Middletown City School Board Meeting 10-09-2025

001Good evening everybody. We want to welcome you to the Thursday, October 9th, 2025 school board meeting for the Enlarged City School District of Middletown. I'd like to call the meeting to order. First, a reminder that this agenda was prepared in advance of tonight's meeting. The final agenda for tonight's meeting is subject to change at the time of the meeting. Any changes will be noted at the time they are made and again after the meeting on the public board minutes which are available on the district's website. Vice President We'd also like to remind everyone that translation and interpretation services are available during this meeting. If you need assistance, please let us know and we'll be happy to accommodate you. At this time, if you could please rise, remove your hats, and face the flag. For our

002pledge of allegiance, we ask that you please remain standing after the pledge, which is being led by Dr. De Jesus. Mr. Parino, our moments of silence. >> Thank you, President Estrada. This moment of silence tonight is for Mary the George. Mary de George, the mother-in-law of Wendy de George. Wendy is a very respected administrator, assistant principal at William A. Carter School, did not know Mary uh de George, but I I do know Wendy, and I understand Wendy took care of her mother-in-law uh when she was very ill. But uh let me read a bit of what was the write up on uh Mrs. George. A family statement read Mary loved big spoke her mind gave freely and never let a single family member down. Doubt how much they loved her. She built a legacy not

003only of memorials but of values, grit, warmth, love and a love that stretch wide and deep. She will be greatly missed. So uh please remember in your thoughts and prayers uh Mary de George and I believe President Strata has a moment of silence. >> Thank you Mr. Pino. Um earlier uh today our district uh experienced some uh a tragedy um in connection with Mid City Transit. uh one of our uh buses who was transporting some of our students to Duchess Boseies um school monitor Carol Davis, 26 years of service at Mid City Transit, unfortunately passed away during that transportation this afternoon, representing our school district and Mid City Transit. Our thoughts and prayers are with her and her family uh as well as to our family at Mid City Transit as well. Mr. Fina, would

004you like to finish up? Thank you so much. We're fine. Thank you. >> Thank you. And now for the mission of the Enlarged City School District of Middletown. Vice President Romero. We strive to provide physically physically sound educational opportun opportunities in a safe environment that continuously supports our diverse student population. We will enable all students to graduate to reach their full potential to become lifelong learners and to be competitive productive members of society. >> Thank you. Roll call. Mrs. Bonree. Jesus, >> Mr. Estrada >> here, >> Mr. Moore >> here, >> Mr. Parino >> here. >> M Romero >> here. >> Miss Tobias >> here. >> Mr. Freddy Williams, Pastor Williams. Thank you. >> Thank you, Mrs. Moni. I need approval for tonight's agenda. >> So move. >> Moved by Mr. Parino, seconded by Mr.

005Red. Any discussion? >> All those in favor? >> I. Any opposed? >> Motion carries. 8. I need approval for the regular meeting minutes from September 18th, 2025. >> So move on that. >> Moved by Mr. Fino, seconded by Mr. Moore. >> Any discussion? >> All those in favor? >> I. Any opposed? Motion carries. 8 Z. I need approval for administrative personnel memorandum 9A number one. Moved by Dr. De Jesus. >> Seconded by Mr. Rhett. Any discussion? >> All those in favor? I any opposed? >> Motion carries 8-0. I need approval for instructional personnel memorandum 9B number one through I think that's 14. >> It didn't print out on that. >> I'm sorry. Was that Mr. Moore with the >> No. Mr. Parina with the motion. >> Need a second. >> Seconded. Vice President Romero. Any

006discussion? All those in favor? >> I. Any opposed? Motion carries 80. I need approval for non-instructional personnel memorandum 9C numbers 1 through nine. So move >> moved by Mr. Rat. >> Seconded by Dr. De Jesus. Any questions? All those in favor? >> I. Any opposed? Motion carries. 80. I need approval of financial memorandum 10D numbers 1 through nine. >> So move >> uh moved by Dr. De Jesus, seconded by Mr. Perino. Before we get into discussion, um the per financial memorandum this evening includes several um uh reserve aotments that the board has approved will approve with this measure. Uh Dr. Connell, can you give us some information on the different reserves and how much the um board of education will be setting aside? >> Absolutely. Thank you very much. Um so just to make sure

007that we are fiscally responsible um we are putting aside um $12 million in the um capital reserve and that will allow us to be able to fund capital projects going forward. So that money will cover nothing from the past but everything going forward in terms of all the goals that we have to um to fulfill in the coming year. Then we also put in um another million dollars in our TRS and also in our ERS. what that allows us is to still be very liquid at the same time as we're um being responsible with our funds. >> Thank you, Dr. Connell. And uh on a side note, one of the reasons to have healthy reserves is so you can continue to maintain a healthy Moody's rating. And I think uh Dr. Connell let the board

008of education know earlier today that we we're AAA rated, which is the highest you can be rated. And what that does for the taxpayer is whenever we have uh borrowings for projects, our interest rate is about as good as you could possibly get as compared to our brethren from throughout the state. So it does save taxpayers in the long runs millions and millions and millions of dollars. Any other further discussion or questions? >> Um just one quick thing. Um just from the audit committee, um the current capital reserve uh is at 8 million. We're just increasing it to add an additional four million so the public understand it's not that we just adding $12 million into a new reserve account. It's already at eight. We're just increasing it to 12. Correct? >> Yes, we're increasing

009our reserve to $12 million. >> Thank you, Mr. Moore, for that clarification. Any further discussion? All those in favor? >> I. Any opposed? Motion carries. 800. I need approval for special services memorandum 8E numbers 1 and two. So move on that >> moved by Mr. Parino, seconded by Mr. Moore. Any discussion? All those in favor? I. Any opposed? Motion carries. 8 Z. I need approval for change orders 6F numbers 1 through two. >> So move. >> Moved by Mr. Rat. Seconded by Dr. De Jesus. Um I have them. Uh acting superintendent Adma or did you want to just briefly go over what they were or Dr. Connell. >> Perfect. Thank you. >> Absolutely. >> Thank you. Um so I'm I just want to go ahead and um we have two change orders that came in

010um in terms of for for our building projects. I just want to share that with you so we um we're on the same page. Um the first change order is to provide um um substitute wall in l of um specified tile that was discontinued uh by the manufacturer. And what that is is that we've we've as we're doing the building, we have to make sure that the walls connect and look the same. And when we went out to to get the same tile, they did not match and found out that they were discontinued. >> Um, at first we got an exorbitant quote and through the the the great negotiation skills of Bill Bartlett and the team, we um we end up getting getting it for less than half the initial quote that they gave us.

011So that was um that was substantial. A smaller um change order um was um to relocate existing underground conduit and wiring to accommodate the installation of a new storm drain. And that's a result of um as we're doing the construction um we discover new things when we start excavating and and because of that we had to make some adjustment. that cost was actually minimal. Um, which suggests that um, you know, we we exercise caution as we're doing this to make sure that we're not disrupting um, anything the city has underground. And that's that's roughly like $4,000. >> Thank you, Dr. >> Thank you, >> Mr. Pino. >> Yeah, Mr. Bartlett called me and discuss this uh, with me also, and I say no reason not to approve these. It's something that's necessary. You have to

012have the you have to have tile for a capital project and uh obviously the building was constructed in 1940 1939 1940 and they just it's not available now. So I'm good with both of those as chair of the uh change order committee. >> Thank you Mr. Perino. Any other questions or discussion? All those in favor? >> I I Any opposed? Motion carries 80. I need approval of a stipened resolution which reads as follows. Whereas the district and the Middletown Educational Clerical Association are parties to a collective bargaining agreement covering the period from July 1st, 2022 through June 30th, 2027. And whereas article 9G of the contract authorizes a stipen to be paid to unit members who have received a bachelor's or master's degree. And be it resolved that the board of education hereby approves the

013payments made to unit members during the 2022 23 2023 2425 andor 2526 school years to unit members who had completed their bachelor's and master's degrees for both the bachelor's and master's degree stipens in the amount set forth in article 9G of the contract. Be it further resolved that the board of education does not approve the payment of both the bachelor and master's degree stipens to unit members following the 2526 school year. I need a motion. >> So move on that moved >> by Mr. Parino. Second. >> Seconded by Mr. Moore. Any discussion? All those in favor? I. Any opposed? Motion carries. 80. I need approval of a digni dignity act coordinator for the school year. >> Moved by Mr. Bison. >> Second on that. >> Seconded by Mr. Perino. Uh Mrs. Odoma. Would you like

014to give us some clarification on that for the public? >> Yes. This is for the addition of another identity for student all students at coordinator at Twin Towers Middle School for a Spanish speaking staff member. that allows us to um support all of our scholars despite um any language needs. >> Thank you. And I believe um just if anybody's wondering about the other school buildings, the existing uh coordinators there, they do have uh Spanish capabilities. Correct. >> Yes, we approved the other buildings um previously. So, this will be a third coordinator at Twin Towers Middle School. >> Thank you. Any other discussion or questions? All those in favor? I. Any opposed? Motion carries. 8 Z. I need approval of a resolution for employee number 06192, which reads as follows. Be it so resolved that the

015board of education hereby retroactively approves the payments made to employee number during the 2526 school year of the pro-rated stipen for becoming a permanent employee provided that employee number 06192 becomes a permanent employee during the 2526 school year. I need discussion. Uh motion >> moved by Mr. Moore, seconded by Miss Tobias. Any discussion? All those in favor? >> I. Any opposed? Motion carries. 8 Z. >> Did I miss that one? Oh, I did. So, I'll go back to it. My apologies to Dr. Connell. I missed one. >> Yeah. >> The funny thing is I thought I heard something out of my left ear. When I looked up, nobody was looking up. So, um I did miss something on the agenda item. Agenda I, which is the approval of a contract for our assistant superintendent of

016business and operations. I need a motion. >> Moved by Mr. Bison and seconded by Mr. Rhett. Any discussion other than congratulating our new >> Don't Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. You can't clap yet. We didn't take a vote. All those in favor? >> I Any opposed? Motion carries. A zero, but I like the enthusiasm and the support. >> All right, we'll move on to we did Jay. So now we'll move on to K. Approval of the non-affiliated letter of understanding for the 2526 school year. Need a motion. >> So moved >> by Mr. Bison, seconded by Was that Mr. Rat? >> No, I was going to say, can we get some clarification for the public? >> Sure. >> Well, for Before we do that, can I get a second? >> Oh,

017no. >> Second by Vice President Romero. Okay, you're all set. Scarfford, >> the non-affffiliated >> Yeah. Uh item K. >> It's our uh letter of understanding for our non-affiliated employees. um that they get each year. But particularly in this one, we are um following the same resolution that we did for a Mecca and item I didn't put my reading glasses on >> item G. Thank you. And then additionally, we are increasing the confidential stipen for board office um admin administr um admin clerical. >> Thank you. >> Sound good? >> Yes. Any other discussion? All those in favor? >> I. Any opposed? Motion carries. 8 Z. Uh, next up, our approval of the following res resolution. Be it so resolved that the board of education hereby rescends the resolution dated July 1st, 2025 related to the

018approval of Mrs. Crystal Monry, the district clerk's base salary for the 2526 school year and the stipens that Mrs. Montre receives for the records access officer and records manager for the 2526 school year. Be it further resolved that the board of education hereby approves that Mrs. Monree shall no longer receive the records access officer records manager stipens and her base salary for the 2526 school year shall be increased to 75224 retroactive to July 1st 2025. Be it further resolved that any retroactive base salary paid to Mrs. Montre shall represent the difference between the base salary and stipens that Mrs. Montrey already received since July 1st, 2025 and the newly approved base salary increase. I need a motion. >> So move >> moved by Mr. Pino, seconded by Mr. Rhett. Any discussion? >> I think >>

019Mr. Pino. >> Thank you, Mr. Strad. President Strata is very welld deserved. Uh uh M Miss Montter has grown into this job. She's uh not only available during the school day, but she's available after hours, she's available in the evening if you have any questions. She's just done a just a tremendous job so far, and she keeps doing it, too. Thank you. >> And I go ahead, Mr. >> I agree. >> I do want to add that uh this comes as a result of and it goes back even to uh one of our predecessors, Mr. Mitch Williams. I want to give him some shout out as far the process as well. Over the last year, the um school board has done a good job in trying to take a look at other school districts, especially

020school districts of our size and make sure that we are properly compensating our district clerk um in comparison to what those responsibilities are being done by school districts of our size as well. So, it's not a number that we just picked out of the blue. Um, it is a number that was, um, investigated through and through. So, um, any other questions or discussions? In addition to Mr. Perino's point that it is welld deserved. Any, uh, all those in favor? >> I. >> Any opposed? Motion carries 800. Congratulations. [Applause] So, we'll move on to our spotlight on excellence and I'll hand it off over to acting superintendent Adoba. >> Hey, good evening. So, for the spotlight excellence, we wanted to recognize a amazing resource we have here at Millettown High School, which is unique, I think,

021in the area. I don't think many schools have a college and career center that supports our scholars with thinking about the next steps as they leave high school. So, we wanted to bring up uh the high school administration uh Mr. Donahghue and Mrs. Sheidi and to do the honors. [Applause] >> There will be a video. Yeah. >> All right. Good evening, Acting Superintendent Adma, President Estrada, Vice President Romero, members of the board, and the Middletown community watching at home. We are here tonight to spotlight one of the many things that make Middletown High School truly special, which is the Middletown High School College and Career Center. We are one of a very small number of high schools that have a dedicated center staffed by experienced and caring individuals, but dare I say, we have the

022best one. At any point in the day, if you walk by the space, the windows are glass, you can see right in there. What you'll see is a hub of activity. The space is full. It doesn't matter if it's first, second, third, all the way through 9th period. Um, and we'll talk about some of the reasons for that. Ultimately, it's because this is where our students and our scholars turn their goals and aspirations into concrete plans of action. The center success is a testament directly to the people who staff it. We would like to specifically acknowledge standing behind me, Mr. Everton Brown, our financial aid and workplace advisor, Miss Dana Dwire and Aaron Weekes, our center guidance counselors. And I want to say it again. I mean, titles are one thing. I've said this before,

023but it's having the right individuals in the titles, which we absolutely do, that make all the difference. The collective efforts, expertise, and passion for the work of these dedicated professionals make absolutely all the difference. And I I want to underscore that, too. the passion for the work because that's the thing that has these guys stay in extra hours meeting with families. They always go and will continue to go above and beyond to meet the needs of our community, families and scholars. Scholars feel welcomed and supported in the center and come in droves to access the personalized one-on-one support which remove the most significant barriers for our scholars. They ensure every scholar and family has the opportunity to make informed decisions and successfully navigate post-secondary planning. Whether that leads to community college, a 4-year university, a

024trade school, the military, or any other post-secary path, I'm telling you, I have kids that come up to me and ask me questions. I refer them to the center, and if they do not know it, they will find it out. Whatever that dream, whatever that goal is, these guys behind me are going to find a pathway for them to reach it. And I can say that with 100% certainty. This team also provides valuable workshops. I'll let him do a plug at the end for an upcoming workshop next Wednesday. Um provides workshops, college fairs. They go on a ton of trips. I cannot and I think that's absolutely huge and vital. They give up their time. They go on these trips, but kids get access opportunity. They see what's out there. They get to see what

025college life is about and which colleges uh suit their needs. Um and they're just continuing to go down that road. and they also provide crucial access to information that makes this a vital hub for all. So, it's one thing to tell you about everything they do, but we'll allow you to see it for yourself and hear it directly from the individuals in the space. So, if we could Can we play the video? >> My name is Erin Weekes. >> My name is Everton Brown. >> My name is Dana Dwire. I'm one of the school counselors in the college and career center at Middletown High School. [Music] Our main goal here is to help students navigate their after high school life, going to college, going into the workforce, military or trade school. It's an open space

026where students can come and speak to either myself or Miss Wire or Mr. Brown. >> We start off by just talking to the scholar, kind of figuring out where they are and what they're looking for for after high school. and then um wherever they want to go, we help them kind of find that path. >> We provide a lot of different services. Myself and Miss Wire are school counselors, so we help students navigate the college application process. >> If it comes to college, we help with applications, letters of recommendation, uh requesting transcripts, essays. When it comes to the workforce, it's um finding community partners, places that are hiring. We have very close relationship with trade schools, military as well. Also, if a scholar needs help getting into um like finding a recruiter or something along

027those lines, we help them with that as well. >> And Mr. Brown is the financial aid counselor, so he helps students navigate financial aid. >> I make sure that the parents and the students understand how to apply for FASA, New York State TAP, and any grants or scholarships that's out there. >> We go on a lot of field trips. We also do a lot of events throughout the school year. >> At least one event a month that exposes our students to opportunities We we've done so many trips this year. We've been to the H.B.CU fair at BMCC, Brooklyn College, Pace, Purchase, New Pulse. >> We've been to Dominican University, East Stroudsburg. Give students the ability to actually go and see colleges or talk to representatives from career, take them outside of the office or the

028classroom and, you know, get great hands-on experience. >> We've had college fairs that come here with over 40, 50 colleges. So, we've done a lot. >> We just want students to know that there are a lot of different options. >> We're very lucky that Middletown is one of the only schools in the area that has a specific college and career center. >> We just help them with every step along the way. >> College and Careers is a place that we help people live their dreams. [Music] So to the team behind me, the College and Career Center, I just want to give a heartfelt thank you to every single one of you. Your dedication is directly responsible for shaping the success and the future of Middletown High School scholars and is yet just another example of

029MIDI pride in action. Thank you all. We'll go around the table with questions, but I'm going to, if my brethren on the board can uh give me the opportunity, I'd like to start the question period with our student board representatives since they've probably had some experience with the college and career center. So, we'll start off with uh either Napor or Mr. Lulu, whichever one. So, first of all, I don't have a question, but I just have a comment and I want to say that the college and career center is such a like a phenomenal place. Honestly, like you can come there and you can ask any question about your career path and they'll be so happy and be all hands on deck for you and be able to help you throughout your whole process. They're

030very like they're very caring and empathetic, too. like you know they'll always listen to what you have to say and just kudos to you and thank you so much. [Applause] >> Yes, I agree with all that Napor said. I believe the college and career center is amazing. These three individuals right here are beyond dedicated to simply just showing us there's a future for us and they are showing us that they are with us every single step of the way. um whether it's just finding a future for yourself or going to college and further pursuing your education. I just want to say I truly commend all three of you for all the hard work you guys do in shaping our futures and thank you. >> Awesome. >> Dr. Deus want to say thank you for your

031work because you helped um multiple kids now. >> Mr. Freddy Williams. >> Yes. I want to thank um you guys for all your hard work and dedication. Um I know one of you guys a little better than the other. Uh Mr. Brown um you know you wear many hats uh from MBK to um college and career and uh actually one of my my co-director would be in Middle Tennessee sports and the dedication seems to be across the playing field. I've had the honor to go to a couple of college fairs um with the group out of college and career and one in particular we took three buses. So some schools don't have college and career at all and we took three bus loads of kids right in the city in the heart of the city

032and it was an amazing event just to sit there and watch the kids get engaged and excited and you guys made that happen right and um the board will always support um you guys and what you're doing. So I just want to um acknowledge you guys again and um you know just keep up the good work. when you when you get it from the students, that's when you really know um you know, we can come up here as adults and say, you know, but we don't sit with you and we don't go through colleges and our options. So, when you hear for these guys, it it's even more impactful. So, thank you so much, [Applause] >> Mr. Microphone check. As everyone else has said and commended you for the work that you're doing, continue the

033good work because it's our students that grow and progress up the ladder to their initial goals in life. >> Thank you, Mr. Bas and Mr. Rat. >> I'm not going to be label a point too much, but um you guys know how I feel about y'all. Uh when I first came on this board, this is one of the biggest things I wanted to um see revamped. You know, the guidance preparatory prep preparatory college preparatory program and um you guys tore it down and brought it back up to another level. And um I mean you know when I'm throughout the town of Middletown and pretty much throughout Orange County, people always talking about the success that they had with our guidance program and getting their kids in school affordably, you know, without um the debt that

034I incurred with my kids because we didn't have our great program. No. But thank you you guys. Fantastic. >> Mr. Mr. Pino, >> I get my mic on. Thank you. I'd like to echo what everyone else said. You're doing a fine job and I understand that the students have uh wide access to the college and career center. You serve all of them, not just uh not just one group. So again, keep up the good work. Your room looks good down there. Excellent job. Thank you. >> Thank you, Mr. Pino. Mr. Moore, >> I'll be pretty quick. I just want to say, you know, the role that you guys serve is it's way more vital um to the students beyond just them going from their junior to the senior. And I'm pretty sure you have a

035huge large amount of freshman that come in and just try and learn through the process. So, um my message would be to, you know, the upcoming, you know, senior, not the senior, sorry, the the freshman class now and the incoming freshman for 2027, right? 26 27, whatever year we're in. Um just make sure they take full advantage of what you guys are offering. Um, the video is a small testament, but it's way beyond that because I know your role is not just this the the counselors for college and career. You're everything from therapist to, you know, you name it. It goes the role goes beyond what you just you guys are labeled as. So, commend the work that you guys are doing and keep up the good work. Thank you. >> Thank you, Mr. Moore.

036>> Vice President Romero. >> I share sentiments with everyone here. Um, what you do is is extremely impactful. So, thank you so very much for everything you do every day. Thank you. >> Thank you, Vice President. Um, so in what percentage of each class in your estimation do you guys feel that you're able to touch as far as being to have at least one meeting with them? Is it 40% 50% 70% of a particular class? Hello, my name is um Everton Brown um the financial aid counselor. Just to answer Mr. Estrada's uh President Estrada's question, we reach more students now than before. So I think that might be up to 70% 80% of the students that we're reaching because we have more opportunity to to to meet with them going to their classes going to

037the assemblies in the beginning of the year like they're knowing who we are and what we're about. So they they they feel comfortable coming to the room to kind of ask their questions. So where maybe before it was the top 30 or 40% of students of the class, now we're getting like what would we call the the bottom tier where the they get have 70s and stuff like that >> that we're reaching these students too that have the opportunity to go to college and and maybe never thought about going to college. >> Yeah. Do I have something real quick? >> Yeah, she's still talking now. >> Okay. I'm sorry. >> No, it's you can say something. Well, it does it it applies to Mr. Brown. I'm sorry. Um, just real quick, we had our uh

038I think it was our basketball triyout last year downstairs in the Middletown High School gym and we had um Jennifer Young is we work directly with her with our Middletown Youth Sports and she sent us volunteers. So, this just rang in my head is that, you know, I'm sure these guys, they never take their hat off. I watched uh Mr. Brown sit at our registration table and the uh two young women came in, young ladies came in and they uh they just struck up a conversation with Mr. Brown and he asked him about you know what their plans were and what happened what transpired I think the next day I think our trials were on a Saturday they came Monday to see him and I don't think they had ever been in the college career

039so I'm just saying like what they do is invaluable so that that thought just popped in my head that's why I just wanted to uh you >> No thank you. Yeah. Yeah. No, we appreciate that point. Um, just to kind of piggyback off of uh what Everton had just said, um, you know, it's more than just one-on-one appointments that we have the the opportunity to have. We we do group meetings. Uh, there's times when we have five, six students at our desk. Um, everybody either working on the same thing or something different. Um, we do class presentations. We're um involved in the senior interviews. So, we're able to meet with every senior uh that comes and meets with their guidance counselor. then they'll come with us, come to us right after. Um, so there's tons

040of opportunity for us to um to see the kids. Uh, it's also very big like word of mouth. Um, we have kids that bring in other other scholars and say, "I've never been here before, but so and so told me to come." Um, which we love to hear because that means that we're doing we're doing what we're supposed to be doing. Um, so, you know, to kind of answer a little bit more of your question, I I would say that we're we're hitting a good 80%. I think so far we've seen about 80% of the senior class um already just a month into school. So, >> and and I know, you know, the reason why I asked the question is not because I don't think you guys are doing a good, you guys are all

041over the place, which is fabulous. Um, so my message is more towards giving a challenge to our student board reps here because they're they're the the eyes and ears on the ground. >> Um, to try to not only get to that 20% but start working on the junior class as well. >> Um, you know, uh, I think Mr. Moore and Mr. Freddy Williams, Mr. th and stuff. We involved with a lot of our coaches making sure especially with NIL stuff going on at the NCAA level that all of our coaches at the beginning of their seasons when they're talking to parents about um you know how their seasons are going to go that they involve the college and career center as part of that discussion with parents and with students out there. um guidance counselors,

042you know, for me, and it's just me, you know, if I'm looking at a a student transcript, and there should be a box probably on every transcript that says college and career center, and if it's not checked off, that means you haven't met with them, that maybe we should get that checked off. And there's encouragement because we should really aim to have that number at 100%. Not because we think everybody's going to college, but part of your title is career readiness. Whether it's the military, whether it's going to tech school, whether it's just going right into a career, everybody in the senior class should be talking to you at least once. Correct? And so my encouragement is to those listening, whether you're a student, whether you're a teacher, whether you're a parent, whether you're support

043staff, a guidance counselor, or a coach, just ask that one basic question. Have you been to the college and career center? And if the answer is no, say, give me, you know, a half an hour just to to get there and say hi to these folks. So, um, job well done on getting it to that 80% and the challenge is on the rest of us to get it to 100%. So, thank you. >> Thank you so much. [Applause] >> I think we're good. >> We're good. >> Thanks, guys. All right, we move from our college and career op updates to our first o or our opportunity to address address the board. Uh the board will designate a portion of its meeting agenda for public comment for a period of up to 40 minutes total. Each

044speaker will be allowed up to four minutes. The public is not permitted to discuss topics and/or matters involving specific individuals. Speakers must sign in prior to speaking and speakers are not permitted to seed their time to other speakers. Vice President Romero Thank you, Vice President Romero. So, if anybody at this time would like to address the board, come on up. Good evening. Um, I'm going to read from prepared comments. Not a good uh public speaker. Good evening, members of the board of education. My name is Nikki Lag. I've had the privilege of working in the Middletown City School District for over 25 years. I started as a data entry clerk in the personnel department and later transferred to the technology department. I've worked under four superintendent, three technology directors and one personnel director. Currently, I

045am the application support manager in the technology department. And in spite of why I am here tonight, this job and our team brings me so much joy. However, for some, their job has become harrowing. Colleagues from across the district started reaching out to me to share their difficult experiences with the superintendent and the HR director. These stories were painful to hear. I heard that there was a request from President Estrada to meet with administrators to interview them with their own painful experiences with the superintendent and the HR director. For some, this was an opportunity to unbburden themselves. However, for some, there is uncertainty if this is a good idea. So many people contacted me wanting to sign the petition, but they were afraid to. So many are scared to speak up, scared of retaliation, and

046scared that they won't be heard. This feeling is so deeply entrenched in the psyche of our colleagues. So I finish with saying pretending that somebody's fight won't be your fight will only work for so long. This is why I'm here tonight. Thank you. >> Thank you. Any other takers? >> How are you, sir? >> Good evening, members of the school board. Um, my name is Zaro Odum. I'm here speaking on behalf of uh the Middletown Elks. I listen to so many good things that's going on in the school district. I've been speaking with members, my brothers of the Elks Lodge and wanted to inform a lot of people that weren't informed about what's going on in our area outside the school that our kids need to be aware of because the things we're trying to

047do for the good of our community is things for our kids. And one of the things that we have going on for the kids is uh trunk patreat which we've been doing for a few years now. And it's free. It's not for members only kids. It's for all our kids in our community. It's positive. It's in conjunction with the Y Middletown YMCA as well as our Elks Lodge will be in our parking lot. Last year we had close to 2,000 kids. That wasn't enough. They thought it was, but a lot of the kids did not show up and appear. We welcome all members of our committed community. Not only the kids, we know we got big kids that like to show off their costumes and such. Come on out, show your love like we are

048trying to show our love. We also have another program in which I'm the director of is our hoop shoot. It's a basketball program for kids 8 to which gives a child a chance to be, how can I say, remembered in the NBA Hall of Fame. thanks to our commitment to our community and with our local teams in the NBA. As you know, a lot of NBA players don't even make it to the Hall of Fame. But to see a kid almost make it, whether it's a female or male, the closest we got to recognition was your own committee member, Box Williams. His son got the closest And if it wasn't for his age, we would have got there last year. He was dedicated to committing himself to that. So if you have kids, grandkids, 8

049to1 13, November, excuse me, that's Saturday, November 1st at 12, between 12 and 300 p.m. Please, if you have kids, bring them out. We'd like to represent our community by getting someone into the Hall of Fame. And the date for the trunk or treat is Saturday, October 25th, starting at 12:00 p.m. Get there early cuz the parking lot fills up quick, fast, in a hurry. So, thanking you for the time and John wasn't really prepared for it, but thank >> Mr. ODM. Mr. ODM, quick quickly, if you can just um let the public know exactly the location where the shootout's going to be. >> The shootout is going to be Saturday 12 to 3 at the Middletown YMCA. Okay, >> awesome job. Thank you. as usual. >> Thank you guys for the great job. >>

050And please know that whenever you need anything from us as a school district to promote some of these, let us know. I'm sure Mr. Whit over there on the website will be more than happy to >> accommodate. Mr. Pino, >> that's what I going to suggest. Ed, uh Errol and I have known each other about 35 years now, the family. Uh Errol, why don't you Kevin Wit over there? He does an excellent job of promoting various >> over there. >> Right over there. >> I know Kevin. >> You know Kevin long time. Why don't you get a poster, >> an announcement of both events to Kevin and he will publicize this in various ways. >> I can do that, sir. >> Or his assistant Caroline Woodward. She's also very good over there. >> I can

051do that, sir. >> Hey, President Strat, I have a question. Yep. Comment real quick. Earl, thank you so much for your sentiments. Um, you know me a long time. >> It's It's funny that you brought up Donovan cuz you've known me before Donovan. >> Yes. Right. >> Before Donovan was a was a an entity. >> Um, so you've known me for a really long time from seeing me on the court and doing what I do to to him having the opportunity >> um to actually, you know, come through the lodge and make history in this area. >> Yes. >> Um, and it's it was a it was a really cool moment because I think my cousin Timmy Reynolds >> Yes. who is on the wall of fame of Middletown held the f furthest in the

052uh the competition for the Elks and to have you know what his second cousin to come up and um and actually you know supersede what he did and he's an amazing um just that opportunity. So I want to thank you you Mr. Corino and the uh Elks Lodge 10. What's the number again? 10 the number of the lodge cuz he had the show >> 1097 Lodge. Uh Elk. So I we really appreciate you guys. He has a bunch the plaques. I think he made it to the fifth round out of out of he was one round from going um to compete for the Hall of Fame uh basketball hall of fame. So awesome experience. you guys put us up in hotels and the food and everything like so that's a little incentive too that you

053want to get your kids out there cuz they know how to treat you when you get on the road. So once again, thank you so much. I want to thank you guys. Really appreciate >> I appreciate you guys as much as you appreciate me. But I'm going to start working on these guys back here because I know some of them got some hoop shoot experience. >> I know. >> Yeah. >> Awesome. Thank you very much. Thank you guys and keep up the good work cuz I'm seeing the changes. I'm impressed and I'm hard to impress, but I am impressed. >> I wanted to to mention too, I wanted to bring a couple of my friends who played in the MDA and um get them up here and they like to sneak in town. All they

054like to do is stay at my house for so they don't have to buy >> Put them to work. Put them to work to come here and talk to our kids. >> I do with the kids. I'd love to do that and I'll be reaching out to Curtis, Andrew, and you too, Fox. >> I know you guys are still on the court trying to do something. >> Thank you. >> You again. >> Awesome. >> Would anyone else like to address the board at this time? >> No, we'll move on. Um, >> I'm sorry. >> Sorry. >> My apologies. I didn't see you get up at the last minute. >> Good evening. Uh, interim superintendent Adma, members of the board. Um, newly u minted assistant superintendent Canal, Dr. Canal. Um, my name is Damus Garavayo. I

055was a former employee here in Middletown and recently I ran for the board of education. Um, and I stand among this group of fantastic individuals. Um there is an old adage in Puerto Rico um where I was born and I am from and it says a what does this mean? It means that when the river makes a sound water it brings and this comes from you know the mountains. It's a warning. Um the river here in Middletown is no longer making a sound. It is roaring. Um, it roars with the voices of those that have been marginalized. It roars with the pain of those that have been unseen and unheard. It roars with the hope of those who still believe like I do that justice can flow from this board of education. It roars with

056the determination of our community who refuses to be silenced. Um, this is a call to action. It is an appeal to all of you who sit here as elected elected officials to really listen. Listen to what the people are saying. Listen to the pain. Listen to those who stand here with courage. I am not this is not who uh you know this is not a comfortable place for me. But yet here I am because I stand for those who have no voice, who are not heard, and who who remain unseen. We must, you must act justly, for our students, for our staff, and for our community who trust you, elected officials, to do your due diligence in making the tough decisions that must be made. The river in Middletown has been roaring for a long

057time. It has It's no longer a warning. It is a demand from the community to do what is right. And I thank you for what you do every day. And I support the work that happens in this school district that I love. I love the people. I love the students. And I love this community. and as part of this community, being the homeowner of two homes in Middletown, supporting all of the events, the activities, and everything that happens here, I ask that in this we come together and we do what is right for our scholars, for our community, and for the people that work in these school buildings every day. Thank you so much for your time today. >> Thank you, Mrs. Garavayo. Is there anyone else who would like to address the board at

058this time? No. Okay, we'll move on. We do have um two letters that will be posted to board docs. Um and we'll move on to our superintendent updates, right? Am I right? Good evening again. October 13th through 17th, the New York School Boards Association sponsors school board recognition week to recognize schoolboard members for their commitment to New York public school children. I want to take a moment to share a few words. Volunteering is the ultimate exercise in democracy. You vote in elections once a year, but when you volunteer, you vote every day about the kind of community you want to live in. As a board member, there are there's a lot more that goes into this role outside of what you see during public meetings. There are committee meetings, reviewing all the documents that are

059discussed and approved at these meetings, being responsive to stakeholders, and advocating for the district. On behalf of the district, we would like to thank the board of education for your time, dedication, and service. And just a few reminders. Um, so tomorrow is the countywide early dismissal. So, all scholars will be released 15 minutes early. So, um, families 15 minutes early for a countywide early dismissal. This happens every year. And then October 15th is our first family night. We will close out Hispanic Heritages Month with the mariachi band right here in this media center. And we also have some high schoolers that said they also would like to do some dancing. So, they'll be here as well. And we will have the college career center here providing information about the financial aid. We'll have ADAC working

060um providing some tips for alcohol and drug abuse prevention ahead of Red Ribbon Week. We'll have leader and me information being shared as well all here in the media center next week starting at 6 pm. So we hope to see everyone there. >> Wednesday. >> Yes, ma'am. Wednesday at 6 p.m. >> Thank you. >> I have I just have a comment. >> Um I nominate Eden to come and do some dancing at that uh that event. Been on a couple trips with him. He's uh pretty animated >> and if he's really that good then we might have him at a future presentation of the board meeting. Um I do first of all I want to thank um acting superintendent adoma, our district clerk and uh members of the cabinet um all board members uh when

061they came to their place today received a little gift bag of thank you for school board member recognition uh week um with a nice little um mug or or what is it? >> I didn't get one. >> Oh, you didn't get one. You have one, right? >> And with that also you you got the shirt but not this. >> Okay. Because we also got >> I'm looking around >> these beautiful legacy maker sweatshirts for each board member. So, thank you to um I'm lucky enough that I sit on the Boseies board, so I got two gifts this week, which is really nice. >> But thank you to everybody. Um >> and yes, we have um the best I'm a little biased, but we have the best school board in the county. And I think um

062you know all members here work hard each and every day to try to do their best on behalf of the school district and I'm sure that that will continue uh moving forward. So we'll move on to our board of education updates and we are going to start off with our student board member reports. Napore, would you like to start >> or does Eden want to start? >> All right, there you go. >> Hi everybody. Okay, so we are just getting wrapped up with our first interim of the school year. And it has been great. We're in day four of our spirit week, which today was barbecue dad versus soccer mom day. And I just before I get into these dates of spirit week, I just want to tell you guys our spirit week has been

063amazing. I have seen a lot of school spirit at Medi Pride here. Um today was so like I said, today was barbecue dad or soccer mom. Yesterday was grade dress by age day where seniors dressed as senior citizens, juniors dressed as adults, sophomores dressed as toddlers, and freshman dressed as babies. Um, this spirit week leading up to our homecoming on Saturday has been amazing. Um, I cannot tell you a year I've been here that I've seen so many people participating, all grades, seniors, juniors, sophomores, and freshman. It's been amazing. Um and with sorry within this first intermapora and I have been going around buil trying to build a more engaging and respectable environment within our peers with the help of our student board of ed hall passes which grant us the ability to engage with

064students and collect I would say collect information on student morale and how how they're getting how their overall feeling on the school year. Um, sorry. Um, but yeah, we've been going around talking to everybody, all grades, all all types of backgrounds, seeing how everybody's doing. Um, and it's really easy to it's really easy to just engage with somebody and even if it's a simple hi and bye conversation. Um, and just like trying to get everybody involved like with our spirit week, I've seen people that haven't participated in spirit week and I've even talked to them and tried to in concern of getting them to join in on our MIDI pride and it's very easy to be updated on our events or spirit weeks or days with the morning announcements that have been provided by Miss

065Merchant. Um it's been she's been has been doing a real good job with letting us know what's going on in our community. Um just like our VIP lunch which now scholars are deemed a voucher for showing key details of what it means to be a Middletown legacy maker. So they get a voucher to it's for a sectioned off area in our new cafe where they can eat lunch and enjoy refreshments provided by the school. Um, and it just really shows that we're paying attention to everybody who's who who is honing their integrity. Um, on Tuesday, Nepor and I had the privilege and of giving a trainer from leader and me, Miss Samson, a tour of our building, which went great. And further later in the day we had a meeting with other student leaders from

066ranging of different grades and we just for some collaboration and that meeting right there went went great. It was very solid and I got a nice sense of a very moving and inspiring sense of engagement and teamwork within our our little circle. So I appreciate that. >> Thank you very Thank you so much, Senor Lugo. Nepor, did you want to add stuff? >> Yes. >> Okay. >> I want to go with what Eden said and yes, we have been having our spirit week this week and it has been going great. Just as Eden said, we've all really had just a lot of midi spirit coming along. You know, just a positive environment for everyone. You know, we continue wanting to see this as well. you know, we just don't want this just to be the

067only week they have their MIDI pride. We want it to be an ongoing thing throughout the school year and we will try in our best efforts and abilities to do that. Um, coming back to um the leader and me trainer that was here, Miss Samson, her her coming here was very such an informational and interesting experience. I would say, you know, being able to me and Eden and one fellow leader and me um person, we came in and we just gave her a tour of the building. And through that tour, we showed her the MIDI spirit that we have in this building, whether it's the events lobby that we have with all of our trophies and all of our pictures, through just all the rooms to show that students are engaging into this building and

068there is a positive like benefit going around. Um going on to the meeting that we had, we had a meeting with all the leaders in the school, all student leaders in the school and that's experience was very collaborative. We were able to um just talk about challenges, concerns that the students are having all together as a collaborative group. We were able to have ideas and inspirations and how can we benefit this school all together? How can we all make a change in this school? So I believe like with that period that we had with Miss Samson and all the leaders in the school that was very very like impactful. Um I want to wrap it up and just say that overall that um we are just trying to make our faces more familiarized with the

069students. We're always trying to talk to students. you know, whenever we have a free time, we're always trying to speak to every anyone who's in the hallways in lunch, just trying to get their concerns and ideas out there because, you know, everyone deserves to be heard and that's just it. Thank you. >> Awesome. [Applause] So, do any board members have any questions for our student board members at all? >> I have a question. >> Yep. Mr. Freddy Williams. >> Yes. The board. Um the blue crew, you guys um have set dates for your meetings or is it kind of does it go monthto month? >> Um we do have set dates at the moment. We are just trying to prepare because due to like just a lot of like the school events that are going

070on and things like that. We are trying to shift our dates, but we will be having a meeting this October. Yes. >> Okay, cool. My son Donovan, he's ready. He's ready to to lock in with you guys. I think that blue crew thing is is is huge. That's vital for um you primarily deal with the freshmen coming in, right? Yes. And check on them and support them and that's awesome. I I want to give you a salute for that. Thank you. >> Of course. >> Awesome. And then, you know, hopefully um the idea is also to get you out to some of the other school buildings, the elementary schools and the middle schools to hook up with perhaps some um student leaders in those other schools, too. So, we want to make sure that you're

071uh providing a voice for all students K through 12. So, great job, guys. Keep it going. Uh we'll move on to community community engagement updates and we'll move over. We'll start with Mr. Moore this time. >> Believe I have a uh photo or a picture to put up, Kristen. Okay, no problem. >> It says stand by. >> It's my fault. We should coordinate beforehand and tell you which which way I'm going first. I changed. >> It'll be quick. >> No worries. Just a quick update from uh Montagen uh PTO. Just want to give some dates. Perfect. Thank you. Um, so as the leazison for Montagen, I just want to give uh just an update to the entire community that this coming Tuesday, there's a uh town hall uh sponsored by the PTO. Um, and there

072are some future dates if you unable to make it, but we really want to stress and have everyone available to come out October 14th at 6 PM at Mont Hagen um to discuss, you know, various topics and things are going on within the school. And if you have any concerns or, you know, things to address that the PTO can help assist with, um, this is a great opportunity to come out. Um, you know, in future in previous years there's been a turnout. We want to definitely look to increase it. So, please look at the calendar, please save the dates, and definitely look forward to seeing you guys present at one of these town hall meetings coming up soon. Thank you. >> Cool. >> Any more is Are you good? Okay. Uh, Mr. Parino, >> thank

073you, President Estrada. Um, our student representatives, Mr. Lugo and Miss Patel uh they spoke about the high school and the high school opening. Uh I just like to speak about the the district itself. Um you know the opening of school the opening of a district the first month sort of sets the tone for the rest of the year. And I just like to say that uh we've had a tremendous opening. Uh I want to compliment the administrative staff, central staff under acting superintendent Damo, all the building administrators and our great instructional staff. There's just so many programs that have gone on in the district. Uh last evening at at the high school was a universal prek program. It was sort of a a minuscule representation in the district. Food service did an excellent job. Uh

074the presenters, we had some of our leading educators there. They did a good job. A number of parents were there with their young uh students. Uh the technology department set things up. So that uh that uh really is a good indication of what's happening in this district. uh there may be some issues but believe me it has not impacted instruction one bit. Uh, one of the things the this is Hispanic Heritage Month and I want to compliment Julie Dominguez Post, the uh the director of ENL who compiled a um a summary which uh Christo Marsheree got out to the uh the various board members of what's happening in the district. Do we have any photos of that? I think we do. And I I believe uh um I believe Miss uh Romero is going to

075discuss uh twin. So I'll skip that. But uh it just you can just go through these. Uh that's fine. And I'll just sort of spotlight in a little time I have left what's going on. Maple Hill Elementary various interactive programs, research projects, art creations, music, literature, student presentations, hands-on culture experience, Twin Towers. I I think we have the Elks here. Yeah, we don't have the right one, guys. >> That's all right. Now, we got the Elks. We'll do that later on. Let me discuss this. Twin Towers, Denise, >> just all over the place, John. That's why they can't keep up with you. >> You're going to cover this, correct? Twin. Okay. William A. Carter, third grade students researched and read a passage from the Tino culture. That was very good. A graphic organizer. Manhagen students

076from grades seven and eight. They celebrate in various ways. cultural events, bulletin boards across all the subjects, interactive reports, researching on and on. They combined various subject areas. Middletown High School, our ENL scholars and students very uh thoroughly researched many latinex individuals. They presented the learning in front of their classes. So, it was a very good month, a very active month for uh uh Hispanic Heritage Month. And I think Denise is going to pick this up with >> Mr. Parino. You can say anything you'd like about Twin Towers. That's >> You go. You go right ahead, Denise. Go ahead. >> Thank you. >> Other people want to talk about >> You're good, Mr. Parto. >> I'm fine. Yes. My my time's up. I don't >> You know, we got We got to almost give him

077extra time these days because he is the New York State School Board Member of the year. >> Hey. All right. >> Mr. uh Brett, you're next. >> Yeah. Um yeah, I just want to take the time to share some of the wonderful activities that are going on throughout our city, Middletown. A lot of different community events. Um this was one that just recently passed. Um it was a really wonderful festival um showing ancient e um Chinese culture and um it's a well planned out event, a lot of vendors, a lot of activity, a lot of music, lot uh this is just some of what's going on. I highly recommend when you see those signs on your lawn or other people's lawn about Moon Festival, I think it'd be a great event for you to attend

078with your family and loved ones. um opportunities for the kids to play and have a good time. Discover America in Middletown, New York. Another event going on uh October 12th, 2025. And um it's um a cultural event again, you know, uh face painting. Middletown recreation department is uh providing um the activities for this. Uh they got pumpkin giveaways, decorations, and of course my beloved um YMCA is also sponsoring and being a part of that. There's also going to be music and dance and performances. Won't be surprised you see me out there again. And uh Oh, yes. Yes. Uh another event going on October 10th, community block party. Um the hub. Okay. Um again, just want to be able to let parents know this. So many different things you can do with your kids on the

079weekends, throughout the week. Um, as John and um and Drew are talking about, just several things in this um town that we have a lot of opportunities the kids can take full advantage of. So, okay. Um, and again, yep. Uh, this is one that's dear to my heart also. Um, my wife is is a part of this organization, God's Hearts for Women Ministries Incorporated. They're going to be having a breaking bread um connection um opportunity for free community dinner. Um so if you know anybody um throughout the town, uh this is going to be October 18th, 5:00 pm. Uh come and um break bread and you know, spread um share some information and get to know people and and it's going to be really a good time. I believe this is our third time sponsoring

080this. Um it's at the Malbury House. uh right across the street from the uh police station. Okay, this is um something else going on. Um my Alpha Alpha brothers um is having a Mid Hudson Valley Alpha Fist Friday fry and that's um October 11th. That's actually this Saturday. Um if you want to get out and um venture a little further up the road to WA Falls, um it's going to be a great event. Fill your stomach up with some good old fist fry. Yeah, I believe that's it. Um, yeah, thank you very much. >> Thank you, Mr. Mr. Bison. >> Thank you. I just want to continue with reports um from Mhagen. Um, they had a great attendance rate for the month of September. uh sixth grade 948, grade 7 94.38, and grade 8 92.41

081with an overall attendance of 93.66. Um on September 29th, Montigan hosted the healthy smiles where a dis a dentist came to the building and cleaned 31 scholars um teeth. Four more were scheduled, but they were not there due to absences. I think uh Mr. um Moore mentioned October 14th is going to be the first evening PTO town hall meeting. October 17th, a week from Friday, they're having a movie uh night. October 24th is school Latino Heritage Celebration time. And October 30th, Mhagen will host a panel of scholars from the high school to meet with our sixth grade students and discuss uh how to be successful in school. Now, Mr. Parino stole my library um for uh Spanish uh Hispanic month, but um the school has been very well engaged. Um, eighth grade English classrooms, physical

082education classrooms, grade seven social studies classroom, the science classroom, multiple teachers engaged, music exploration, grade seven, math. Um, so Mhagen and there's my little sign, but as I said, the library display, Mr. Parino stole that from me. So, but I just want to give Miss Romero a little, you know, competition with Twin Towers. >> I don't know. >> It's on. It's on. Thank you, Mr. Debas. Dr. Deesus. >> Good evening. Good evening, everyone. They still don't want to hear me, but it's okay. Um so my sister's keeper program um they will host a first meeting on Wednesday October 15 and thus far they have 115 women recruited for that program. [Applause] So, Tiffany Red and um Jasmine Ortiz um they've been meeting on Mondays and Wednesdays at the cafe um recruiting and so they said

083they started out with the high school, but they're looking forward to um um making a trajectory in the middle school. Um so, the my brother's keeper signature mark is their ties. My sister's keeper is going to be blazers and a lapel pen that's going to say my sister's keeper on it that they are going to wear once a month um in their solidarity as my sister's keeper. Um when I return from vacation, I will be um visiting them on one of their Wednesdays. They asked me to come and and participate and be a presence there. So, I will be doing that. Um, I've also been asked to be a monthly book reader for the Maple Hill Annex. Um, so I will be doing that as well, working um, closely with Tracy Santino. So, I'm looking

084forward to that. And, um, I also want to give a shout out to our acting superintendent um, um, Camila Domo for all of the work that you are doing um, and that you stepped up. and like today I was like, "Oh my, she's like playing chess and checkers at the same time." Um, but that you've been handling um everything that that has come your way. And so I want to congratulate you and commend you and my hat off to you. And I thank you for all that you have done and what you will continue to do. And I want to thank you Crystal um on your um welldeserved next step. That's all I have. >> Thank you Dr. De Jesus, Mr. Freddy Williams, >> I believe I have some images. Um, I think so. Yes.

085So, this is from the kids day in the park, Thor Park, uh, in Middletown. Last week, we coordinated with, uh, the Middletown Police Department. They do this every year. It's awesome. We usually, uh, my barber shop, Six West Barber Shop, usually does haircuts. this year who were a little short staffed and we're busy. So, we um got some donations from um Mr. Parino and uh the Elks Lodge and we had some help from uh Mr. Stevenson Merie with the delivery. Um and Clarice Needham, she definitely um made some donations uh that I collected all at my barber shop. So, we handed out I I got u I got my guys uh we had a practice, my AAU basketball team, my 14U, my son's team. We had a practice earlier that day at the high school

086and I I let all the kids know the day before, bring your jerseys because the work's not done after practice, right? You have to um you know, serve your community. And that's that's something I want to instill in these young men. And they had a blast. Some of them may have had a straight face when I said we were going to go to a park, a kids day, right? And you're all the 14 years old and they had more fun than most of the kids there, right? Uh the free food. Middletown Police Department does an excellent job. The music, uh the food, just the environment was awesome. I seen um Mr. Pino, Mr. Strat out there, uh representing the the the the district as well. It was just an all-around good time. Um the smiles

087on the kids' faces. I mean, book bags are needed all year round. That's not just a, you know, late August, early September thing. Um, the young kids were happy. The parents were happy. We gave out a bunch of supplies. I think over 300 book bags total. Um, it was a really good experience and a really good experience for these young men. So, I just want to thank Middletown Police Department and City of Middletown also. And I just want to give a quick update on the MBK program. Um, it's nice to have uh Eden here to back me up. I think they had their fourth meeting I think was this week. Um, and Yep. It was their fourth. And um you know, there's one reason why I don't harp on my son messing up u my

088clothes, and that's my ties, right? So, I'll go in my room and see my kind my ties kind of disheveled all over the place, but it brings a smile to my face because I know the purpose behind it, right? It's not him grabbing my hoodie or, you know, sweep. He's grabbing ties. And I I never will harp on him about that. He's um having a great experience with the MBK program. Um, I can't say enough about that program. I'm just so excited for uh the growth that that that these young guys are going to get. Um, and the way that Eden and the seniors are leading the program too is an awesome thing. Um, excited for the the the plans that uh Mr. Brown and Mr. Water are going to roll out this year uh

089with the college visits and um you know, a plethora of things that are that are to come. And um there was one more thing. I'm trying to think of it. I went blank. Oh, I had a good conversation with uh the building leader here uh Mr. Donnie Hugh last week um about the opening of the the school year. I mean, they hit the ground running. Um you know, if you know the population of this school, it's you know, there's certain cities or towns in this country that aren't this big, right? So, just to um have everything um so in tune and aligned is an awesome thing. So I just want to give uh you know a salute being a lison on one of the leison from the high school myself and Mr. Rhett um to

090have these conversations with um staff within the building and um you know they're doing a great job um you know I also want to commend Superintendent Adma for um everything you've done and you've taken on um and just the beginning of school year it's been a great one. you know, we hit the ground running and um you know, I always always want to have um the acknowledgement of the uh the staff and the kids. I mean, the kids are there's a lot more kids in this building than uh than teachers, right, than than than adults and they've been behaving from, you know, and um you know, it's just a it's just a great thing to see that the beginning of the year, the new um school year is going so well. So, that's what I

091have. Thank you. >> Thank you, Mr. Freddy Williams, Vice President Romero. Twin Towers has Twin Towers has gone above and beyond with Hispanic heritage. Okay. Well, because this picture is behind me, let me start with happy National Principles Month. Today and every day, we celebrate our incredible Middletown principles. Thank you, Miss Jensen, for their unwavering dedication, leadership, and commitment to our students, staff, and community. Um, your guidance shapes not only successful schools but also inspires brighter futures. Um, thank you for all that you do to make Middletown a place where excellence and care thrives. Thank you. Um, I'm going to talk about Twin Towers now. So, Twin Towers has gone above and beyond with Hispanic Heritage, but tonight I want to share that they are thrilled to introduce their new dean, Roberta Taylor. They are

092excited for the knowledge, compassion, and leadership she brings to our school community. Um, I am going to share a message from Miss Robera Taylor to families and community members. She says, "My name is Robera Taylor and I am honored to serve as the dean of students at the Twin Towers Middle School. I'm writing to introduce myself and share a bit about my background, values, and the vision I bring to the role. I began my career as a social worker where I worked closely with children and families to address social emotional challenges and connect them with the resources they need to thrive. Over time, I felt a strong pull toward the classroom and became a special education teacher. Both roles deepened my belief in the power of supportive, inclusive education and they continue to shape how

093I serve students today. My commitment to students is rooted in the belief that every young person deser deserves to be seen, heard, and supported academically, emotionally, and socially. As a dean, my philosophy centers on restorative practices, compassionate discipline, and building strong relationships. I believe in creating a school environment where students feel safe to grow, where mistakes are seen as opportunities for learning and where every child knows they are part of a caring community. My door is always open and I welcome ongoing partnerships um with you. I am here to listen, support, and work collaboratively. Sorry, my accent. To ensure your child's experience at Twin Towers is positive, empowering, and successful. Thank you for trusting us with your child's education. I look forward to a meaningful and productive year um together warmly. Roberta Taylor, Dean of

094Students. I also want to say that um kudos to those who feel empowered to come here and share your thoughts um in public. I know it takes a lot, but I want you to know that we hear you. Um the power of people is is real. And coincidentally, my cup reads, "Unity is strength. When there is teamwork and collaboration, wonderful things can be achieved." So, thank you to those that did come up here tonight. Thank you, Vice President Romero. Um, I want to start off my remarks by kind of piggybacking a little bit on Vice President Romero, also thanking people for coming up and expressing their concerns and their opinions. Um, it's not easy. We recognize that. Um, and it's it's important to have dialogue on whatever side of the spectrum you are. I know

095my name was mentioned during one of the um uh participations. Um I just do want to clarify something. Um I have visited with seven administrators over the last two days. Um but the clarification I need to make is that those visits were not to talk about the superintendent or the HR director. Those discussions centered around our climate, our environment. How do we as a board of education, how can we be better at setting the culture at the top so that it trickles down and it's done appropriately? So there is no fear, there's no intimidation. Those are the walls we need to knock down. But we do that through conversation through uh working together. Uh, one of the reasons uh, I did that over the last two days was a followup to a couple of letters

096that everybody here at the board of education received and the last line of one of those letters was, "Please come talk to us." So, I've begun to go out and talk to you and that's why I went out. Not everybody at this table agrees that I should have gone out by myself, but I encourage all of them to do the same exact thing. That's part of our responsibility as board of education members is to go out and talk to folks. I will not uh apologize for doing that. It's just my way of doing things. That's how I find out my information. That's how I hope to bring back to the board of education that information that's given to me in order to make us better. Because if we're not listening to you and alls we're

097doing is receiving letters and then putting them to the side and not making the effort to go out and find out what's going on, then I think we've failed as a board of education. So, I will continue to do that. I believe it is my responsibility and my role to do that. And it's not to intimidate or fear. It is to get information on how to make us a better employer to our employees. And when they express concerns similar to the ones that were expressed today, we need to take some action, not sit back and listen and then go on our merry way. That's part of our role and our responsibility. I take that seriously. I've been doing this for 22 years. I sit on boards not only at this school district but on Boseis

098and two other nonfor-profit organizations. I take my role seriously and I will continue to do that. Mr. Perino mentioned a word that's very dear to my heart during his presentation and that's the word dino. I haven't heard that in such a long period of time. Dino Indians, which are our native Puerto Rican islanders, um, who have pretty much become extinct over the over the centuries, but I'm glad that they're being talked about in our schools. Uh, open house at Carter was fabulous. Everybody engaged. We had a big crowd. Um, parking was at a premium, so I hope everybody enjoyed each of the open houses. Um, also the kids day in the park. I enjoy I think I took that picture of you guys as a matter of fact at Kids Day on the Park. So,

099um, great job by uh Freddy and his crew uh to go out there and represent. And finally, a shout out as my time winds down to Mr. Mitch Williams and the boxing club. I was privileged to head out to Pikipsy to watch their fights uh this past Saturday. Uh, one of them was victorious, two others, their opponents didn't show up, but they were raring a go just in case. And the other one, our our one of our midi fighters um knocked out a guy who was very well experienced um in the first round. I was able to take a video of that and send it to Mitch. Unfortunately, he lost a very controversial split decision. uh but nevertheless uh it was only his second fight and he was fighting somebody who was much more experienced.

100So congratulations to them and I hope board members and other school folks in the school community will go out to support them as well in the future. And that's all I have on the community update. Absolutely. Neapor >> I just wanted to say one thing about volunteering events that are coming up. National Honor Society is doing probably like four to five events this October. We have the cookie dough drive. We also have the haunted house at the YMCA. Uh let me think. We have a bunch. We just have I hope I'll make sure that these events get sponsored much more. I will let people know about other events coming up, but I just wanted to let I just wanted to say that there are events coming up. And if any parents are watching or any

101students are watching, not even just in Miltown High School, but in Twin and Mhagen and elementary schools, I urge you and encourage you to join these events and have a great time. Thank you. >> Awesome. Mr. L, did you want to add anything or you good? You good? All right. Just want to make sure you get your chance. Uh we'll move on to committee reports. We'll finish uh Dr. De Jesus with Nisba if that's okay with you. So we'll get the other committee reports out of the way and then we'll finish up the night with that. Um so we'll go on first to the audit committee, Miss Tobias. >> The audit committee met on Tuesday evening, October 7th. in uh your agendas for this evening's minute uh meeting. There was the minutes from our June

1024th, 2025 meeting. I need a vote to accept those minutes. >> So moved. >> Moved by John. I need a second. >> Freddy. Second by Freddy. Were there any discussions with regards to the minutes that were in your agenda? Hearing none. All in favor? >> I. Any opposed? The minutes are accepted unanimously. We had nothing under new business at the committee meeting. We did uh reprove we did approve our weekly claims reports for June, July, August and September. Uh we reviewed the treasures report and again all was in order and the that was um accepted unanimously. Did I miss something Crystal? Okay. Um our next meeting is going to be we have four meetings a year. So we had our first in October. Our next meeting will be February 9th, 2026. Uh, April 13, 2026

103and June 8th, 2026. We have two committee me, two community members on our committee, uh, Mrs. Blumanau, and, uh, Linda Nap, plus uh, Mr. Perino, Mr. more myself from the board uh and uh Dr. Connell is also there with us as well as uh our assistant our interim superintendent Camille Adelma. >> That's a solid group. That's a very good group. >> Yes, it is. Yes, it is. Um a lot was discussed. Um I believe we were there quite a while on Tuesday night. It was well over an hour. There were questions raised. The auditors were there. We had many questions and they were all um answered to the committee's satisfaction. So I thank you for allowing me to share. >> Thank you, Mr. Bison. Um anything on policy? >> Yes. Um policy, excuse me. >>

104Policy meeting. We have a policy meeting tomorrow at 3 p.m. Um couple things on the agenda. Um well, first of all, agenda is forthcoming. You'll see that in your mailboxes tomorrow morning. But uh one of the things we want to really look at is um uh article 1510 which talks about um regular school board meetings and rules and parliamentary procedures. We want to kind of unpack that and get a better feel for just how we might can make some addendums to that because um in in lie of some things that are going on, we just want to be a little bit more um streamlined and purposeful in how um we present information at meetings, whether um it's um verbal or whether it's in writing. So um we're looking forward to do that. And so that's

105pretty much everything that possible. >> Are you guys voting on the community member being added to the policy? >> Oh yeah. By the way, um yes, we already um we have a comm community member coming back actually. Um again, that's Paula Blumadile and u we're excited about um her experience coming on board. She'll be at the meeting tomorrow as well. >> Cool. Any questions for Mr. R? Thank you. Um just going real quick. Anything with facilities, Mr. Parino? >> Okay, cool. Um, diversity, Dr. De Jesus, I think there's a meeting coming up, right? Where were scheduled? >> There's a meeting scheduled for tomorrow at 11:45. >> Okay. >> And I apologize. I can't make that. Unfortunately, I'm short staffed at the bank this week. Um, >> question this. >> Yeah. You said diversity meeting tomorrow.

106Yes, it the information was emailed to everybody. >> All right. No, I can't make meetings during the day. So, >> thank you. >> Um, in the evenings, but so that most people can um be available, but we can have that discussion at another time. Thank you. >> Thank you, Mr. Rick, because I concur as well. It's difficult for me to get out of work in the middle of the day. So, Um, district safety. Mr. Perino, is that you? Okay. Uh, service. Am I missing any other ones? Uh, we'll move on because we're getting late a little bit. We'll move on to our uh, NISBA review. Um, Dr. De Jesus will lead that discussion. The uh public uh meeting is the 16th right at four o'clock I believe the voting >> yes >> uh day um

107and Dr. De Jesus will run with this particular discussion. >> So we have four resolutions um from the board that we would like to um affirm. Um the first one is one one board member wants to affirm number 25 which says resolved that the New York State School Board Association will advocate for a share of wealth proposal which would increase New York's top income tax rates for those earning over 5 million and over 25 million to 10.5% and 12.85% respectively and with the increased revenue generated by this proposal to be invested in public education. So, we have one board member that would like to affirm that. Any discussion? Okay, >> that's number 25. >> I'm showing our student board member reps where to look at it. So, um this was one of the resolutions not

108recommended by NISBA, correct? on the backing and I think we have a we had a board member who was interested in actually passing it correct of of agreeing with the resolution. A >> uh agreeing. >> Yeah. >> Yes. >> So my only con I think um typically when you get these is you'll get the rationale from the people who are submitting the resolution. And in this case, it's the Platsburg City School District that presented this particular resolution. And then NISBA has a resolutions committee and they decide whether or not to back um the particular uh resolution. And this particular one uh they said no. And the um the explanation that they gave for not agreeing with the resolution was that their committees felt that the proposal was too outside the scope of what NISSPA could

109advocate for and was not an issue that would be appropriate for school boards to engage on. as we all know, um trying to tax the highest earners in the state and that's typically a a governor's issue and the legislature and trying to decide we're going to tax these people at a higher rate and then use that money for something else. My personal experience is that typically when you lobby for I'll give you an example. Many many years ago um there was a lobby for lotto money. Does everybody remember the lottery money? And the lottery money that the state made was supposed to go all towards education and everybody was very gung-ho about it. The problem when those things happened is that instead of it being additional money, the state decides, well, we're not going to

110give you money somewhere else. So they make up for it. So it's never additional. So this money that they're talking about that would come from taxing the highest earners, essentially the state will find a way to replace the money with aid that was already given to us. So very rarely do we as a school district ever see more money from it. It's typically just a replacement from it. So I kind of concur with NISBA in not supporting the resolution because I think NISBA's lobbying efforts should be on more things that are more attainable for uh us as a now if somebody else feels differently the reason why we're doing this discussion is so Dr. De Jesus and Pastor Williams when the voting happens next week they have a particular marching order. So there were I

111think four resolutions right total that there was some question about >> correct. >> So there are four resolutions that some members have decided you know what I may want to go counter to what NISBA's recommending. So we want to discuss that as a group and then the majority will rule as to what the marching orders will be for pastor and Dr. De Jesus when it comes to voting on the issue itself. >> Okay. Um so the next resolution number 30, resolution number 30. Um we have four board members. Um well NISBA as President Strata said is not backing number 30. Um we have four board members that would like to affirm. Um, resolution number 30 says, "Resolve that the New York State School Board Association shall advocate for the school board members to be recognized

112for their service via a locally authorized property tax exemption." Um, the DEI's explanation um says the committee did not want to create financial incentives to the school board service, expressing concern that it could lead to community members running for the wrong reason. While the committee agreed that it is important to incentivize school board service, it did not feel this way was the way to accomplish that goal >> and right now just as backing and I apologize. Go ahead. So I just wanted Dr. Connell, I believe the only ones right now statewide that we as a district provide exemptions for are veterans and the first responders, firemen, right? >> Firemen. >> Okay. Yes. first responders. >> First responders. >> Yeah. >> Yes, I agree. >> So, my my only concern with that is um you know,

113when we all ran for the board of education, we knew it didn't include any incentives or any monetary advantages. And even though, you know, in hindsight, it looks great, but unfortunately, that means that everybody else makes up the difference. So, let's say we collect $1,000 in taxes, right? Just to use simple math, if we if we take $1,000 and that's spread amongst everybody, right, to pay for, well, if you take some people away from there, it means that the other people who are left have to make up the difference for taxes. So, it this resolution would mean that we as board members would be exempt from paying property taxes. Well, then whatever the savings is here has to get picked up by other taxpayers. So, >> and that's a definition of tax equalization. >> Yeah.

114So, I I don't >> Well, there Well, if Yeah. So, what happens is NISBA is recommending that it not be approved. Correct. what this board is doing. >> So this board is deciding are we affirming what NISBA >> correct >> is doing or there were four members who expressed an interest in discussing going against that recommendation and so we need to come to a majority consensus. So Dr. De Jesus and Pastor when it comes to voting they're going to vote whatever our concern our concern is at that point. When are we going to go over? >> Um, she's going to go over all four and then we'll go through each one and say how we think. Sound good? >> Yes. >> Okay. So, the next one is number 34. Um, we had three board members

115that were um in favor of number 34. So, NISB is not supporting that one. Um, number 34 is resolved that the New York State School Board Association advocates for the mandatory implementation of daily recess for all students in schools that serve exclusively elementary grade levels in addition to schedule physical education class. Um, the DEI's explanation is conceptually the committee viewed this resolution favorably. Um so, um as President Strat and I had briefly talked about this, we think that they would support it's just some of the verbiage that's used in there. Um so it says, however, they agreed that additional clarity was necessary to further define elementary grade levels in order to provide NISBO with the direction necessary to most appropriately advocate for this change. Um I think in addition that word mandatory um might have

116been another reason why um the NISBA did not initially back it but it does look like they're open to possibly backing it if the verbiage has changed. >> So I think that one might be good to leave to Dr. de Jesus and pastor because it sounds to me like there might be a change at the actual con meeting to change like and her discussion in mine was we were really concerned about the word mandatory so for instance in our school district you know when we hear from our uh you know our you know Mr. Doma who's an expert in curriculum and instruction in reading this and if you made it mandatory >> to provide that extra recess time that means you're taking that time away from perhaps academics and so I think we'd all agree

117that it's probably better if it's left up to the individual school district on whether or not they can afford does that sound right Mr. >> Doma Dr. Jesus, she made made a really good point about that. That that that word mandatory just kind of shakes the whole ideal of what we're really trying to do is give children opportunities after lunch to burn some energy so when they come back to class, you know, they're nice and relaxed and they're ready to learn, you know. So, >> but mandatory, hey, >> that's a different thing. >> A strong word for parents, you know, >> and from a and from a clinical lens, we we do want to um do that. We want to support that because that helps their emotional, their mental, their psychological, physical, everything across the

118board. >> Yeah. Yeah. >> And and that's what we're always talking about um statewide is social emotional learning and and how that impacts kids physically, mentally, as you said, emotionally spirit and spirit. Well, spirit. And then the fourth one, one board member um wanted to affirm um number 33 that NISBA is not supporting um which is NISBA calls upon New York State Education Department to advocate for the creation or expansion through title one or similar comparable state funding streams specifically for special education students to attend out of out of district summer camps including costs for program and transportation. NISBA should ensure that such programs are inclusive of diverse educational models and providers including those offering social emotional learning, life skills, vocational training and recreational therapy and supportive environments. And the DEI um committee's explanation um

119was that this would be unnecessary as funding currently supports students whose IEPs require such services. And additionally, the committee felt that current oversight of such camps might not be sufficient to meet the standards of public funding. >> So they're essentially saying the IEP is going to run whatever. If the IP says they got to go to a summer camp, then we have to send him to a summer camp. You get what I mean? I mean, um, you know, and New York City is, >> you're a special education expert, so >> New York City is very big on that. Um, you know, what the IEP stipulates, um, getting children out um, from the city into, you know, environments where they can run and be free and feel comfortable and, um, and it's been very beneficial. I

120know quite a few students, quite a few friends, their families taking advantage of those type of opportunities. And um it's really helped with um minimizing medication and you know these other alternative ways of trying to um take care of um children's >> um needs in that regard. >> And a lot of if you look at the resolution, it's submitted mostly by I think they're all Long Island and um Westchester County School District. So to your point, Mr. Rhett, that it's a lot of the downstate um >> Yeah. that want, you know, uh, probably a lot of the upstate school districts already have that in place because they're nearby. They got a camp nearby, so the cost to them is minimal to able to do that. >> You know, the unfortunate thing with all this and,

121you know, having been or am the parent of a a student with disability, this is great. The problem becomes is um whether it becomes an unfunded mandate for the school district. In other words, okay, the state allows you to do it, but you're going to have to pay for it yourself. And and that could be really >> expensive. So, I mean, there's a lot of unknowns, but it doesn't mean that the request is unreasonable or anything. So, um Dr. Deesus, did you want to just um have a vote for each of the four to give direction or how did you want to handle it? >> Yes, a vote. Um so number well so let's go number 34 I believe that we concur and anyone could let me know otherwise that we would we believe that

122that one will resolve itself um at the business at the business meeting in terms of the verbiage for the word mandatory and explanation of elementary grade levels. >> Yeah. >> Um so we can take a vote on number 30. Number 30 was um NISBA shall advocate for schoolboard members to recognized for their service via a locally authorized property tax exemption. >> So just to clarify, if you say yes to that resolution, you would be going against the NISBA recommendation. Correct? If you vote no to the resolution, that means you're actually concurring with the NISPA recommendation. Does that make sense to everybody? >> Okay. >> You want me to do it? You want >> You You could do it. >> Okay. So, those who are in favor of resolution 30, please say I. >> I. Those

123who are against resolution 30, please say I. >> I. >> So, >> wait, wait a minute. >> Wait a minute. >> Or nay to resolution 30? Yeah. Nay. >> No, I'm confused here. >> So, when you're saying yes, that means you're in favor of the tax exemption. >> No. >> Okay. When you're not Okay. So that's a pretty clear majority that we concur with NISBA to not recommend resolution 30. >> Yeah. >> Next up. >> All right. Number 33. So number 33 was NISBBA calls upon New York State Education Department to advocate for the creation and the expansion through title one. So those in favor of the resolution which would be against the recommendation of NISBA, please say yes. and 33. That's the one with the camps for special education students. >> Yes. >> Did

124I I called for the vote, but I I don't know if there's further discussion. You're good. Okay. Those that are not in favor of the resolution would which would agree with NISPA, please say no to the resolution. >> No. >> All right. So, I think that's a majority there as well. >> So, we concur with that one as well. And then the final one, number 25. Number 25 was NISBO will advocate for a share our wealth proposal. This is the one with taxing the higher wage earners in New York. So those in favor of that resolution, please say yes. Those not in favor of that resolution, please say no. >> No. >> All right. So there's a clear majority there. So um on three of the four we are agreeing with NISSBA's recommendation not to

125approve and on the other one it will be the discretion of uh pastor and Dr. De Jesus depending on whether or not there's language change to the word mandatory on that one as far as the recess is concerned. Sound good? >> All right. Cool. Good job everybody. Um before we we are going to have a motion to adjourn into late executive session. We do not anticipate coming back into public session after that. Um but some upcoming dates and reminders again as Mr. Dret mentioned policy committee meetings October 10th at 3:00. Um, a reminder, tomorrow is countywide early dismissal, 15 minutes early. That's countywide, not just in Middletown. So, please be aware. Our homecoming game against Pine Bush is tomorrow evening at 6 o'clock here. So, come on out and cheer on our Midi Bears during

126homecoming. The homecoming dance, as our student board members mentioned, is Saturday, October 11th from 6:30 to 9. Where is that located? >> At our small gym here at the high school. Um the Cavalier Cup is at noon. On Saturday, family night on October 15th at 6, and the Middletown High School panel at Twin Towers, that's October 17th, which is a week from tomorrow at 11 a.m. Sound good? >> Sound good. >> All right. I need a motion to adjourn into executive session. Motion by Mr. Bison. Need a second. >> Second by Mr. Rhett. Any discussion. >> All those in favor? >> Any opposed? No. Motion carries. 800. Have a wonderful evening everybody. Thank you.