001How are you? [Music] What's the May 7th? Good evening everybody. Welcome to the May 7th board meeting. We're going to start off with the pledge of allegiance followed by the national anthem. That's going to be sung by Katie Swansick. She's a senior Long Island SC Scholar artist for music, president of Sophonic Choir, Honors Choir, and Vice President of the Swing Choir, Oceanside High School Swing Choir. And after that, please remain standing. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Oh, say can you see by the dawn's early light, what so proudly we held at the twilight last gleaming, whose for stripes and Bright stars through the perilous fight. Or the ramparts we
002watched were so gallently streaming. And the rock get the bombs bursting in air gave through through the night that our flag was still there. Oh, say does that star spangled b yet wave or the land of the home of the brave. I would ask everybody to please remain a moment of silence for all our troops, our Nassau County Police Department, our fire departments, and for anybody else that we've lost. Okay, please be seated. So, at this particular time, we're on 4A and I'll turn this U segment over to Dennis Yoshva, who's the president who represents uh the student body. Dennis, thank you, Mr. Damrosio. And as Mr. Blau is keeping track, this is our, as Google says, penultimate meeting. So, you know, just one more left after this one. I think we're all kind of
003excited for that. So I would like to bring to the stage myself Sher Ahmad who is our vice president, Julianetta who is our treasur and Dakota Calderon who is our secretary. So we have had a lot of past events throughout these past two weeks starting off with the computer science honor society holding their second induction of the year on April 23rd. It was a wonderful event for our students who have worked hard in the CS pathway to reach this as well. Our motheraughter dinner held on April the 24th. It was a great event for our senior girls to be able to celebrate their mothers and have a wonderful party. All of us were lucky to attend this event as bu as as both waiters and people in attendance. And we would like to thank Miss
004Kosakov for and Miss Steinberg for helping to set this up. On April the 29th, OS celebrated two wonderful events for our students. First, at 7:30 came our jazz night at the auditorium, which was a star-studded event filled with wonderful music. Earlier that day as well, students got to see the third quarter report cards. Wonderful event indeed. On May 1st, our National Honor Society held their annual induction ceremony led by Miss Raldi and Mr. Kuniello with assistance from the senior class officers and keynote speech from Mrs. Prey Jakamo. Our induction ceremony went swimmingly and new inductees are now part of an organization that honors their hard work and dedication to the school and community. Up next is Julian. Our students had a great time taking part in the SAT exam on May 3rd to bolster their
005chances next year during the college application process. We just know these students will receive great scores. Now comes more exams for our high school students, namely the AP exams which we have already begun taking, AP bio included. Uh we are excited to be taking these exams to receive college credit and it'll be worth it in the end. However, we know that all these grades will be at least close to fours and fives. Looking to the future with only so many days of school left, we are excited to announce that we will be hosting more induction ceremonies to honor the hard work of all the students these next couple of weeks. First, we have our thespian induction ceremony happening on May 9th to honor all the hard work that these gifted students do to make these
006plays possible. Additionally, our world language honor society will be hosting their induction ceremony on May 20th to congratulate all the hardworking students when all the wonderful world language options offered at the high school. Continuing on, our math honor society, MU Alpha Theta, will have their induction ceremony the next day on May 21st to celebrate the hard work and dedication of the students that have achieved great things in the realm of math. And finally, on May 30th, our Triam Honor Society will be hosting their induction ceremony to honor all the students who work exceptional in the field of music. Congratulations to all who will be inducted. Now to Dakota. OS's first spring concert will be on May 14th with our second one being held on May 19th. It'll be a wonderful event filled with great songs
007and blooming musics and we hope you all will attend. On May 20th, the fine arts and performing arts department, I'm sorry, will host the spotlight on the stars at the middle school to showcase the talent of our students in the drama department as well. On the same day, a special time of year for all seniors, namely awards season. On the 2nd, our arts awards will be given out to students with the varsity awards being given the next day on the 3rd and the regular honor night will be happening on the 5th. All these awards will be celebrated that will be celebrated to their hard work and dedication these students have for their craft. On the 3rd, as well comes another special time for athletes. The chosen few will be attended will be able to be
008inducted into the hall of fame. An honor bestowed to well accomplished students and we congratulate them on all their hard [Applause] work. Continuing on on the fourth, the seniors are all excited and gearing up to spend a wonderful um day at Six Flags in New Jersey at their senior field trip. It's such a great way for us to bond one last time before we all split off into our separate areas. On the 8th comes our new annual car show at OS. The engineering kids would take the time all year to create this car as a project and at the end of it all get to showcase it to the community. So we hope you all come out and support this great event. On the 10th and 11th come wonderful events for our students, namely the
009start of a select few regions. Their biology regions will be held in the tent with the geometry regions on the 11th and we wish all of those students good luck. Finally on the 10th the students get to celebrate our barbecue. This event will be another chance we get to all celebrate together getting us on each other's yearbooks and looking at the senior slideshow which is currently being worked on by our yearbook class. So as we wrap up these announcements, we just want to say on behalf of all student go, congratulations to all the teachers gathered here tonight for tenure and all that. We hope you have a wonderful night. Thank you. That is the high school report. Now I would like to bring Castleton student representatives. I feel bad if I screw up these names.
010I'm sorry. Alexandra Book Brady Cherroski. No, wait. Screw that. And Sophia Papa Denu, please w please welcome up. Thank you. Good evening, Dr. Harrington, members of the board of education, district leaders, faculty, family, and my fellow students. My name is Sophia Papa and I'm proud to speak tonight on behalf of the student council at OS Castleton. This morning we held our second annual mental health awareness day which continues to grow as one of our most meaningful parts of our day five programming. This goal of the day was simple but powerful to give students the time, space, and tools to focus on their mental well-being. Throughout the morning, students rotated through a variety of wellness centered stations. These included mindfulness and DBT coping skills, movement sessions like yoga and fitness through music, and discussion on how
011to reduce stress and create balance in our lives. These weren't just activities. They were lessons in emotional regulation, self-care, and social connection. Events like this show us how mental health isn't something we should only talk about when there is a crisis. It's something we should nurture every day. And thanks to our staff, that message becoming a part of our culture. Good evening. My name is Alex Book and I'd like to take a moment to highlight how student voice and leadership help shape the success of our mental health awareness day. This year, two of our seniors, Laura and Talia, stepped forward to share their studentled New York State Seal of Civ Seal of Civic Readiness Projects. These presentations added a peer-driven perspective that made the day even more impactful. Laura's project focused on the importance of
012Narcan training and harm reduction education. She explained how awareness and preparation can save lives during opioid related emergencies and why it's essential for students and adults to understand the realities of addiction and how to respond responsibly. Talia's project tackled the stigma around mental health and treatment. She spoke passionately about the importance of seeking help and promoted a big sale she organized to raise money for the Oceanside Safe Coalition. Both Laura and Talia showed us that advocacy can start with a single voice and that students can lead with both heart and purpose. Their courage inspired others to listen, reflect, and take action. [Applause] Good evening. My name is Brady and as a senior getting ready to graduate, I want to reflect on what mental health awareness day meant to me and many of my classmates. High
013school is a time of growth, but also a time of stress, pressure, and personal challenge. What makes Calin different is that we don't pretend those challenges don't exist. Instead, we face them together with support, with empathy, and with real tools that help us grow stronger. On mental health awareness day, we didn't just talk about coping. We practiced it. We learned mindful breathing, participated in movement and music sessions that showed the connection between physical and emotional health and had open conversations about what it means to live a balanced life. I've seen the difference it makes when students feel supported emotionally. It changes how we show up in class. It changes how we treat one another. And as I prepare for college and life beyond, I know all I know these are lessons I'll carry with me.
014I'm grateful to be part of a school that believes in building resilience, not just resumes, and that makes student wellness more than just a talking point. It's a core value. Thank you. Thank you, Castleton representatives. Now I would like to bring up student school five representatives Owen Bouette, Samantha Foy, Catalina Pyampus, Sophia Pedro, and Alyssa Rodriguez [Applause] Ortiz. Good evening, Oceanside community. My name is Alyssa Rodriguez and I'm the school five student council president. I am joined today by my fellow officers Sophia Pedro as vice president, Owen Blue as treasurer, and Catalina Pimes as historian. We are thrilled to be here this evening to share the incredible achievements of School 5 student council over the past year. Our club is committed to enhancing the experience at School 5 while also engaging in meaningful community events.
015We strive to create a welcoming environment where our students and families truly feel a sense of belongings within the School 5 community. One of the most exciting things we did this year was change up our school lunch menu. We teamed up with Miss Jennifer Kelly, our cafeteria operation manager, to come up with some awesome new lunch options. We surveyed the student body to come up with the options and choose the most popular foods. Some of those addition included mac and cheese bites, dumplings, fried rice, and chicken parm heroes. The students at school five loved the new options. [Applause] This year, the student council also hosted our third annual winter ball for our fifth and sixth graders along with the spring fling special persons dance for our first through fourth graders. These dances are a highlight
016for all the students and we had so much fun planning and volunteering for them. We also volunteered at a family fun and fitness night. We were where we served as student ambassadors helping families move from station to station. Families enjoyed all sorts of athletic activities like mind and body games, karate, dance, crossfit, and gaga ball. It's also a blast to see our school 5 community come together for such a fun event. Additionally, we organized impactful events like Hoops for Hunger March Madness where we collected over 1,300 items and made more than $300, where we donated to the Oceanside Community Service. Last week, we helped our autism appreciation walk-athon and raised over $7,000 to support the NSA and the sensory needs for our school of five students. We love raising money for great causes and making
017a difference in our community. This month we are celebrating our local heroes during nurses week and police week. The student council is excited to deliver cards, hot pretzels, and treats to the nurses at Mount Cyani South Nassau Hospital this Friday. Next week we will be visiting the fourth precinct to bring pizzas and donuts. We will truly appreciate our nurses and police officers and we love celebrating them during these special weeks. Our student council is dedicated to ensuring that every student feels at home in our school. Working with our shared decision-making team, we are creating welcome kits for new students arriving at school 5. These kits will include a t-shirt, welcome banner, balloons, welcome cards, and advice from fellow students. We want every new student to feel the warm welcome of the school 5 family. To
018further promote a friendly atmosphere, our student council has set up safety patrol. Club members volunteer in the mornings wearing yellow safety vests to greet students as they arrive with friendly greetings, high fives. The safety patrol ensures that all students get to class safely while feeling welcomed. [Applause] Lastly, we will hold our monthly Starbucks cafe in the mornings, which is always a hit. This event invite in invites all of school 5 students to come in before school and grab breakfast, snacks, and chocolate milk while cozying up with a good book and friends. Plus, it is a great chance to stop at the star at the school store. Everyone looks forward at the school store. Everyone looks forward to Starbucks Cafe each month and it's a wonderful way to connect with students from different classes and grades.
019Thank you for to our administration team and the board of education for allowing us to share our accomplishments tonight. We truly enjoyed highlighting all the exciting things that we achieved at school 5 this year and we look forward to even more success next school year. Wishing everyone a fantastic end of the school year. Hold on. Hold on. Hold on. Hold on. Get back there. Come on. Get back. I I want to know two things. First of all, this menu. What What are we doing with this menu over here? We We We got Mac nuggets. We got chicken palm. I mean, is guys Atkins or something like that or what the story over there? All right. On a on a serious note, raising over $7,000 for autism. I mean, that's got to be really something. Can
020you can you just can you expand on that a little bit? How' that day go or what happened on that day? Any of his go ahead. You want a chicken pom or something like that or All right. Who's the president? President speak. Go ahead. Um, is it about like is it about like the lunch options? No. Tell us about the autism. What did you guys do for that day to raise that money? Um, basically what we did was we um it was basically we some students participated to walk around the track to raise money for the autism walkathon. And at the end they would have like don like people who donate to raise the money for the autism. Very good. Thank you so much. [Applause] At this particular time, we're up to tenure and tenure
021is about 23 teachers and administration administrators rather uh really being recognized for all the work that they're doing for the children of the school district. So, this portion we will turn over to Dr. Harrington and we're going to honor some people. Yes, we are. So, thank you for joining us this evening. I have to just say as I think I do now every year, this truly truly is my favorite night of the entire school year because it really is so very important. So, just bear with me. I want to just share a few words because tonight we do mark a significant and proud milestone in the professional journeys of several outstanding educators as we present my recommendations for the granting of tenure. Tenure is more than a status. It is a recognition of excellence, commitment,
022and a promise for the future. It affirms that these educators have not only met the highest standards of professional practice, but they have done so with integrity, passion, and an unwavering dedication to their students. But no one reaches this point alone. Behind every teacher earning tenure tonight stands a team. A team that includes mentors who offered guidance, fellow teachers who shared wisdom, colleagues who provided encouragement, and administrators who nurtured growth. To all of you, thank you for playing your part in this journey. Your support and collaboration have been vital. We also acknowledge and deeply appreciate the families of our honores. Your love, patience, and steadfast belief in these educators have been the bedrock upon which they've built their careers. Thank you for standing by them through long nights of planning, weekends of grading, and moments
023of challenge and triumph. As we celebrate these accomplishments, I'm reminded of our theme for this year that fits tonight perfectly. Teamwork makes the dream work. Like baseball, education is not an individual sport. It's a team effort. Each person playing their position with heart and hustle, backing each other up and keeping their eyes on the goal. And just like a great baseball team, when we work together, we win together on behalf of our students, our schools, and our community. To our tenure recipients, congratulations. You've earned this moment, and we look forward to all the ways you will continue to inspire, lead, and make a difference for many seasons to come. And now I invite you, we do have 23 recipients as Mr. D Ambrosio said, but I do invite you to just sit back and enjoy
024our presentation to you that we believe represents one of the finest teams that we have been able to put together here in the Oceanside schools. And board members, it's going to be about 16 minute video. So you're welcome to take those other seats if you're more comfortable than just turning around. [Music] The sun came out today. We're born again. There's new grass on the field. Around the third and headed for home. It's a browneyed handsome man. Anyone can understand the way I feel. Oh, put me in cold. I'm ready to play today. Put me in cold. I'm ready to play today. Look at me. I can be Well, I spent some time in the mud night watching it from the bench. You know, I took some lumps when the mighty cave struggle. So say, "Hey,
025Willie, tell the cow and Joe, don't say it." So you know the time is now. Oh, put me in cold. I'm ready to play today. Put me in cold. I'm ready to play today. Look at me. I can be set. [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] Hey, hey, hey. [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] Heat. Heat. [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] Heat. [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] Heat. [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] Heat. Heat. [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] Hey, [Music] hey, [Music] hey, hey. [Music] [Applause] Heat. Heat. [Music] Hey, [Music] hey, hey. [Music] Hey, [Music] hey, [Music] hey, [Music] hey, Heat. Heat. N. [Music] Hey, [Music] hey, hey. Woah woah woah woah. [Music] Oh, hey. [Music] Woah.
026Woah. Woah. [Music] Oh. [Music] Oh. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. N. [Music] Woah. Woah. Woah. [Music] Oh. [Music] Oh. Heat. Heat. [Music] N. Heat. Heat. N. [Music] Heyoo. Uh-huh. [Applause] [Music] Hey, [Music] hey, [Music] hey. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. Heat. [Music] N. Heat. Heat. N. [Music] Oh [Music] [Applause] yeah. Heat. Heat. [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] Heat. Hey, [Music] Heat. Heat. Heat. [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] Heat. Hey, heat. Hey, heat. [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] Heat. Heat. Heat. [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] Heat. Heat. [Applause] [Music]
027[Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] Heat. [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] Heat. Hey, Heat. Heat. Heat. N. [Music] Super around. [Music] Hey, [Music] hey, hey. [Music] [Applause] [Music] Hey, hey, hey. [Music] Hey, Super. [Music] So, I don't know about you, but this is at least the fifth or sixth time that I've seen it, if not more. And I the joy that it brings me is is is quite overwhelming. These people have worked incredibly hard to reach this point. and you can't capture it in the few short minutes, but we tried to give you some idea. And and the way I look at it is not only we celebrating these amazing educators, but I don't know how you can't look at the just
028variety and and volume of things that are going on in our district and not be incredibly proud of what this district brings to its community. I mean, it it just runs the gamut as you can see. And um there's there's joy not only on the faces of the children just to see the camaraderie and the collegiality. Um and and that is the culture that we really um believe in here. It's the culture that's supported by a board of education. And um I just I just can't tell you how proud it makes me to stand up in front of all of you um as your superintendent watching something like this. So now what we're going to do um Don, we're going to lift the screen and we're just going to call everybody. I'm not just gonna
029call you by name. We have a little gift for you and I am going to ask you, I'm sorry, to please join um onto the stage so we can take one big picture and your families can take pictures and you can get one rounding um uh applause at the end so that um we really can show you how proud we are of you. [Applause] Elementary teacher from school number three, Ashley Appel, [Applause] English teacher, Oceanside High School. Juliana [Applause] Beloglu, our amazing math teacher at Castleton High School, Michael Bosch. [Applause] our science teacher at school 9mm, Michael [Applause] Chalice. Our business education teacher at OS, Sheila [Applause] Cruz, our mathematics and computer science teacher at OS and the middle school, Brandon Crofts. [Applause] Special education teacher school number eight, Shauna Dolan Sproul. [Applause] our school
030counselor at MS, Connor Dorner. Dornney [Applause] our physical education teacher at MS Dakota [Applause] Edges and our amazing gymnastics coach as well. I'll add that. [Applause] Our dean of students at OS new dad, Luke Gagstader. [Applause] physical education teacher. OS Brian Gilbert [Applause] Mr. L's got this covered for you, Brian. [Applause] Elementary's teacher at school 9Ee, Kana [Applause] Janine, special education teacher at school number four, Laura [Applause] Moriati, special education teacher at OS. Thomas Palado, OS graduate, [Applause] orchestra teacher, or orchestra teacher at MS, Teresa Petra Monaco. [Applause] Go, a science teacher at OS. Vincent [Applause] Simeonetti, elementary teacher at our early learning center. Robin Whitetter. [Applause] And now I just have to say there's nothing that um makes it makes my job easier than having a team of leaders that I'm surrounded by. And
031we have nothing but just the absolute best. And this group joins an already just incredibly accomplished, committed, hardworking group that I am so proud to consider my colleagues and leadership. Starting with our director of early childhood special education, Robin Price. [Applause] our executive director of special education, Tracy Murray. Our director of high school special education, Saudia Muhammad. [Applause] Our director of physical education, health and intercolastic athletics, Thomas Leman. [Applause] Elementary Principal School number four, Jackie Graham. [Applause] And last, but certainly not least, our amazing director of media fine and performance. Performing arts, Mr. Andrew Fry [Applause] Gold. So, I don't know about you, ladies and gentlemen, but I think we put together an amazing team. Let's give them a wonderful round of applause. [Applause] And now before you all go, what? Oh, go ahead. And
032then everybody Wait, don't anybody move. So the one No, I'm going to I'm going to formally allow the board to accept my recommendation for their tenure. Okay. So, at this particular time, I'd like to take a motion to approve the tenure recommendations as submitted. Motion. Okay. We have Stu Kaplan and Mr. Transom. Any questions or comments? All in favor? I'm sorry, M. Mr. Transm. I just want to make one comment. Yes. Before we vote on it, um I think at this time it's fitting to to remind um our our people up on the stage the the words from uh former board member uh Al L who used to say every year to the new group that were about to be tenured and congratulating you is to just remind you that we are trusting the future
033of the children of the community with you And that's as big of a responsibility as we could give any group of people. So congratulations. Thank you for that, Mr. Blau. Uh all in favor? I. Any opposed? Any abstension? Motion passes. [Music] [Applause] At this particular time, we're going to take a fivem minute break for refreshments and then we'll start the business end of the meeting in five Thanks. She wasn't Okay, we're going to start the business end of the meeting and we're working on four G's and George and what's okay so at this time over there it's going to be the 2025 26 budget hearing and I'm going to ask Dr. Harrington and Dr. Jerel Kley and the Oceanside Library will all be speaking. Thank you, Mr. D. Uh, good night. Uh, good good night.
034Good night. We'd like to see. Okay, folks. Take it easy. Have a good night. Not that easy, guys. Sorry. Good evening. And stay tuned. Um, tonight's presentation uh will be the budget hearing for the 25 26 school year. Uh just a reminder for the community, uh the proposed budget has been covered in great detail since January with a complete line by line review of each page of our budget. All previous budget workshop presentations are available on the district's website. The topics covered tonight will cover the following. A review of the 2526 budget, highlighting some aspects of our expenditure budget, as well as balancing the budget through our revenue sources. We will compare year-to-year figures, discuss the budget ballot propositions, and share where our information is housed and how we transparently communicate our budget and financial
035information. Our proposed expenditures remain in full compliance, adhering to all K through2 state regulations. This includes state and federal mandates to support the students with disabilities, the guidelines regarding mental health, and our ESSA financial transparency reports. In curriculum, we are happy to preserve all programs and services and continue to offer a well-rounded education for all students. Full-time personnel are maintained through attrition, and Oceanside is proud to continue a onetoone Chromebook or iPad device model for all K- through2 students. The district has upgraded approximately 300 desktop computers districtwide through our Smart Schools bond act allocation. in facilities. Proposed facility improvements include general renovations, continued and ongoing parking lot maintenance districtwide, and necessary security upgrades in all buildings through a collective partnership with the Alaris Consultant Group. For another year, Oceanside will once again be receiving a
036state grant to offer universal prek for eligible four-year-olds and their families. Our 2526 UPK allocation does allow the district to offer 287 seats at no cost to families which is budgetneutral. We have developed this budget under the economic inflation impact that our society is facing. For us, it included increases to items such as insurance, transportation services, utilities, and special education, just to name a few. For the 2526 school year, the total general fund operating expenditures are 186,74,215, which represents a 2.93% budget increase. In New York State, the expenditure budget has three components: program, capital, and administrative. The state recommends at least twothirds of your total operating budget support the program component. Through careful budget planning, we are proud that in Oceanside 77% of all of our expenditures support the program component. 13% of the expenditure
037budget supports the capital component and 10% of the total budget covers the administrative expenses which includes central offices, building administration, Bose services, legal fees, audit and financial services, insurance reciprocal just to name a few. We will now transition to the revenue sources that help balance the budget. Oceanside has three major revenue sources to balance our budget. Other sources which are important local sources of revenue that include DACA pilots payments in le of taxes, direct assessment, use of fund balance, interest earnings among others. state aid, which is based on categorical aid and districts district expense driven aid provided by New York State to support our educational needs, and our tax levy, which are property taxes levied on four different classifications of property subject to subject to the tax cap set by New York State. We will
038now review each of these revenue streams in greater detail. Our 2526 local sources of revenue amount to $16.1 million. The Lipa Glide Path is a 7-year decreasing scale of loss revenue up to 45% from a settlement LIPA made with Nassau County back in 2021, which shifts the revenue LIPA owes off of the tax roles and now in the form of a special category called a direct assessment, which is $4.5 million for Oceanside in 2526. We are in year four of year four of a possible seven on the glide path which currently represents approximately just under $12 million loss since the glide paths took effect. The district is projecting higher interest income earned on bank investment accounts due to improved uh rates and improved credit rating for Moody's and an overall healthy financial position for the
039district. Miscellaneous revenues encompass use of facilities, vendor reimbursements, donations, and prior year reimbursements, just to name a few. All other sources are fairly consistent with previous budgeting years. State aid is money provided to schools based on the district's combined wealth and enrollment. The state uses a categorical aid formula and locally controlled district expense driven aids from our annual financial report known as the ST3. Each year, state aid projections come out usually in January and are finalized in April when the governor's budget is enacted. Just last week, the New York State governor's executive budget was approved. Our state aid projections once again were accurately forecasted as we developed this year's budget for the 2526 school year. As you see, our state aid amount is approximately $38.7 million, which does represent a significant increase due to updated
040community census data, as well as increased building aid. Uh, since we've recently closed out capital projects, including phase 1 through four of the Oceanside Science Department as well as the middle school library. Um, as you can see to my left, which would be your right, visual renderings are on the stage or near the stage, um, of the scope of what will go into the phase five at Oceanside High School science renovation, which is scheduled to begin this summer. And I do, you know, I do implore you to look at that and please reach out if you have any questions. Here is the district's tax levy formula and how it is calculated. Based on the tax cap formula, our 2526 maximum allowable tax levy limit is 1.1% or $131.7 million for the upcoming year. Again, our
041maximum allowable levy limit is 1.1 compared to last year's maximum allowable tax levy limit of 1.57%. Oceanside prides itself on levying taxes only on what is needed to support our our budget. The district is proposing a tax levy of 1.1 to meet our budgetary needs, which is within our tax cap. Our projected levy once again is $131.7 million, which will be one of the lowest this year in all of Nassau County. Covering all three revenue sources of local, state aid, and the tax levy, as well as the three-part components of our expenditure budget, we now have our revenue equal to our expenses. Here is a quick uh review of year-to-year figures. Again, our expenditure budget is increasing by 2.93% compared to last year's amount. As you see, that will preserve all program and full-time staff.
042And our proposed tax levy amount uh represents a 1.1% increase from last year to fund the 2526 budget. We are confident that with your support, this budget will meet all student needs for the upcoming school year. Should the budget not pass uh a simple majority voter approval, it can be submitted for a revote. However, if defeated twice, the district must adopt a contingency budget, which will cause certain expenditures to be removed from our proposed budget while keeping taxes the same from prior year. There will be two uh propositions that will appear on this year's budget ballot. Proposition number one is the total expenditure budget, which requires a simple majority voter approval. Proposition number two is the Oceanside Library budget. Finally, the board of education trustee elections will also appear on this year's ballot. At this
043time, I would like to invite our friends from the library to go over the library's proposed 2526 budget. Good evening everyone. My name is Chris Mara, director of Oceanside Library. With me this evening are library trustees, vice president Janet Pearl, Terry Fineran, and head of information and adult services Michelle Samuel. This past year has been truly transformative for Oceanside Library. On October 27th, 2024, we proudly opened the doors to our new building, marking the beginning of an exciting new chapter. With expanded space and enhanced services, the library has seen a significant increase in attendance, averaging close to 1,000 visits per day. We continue to provide and expand our innovative programming, educational resources, tech help, and community service. Virtually every week, we have been rolling out new services like the library of things, the seed and
044cutting library, Tony boxes, and more. The library's budget will appear as a proposition on the May 20th school district ballot. This proposition is our request for an increase in our contract with the school district. Passage of this request would result in the average Oceanside resident seeing an increase of approximately $36 per household for the year or approximately $3 per month per household to sustain the high level of services including maintaining and expanding programs for all ages and having the addition of security personnel. This budget will continue all of our services and is designed to meet the needs of our new building. If you haven't visited our new library yet, please stop in for a tour. I look forward to seeing you all in the library. We thank the wonderful community for your continued trust and
045support. We look forward to serving you in the years ahead. As I always say, your library is here for you. Thank you. Thank you everyone. I'll see you soon. Thank you, Miss Mara. In an effort to remain transparent with our Oceanside community, uh the following budget communications are available. The full 100 plus page proposed budget is on the district website. The six-day budget notice and annual budget newsletter have already been mailed out, and our district website is full of pertinent financial information, including the proposed budget, previous budget workshops, financial presentations, the current exter external audited financial statements, as well as the current district's reserves plan. Our budget vote is uh scheduled for May 20th, 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. right here at the Merl Avenue School Gym. Tonight, we have covered the budget hearing. A
046special thank you goes out to Miss Samantha Sanor uh for her partnership in developing her first budget here in Oceanside and also a sincere a sincere thanks to those PTA and community groups who have invited us to present the budget during your respective meetings. Uh if there are any questions regarding the budget, please do not hesitate to contact Miss Sanor or myself. Thank you. Thank you Mr. Kley and Dr. Kley and thank you Chris Mara. And and again, I ask anybody whether here or or at home watching, please if you have any questions, please call the district office. We can explain it to you. Might take a little time, but please call the district office for any questions that you may have. At this particular time, we're at 5A, which is uh public input. It's
047opportunity to comment on agenda items. Any audience member wishing to make a comment on an item that is on tonight's agenda can do so at this time. Anyone wishing to make a comment on an item not on tonight's agenda will have the opportunity to do so later on an agenda. While New York State Law does not require us to hold a public comment period on agenda items, this board of education chooses to do so because we believe it's important to get input from community members on board agenda items. Please note that the board is here to listen. While everyone is encouraged to share their comments, please keep in mind that this is not designed to be a question and answer session. Again, comments should be directed towards the chair of the meeting, which is me.
048Anyone wishing to speak should come up to the microphone clearly state your name and your child's school. At this time, is there anybody who'd like to come up and speak about agenda items only? Seeing none. Oh, I'm sorry. There's always one, right? That's okay. That's all right. Good evening, everyone. Um, Mr. Dan Rosie, I just wanted to um thank Dr. Kley and um Miss Senator and the whole administrative team um for just another year of an incredible respectful conservative budget. Um respectful of the taxpayers and um and the programs maintaining everything year after year. And you see what's happening in other school districts and the difficulties they're having. You guys just do an amazing job and I just want to thank you all for that. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Sp. At this particular time,
049we're on um 66 6A, approved for minutes for the April 23rd meeting. I'll take a motion. Motion. Second, we got that. Ch. Yes. Okay. Any questions or comments? All in favor? Any opposed? Any abstensions? Motion passes. We'll take a motion to accept the the financial reports, treasury reports, transfer of funds, and internal claims audit review or warrants as submitted. I'll make a motion. I second. All in favor? I. Any opposed? Any abstensions? Motion passes. Uh 7A, approval for the use of facilities. Oceanside corral. I'll take a motion. I'll move it. Second, Mr. Transom, Mr. Moresca. Any questions or comments? All in favor? I. Any opposed? Any abstensions? Motion passes. Approval for use of facilities at the Oceanside High School by the technology department. I'll take a motion. Motion. Second. Any question or comments? All in
050favor? I. Any abstensions? Motion passes. Dr. Kley. on 7C approval use of facilities Mount Sinai South National Hospital. I'll take a motion. I'll move it. Sandy, I second. Laura, any question or comments? All in favor? I. Any opposed? Motion passes. Approval use approval of use of facilities united for change. I'll take a motion. I'll move it. Second, Mr. Moresca. Any questions or comments? All in favor? Any opposed? Any abstensions? Motion passes. Approval to accept donations the Barry Kaplan scholarship. I'll take a motion. Motion. Any questions or comments? Second. Oh, I'm sorry. Um, we got Stu Kaplan and Mr. Blau. Any questions or comments? All in favor? Any opposed? Any abstensions? Motion passes. We're on 7F. Approve. Approve for accept donations. Uh, Nassau Counselors Association. I'll take a motion. I'll move it. Any second. Okay, Laura,
051I'm jumping too quick. Any questions or comments? All in favor? I. Any opposed? Any abstensions? Motion passes. Dr. Coley, how we doing? Okay. 8A, professional personnel recommendations. I'll move it. Second. Any questions or comments? All in favor? Any opposed? Any abstensions? Motion passes. Mr. Damroser, if I may, please. Sure. Um, so the board now officially just made a couple of recommendations that I would like to just highlight very quickly. First, new additions to our staff. We're very happy um to welcome Devon Gallagher, who will be our new high school library media specialist as of September. Welcome, Devon. She comes to us with a number of years of of experience uh in in in a in a district uh who um we're very happy to have her. Let me just let me leave it at that.
052Um we are extremely excited um that the board has now officially appointed Miss Anna Poloccastro as our executive director of technology. Anna comes to us with many years of experience uh starting in the great neck public schools and then followed by the Glen Cove schools where she served as the director of technology. Uh we are very very very happy to welcome you officially Anna to the Oceanside family. Welcome. And now some bittersweet. And I know we'll have an opportunity in June to to celebrate all of our people who have made um a a decision uh in their life. But we have two amazing educators who will be leaving us not quite in June but very early on in the school year. So the board will be a has accepted officially their uh their retirement at
053this point. Uh one is Dean Marluchcci who is just an amazing ENL teacher has been most recently at the early learning center. She's just an amazing amazing addition to our our faculty and we will miss her. And then finally, Mr. Rob Pitman uh is officially going to be retiring from Oceanside. I have to say um you know, we're we're not only is Rob a amazing educator. He's cuckoo as crazy as the middle school is. Uh he fits right in with that. But um it it's very a superintendent is incredibly fortunate when they have an an opportunity to work as a partner uh with with the president of of of the union and I've had the just honor and pleasure of working side by side with Rob for the past number of years as he has
054served uh just beautifully as the president of the I know they will miss him. I certainly will miss him. We all will miss you Rob. Um we wish you just nothing but the best. Thank you. We're on 8B. So we'll take a motion to approve civil service personnel recommendation as submitted. I'll take a motion. Motion. Sue. Second. Seth. Any questions or comments? All somebody say something. Okay. All in favor? Any opposed? Any abstensions? Motion passes. Just really quickly, we do have another retirement uh and that is Janet Marx who basically I know Mr. Lehman uh thinks he runs the athletic department. It really is Janet Mars who does that. So um we will miss her terribly, not not more than Mr. Leman will. Uh but she also will be leaving us um uh early part
055of September, but graciously agreed to stay long enough to get through the summer, which is the craziest part of of the athletic schedule. So uh we will miss her terribly. We wish her also nothing but the best. Thank you. We're on HC. I'll take a motion to approve the hourly the hourly employee recommendations as submitted. I'll move it. I second. Sandy and you got that. And any questions or comments? All in favor? Any opposed? Any abstensions? Motion passes. And we take a motion to approve the DACA employee recommendation as submitted. I move second Mr. Trans and Mr. Moresca. Any questions or comments? All in favor? I. Any opposed? Any abstensions? Motion passes. And we'll take a motion to approve the recommendation for the CSCPS chair chairpersons as submitted. Motion. St. Second. And set. Any questions
056or comments? All in favor? I. Any opposed? Any abstensions? Motion passes. Number 10, items for action. I'll take a motion to approve and authorize the 2025 2026 short-term borrowing tax anticipation notes, also notice uh resolution. I'll move it. Sandy. I second. Laura, any questions or comments? All in favor? I. Any opposed? Any abstensions? Motion passes. We're good with that, Dr. Jones. Okay. A motion to approve the summer playground program staff pay scale for the 2025 as submitted. I'll take a motion. Second. Someone's got it first. M transom. Okay. Any questions or comments? All in favor? Any opposed? Any abstensions? Motion passes. Approval to allow students to complete the 2425 school year at school 2. I'll take a motion. Motion. Still second. Second. Any questions or comments? All in favor? I. Any opposed? Any abstensions? Motion
057passes. Uh, I'll take a motion for the 2025 2026 updated school overnight field trips. I'll move it. Sandy, I second. And Laura, any questions or comments? All in favor? I. Any opposed? Any abstensions? Motion passes. 11A. at this particular time. Uh, Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Harrington. Yeah, it it was a long but wonderful, wonderful night. Thank you. And again, and congratulations to all of our welldeserved honores. Uh, this is an incredibly busy time of year, just take a quick look at our district calendar, you'll know what I mean. I pretty much think if you pick any day of the week and want to come to something at Oceanside, you can do that. Uh, and if you're inclined, please don't miss our concerts. They are just amazing. our spring sports are well into um well into
058into uh play. So, please join us. We're so happy to see um to see guests at these wonderful events. Uh I just want to quickly add to what the students mentioned again this uh earlier about the fundraising and um as a district uh it was an initiative spearheaded by Miss Murray and her team and I have to say there were a number of things that they did in one month time, one month April. So they did walkadons, uh they did spirit weeks, they did t-shirt sales, they sold hearts for campaigns. Overall, and I know the students talked about the amount of money they raised, but as a district in one month time, we raised nearly $10,000 and proceeds will go to benefit organizations such as Camp Anchor as well as the NASA SuffK Autism Society
059of America. An amazing amazing cause. Congratulations to the special ed team and everyone who supported their efforts. Something very much to be proud of. Uh, I do want to mention um I I failed to mention it earlier and I just want to take an opportunity um the video that you did see. Uh I certainly didn't put it put it together myself um but uh I could not do it without the help of Miss Tracy Busk um who is our video broadcasting teacher and um she takes my crazy ideas and she makes them happen. So, I just wanted to thank her uh for all of her efforts um in in producing that beautiful video for all of us to enjoy. Finally, it's Mother's Day weekend. I wish every every mother uh just a happy happy um
060beautiful day uh on Sunday. Happy spring, everybody. Looking forward to it. At this particular time, it's opportunities for the board of education. Um Mr. Well, just want to acknowledge this past week I think almost all of us up here um celebrated with Miss PvO who was um honored was recognized by the Nassau Boseis Foundation uh for all the work that you do. Congratulations. It was a it was a wonderful night and it was great to spend that time in uh celebrating your achievements and accomplishments. I also just wanted to acknowledge the the the from our tenure um uh staff, the staff that got tenure today. It um it seems like it was almost just yesterday because, you know, while we don't necessarily meet or interview the teaching staff, we we do with the administrators. And
061I remember that was really in the midst of COVID and we all had to be social distanced and be in these very large rooms and and uh while it seemed like it was just yesterday, it also seems like it was an eternity ago and um it's quite amazing the four years. Their tenure portfolios were uh quite amazing to go through and you know well I'm not an educator and I get to the domains and I kind of skim through them because that doesn't really mean that much to me. What I like most about them, of course, is the part of reflecting on the past four years as well as their plans for the future of what they what they want to do. And that is um such a great exercise. It's something that they should
062do and probably everyone should do on some kind of regular basis in terms of taking account of um sort of where you are and and where you want to go with that. And lastly, I just just want to uh correct one more thing with our our young colleague um Mr. Yoshuv. It it it's not that Google says that it's your penultimate meeting. It is your penultimate meeting. This is crazy. Okay, we have this set and Dennis is just a love affair that we just keeps on going. Any other board members? Sandy? Yes. Um, first I'd like to take the opportunity to to recognize the fact that starting last Friday and I think well into this week and even next week we will be celebrating teacher appreciation week and also we add our staff to that
063appreciation as well. Uh on the be on behalf of all the PTAs, we'd like to again thank you all for what you do to inspire our kids, to mentor our kids. Um they wouldn't be the same without you. So, thank you for that. Uh, we also have nurses appreciation week. I don't know why the weeks are conflicting, but to all of our nurses out there, we thank you also for what you do. Um, and I think did I forget anything else that we have to do? No, Don Delirium's coming up. Thank you for those of you who support us on that. And uh, good luck, Dennis. Mr. Kaplan, I just want to say congratulations to all of those receiving tenure. It uh it's a process. It's a a journey. It shows your dedication to your
064district, your craft, your professionalism, and most of all your dedication to your students. And we thank you for all your hard work and look forward to all the great things that you all bring to the district in the future. Congratulations. Uh, Miss Ley, anything? No. Mr. Transen, just a a quick congratulations to those that have retired. Uh, congratulations to those who uh received tenure uh this evening. And to remind everybody that there is a Memorial Day parade on Memorial Day. It kicks off at I believe it's 9:30. They're meeting at Towers and kicks off at 10 o'clock or steps off as they say. I hope to see uh everybody there and I think everybody else is probably Well, you're gonna get it from Mr. Moresca. He's got three pages here. Thank you. Have have a
065great holiday. Two and a half. Uh thank you, Mr. Transom. First of all, again, I'd like to congratulate all of those who had received their tenure. And to those new people, welcome to Oceanside. It's a wonderful place to be. I've been here for a while and it's truly a pleasure to work in this community. Um, I would like to say that I had the pleasure of attending the Boardman uh elementary school concert this morning and my congratulations to the teachers and especially to the students. It was quite a program. Very well done. Earlier this week, I had attended the seventh grade Boardman Middle School concert number one. And what a fantastic program that was. The number of students in the band, in the orchestra and chorus was just wonderful. just uh to see after after
066the performance I spoke to the coral director Vincent Fontineetta and asked him how many students seventh grade students were in the choir and he said 198 that's quite a number in a choir it's unbelievable and I want to congratulate the teachers the students it was an outstanding concert and kudos to Mr. Mr. Andrew Fry Gould, director of art and music, and his two assistants, Jennifer and Vicki. And I too would like to congratulate Diane Pvido, uh, who was a recipient, one of the recipients of the Nassau Boseis Education Partner Award. Mrs. PVO, you are truly an advocate for all students and this is award that was so welld deserved. So congratulations, you really deserve it. To Bob, I want to uh Bob, I want to thank I want to congratulate you on your retirement. I
067want to wish you the very best. Uh I had the pleasure of knowing you for many years and working with you. You have been a pleasure to talk with to sit and have lunch with at uh at the teacher recognition day and u and I want to wish you and your family the very best in your retirement. And to all the mothers, I want to take this opportunity to wish you all a very happy and healthy Mother's Day. Thank you. I think on a side note, Mr. Moresa, when were you tenured? I'm just curious, let me say, what year were you tenured, Mr. Morasa? I was tenured when you were in kindergarten. I was going to say for people out there, they don't realize that Don was the 13th Apostle at the Last Supper. Uh
068Diane was so we're talking about uh we had the honor of going with um to the Crest Hollow and honoring Diane but a lot of you don't know that she invited Billy Joel was there and Alexa Joel they donate a lot of money but Billy Joel came to her event so I don't know about you guys but you get Billy Joel come to your event we were impressed. On a serious note, I I always like to joke around a lot and stuff, but my relationship with Rob Pitman, I didn't know a lot about about certain things with teachers, and we hear a lot of things, but I've enjoyed the conversations and especially learning more about teachers and about things that he does. And I I just it's hard to explain of somebody that's not a
069teacher and we're on the board of education. Everybody brings something to the table, but but Rob Pitman brings more to the table than a lot of people don't realize. And that's the love that's in his heart. And he has nothing but love for the teachers in this in in our district. And every time he came to do things, it was not about Rob Pitman. it was about his entire um his entire teaching uh United Federation of Teachers. So, I know we're going to miss him, but I'm going to really miss our conversations and we're going to keep in touch, but this Rob is leaving this district in a better place than he found that. And you guys could tell Richard Shell all you want, but I'm telling you, he left this in a better place
070than what he found it. Um Phil is just saying don't tell him. Um, okay. At this particular time, we're on 13A, so it's opportunity for comment on non-aggenda items. Uh, this is next is the public comment on non-aggenda items. This the opportunity for anyone would like to make a comment on any item that it was not on tonight's agenda. As I previously mentioned, state law does not require us to hold public comment, period. But this board of education does so because we believe it's important to provide this form to hear from our community members about concerns and issues. Having said that, please note that the board's here to listen. Comment should be directed towards the chair of the meeting, which is me. While everyone is encouraged to share their comments, please remember that this is
071not designed to be a question answer session. Somebody has a question that can be quickly answered, we will do so. Otherwise, the appropriate personnel will follow up on any issue. Lastly, please remember that the board cannot and will not discuss personnel matters related to staff or students in public. Any party wishing to speak, please come up to microphone. Clearly state your name and your child's school. Thank you for cooperation. And is there anybody that would like to come up to microphones and speak on non-aggenda items? Mr. Rob Pitman. Keep coming back to extend this meeting. Huh? Here you go. So, first of all, uh, Mr. Dimber, I have a donation on on behalf of the O of which I want to say that hello. We include um our P physical therapists, occupational therapists, our aids,
072our monitors, security, our PPS staff, and all the teachers from PK to 12th grade. Um I have a donation for $250 to Dawn Delirium. That's what I'm talking about. Come on, give this guy this guy a little round of applause. Anybody else? Mr. Bitman, I'm not finished. Go ahead. Got some more money. I I also want to say um thank you for all your kind words and um I'll just keep it simple. I'll just say from ghost to ditto to all of you. Um you know we've shared many meals together, spent so much time together over the years and um I feel the same way back with all of you. It's been um really nice changing the paradigm from the 90s and 80s where it was them versus us. You know, we didn't know each
073other. We have a wonderful relationship. Um not that we don't put our heads once in a while, but you know, we do uh work together for the best interest of everyone in the community, especially our children. And um I also want to congratulate um all the staff uh that received tenure, administrators and and teachers, TAs, whoever received their tenure tonight. That was a beautiful presentation, Dr. Harrington. And lastly, congratulations for a well-deserved uh recognition to Miss Pvido. So, thank you very much. At this particular time, I'd like to make a motion to motion to adjurnn. Oh, I'm sorry, Mr. Schol. Want to make a motion to go into back into executive session. I'll make that motion. Okay. Thank you very much, everyone. Happy have a good night tonight and happy Mother's Day again.