BoE Meeting - February 19th, 2026

001you need to leave early, you are more than welcome to do so or stay as long as you like. Okay. And so we're going to skip around just a little bit and go um to the winner circle presentation. So I'm going to speak very briefly on pas you and your team can come right over this way. Um you know more and more the the role of schools continues to expand and what you know as a society schools need to do keeps changing and growing. Um there's a huge emphasis now on soft skills, collaboration, critical thinking, problem solving. We know that there's renewed interest in the trades and how important it is right now. Teamwork and being able to set a goal and work collectively as part of a team. And we're just so fortunate that

002I think we found a program that does all those and so so much more. Um so we've already mentioned this briefly here, but I'm going to turn it over to the team that's going to bring it to Red Hook and make it happen. Um so please um join me in welcoming uh Pas and his team. >> Hello Red Hook. Thank you so much for having us. My name is Pas Cra. I'm the executive director and founder of the Winter Circle Project. Um, we're more we're so ecstatic to be joining your school and and having you part of the project. Um, and like he was saying before, the one thing that I want to emphasize is everybody has been concentrating on how do we prepare our students for the world that's to come, right? And and

003the one thing that we know is education should be preparing you for life. It shouldn't be preparing you just to go to school again. It should be preparing you for life. And one thing that we know is everybody is on a team when when you leave here. What kind of team do you want? What kind of team are you trying to build? How do you work with people? How do you collaborate? So, what I love about WCP is it's reality based education. Um, and the reason I say that is because it's a project that not only are you building a really cool car, but we build people from the ground up. That's really what it comes down to. We want to build good people. And at the end of this, if kids are hirable and

004they have all the soft skills and able to collaborate with people, able to problem solve because there's real life deadlines. So part of the project is building a car. The other project is marketing and the visual communications and all the enrichment activities that we have. Um and then we always go with the soul of the project which is the pathways to success class with Matteo Lungren who is not here. Um, but I've bought some students from Ketchum Racing, um, and some of the staff that we're going to be working with to talk a little bit a bit more because I feel like they can give you what their testimony is. So, I'm going to hand it over to, uh, our marketing director, Matteo Bantha. Thank you. >> Well, thanks so much for having us. Let

005me just jump a couple of slides to to what I uh work. Uh basically every school in the winter circle project uh acts as a racing team. The racing team is combined by people who build the car. That's the build team, but there's two different groups that work alongside of them that are sharing the build. Any marketing um any team needs a marketing organization that works underneath them and with them to make sure that everything that happens in the room gets shared out into the world and everything that happens into the room also gets communicated to the community. All the schools, I'm sorry, all the schools we work with really thrive in their own communities. They do events within the community. They invite people from the community to um car shows. They they organize. They

006partner with local businesses to get donation, get paint for their car. So, it we it's really a community first type of project and the marketing works with that. We do a lot of work um that is uh what's called traditional marketing with the marketing people. so focused on newsletter press releases. A lot of our schools were able to get to local uh news outlets and get their story out there. Remember this is all about storytelling. So telling their story of the team throughout the year local news outlets were able to pick up the story. I think at the Hudson what is that the the Ogo Penny Saber in but the Hudson Valley was the what's the magazine the Hudson Valley the High Park. Yes. And then today pisu went north and pious today went to

007highar radio in pakypy for one of our schools that were able to secure that collaboration to talk about the program in pine plane. So you know this is really just reality. It starts with a logo. So these are some of the logos that uh our teams were able to create throughout the years. Um and uh we go into the content creation. So we go into visual communication which is more related to the you know 2026 kind of way of communicating which is through social media. Um, we work a lot on content creation in the form of putting news outlets, uh, news out into the world through social media, whether it's Instagram, whether it's Tik Tok. Kids really are using the social media in the way that it's supposed to be done by an organization. And

008we do a lot of work on, let me get to that point, digital citizenship, which is crucial. You know, we teach the students not just how to use a social media. Actually, they should be the ones teaching us how to do it in as an audience perspective. But what we do is we work with them into teaching them what great social media strategies are and how the companies are using social media platforms to work with you as an audience. So they kind of see the behind the scenes of a social media platform through the eyes of an organization which is really good uh for them but all through the intent of digital citizenship. how you behave behind the keyboard, behind the screen, which is really important um as you know we go into a very

009very digital uh world. Um, I really want to um emphasize um a lot of the work that we do, but I want to pass the torch to one of our marketing students, Janna, who's with us today, so she can talk more about what they have been what they've been doing and uh what's happening. >> Hello everyone, my name is Giana Orana and this is my first year part of the marketing team with Ketchum Racing. And this year, our main priority was to really implement our community and not only in our story, but with the things that we post online. Started this year off by doing a team bonding day with our neighboring school, John J High School. And over there, we got the opportunity to work with the other John J Racing students with a

010day that was full of teamwork and community work. We also held our fall car show in October. That was a really good day. We were able to implement a lot of of our community members to bring their cars, bring their families, and it was just a really great turnout for the entire community and our school as well. And for one of our bigger trips this year, we actually had the opportunity to go to the BMW headquarters down in New Jersey. And over there, we got the opportunity to talk to different BMW technicians, marketing experts, and even though I'm not really the most knowledgeable about cars, this was a great learning opportunity for me to learn more about the marketing side of BMW and learn more experience for my marketing as well. Um, this year we

011are building a 1965 65 MarkV Cobra from scratch. Up here is actually a picture from delivery day when the car was first delivered. And along with that, in the beginning of the year, we also had to create a mission and vision statement that not only represents us, but also represents our brand and our team. And then we also got the fun part of designing a logo from scratch. I don't think is our logo up here right now. Our logo. >> Oh, okay. So, our winning logo from two years ago. And this year, we've also got to do press releases, newsletters, and it's been a great opportunity for me, but also my classmates to learn the ins and outs of social media and marketing. And also, we've been posting consistently on Instagram and Tik Tok for

012the most part, but we also post on Facebook. We have a YouTube channel, and we have a podcast that's run by students as well. And not only are we using our social media platforms to brand ourselves and market our car and our brand itself, but we're also using it to tell our story. And to me, that's something that's really special because of the community part that we're trying to include this year. I feel like as a team, our biggest goal this year is to continue to stretch that community message. And then actually a few weeks ago, we had our entrepreneurial conference in New York City. It was held at this beautiful rooftop on Fifth Avenue. All the students from all seven different schools who were from both teams, the marketing and the build team got

013to network, get to know each other on a deeper level. But the highlight of the night was that students got the opportunity to interview the legend himself, Willie T. Ribs, and he actually shared with us his personal experiences, but also his experiences with F1 and who the person he is today. the trip. A little bit of highlights of the trip from there. Like we said, all the seven students, sorry, all seven students, but all the seven schools. I apologize, I said seven students. We had about almost 200 students there. Um, and you know, it really comes down to learning how to use these skills in real life, right? learning how to network, learning all the skills that you're really going to have to use when you're in the real world, no matter what what job

014that you're doing. But we've also given a lot of opportunities. Gianna is the winner of our Maris College uh summer college that's going to be happening which we have um which were very, as you could see, she was one of the best candidates for it and it's going to be her and another student that are going to be there for two weeks with uh international students and they're going with the intro to business class. So those are uh some of the opportunities that we're giving. Some of the things that we are also doing is on top of the car that's being built, there's also a simulator where the car that they're building is in a simulator and there's a race series which is happening simultaneously at the same time. So all of these things count

015for points. And when we talk about, you know, learning how to drive and the things that the simulator uses, we last year, I believe it was three years we've been running that side of the program and we had a one of the most talented students that came from Ketchum. And this year we actually hired him. So he is our simulator coach and I want to talk about Mr. Cody Schmidt. >> Good afternoon guys or good evening more or less. So, like he said, my name is Cody Schmidt and I'm the Winter Circle Project's new racing coach for the entire program. So, once a month, I have a curriculum that I created to go into each school and give them not only what they would need to actually drive the car, but also set the car

016up per track. We have different tracks each month like Daytona Road Course. We have uh Limerock Park at the end of the year. We have all kinds of different tracks that we race on in all different conditions. Last month we were in Inter Logos, Brazil in the rain and we had a super exciting race. That came down really to driver skill and what the setup was in the car. That goes with what these kids are doing. And it's not me that's setting the car up for them. It's me giving them the resources so that they can make it best for them. Each driver is different. Each car is different. And each car is different for each track, for each person. So, you got to really set up everything for how you drive to make it

017best for you, most comfortable. On top of that, they talked about how community based this is, right? Each race is a set of points. A thing that they haven't touched on yet. Our marketing, the car build, and this sim race are the three biggest points productions for the Winter School project for the end of the year, the championship. It's super exciting. We all get to go to Limerock Park at the end of the year. They all get to show their cars and whoever has the most consistent and the best um teamwork and team building throughout the year between the sim, the marketing and their actual physical car build. And there's also a test of the actual car by pro race car drivers. They get to stand up on that podium and with their team raise

018that trophy nice and high. It's super exciting. Everybody's backed by them. A lot of the teachers, a lot of the parents, stuff like that, watch these races every month, right? So, they're they're super exciting. And my portion of it is really to make sure that they get the best service as possible so that they can go and drive these cars as well as possible and have as much fun as possible. This program is about having fun, but also creating a sense of team and creating what it's really like to be on a true team and work with somebody else. So, the simulator is, like I said, a huge part of that and they all everything matters. All the points matter throughout the entire year. So, thank you. >> Thank you, Cody. And we talked a

019little bit about the opportunity for you to have your own racing organization uh as a high school student is amazing to see what these students have been doing administratively. All of the parts that everybody plays in order for you to communitywise, but school-wise to come together in order for you to get this team across. Even the best cars are not the ones that win it every year. Each thing in the winter circle project has been designed to count. So every little thing matters. um from your for your marketing points for your marketing presentation at the end of the year which is done at Limerock Park. Um the cars are tested. He touched a little bit about it about it. The Hall of Fame Trans Am driver Chris Dyson test all of these cars at Limerock

020Park. Um and they're displayed there for that whole weekend for the Memorial Day weekend and that's usually when we have the championship. Um, but I also want to touch on some of the amazing teachers that we've had and I want to talk about a little bit about the build because we haven't really talked about the build. And one of the championship winning schools was Ketchum Racing and they won in 2024 and it was under the guidance of two of these main teachers that are here. One Mr. Lucas Bliss and the other one Mr. Ron Remick. So I'm going to let them talk a little bit about the particulars of the class and how it goes. I'm going to start with Mr. Lucas Bliss. Hi. So, yeah, I'm the build teacher at Ketchum. Uh, I've been

021teaching 25 years tech teacher, taught all the different tech classes that you can imagine. Um, and this is our third car that we're building this year. And you just don't see like like kids don't just build something of this scale on a normal basis, right? They're building like birdhouses and toolboxes and things like that. Those things are great. You got to learn those skills, too. see kids like just the passion that they have when they're building a a $50,000 vintage race car, right? And then you're roaring around the school with it and you just see these kids so excited. It's just really cool. Um they realize that they, you know, yeah, they can build a birdhouse, but they can build something like crazy like this, too. All you got to do is follow the directions

022and get it done. Um it's big. It's a big project. It it takes a lot of effort and a lot of organization, but every school's done it. Like they can do it. Like it's it's possible. Um Winter Circle has all the resources. If you run into trouble, you know, we don't know how to put something together, something goes wrong with your engine, whatever. Um yeah, it's it's all all the resources are there. You call up Mark Dherty, our technical guy, and he helps you out. Not not it's not too bad. Mark Dohy, so our our one guy that helps us with this, he comes in once a month. He's built over 2,000 of these Cobras, traveled all over the world working with Factory 5 Racing, building these cars. So, he knows like I could call

023him right now and be like, "What size bolt do I need for the suspension on this thing?" And they'll be like, "Oh, well, that's a blah blah blah." He knows. So, um, yeah, resources are there. There's a few different cars that we can build. Everybody starts with a Cobra. Next year, we're building a hot rod truck, 35 hot rod truck. We built a Daytona coupe. That's a purple car that you might have seen on there. Um, but the Cobra's most popular and uh, yeah, follow catching him racing. You know, check it all out. All right. Thank you, Mr. Bliss. Uh, I'm not going to talk for too long. I just want to tell you as a teacher of 24 years, one less than Mr. Bliss, so he will always be one more than me. Um,

024is the enthusiasm from our students every single day. For some of our students, whether they want to go into business or they want to go into a build field, sometimes it's what keeps them in school. So many of my students who say, "I can't wait for this class every single day." And they're sad when the bell rings. Sometimes they stay after and I'm like, "Can you write me a pass? Can you write me a pass?" So the enthusiasm that they have when the winter circle people come in or when they go to build or when they're trying to create something because we're raising money for the build team so they can add leather seats and power steering and fuel injection. So we raise money so that they can make the car better. But the enthusiasm

025that our students have is like I have in none of my other classes. By far this class is the most enthusiastic uh every day all year long. And that's what makes me happy to see is that a school class like the winter circle can bring out that enthusiasm in the students. >> We want to thank you for the presentation, but on top of that, I see that you have Mrs. Linda Steinberg here. She knows exactly how everything works on that aspect if there's any questions that you have. But just so you know, we are also partnered with Mikum. So what happens with the cards at the end of the year? Mikum auctions them off and then after they auction them off we give the money back into the schools so we could have a sustainable

026program you know cuz for us it's never about been making any money off of the cars. It's about making sure that we have a sustainable program that can continue next year. So on top of you know not to get too in the nitty-gritty of everything but um the both the coser it's all coserable except for the car and the car is being sold and given back into the community so that you could build the project again. So, um, we're really excited because this is the only eighth school that we've chosen to work with. Um, we we have seven high schools this year. We started in 2019 with one school in Cander High School, which was the pilot. And then ever since then, not only did it evolve, but we have like created this beautiful buzz

027in in Duchess County, which is my I I mean, I'm from Duchess County, so I was so happy to come back here. I'm not going to lie to you guys. So, I was so happy to to see it thrive the way it is. But I just want to thank uh the principal, Mr. Kyle, who who really, you know, I saw the passion, enthusiasm with him and his whole staff, and that's the reason why we wanted to work with Red Hook because we saw something special here. We saw something that we could create and partner because it's really a partnership. Um, so any questions that you have, please feel free to, you know, shoot away. >> You guys are that good. >> All right. Thank you. All right. Oh, one person we have not mentioned is

028that gentleman over there, Mr. Hayden Maloney, who also a former student of ours that we've hired. He's does the digital content. You want to give a quick little brief I'll make this quick. So, my name's Hayden Maloney. I'm the WCP content creator. So, I do all of the creation for all of the social media platforms for the Winter Circle Project. So, Matteo Bao was talking about how important social media is and how important it is to market for these kids and how to teach them how to use the social media platforms that they're already using every day. So my job is I come into all the schools, I market the schools, but I market the programs. I give updates on what are the schools doing, but how does that influence the entire program? How did

029the program bring that all together? That's what my job is to do. And I also like to teach the kids how to do better on content creation, what they're doing. That's all I do. Thank you. >> That's great. >> I was walking around doing that the whole day. Thank you. >> He's working tonight, too. >> You You guys did awesome. That was a great presentation. and thank you so much for coming. Um, I just wanted to ask typically how many students can enroll in courses that you have that are at in the high schools that you're at? >> 35. Awesome. >> Yeah. 15. And then all throughout the other ones for the marketing and the visual communications. >> Thank you so much. This was fantastic. We appreciate it. Thank you. >> We appreciate it and

030thank you for having us. We're excited as well. We took a tour of the school and and we love the energy from the students and we we and the teachers and we're just very excited to be working with you. >> I like your energy. >> Thank you. Appreciate it. >> Great. >> Well, thank you for having us. We appreciate you, Red Hook. We we looking forward to seeing you guys 2026. Okay. And now we're going to go back to uh transportation and electric bus planning. >> Okay. Good evening everyone. Uh Anthony Curtio and I are here to give you an update on transportation and EV bus planning. So just to review that the mandate which is still in place um by 2027 which is next summer schools are prohibited um from buying any buses unless

031they are or any vehicles at all unless they're zero emission vehicles. And by 2035 the mandate says that all school buses in operation must be zero emissions. So, we have a total of 44 vehicles in our fleet, 29 school buses. We have 15 SUVs, vans, and a combination of SUVs, vans, and sedans. We currently are on a 12-year replacement cycle for all of our vehicles, and um as of this month, we have six electric buses. Um did we get the last one? >> Yeah, they're in the So, by the by the beginning of March, we should have all six in delivery. Um, so just to give you an estimate of cost. So in July of 2025, Red Hook purchased four electric buses which were approved by the voters in May. The base price of those

032buses was just under over $485,000. If you remember, we did secure monies through the NAERTA grant which allowed for six buses. Um, and the credit was 220,000 for each of our buss, which le left our cost at just over $264,000 before aid. As I mentioned last year, um, the state had agreed to aid the full cost of the bus. That aid estimation, as I said, last year, fluctuates. Mrs. Steinberg and I just had a meeting with our financial planner. So, we did get the aid estimate for this year, which is 41.9% which left leaves us with an estimated cost of about $60,000 per bus. It is notable that the aid um rate from the state went down 10% from last year, which was 51.9. It is a fluctuating rate as I mentioned last year. Um

033so, we do have to wait until that the uh rate comes in. So, now we know for sure that each of those buses was $60,000. So, the performance out of the two buses that we've been running for a year now has been great. The the last um three weeks we had the cold spell. Those buses were out every day. They were out AM. They were out PM. They had plenty of heat for the drivers. There was heat in the back of the buses for the students. Um, there's over 200 EV buses out on the road in New York State right now that are operating. There's been great feedback from the drivers that drive these two buses. Um, the main thing is the quietness of the bus and the performance. I I I guess with being

034that they're EV, it's called propulsion. So the just the smoothness like when they pull away from a bus stop, when they pull away from a traffic light, um really really good feedback from the drivers. And then again, um with the service, there's minimal service on the EV buses. They have disc brakes, so that the brakes last a lot longer. There's no engine oil, so the the the service is a lot less. there's no oil filters to dispose of. So I feel that they you know they are performing up to what we expected. >> Um so we typically our historical bus propositions we've typically gone on a two to threeyear replacement cycle. Um so we've we've often put in our proposition two to three buses per year. The average cost of a fuel bus is around

035160,000 compared to the average cost of an EV bus at just over 485,000. And the cost is going up as I'll show you at the end of the presentation what the buses cost last year. We were awarded um the NAERTA grant for up to six buses at $220,500 per bus. We have exhausted our um limit. So we are we're allowed to grant 14% of our fleet which we've done. So, we are no longer eligible as of right now for any kind of um grant funding. In May of 24 and May of 25, the voters approved the buses uh purchase of the EV buses, two buses in May of 24 and four buses in May of 2025. The mandate remains in place, but at this time there is no additional funding support. So that should be

036a consideration for the board moving forward that we still are expected to turn our fleet over to um all zero emissions buses, but there is no funding as of right now. And the cost of the buses, as you can see, the comparison is quite significant between a fuel bus and an electric bus. So, my recommendation for the next purchase of vehicles is to purchase uh three hybrid SUVs, which are four-wheel drive, and they travel outside of our district for some of our special needs children. We we go to Monaceel, we go to East Orum, we go down to Brewster. So, to have a full EV vehicle on that would be tough. But the hybrids I I feel that um that would be the best choice. My my other um recommendation is to get while we

037still can uh two more 16 passenger van buses. The they're basically yellow school buses but they have single rear wheels. So, we could utilize the Taconic State Parkway with with that type of bus. And again, for our special needs students and even going over to Kingston Bridge, it would save us toll money as well. Um, and then the maintenance vehicle. So, we're we're looking to purchase one one more maintenance vehicle for uh our facilities, and that truck would come with a a snow plow and a sander, and it would replace um one of the Ford dump trucks that it's got to be a 2012. And these trucks, they they don't have much mileage on them, but being out in the winter with the salt and the corrosion, the these trucks definitely need to be replaced.

038Um, the two vans I'm want to replace, those are from 2011. They have over 200,000 miles on them. And the three SUVs that I would like to replace, um, they're 2018 and they have well over 200,000. Uh, the the one SUV does 100 149 miles a day. So it >> I think the takeaways for the board um should be that we still have the current mandate in place. We try to maintain our replacement cycle because if we skip a year, we lose that year of aid return which we consider as part of our revenue. Um we have exhausted all eligible grant funding at this time. Um and that I think we need to consider the cost of EV bus pricing versus fuel bus pricing as we move forward. I did want to update the board

039too because we as I said when Mrs. Steinberg and I met with our financial planners, we did get the final cost report for the 2024 vehicles. So, the base price of those buses were just over $458,000. The NAERTA grant money um that I mentioned is in there and we were aided at a 51.9% cost. So, we actually made a little bit money. Those buses were completely free for the district um for that run. So, that's where we're at. I'm happy to answer any questions that you might have about the replacement cycle. >> I have just a simple question about the single rear wheel buses. Do we have any of those currently? And if not, then why hadn't we bought those in the past? >> We we've have, but we've been trying to um utilize the

040full-size buses while while we can. And then we came into the EVs where it really wasn't cost effective to buy an EV van when we could get a full-size bus at the same same uh cost value. So, we held on and we kept these uh gas vans going as long as we can, but two of them definitely need replacements. >> So, we chose to put forward the smaller vehicles this year so we wouldn't lose any of our replacement cycles, but we purposefully didn't put any large buses on because of the consideration of cost and wanting to make a decision moving forward without any kind of funding opportunities. Um, so we will have to make a decision by this time next year. what we want to put on for a bus or vehicle proposition in May

041so we don't lose that revenue source with the aid return. >> Any other questions? >> Is the state just um deferring the the mandate the questions about the mandate and whether it's going to be fully in effect or whether they're going to make adjustments at this point. >> So their response has been that they're uh consistently saying that the mandate will stay in place. I in the original governor's proposal, she had $55 million that she put in there for schools to support EV buses, but when um we met with NAERTA, we asked specifically if because we've already been awarded grant monies if we would qualify and they don't have an answer for that. So, if the 55 million goes in, I'm not sure that that could potentially apply to us because we've exhausted what the

042limit was in their initial um proposal. So, unless they modify that, even if they put the money in, it wouldn't apply to us. Thank you. >> I think that Oh, go ahead. >> Sorry. I have one quick question. Are some of our runs um and our ridership small enough where we can utilize some of those smaller vehicles for any of our daily runs? >> So, when when I first came to the district, I purchased two 30 um passenger buses and that was my mindset. Okay, we have low ridership at at Mill Road, but >> that bus also covers a high school run. So to balance that ridership off, okay, the Mill Road bus may have low ridership, but I need a full-size bus for for the high school middle school run. So it really it

043was the same mindset that I had, but I just I couldn't put that same run together. It just didn't mesh. Yeah, that makes sense. >> All right. Thank you. I appreciate that. >> All right. And that brings us um to student achievement. Dr. Summers, you're up. Good evening. I'm Dr. Kitty Summers. I'm the assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction and staff development. And my name is Lisa Polo and I work with the district as a consultant working with the uh student and staff data for state reporting purposes. Okay, you got it. All right. As we do each year, we're going to go through the uh results from the 2025 elementary, middle level, and high school assessments, as well as the graduation information. The information we're able to display for you and discuss this evening is

044information that has already been released publicly. Um the state education department each year staggers the release of data. Um, and some of the information remains embargoed, which means we cannot uh discuss it publicly, but what we're talking about tonight is available to the public, not only for the Red Hook district, but for all districts, and that's why we're able to engage in this conversation this evening. So, the first thing we're going to talk about are the elementary and middle level ELA and math assessments. Um these are as you know the cut scores are determined and by standard setting each year in collaboration with um administrators and teachers across the states. This year the cut levels for the uh levels uh one two one two three and four they changed slightly. These are the ELA performance

045levels by grade level. Um it doesn't really have too much meaning unless you see the scale scores for a student. But when a student has a particular scale score, that's what puts them in a particular performance level, which we'll discuss in a few minutes. So those are the ELA cut scores for 2025. And these are the math cut scores for levels 1 2 3 and four. In the Red Hook Central School District, uh 29% of your students qualify for free or reduced priced lunch rates. Now, I know that all of your students are eligible for free lunch in the district. However, this particular rate is based upon those students that would qualify in the absence of a universal free lunch program. So, the standard uh criteria that have been used in the past in application,

046whether or not they're Medicaid eligible, SNAP eligible, etc. And that's how we arrive at 29%. This is actually the same as it was in the previous year in the 2324 school year. And then we also look at the percentage of the students that are considered economically disadvantaged that are sitting for the assessments year-over-year. And in the 2425 school year, it was 24% of the students that sat for the assessment um were considered economically disadvantaged using that criteria. And this was a little lower than it was in the previous year. In the previous year, you were at 29%. And we look at the same for the other subgroup. These are considered subgroups. Um when we look at students with disabilities, economically disadvantaged, English language learners, etc., they're considered subgroups. Students with disabilities was exactly the same

047as it was in 20 uh 324. 12% of the students sitting for the ELA and math assessments were considered students with disabilities. And then we also look at the refusal rates. Now, refusals, some uh may call it opt out rates. Regardless, it's if a student chooses not to take the assessment, the complete assessment. So, if they sat for one day but didn't sit for the second day, um it is considered a refusal for state reporting purposes. And this particular chart shows the refusal rates for the Red Hook Central School District by grade level and subject. And uh the trend in Red Hook has typically been that as the grade level increases so does the percentage of refusals. Um I will point out that the most significant change from the previous year is we saw decreases

048in grades four and eight for the ELA decrease in the number of refusals and the percentage of refusals but a slight increase in grade six or ELA that was to turn my pages at the same time. holding the microphone. So bear with me. Okay, we also if we can just go back to that uh one uh the percentage of refusals for science also decreased slightly. I do want to point out for the eighth grade uh for eighth grade they have the option um we do have a number of students in Lynen Avenue that take the algebra 1 in lie of the math 8. they do not need to take the math 8 assessment if they are an algebra 1 student. Um, and the same is true for science, they do not need to take the

049science 8 if they are sitting for the the living environment regions exam. And I will say that from 2324 to 2425, there was actually a 33% increase in the number of students at Lynen Avenue sitting for the algebra 1. In 2324 you had 39 students taking the algebra 1 assess algebra 1 exam and in 2425 that increased to uh 52 students and all of them scored proficient and um for the living environment you saw a 50% increase. It went from 38 students in 2324 to 57 students. So this refusal rate um is calculated based upon the remaining students that did not take the al algebra 1 assessment or the living environment assessment. Oh yes for yes I left that out. I apologize. So the remaining there were only 28 remaining students at uh Lynen Avenue

050that actually took the math assess math aid assessment and only 23 that took the science aid assessment. All right, this particular chart shows us the percentage of students in the all students group as well as the two subgroups I talked about before, economically disadvantaged and students with disabilities meeting proficiency. Meeting proficiency is considered those students that scored at levels three or four. So when we look at this um we do want to look we do look from year to year and we look at grade level to grade level and there was a lot of consistency across grade levels from year to year with the largest increase for um in grade 6 which went from 54% in 23 24 to 62% in 2425. This is ELA. Um but we also look at the cohort as they

051move through. So we also want to look at the fourth grade the current who are now the current fifth grade etc. as we go up and we actually saw a very large increase from grade four where in 23 24 58% of the grade four students were considered proficient and those students as grade five went to 68%. Now, I do want to point out and Brian is is here tonight as well and he can answer a question if you have one regarding the uh the detail. We are looking at the highest level of information. We're looking at the overall test scores when we work with the building level and with the teachers. This is important, but it's the it's the 38,000 foot view. We drill down to individual students to individual questions to individual standards and

052that's how we really assess how a student did on a test from year to year and we also compare that to other measures that you use in the district such as the NWA. Add anything? Okay. And the next slide is the same thing and this is math. And a couple things that I will point out here is that we did have a decrease in grade four on the math. But I also want to point out that in 2425, grades three and four for the first time took these assessments on the computer. All grades will have to take them on the as computer-based assessments this school year. However, in 2425, only grades three and four took them as computers. So if you think about that and you particular think about trying to take a math assessment

053on your computer, you know, it may not be as comfortable for students and we're also talking about students that may have had limited exposure to the technology as well. So overall they performed very well but it was in a in a different delivery a diff delivery mode than in previous school years. Okay, one question that always comes up is how do we compare to other districts? It's good to look at, it's important to look at. However, we we are most concerned about our own performance and are we showing growth and are we are we showing consistency and are we showing growth? But we have traditionally showed this slide. So, we have this slide in here again. So, as we go, we're look and there's a lot of slides here. So, we'll once you see one,

054they're all going to look familiar. So, we're going to I'll show one and describe it and then we'll um we'll go on from there. This is the third grade ELA. Red Hook will always be the first bar and you can see that Red Hook had 55% of their students on the grade three ELA meeting proficiency. And then we've looked at other districts across Duchess County um as well as Germantown since that's your neighbor to the north and then New York State as a whole. And again, this information is public data that is on the New York State Education uh website. It's at data.nyd.gov. You can look at any district and any school within that district. So, even though these are bar graphs and they look familiar, one thing that you need to take into consideration

055is there's many things we do not know about these other schools. We do not know their optouts. We do not know how many students actually sat and took the test. And so those were factors that are unknown. So this is really a really high level 8,000 foot view and it's from a data from the data website that's a public website. So like in our own data we do look we drill down Lisa works closely with the principles and the teachers. So, not only do they get the information from last year of how their students did, but they also get the information about the students in front of them. And that's important to know. So, we look for gaps. We look for growth areas. We look for areas that may need additional instruction or there may

056be times when they know what their their knowledge level is very high. And so, that's something that we can move forward on. Lisa is a very important um factor in all this because she does provide accurate data that our teachers can really drill down and look at. We've really had some great conversations with teachers in different groups this year looking to drill down on the information. And it's not only about their own students, but it's also about, you know, if you have one particular classroom that may be doing very very well on a particular standard or um and then another classroom where the students may be struggling a little bit, it's a great opportunity for the teachers to um have a conversation about how are you teaching this particular skill or what what language and

057vocabulary are you using that may encourage your students to um to look at this question differently than my students. There's also about 75% of the um items are considered released items and they are on on the SED website as well. And what one of the things that we do with the teachers is we look at the responses overall responses first of all for the class as a whole, the building as a whole, the classroom as a whole, and we look at um the correct answer and then the incorrect answer and the percentage of students that may have picked the incorrect answer. And it allows us to really analyze the language that was used in that item and what vocabulary was used and what could have caused students to select the incorrect item versus the correct

058item. So there's really a lot of conversation happening well beyond what percentage of our students met proficiency. And if we could just um go forward until we get to the math 8. That's uh third grade math. Hey. Mhm. Okay. And I just want to explain a little bit about this chart. As I mentioned before, you have quite a few students at Lynen Avenue that now take the algebra 1 in lie of the math 8. And that the first bar, if you we look all the way on the left for the red hook, the solid yellow bar, those are the students that took the math eight. So 32% of those 20 some odd students that I mentioned before scored at the proficient level. the striped bar next to it, that's the percentage of students that met

059proficiency on the algebra 1 regent assessment. So 100% typically in Red Hook, we see 100% year-over-year. There are two districts there that do not have uh the striped bar and they are um uh Hyde Park and uh Germantown. they did not have any students on the state reporting indicating that any of their eighth grade students took the algebra 1 regent exam. Now, when the state calculates, you've heard the that you've heard the district talk about um an accountability status or a status designation for the district, they utilize the results from these assessments. So, I show you together again, let's go back to Red Hook. The solid yellow are the students that took the math 8. the striped um are the students that took the algebra one and then the one right to the right of

060it and you can barely see it. It's um it's dotted. That is the combined proficiency rate between the two assessments and that's what the state will use as part of their calculation for status designation. All right. Now, we're going to take a look at some of the regent exams. These have also been publicly released. Um we're looking at uh two years worth of data side by side here. And the first ones we're looking at are the sciences. Um I do have the number of students that sat for these um if necessary. I do want to point out that the overall proficiency rate here. The science exams are scored on four levels. 1 2 3 and four. And they go by score level. uh 0 to 54 would be level one 55 to 64. Level two

06165 to 84. You don't have to memorize this is level three and 85 to 100 is level four. Um being proficient on the regions exam is considered a three or a four. Anything from a score of 65 to 100. So those are for the um the science exams. for the living environment. This represents the combined uh proficiency for both Lynen Avenue students and the high school students that sat for the assessment. These exams, the English language arts and the math exams, these are scored on a five uh five performance level scale. And I'm not going to recite what the score ranges are for each one of them because believe it or not, they are different for each of the exams. Um but anything for levels three, four and five are considered proficient on the uh

062five level regions exams. Um now I want to point out that two things on this slide for English language arts. This is the one exam in your district where the majority of your students sit for it in January. Uh that is not the case in many other districts. they still have the majority of their students sitting for it in June. But in this CA in the case of Red Hook, the majority of your students sit for it in January. They can retake it in June if they want to attain a higher score, but by and large the majority of your students take it in January. So think about that as a half ofear instruction toward the region's exam versus a full year. But they perform very well. Uh overall, we're looking at um I'll do

063my math very quickly here. 89% of the students meeting proficiency on the English language regent exam for a January administration. The other thing I will point out here is geometry. The state education department is in the process of creating new regions exams in different subject areas. and the geometry exam. Uh this the this administration, the majority of your students sat for the new geometry exam in June 2025, which was a different exam than they would have sat for in June of 2024. And there is also out on the SED website, excuse me again as I juggle my papers here, there's a um uh there is an an administration there is a a schedule of when new exams are to be released. Um for some of them such as the sciences in earth science, earth and

064space science, biology, chemistry and physics there will be an overlap of four administration periods. In other ones like the geometry, one ends and the new begins. So the last administration of the old geometry exam was given in January of 2025 and the new one was given in June 2025. And this year there will be two new exams. um in June of 26. They will be algebra 2 and chemistry, but chemistry will have an overlap and physics and physics will have an overlap and English language arts um in June 26, but again, the majority of your students sat for that exam in January of 2026. Global history and US history are also scored on the fivepoint scale as well on the five level scale I should say. Um and again we see that the majority of

065your students do very very well. I've given you the counts of the students on the regions exams but again we're looking at levels three, four, and five for proficiency. And the last metric that we're looking at is the four-year graduation rate by cohort. Now, a cohort is any group of students who start at 9th grade for the first time in the same school year. So, in January in I'm sorry, in June of 2025, that would have been the 2021 cohort because these are students that would have started grade nine in September of 2021. graduating in June of 2025. That's what we consider a cohort. You stay in the same cohort even if you are retained in a grade level. And if you are an ungraded student, if you are a student with disability that is

066eligible for the alternate assessment and you are considered ungraded, then you are in the cohort in the school year in which you turn 17. So, the state education department calculates graduation rate both on June and on August. And sometimes we have a couple students in the district that graduate in August rather than June. They're still considered a four-year graduate. In 2025, we did not have any August graduates. So, I use the June graduation rates comparing the district to the state as a whole. And overall your graduation rate has remained relatively stable. The number of students I want to point out that the number of students graduating has remained consistent but the number of students in your cohort has been decreasing. So for example in 24 in 23 24 the 2020 cohort had about 148 students

067in the cohort. In the 2021 cohort, the June 2020 the June 2025 graduates, it was 136. So if you think about the calculation of that, um, as the cohort gets smaller, each student counts for more as as toward the percentage. So your graduation rates are consistent. Um, and especially as your cohorts get smaller, that's important to look at as well. And that's it. I think I have a question. I'm not sure if you'll have the answer to this. Um, thank you for that very in-depth. >> You're very welcome. >> data analysis. Um, I was just curious about the regions and with the Blue Ribbon Commission working on, you know, potentially phasing out regions. Um, why they're still making new regions and whether that will slow down at some point. Um, H not sure about that.

068>> I don't have an answer to that one. >> I'm not sure state ed has an answer to that one. >> Okay. So, um I think it's a process. So, I think they want to keep current with what the expectations are because the standards have changed over time. So, I think just to keep everything go moving forward. That's could be my best answer for tonight. >> Thank you. >> And they're they're not going away. They're just they're having other pathways to prove mastery. So there can be the students that will continue to take them so they'll have those new exams. Yeah, >> regions aren't really going away, but they are like Patrick said other pathways and we're making sure that we're ahead of the game on that >> utilized. So, >> and I'm glad you

069brought up pathways because um another um data point out on the state website that we did not include here are the pathways that students use to meet graduation requirements and there are multiple it could many most of your students currently use the traditional path which is considered humanities but there's also a STEM path there's a CDOS path there are many other ways that students can meet the requirements for graduation and in response to to your question, the current schedule that's out for the regent exams. Um the list of new exams is just up through June 26 um with the last phase out of the chemistry and the physics in June of 27. So that's as far as it goes, but there could be another one coming out. >> Thank you. >> Good to know. Um,

070so I'm just I'm wondering about the refusal rates in the middle school and what what's happening from elementary school to the middle school to cause such high refusal rates and if there are efforts to counteract that because it sounds like the data, you know, when drilled down is is super valuable to our teachers. Um, so if you could just speak to that. I could speak anecdotically to that is that we feel that um when a friend sees a friend that doesn't have to take a test, they go home and share that. But probably the administration there who's on on it every day when we're testing. We encourage all our students to take exams because we feel it is a a point in time that we could utilize and they could also utilize. So it is

071a system that is in place with the state but we do feel that um word of mouth gets going around and then there's um there's action taken from there because we have had students take day one and do very well and then not take day two whichal um we've even had students not take day one and then come in and take day two but it's still considered a refusal because there's no uh complete exam but To your other point, that's why we also have to bring in other measures when you're doing student analysis because this is a snapshot in time. This is, you know, one or two days out of the entire school year that a student sits for the exam. >> So, we do have other measures, but um we do what we can

072where we can. Oh, good question. >> Thank you. Thank you. We appreciate that. All right. And that brings us to our first recognition of visi visitors. If anyone would like to speak um we ask that you come to the podium, speak into the microphone just so our online viewers can hear you and it's also um taped so you can watch it later. Um but um and we also ask that you keep it to 3 minutes or less. We'll just give you a cut off time. Um but if anyone would like to speak, this is your opportunity. Hi Carol. Okay. Hi. Um, so just to reintroduce myself, my name is Carol Brown and I'm here as a member of a group of parents and guardians in the district who came together initially following the anxious generation

073book club conversations Red Hook Read initiative that the district sponsored last year which we remain very grateful for. Um, so I just wanted to update you because I made some comments at the last uh at the board meeting in January and I just wanted to update you on uh what's been going on since then, the conversations we've been having and our plans for moving forward. Um so um soon after the January board meeting um our group collected parent and guardian signatures on a petition requesting action on three points of concern which were empowering parents to have greater oversight of schoolisssued devices at home, blocking student access to YouTube and other unmodderated content during the school day which we'd been hearing about um from students uh and parents in our group. and establishing a unified system

074or platform for delivering assignments uh uh at the high school and middle school to the extent that they are delivered online. Um this position uh petition also requested a meeting with school leadership and at least one member of the board and the new director of technology Brentton Gardner. Uh we gathered over 150 signatures from parents and guardians in the district and we submitted the signed petition as you know to the board and to school and district leadership. Uh we received a prompt and attentive response which I very much appreciated by phone from Dr. Summers who expressed the district's overall support for thoughtful use of screens and electronic technology. She noted that since the January board meeting uh the district has now installed JF software on all schoolisssued student laptops which provides internet filtering both at

075the at school and at home. uh which we appreciate and we're uh sort of in the process of exploring how much that covers and and so on. Um she also noted that YouTube cannot be blocked at school because teachers use it for instructional purposes. Uh and she um was somewhat resistant for now to the idea of us meeting with Mr. Gardner uh before he's had a couple months to learn the ropes of the district, which I understand. Um so uh we uh she also noted that at the principles would welcome calls from parents and uh conversations with parents on these issues. So after we got that response from Dr. Summers, we um had uh a meeting among many of our members to sort of strategize about next steps and we want one of the next

076steps is to always keep the board informed of of what we're thinking about and doing and planning. Um so we have been um planning among ourselves going forward with having conversations with principles. We've already had individual members of our groups do that with very very positive and uh heartwarming responses from the conversations we've had so far. We're going to continue with those sorts of conversations. We also um have uh are planning to have a number of us participate in the community conversations event, the district's community conversations event. uh the first one on March 5th uh which we're very much looking forward to and um applying to the district's uh to be on the district's 2026 community partnership team so that we can get in the school. We really at this time want to be getting

077more information about what's happening on the ground in the schools so that we can be informed in the kinds of requests that we're making. Um so I mostly want to uh yeah just inform you of this. This is going forward. You'll be hearing more from us as will the principles and assistant principles. uh and to express gratitude for the positive responses that we've gotten so far and the willingness to engage both from uh at the uh superintendent level and at the board level and from principles and assistant principles. Uh so thank you for your attention. >> Thank you. Appreciate it. Um does anyone else want to speak tonight? Oh, Brooks. First, I'd like to say on that winner circle 65 Cobra. Yes, I'm totally jealous. Good evening. Thank you for the opportunity to address the

078board. Uh my name is Rex Bridges. Uh recently I saw an article about the student protest here in Red Hook against ICE. Students have the right to protest. When they do so, it should be done accurately. And I'm concerned about the implications of the protest. What is imply the implied message of this and some uh and similar protests? ICE has been in various locations to take in uh murderers, drug and sex traffickers and other uh various miscreants and violent uh criminals into their custody and have them deported. We saw in Minnesota in Minneapolis that the governor of Minnesota and the Minneapolis mayor prohibited local law enforcement from assisting ICE, thus permitting obstructionists to impact ISIS's custody actions. By default, if the obstructionists are attempting to keep ICE from enforcing the law and taking custody of

079these murderers and other miscreants, they are providing support and protection for said criminals. By extension, protests elsewhere uh against ICE endorse support and protection of murderers and these other mist miscreants, do they not? In an interview with an individual at the local protest, the term murder was used in referencing the shootings in Minneapolis. It is a term that I believe was media inspired and also misused by a local congressman. The one shooting in Minneapolis was done in self-defense and the other came about because of the unexpected discharge of a weapon. A tactical grade weapon belonging to Mr. Prey discharged and brought an unfortunate response. Another aspect of why the media term murder was misused is that the media stories of the shootings disappeared almost as quickly as they materialized. This is particularly notable because of

080the video that surfaced of an earlier incident with Mr. Prey screaming obscenities and spitting at ICE agents and kicking out their car tail lights. Notable in these episodes are at least two other items that would fit into the compare and contrast category. In the compare scenario, the timeline is interesting in that the violent protests erupted about the time the investigations of fraud in Minneapolis were getting traction. Perhaps it was a con coincidence, but I think not. Second, in contrast, there were other ICE operations being conducted elsewhere in the country, but we didn't hear about them because they were not targeted and local police supported ICE taking custody of the violent criminals. Numerous politicians have condemned ICE, but likely for their own nefarious reasons. By contrast, I would hope the student protesters rethink their actions and

081would not default to some sort of support for these various miscreants and violent criminals. Thank you. >> All right, that's three minutes. Thanks, Ross Rex. Rex, I'm sorry. I apologize. Um, does anyone else have anything that they want to say or make a public comment? No. All right. So, that is going to bring us on to uh budget discussions, the 2026 2027 budget. Great. Thank you. So, we have two updates tonight um for the board. One is regarding the UPK grant. So, the governor proposed increasing the UPK funding to the higher of um the $10,000 per pupil or the district's foundation aid. And for us, the $10,000 per pupil is more. So, we wanted to give you the example of how that funding would impact us. So, this year in 2526, um we're scheduled to

082receive $351,000 in UPK funding. And that's based on the 67 students that we have in the program. Just to give you context, um we spend just over a half a million in salaries for the four teachers, the aids, and the 0.9 um for speech therapists and the occupational therapists for the prek program. So that leaves the remaining 160 roughly $160,000 um that has to come out of general fund and that does not include benefits, supplies, and transportation. With this new proposed funding from the governor, if we have the same number of students in UPK next year, we would receive approximately $660,000 for the 2627 school year. Um, our projected salary cost for the same staffing levels next year would be $564,000. So that leaves us roughly um about $39,000 that could go into general fund

083to offset the cost of benefits, supplies, and transportation. So it's great news. Um, so we wanted to update you on that. And the other thing was that we were able to calculate the tax cap in our preliminary draft. Um, so this is about where we think we're going to be. So if just to remind the board, there are three components to the tax cap calculation. We have the tax cap factor, which is a 2% inflation rate. We have the taxbased growth factor, which went down for us a little bit this year, but it is at 1 um 02%. And then we also have the debt service, and some of our borrowing has kicked in for capital projects. the borrowing um is a 0.59%. It increased about 33% last year but in addition to that the

084building aid will also increase and that helps um offset the final cost. So we are looking at about a 3.6% um increase in the tax levy. Yep. But we will present formally at the March 19th board meeting. >> March 19th. >> Yep. >> All right. So that brings us um to the um the SECRA for the Red Hook um school districts. I will need a motion and a second on that motion. Any questions, concerns on that? No. All right. All those in favor? I. Any opposed? All right. And that brings us to the superintendent. Thank you very much. So, I am going to combine the superintendent communications and the assistant superintendent communications. So, just to highlight some of the things that our buildings have shared with their reports out, I'll start with Mill Road Elementary

085School. There's a lot going on there. Um, so I'll highlight some of them. So, our elementary students have been deeply involved in research, writing, developing their skills in gathering information, organizing ideas, and crafting wellsupported detailed essays. They've also done narrative writing instruction. And this month's theme is empathy. So students have explored how to convey emotion and understood and understanding through their storytelling. They had two of their fifth grade classes participate in the international Greg Tang math puzzle competition and Mrs. Har's class collectively completed over 6,000 puzzles. That is astounding. So they earned an impressive second place finish among the schools worldwide. So, thumbs up for that. That's wonderful. The fourth grades have wrapped up their arts and education workshop with a wonderful performance of Shakespeare. Um that that helps to showcase their growth in literacy,

086public speaking, and dramatic interpretations. So, all of these integrated learning experiences reflect the school and the district's commitment to developing well-rounded students who excel academically while building essential social emotional skills. They also have student council and very involved fifth grade student council, young scholars program, which I know Dr. Boyd is con is consistently involved in all of these things. Um, let's see. So over the past six weeks, the young scholars program has worked with hands-on inquiry, problem based learning, and they've done that through the integration of science, engineering, and design thinking. And one of the points that were highlighted here was they are planning and designing um very ambitious project. They're looking to increase the um beautifification of the property around Mil Road Elementary School. So, as students, they're working as architects. They're drawing up

087creative plans that includes many um creative things, sports complex, zip lines, performance spaces, petting zoos, and much more. So they're bringing their imagination to life um through this pro through this problem solving and really putting it to um paper. So they are learning critical skills in urban planning and the integration of mixed green spaces, traffic flow patterns, pedestrian safety and community accessibility. So that's wonderful things going on at Mill Road Elementary. So for Lynen Avenue, again, another very busy school. They did um a volleyball tournament and building wide bingo. One thing to note was this year was the first time for student prizes and um adult prizes, but when people walked around the school, they could almost hear a pin drop while doing bingo. So very very involved. Um the eighth grade went up and

088attended an an assembly led by Dr. so that students can learn about graduation pathways, clubs and activities, elective choices, and all things school. Um, see, Mickey Fowler came as an assembly. Um, you don't know me until you know me, and he combines humor, performance, poetry, storytelling, psychology to challenge students to explore self-discovery and embrace differences. Um, so that's what's going on there. Uh, one note for Lamb's Scholastic Art and Writing Awards. We did have um two silver key winners for the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards. So, their artwork will be on display at Sunni Newalts in the fine arts ratunda. So, that's something to look forward to. So, at the high school, um, I will tell you that the board, the student board members gave a very comprehensive report on what's going on at the

089high school. So, I'm skipping over a couple of things. They were very detailed. So, um, Winter Circle is certainly something last week. And tell you the truth, I was able to get myself into that Cobra car because it was on display. Getting out was another story, but getting in was a lot easier than getting out. Um, so school counselors are working on course selections. Um, that's underway. Um, and just they're busy getting ready for spring. This the transition from mid-inter to spring. So, thank you for the uh board members at the student level for being so comprehensive. um pupil person. The focus there is really um continuing our professional development development initiatives. We're looking to um train teachers in the Orton Gillingham and also Wilson just words. So that is on the horizon. Um certainly

090during our superintendent conference day we'll be um providing uh professional development also CPI deescalation training um that people's team should be fully trained by midfebruary and the consultants all points consulting has begun their work with the flex classes to really um look at a focus review of curriculum assessments behavioral supports and the development of fun functional life skills so So that's our PPS report and um again the board member the student board members did a good job on the sports so I'm skipping that one and um technology again focused on um looking at the Mid Hudson Regional Information Center. They will no longer support our ES school data. So Brentton Gardner is deciding on a Rick to support eh school. So he's busy doing that and also learning um all things Red Hook. So he's

091been busy with that and that would be my report. Great job out there all over. >> Great. Thank you. Um so in the facilities department, the focus in the last month or so was keeping the heat on uh with the record cold. We did have um a heat failure at the Mill Road bus garage, but we were able to retrofit the furnace with um new stack and controls and ignition. So, that's up and running. Lynen Avenue, as you know, we have a um very old steam system that's in there. The the boilers actually work great, but we do have some um challenges with the steam system. If you remember, in the capital project, we did approve um money to help fix that. So, we are going to work on a new condensator pump um to

092hopefully remedy that until we do a major HVAC project there. And at the high school, um the boilers are working great when we changed out the fire eye control um which we had a 20-year shelf life and replaced that. And I'm happy to report we had no leaks with the roof and the ice and the um solar panels. We were a little concerned with the icicles, but it worked out great. Yep. Transportation February. I saw Mr. Cursio left to go back to his conference, but February is love the bus month. So, lots of love to our dedicated drivers and transportation staff. They've been incredible. Um, so he's extending gratitude to his team and I echo that. They've done a outstanding job and especially um his three mechanics have been coming in at 4:30 to 5

093every day just to start the buses ahead of time and make sure they're warm for the students and running correctly. So, they've really done an outstanding job. Um, we were able to well, we have on the agenda tonight for approval for a new hire. um for a driver. So, that's great. Um he talked about the two electric buses and um the new ones, they had to get fully registered. Um and they've performed really well in historic cold temperatures. If you remember in our past discussions, that was one of the unknowns with EV buses was how they would perform in the cold and if it would um deplete the battery life. But they've done really, really well, which is great. We did have trouble, however, with um some of our propane buses. Um, and we want

094to thank Highland School that he they actually had um one of their mechanics come and donate his time to help with that. So, he volunteered two full days. So, we're grateful for that. Um, for sure that was a big help for us. Um, and then Anthony also wanted to commend um the facilities department. So, um, plowing snow, especially on a weekend storm, is a challenge and the guys volunteer to come in and they really have done an incredible job, especially with the amount of snow that we've gotten and more limited in equipment. So, we want to thank them for that. Um, food service is been extremely busy. Um, so we, if you noticed in his report, we've actually had a 27% year-over-year increase in meals served. I think some of that is due to the

095free meals, but also the effort they've put in to change up the menu. Um so Mr. Pride still continues to work on the 30% initiative. Um he talked about at our budget workshop in incorporating whole milk which is great. So that's um available as well as the allocart options um through New York's um sourced products. And one of the things that he's been able to do is allow reimbursement. So prior to this the state would only um reimburse commodities and now they're allowing New York State products to be reimbursed. um which is great for our regional farm support, but also for the school district and being able to get that reimbursement for his program. Um they have uh two people on the agenda tonight to round out his food service staff. So if those are

096approved, then he will be fully staffed. We're happy to report that we have 40 CIA students that want to come volunteer in the kitchens, which is way more of a response than we thought that we'd get. >> 40. Yeah. So we're going to run them through in groups um spread out through the district, but it's really exciting. Um, Mr. Pride's done a wonderful job and outreach and partnering with the CIA to have students come in and and work within our kitchens. It's great for our staff. It's great for them. So, it's it's a nice uh reciprocity that we have going on there. Um, he talked about the grant program that we've talked about a number of times. Again, we will find out if we were awarded the grant in April. So, I'll give an update

097when we find out that. Um, Larry Anthony is still at it. So, he's working all throughout the state. He's working with school nutrition. So, Mr. Pride was able to see uh Larry do a demonstration about school lunches and nutrition lunches and meal patterns. And so um if you I don't know if you remember the broccoli powder that Lar I don't know who was on the board when he brought the broccoli powder. So a quarter teaspoon of this powder is worth five cups of broccoli. So he's a huge proponent of this and it's locally grown. So that was part of incorporating this power powder as a veggie um on the tray and so we had a whole demonstration about that which was exciting. Um, so a lot of great things are happening all over >> and

098you couldn't taste it. >> No. No. And and it's great for you could sprinkle it on there. >> Yep. Absolutely. >> So, does the board have any questions about any of that? >> Thank you. >> All right. And so that will bring us um to our committee uh report out. I guess we will start uh with policy. So, the one that's on tonight um was one that we actually talked about at our last meeting a little bit, but it really just pushes um the organizational meeting uh that happens in July. It used to have to happen by July 15th, and now they gave a little more flexibility where it's actually on or before the Monday after the 20th of July. So, this is just an update from state ed that we're matching our policy to

099that practice. >> Oh, great. Right. and and then uh community engagement. >> Um so for community engagement, nothing earthshattering, but we are still accepting applications for the community partnership team. We're excited for that to get started. The first tour and presentation is on March 11th at Mil Road. So if you are considering that, please put in an application. U it's going to be great. And then other than that, um, we have a BOE newsletter will come out covering this meeting, uh, at some point, hopefully early next week. And otherwise, there are other ways to for community members to engage with the school with, um, our uh, community conversations also coming up March 5th. Uh, that's at Lambs. And then we have a number of school events as well. everything from uh athletic sectional games, the

100high school spring musical, Lamb's culture fair, and more. So, >> and more. >> That's all. >> That's great. Lots going on. And so, then we have uh facilities. Erin, are you up to it or you want to wait? >> We had this cold for like two weeks and it's driving me crazy. >> Um yeah, so we talked about field one, a little bit of the update around the the bids. Um, we are currently in the process of seeking a variance from the village planning board around the pole height. So, our current pole height for the stadium poles, they exceed the height limitation for the village. Um, I'll have Dr. Hayes talk about that a little bit more. Um, but all the documents should be ready in four weeks or so and then we're looking at

101a twoe um, bid period. So hopefully we can award that bid by April 9th, I believe the date was. Um, and then from there, it's waiting for spring and the snow to melt and hopefully start that construction. Um, and hopefully it can wrap up by September for the school year. Um we also discussed about bringing in the um consultant from Cornell to do an inspection once the the sad is set just so we can ensure that the field is ready for play. Um we feel like it's such a huge investment that we really want to ensure that the field is safe and that it's fully rooted before we allow the um athletes to play on that. And then second thing we talked about was the upcoming um May capital project um on the renovation and

102addition to the bus garage. At this point we're really just waiting to review the scope of work and from there we'll have a better estimate of what we're looking at. Um we had talked about the last meeting we were sitting around 15.3. So again, once that scope of work is solidified, we can have a more solid um idea of what that number is. >> Yes. So as Aaron was saying, um last Thursday night, Mr. Casada and I and our architect um presented in front of the village planning board. So um the height limit in the village is 30 feet. We have five proposed light poles as part of the um capital project plan for the field. One of the five poles is meant to light the long jump. Um so would only be used in

103the event that we had an evening track meeting which Mr. Casata thinks there may be one of um those invitationals. So it's really looking at the four main light poles. They are 80 ft and 70 ft respectively front to back. Um so we exceed the 30 feet height limit. So we are seeking a variance. Um they did ask us ahead of time to provide um drawings which we did of all of the polls including light lumens um light pollution and um any kind of casting and candela that happens. Um so we did provide that. They had many questions um specifically related to the um the light pollution. Um, so we explained that we would be looking to turn the lights on for track purposes until nine o'clock Monday through Friday during the um, school year.

104We were asking to have the lights on until 10:00 for sporting events. Um, we also pointed out that it's not used in the winter. We don't plow the track in the winter time, so it really is looking at fall and spring. Summertime, it's light out later. Um, so they have asked us to come back on March 26. They would like us to provide drawings that include we let me back up. We provided drawings that was the entire school property which went all the way to the parking lot which is the access road behind the field. Um so it showed light spread when the lights are on to that point. Um we're at a zero light spread when you get to the back of the parking lot. Just for reference moonlight is 0.5. Um so we

105explained that they're LED lights. They're meant to just light up what's in front of them. Um, so they are asking us to come back March 26 with modified drawings that include the residences that surround the field in addition to they'd like us to draw the trees um so that they can see the height of the trees and the potential filtering of light for those trees. So, I expressed um to the facilities committee the concern that I have with the timing of it is that because we don't have a permit for the lights um it really could potentially throw off the timing of the entire field renovation. Um as of right now, the reason that we're delayed in the bid is because they have to redo the bid documents to extract the lights from that bid

106document so that we could move forward with the construction with the light as an alternate. But we will get to a point where we have to decide if we put the light poles in because they have to be obviously go underground and then we build on top of it. Um so if we don't have a decision in time for the summer, it could potentially delay the entire project. >> And so their meetings um are they preset? Can you can they call a special meeting um so if you bring back the information they wanted? I don't know about the tree height, but >> yeah, the tree height is is a little bit more challenging. I mean, and and all of this is a a cost that's incurred by the district for our architects to have to

107go back out and then draw um you know, property that we really don't own. Um I asked if we were violating any kind of code. We are not. The code says that we can't have a light directly shine into a residential yard or house, which we don't. Um there are lights that are already there. If if anyone's noticed, there are parking lights that are already lit. Um, so this would just be lighting the field for sporting events and then just the lower lights on the poles light the track for community members that wanted to walk the track at night. Um, I do think that it may be in our best interest to request a special meeting just timing wise. I also think that um if there are community members that want to attend the meeting

108and they're it's a public meeting, they're welcome to do that um to show their support. I did explain that this was something that the community voted for and the lights were included as part of the project with which the community is voting for, but um I'm not sure how the board feels about putting in light poles of lights that we may not be able to turn on. So, okay. And they're the types of lights like on the bridge or if you go to like Rondout or Spack and Fields where it's like dark around and then you you can like the field is lit up but it's dark around it so it's not putting out >> Exactly. So the the idea is that the new LED lights there's not the pollution lighting that comes out. It

109lights up what's right underneath it. So Hide Park has a new field that you could see um the types of lights we're talking about. Roundout has a field that you can see. So, if you drive up to those fields, you'll see an area that's lit on the field and everything around it is dark. And that's the idea with the new light. So, it's really only it's like a um a spotlight that's just focusing on what's going on in the field. >> Yeah. >> And so, our our request from them is strictly the the pole height. >> So, that was my understanding in working with um we had a premeating and also with our um council is that what we needed to ask permission for was a variant for the pole height. Um, and it seems

110like the focus is more on the lights themselves, the luminosity of the lights, the potential light spread, um, and how that may impact the residential areas around the field. Um, so we are going to have to ask the architect to do the drawings that they proposed with residential areas and and there are trees. If you've been to the field, there is a tree line behind the field on both sides. Um, but I'm not sure how feasible it is for us to measure all the trees. Okay. Uh, any any other questions or comments? All right. Okay. Thank Thanks. Thank you. Um, is there anything else anyone wanted to discuss or talk about? >> Because it's all under public comment or public content. Um, all the different policies that are coming up for review. um that we

111are working on sort of a very organized calendar on getting input from the different facets of the district that would be connected to any of these policies so we can get input and then review them as we go. So those will be you'll kind of see those rolling out over the next few months but they are there kind of as placeholders of what's to come. Just wanted to let you know. >> Great. Thank you. No thanks. That's great. All right. So, um, that brings us to, uh, policy review and approval. Um, we just have the first read of policy 1620. Can I get a motion and a second? Uh, any questions or discussion on that? All those in favor? I. All right. And then, uh, business consent agenda items 1 through 24. Can I get

112a motion and a second on that? Oh, 25. I'm sorry. I just cut off that last one. Um, any questions or discussions on that? All right. All those in favor? >> I. And that brings us to our personnel agenda, and that's items 1 through 20. Did I leave one off? Items one through 20. Um, can I get a motion and a second on that? Okay. All right. Uh, any questions or concerns on that right now? Okay. All those in favor? I. And I know that Dr. Summers would like to say a few words. So, today is a celebration for our retirees. Um, and I do have a a bit to say about each of them because their combined total of years served in this district is 142 years, which is incredible. So, um, I'll start

113with Billy Terra. She teaches Spanish at the high school and the middle school. self. We extend our heartfelt appreciation to Billy Terra for her many years of dedicated service to our school community. Since joining us in 2007 as a Spanish teacher, she has inspired students to broaden their perspectives and deepen their understanding of language and culture. Over the years, she also served as the world language department chair where her leadership helped shape and strengthen the program in meaningful and lasting ways. Her vision, collaboration, and commitment to excellence have left a lasting imprint on both curriculum and colleagues. She is a kind, personable, and deeply caring person. She has built strong relationships with students and created an environment where they felt supported and valued. Through the many international trips she has chaperon, she provided students with

114unforgettable learning experiences that extended far beyond the classroom walls. We are grateful for the passion and heart she has shared with our school and wish her continued success and fulfillment in her next chapter. Our next retiree is Barb Shoemaker. She's our elementary librarian on the K2 side. Um, we proudly recognize Barb Shoemaker for her remarkable dedication to our elementary school community since 1992. Beginning her career here as a classroom teacher, she made the transition to librarian in 2002 where she found her calling in nurturing curiosity and a lifelong love of reading in our students. As our librarian, she has been engaging, innovative, and has encouraged every child to explore, imagine, and learn. Through her commitment, warmth, and enthusiasm, she has touched the lives of countless students and colleagues over the years. We cherish the lasting

115impact she has made on our school and wish her all the best in her next journey. Lucy Wilson. We are Lucy teaches third grade. Uh we are pleased to recognize Lucy Wilson for her 27 years of dedicated service since joining our elementary school in 1999. Throughout her career, she has been a truly fabulous educator, bringing skill, heart, and unwavering commitment to her classroom each and every day. Known for her reliability and professionalism, she has been someone her colleagues and students could always count on. Her steady presence, thoughtful instruction, and genuine care for her students have made a lasting difference in the lives of so many children. We are deeply grateful for the consistency, excellence, and warmth she has shared with our school community and wish her continued happiness and success in the years ahead. Now,

116my next retiree is Stephanie Cumberford, who is in our audience. Stephanie has been a reading teacher. We proudly recognize Stephanie for her outstanding service to our elementary school since 1993. For 33 years, she has been a dedicated and passionate educator who has made a profound difference in the lives of her students. Highly regarded for her expertise in teaching reading, she has helped countless students build the foundational skills and confidence that sets them on a path to lifelong learning. Her knowledge, patience, and commitment to literacy have made her a trusted and respected leader among her colleagues. In recent years or for many many years, her service on the professional development committee and the mentor committee has further demonstrated her commitment to strengthening our school community. By supporting and guiding fellow educators, she has extended her impact

117well beyond her own classroom. We thank Stephanie for her years of dedication, leadership, and attention to our student needs. So, thank you, Stephanie. Our last retiree is Jacqueline Gre Walsh. After nearly three decades of dedicated service, we proudly celebrate Jacqueline as she retires from the Red Hook High School. Since beginning her career here in 1997 as a math teacher, she has guided generations of students with her expertise, patience, and commitment to their success. Throughout her years with us, she has been a valued cal colleague and a trusted mentor to both students and staff. Her legacy is reflected in the countless graduates whose confidence and skills are strengthened because of her guidance. We are deeply grateful for her many years of service and wish her a retirement filled with joy, relaxation, and all the opportunities she

118so richly deserves. So that is our retirees. They have until March 1st to see if we have more. Um we do have a resignation that'll be effective in May. Um Amelia Goldstein, she has been our in our high school since 2023. Uh during her time with us, she has been uh a passionate and engaging living bio um living environment teacher who has consistently supported her students growth both in and out of the classroom. She has graciously stepped up whenever additional science classes needed coverage, demonstrated flexibility, professionalism, and a true team spirit. So we wish her a um very positive future as she engages I believe in a different field. So we'll see. So that is um our teachers are fabulous but that's a combined total of 142 years. So really happy to see them move

119into their next stage but somewhat unhappy to see them go. So thank you. >> Impressive. Thank you. Um, so that brings us to our second recognition of visitors. If anyone would like to speak, the same rules apply. We ask that you state your name and use the microphone and that you uh keep your comment to 3 minutes or less. Did anyone want to speak? All right, that brings us to adjournment. Um, can I get a motion in a second? Second. You want to wait around now? Um, any questions or concerns on that? All right. All those in favor? I thank you. Have a great night. Thank you.