you'd be able to offset those cuts with some of your uh capital reserves. Um again, just some of our demographic shifts since 2012. Um the number of our students involved in uh identified as English language learners needing supports is at 14%. That doesn't our ENL population is closer to 30 something%. Um but again some of these students are uh the programs the supports that we put in place are working and the students are testing out of uh needing ENL services. Um are economically disadvantaged. The number of economically disadvantaged students has increased um we're almost at 30% as far as the number of economically disadvantaged students uh in comparison to 15% in 2012. So those numbers have almost
059doubled. Supports put in place for those families. Um and then our special ed numbers like districts all over the place have uh steadily increased uh since 2012. We're at uh 16.5% of our students have an IEP and with that we've put in a tremendous number of supports for those students and we're seeing successful supports put in place. A lot of our special ed students um years ago where you wouldn't see them in the National Honor Society. You wouldn't see them in AP courses. They're now many students with IEPs in the National Honor Society. many students with IEPs not only in our AP courses but also scoring very well and just flourishing throughout our school community in numerous different ways. Um so the things that we the resources we put to towards those students are are
060paying dividends for sure. Um our student performance uh we're offering more AP exams than ever before. In 2024 we had 92% of our students that took AP exams scored a three or eligible for college credit. Uh these are numbers that we are very proud of. Um and it speaks to the program that we offer. I want to this is what we we need to try to preserve all these things that we just talked about and and how do we go about doing that. Um our enrollment numbers again, you know, it's been a steady decrease. Uh we have 104 seniors this year. Um you'll see that drop in the 90s, the 70s. Um fluctuates a little bit. And then our fifth grade, we see another drop with uh uh grades with uh 50 to 60 students,
061a little bump in second grade. Um and then we saw a drop in our kindergarten um last year, but then we're also seeing a bump in prek. So it's it's interesting to follow the numbers, but there is a steady decrease over time. And with the numbers that we presently have in cuts and moving them up into the high school, um you know, it's no secret we run classes that have very low enrollments and we're able to do so right now. We may not be able to once we um see some of the cuts in state aid and again as those enrollment numbers go down. You know, the classes of of six or seven that we may want are going to turn into threes and fours and then I don't know if we could justify doing
062that. And then just a longer look of the decrease in enrollment throughout the district. You know, going back to 2012 when we were at our largest, we had our largest graduating class. You've seen that steady decline. And if we kind of track that out to 2036, um it gives you idea of what those numbers look like behind the curtain, but um our district enrollment in 2012 was almost 1500. um will be just below 800 if the trends hold true and there's always seems to be these other impacts happening. Um and then our secondary enrollment going from 837 students in 2012 to an anticipated 357 in 2032. That's that's a significant drop. Everyone always asks why. Real quick people are having kids much later. People are not having as many kids. People are getting married later.
063Those are big drivers and that's throughout the northeastern United States. Um, many school districts have seen uh decreases in enrollment and then you can't ignore where we live and that's that's kind of compounded um the situation where real estate prices on Eastern Long Island, the North Fork have risen dramatically and it is become almost impossible for young families to move here. Um, it's been very hard and so that's another when I talk to families that are trying, you know, often times they're moving elsewhere because of the cost of the housing. Um so what are some different options? You know what can we do? Um we one of them is to continue to work on shared services with our neighboring districts. We do a pretty good job of that on the North Fork. It is really
064helped provide a lot of opportunities for our kids from the Rosy program to clubs, activities, sports. Um you know uh program. Um those are things you know that are working very well for us. Um there's been efforts to share teachers amongst districts. Um you know is a way of retaining staff. That's another problem that we've been having retaining staff. Um there's you know potentially we look at online course offerings um for our students. Um something I'm not necessarily you know a big fan of. um or there's been talk of busing students to different districts for academic courses. Um there's there's the good and bad that come with it and some challenges. Um our combined athletics and extracurricular programs have worked out very very well um and provided some great opportunities for our kids. Um uh
065you would create opportunities for students to participate in class that maybe one district doesn't offer, another does. Um it could help with recruiting and retaining teachers in specialized areas. Um but when you're busing students, you're losing instructional time. We know that uh from our Bosei students. Um there's a lot of questions about the quality of virtual instruction. We live through that through co um was not necessarily the best for our students. And then there's some challenges in working with with the unions when you begin to move teachers or move students. But I will say the unions um in my experience when you have these conversations they're very open to to finding solutions to some of the problems that that that we are having. Um so there is the potential for an expansion of shared services
066with our neighboring districts. Um this is something new that I want to pose to the board this evening. Um and I've been in conversation with other superintendents from our our region. um where through intermunicipal agreements there is potential for maximizing tax dollars, increasing staff improvement and retention, improving opportunities for our students and access to better facilities and resources. Um I went to the New York State Council of School Superintendent Conference up in Saratoga and um East Hampton along with some other school districts. they did a workshop on some of the shared services that they're doing and they've really taken to another level there. Um they have challenges in comparison to us because you can't get out there. So hiring, recruiting and so forth. Um and that really spurred me to have a conversation um with
067Bob Beio, the executive director of the National Suff School Boards Association. He's a great resource, somebody uh that I I lean on when I ask questions and he doesn't know the answer. He finds people that that do and um in talking to him about some of that work and saying, you know, I think it'd be to investigate how could we increase some of our shared services. We do a good job, but after listening to what was going on on the South Fork, I think we could do a better job. And um so they are willing to facilitate a workshop um for districts on the North Fork sometime in February. Um and really the, you know, talk about what do we call this workshop? How do we market it and and and build some interest in
068getting districts to participate and it would be workshop on fiscal governance and practices really proactive steps and strategies in facing future fiscal challenges and then planning seats for future conversations where they would kind of kick it off. Um, it would be the president and vice president of boards of education and the superintendent. Um and it would be a workshop that would be open to the public. So other board members will be able to attend as um community members uh where we begin to you know they would facilitate that conversation and explore um different interviews and answer questions that we may have and from there it would be upon the Northport districts to either act or not act or begin to plan on on some of the ideas discussed. Um, and I think it's a good
069learning opportunity for us. But when I looked at uh what was going on on the south corp and some of the things that they're able to do and share um they've been able to enhance special education and ELLL supports by working across district um IT infrastructure and support um with the different districts administrative positions sharing administrative positions in certain areas business functions um curriculum and instruction coordination as as well facilities and maintenance. Um it was really it was it was quite interesting. Um so you know if the board would like I would continue to try to work with them and you know uh they would facilitate all they would they would send out invitations to the other districts. Um you know so more to come on that I don't know if you have any questions
070about that. Is there interest in doing something or participating in something like that? I think it's always best to the more knowledge you have moving forward the better you're you you know you're prepared and since we don't really know exactly what will happen I think it's a good idea and Bob Beckio I also think he's well respected and uh could lead a good forum >> I think it's important to start the conversation absolutely >> so I'll continue to pursue that and see if we can get some One of the other things that I spoke to the board about and I and I, you know, um have been engaged in conversation there's the potential of school district mergers. Um and in my conversations, I would say that um I don't know if there's really an interest
071in pursuing that right now regionally. Um and that's why I've kind of pivoted and said, well, let's look at how we can do a better job maybe of shared services because I just don't think that there's an for that at this time and that's just through the conversations that I that I've had. Um so I'm not going to go too in depth into that now. Um because it's just it's a path I don't see at our doorstep so to speak. I think it should be continue to be part of the conversation. Um, and I think it me personally think it could be a good option, but I would again be interested in more information about that and and again that that process is going finding and I've identified organizations that could come and do studies
072um but to see if there's interest in partnering districts to pursue a study and then digest that information and um decide on direction from there. >> Sean, in the past the studies have been very expensive. Are they still that costly? >> They they've come down. I I found um studies that could be done anywhere from 50 to $75,000, which is more reasonable, especially if you spread that across some districts. And you know, again, I'll remind you, you know, quickly of the potential in in the case of mergers, the incentive is tremendous. Um if Mat was to merge with another district over 15 years, we would see an increase in incentive of $27 million. And that would just portion. So I think when you start talking about those kind of numbers, that's one of the reasons
073why I feel pretty strongly that this is something in the future that we should be looking at and considering. Um because the incentive aid is there and those numbers are only going to decrease, right? As as we see cuts in our state aid, that number goes down as well because that's it's based off your present numbers. >> Um you know, and then you combine that with additional audition. Um come together and combine and create a new school district, which is in essence what it would take. You you would be creating a new school district. There's some school districts going through this process in our state of New York. I'm in contact with their superintendents and kind of watching the process. It's not an easy one. There's a lot um that goes into it. Uh this,
074you know, um and you really talk about moving cheese, you know, it's it's tremendous. You're talking about contracts. talking about absolving boards of education. You're talking about a new administrative structure, new administrators. Um, you really are creating new school district from scratch. >> For the ones upstate, how many years does that usually take? >> It's from from getting the study done, it's it's looking like three. I mean, there there's some in the process now. Um, it's happened in the past uh but but not in a while. Um, but there are a few there's some in the Bingington region that are different and some in the Syracuse region as well as in the Aderondex. It's happened in some of the aeronic areas in the past. Um, you know, one of our concerns always is, you know,
075increasing the footprint of the district and travel time and stuff like that. When you talk to some districts, it's it's tremendous um, you know, the amount of travel that takes place. Um, And again, this is just the the timeline that I shared with you. You know, it would be the board would have to determine if this is something they want to actively pursue. Um, investigate options for studies. That's kind of where we are right now. We're at step two as a school district. Um, we have not officially reached out to any partners. Um, we have not, you know, and then if you partake in the study, if you can find any partners, um, these are just some of the items they look at. In that study um review findings of all stakeholders districts cooperative plan
076together you create uh stakeholder groups in each district to really digest that information and you know determine a course forward and uh all involved boards would have to vote on the plan. So get getting that to happen would be a tremendous undertaking. Um and then it would go out to the communities. Finally, each of the communities would have a say in this if that was something that they wanted to do. >> So, it would have to be voted on. >> It would be voted on by the community. Absolutely. They have the final set. Sean, I just think it's important to stress the fact that we're not merging, that we're just having conversations because um when that word comes up, it does strike a little fear in the hearts of community people. And I do think
077it's important we look at every aspect, but that tomorrow we're not doing a merger, you know. >> No, there no again it is enrollment process. I think when we look at the enrollment data, we haven't seen the impact of the the data because it is absolutely something that we should be talking um and that's all it is at this point in time is a conversation. That's where these sort of things start. Um so, you know, that's that's why I bring it up as an option. I think starting by expanding all those shared services is a nice thing to kind of, you know, figure out where everything might land in the future, you know. >> Yeah. It was um it it was really impressive when, you know, in hearing what they do. They they really struggled
078to hire and retain people. And so when you partner with the neighboring district, it who's struggling to hire somebody for that position to even begin with, you're now providing them with that service. You're charging that district Right? So you're increasing the salaries of your people that are doing that extra work, thus retaining them, right? Because you're able to give them a higher salary and then you're also building additional infrastructure, you know, um, within those departments so that they can continue to appropriately serve everybody and it's working very well for them. >> And we see the footprint on the south side that they've started to share this. So and they did it with their football team and their sports team. So >> yeah, a lot of a lot of similar struggles. Different but you know similar.
079>> Okay. Any other questions? >> Okay. We're up to the board of education committee report. Warren, you're on policy. >> So the policy um committee met last Monday, two Mondays ago. Um we met with our lawyer. We spoke about a lot of different policies. Uh we reviewed some existing and revised policies. Uh they'll have a first reading and anticipated adoption tonight. Um we looked at the accountability policy. Uh we looked at school district records. There was some language revised um in regarding how uh foil requests are put in in the litigation. with that um we had a large discussion about the structure of the policy for the use of the district facilities. So that right now is tabled um because we're working on how that best fits in the policy to be um kind of
080easy for people to um navigate. Uh we looked at the policy on unmanned aerial uh drones. Uh we also looked at the gifts from the public some terms of accepting those uh and coordinating and accounting uh for that policy. Uh we also looked at the parent and family engagement policy. Um it measures kind of how to build that parent capacity um on the academic achievement standards. And then we also um looked at the programs for students with disabilities. Uh there was some language that needed to be um updated um to a kind of more current uh verbiage for how some students um are kind of handled with uh their appropriate facilitators. >> Okay, thank you. >> Um Karen, curriculum. >> Yes, the curriculum technology and health committee met. Um, Miss Alana Finnegan gave an update
081on the edu climber which is where we're building the database of all the information for the school. It was absolutely amazing. Thank you for that. We then spoke about the Spanish program or canvasing candidates to hire a Spanish teacher for the three, four, and five due to anticipated resignation. The Bosei migrant tutoring program. Um, the ebose tutors have begun assisting high school and elementary students during the day as a push-in and after school. And then the Suffach County Elementary Principles Association. So Mrs. Brennan spoke about how she had 11 principles from Suffach County from this organization, the Suffach County um elementary principles association visited Kachchug East for their first meeting of the year and she took them on a tour of the building. So then I went and I looked at the Instagram account of
082this organization and there is Matuck in all its glory. beautiful pictures of how compassionate this school district is and they couldn't say enough about it. So, thank you, you know, for that report. Then we talked about the AR teacher observations. The administrators reviewed this year's observation schedule for streamlining and efficiency. So, to follow the state's guidelines for this annual process, we have 147 announced and 147 unannounced observations that have to be held during the school year. And then November 4th, superintendent conference day planning has begun for staff professional development and trainings. >> Okay. Cares committee Lorraine. >> So the cultural awareness, respect, and empathy committee met last week. We had updates from Kutchog East and the high school. Um for Kutchog East, Mrs. Brennan spoke about uh student and adult committee meetings that were held.
083Some of the members of the South Hold Antibbias Task Force attended the adult meeting. The committees discussed increasing parent and student membership through events like the Kajugi trunk or treat. The work follows the lead of the students bully prevention assembly that's coming up next week. K through six student morning meetings. When we up were updated on the high school by Mrs. are Selenian. We talked about the committee meeting that was held with some of the members of the South Antibbias task force. Um the student survey that went out last year to be conducted again and they want to work on developing a parent survey. Um and also the focus on programming for the students for the upcoming year. >> Okay. Thank you. Uh negotiations and personnel. Well, there's really not a lot. We did hire
084a new groundskeeper. Hooray. Um, and we hired mentors for the new teachers and a Spanish teacher as well, >> who's in attendance with a big smile on her face. So, thank you. Um, and now we're on to new business. Okay, I need a motion to accept a donation for $150 anonymous to support the class of 2031. >> Motion. >> I need a second. >> Move, Daddy. I need a second. >> Did I get a second? >> Yeah, there's a second. >> Um, any conversation? >> Thank you. >> Okay. All in favor? >> Planning ahead. >> Yeah. >> Okay. >> For the class of 31. >> Okay. Well, that's coming quicker than you think. Um, I I need a motion for the approval of resignations, terminations, leave of absences, and reductions. >> Make a motion. >>
085I need a second. >> A second. >> Any discussion? All in favor? >> Yep. >> Okay. Now, I need approval of appointments, tenure, salary changes. >> Motion. >> Second. >> Any discussion? All in favor? >> Yep. Um, I need a motion for the resolutions A through H. >> Motion. >> I need a second. >> Second. >> Any discussion? All in favor? >> Okay. Now, it's time for audience communication. Anybody in the audience who'd like to get up and speak? The mic's all yours. If not, I need a motion to adjurnn. >> Make a motion. >> I need a second. >> Second. >> Any discussion? Good night. All in favor? Yep. Yep. >> Take care.