001Okay, we're going to call the meeting to order. Stand for the pledge, please. To the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. So first item is the acceptance of the agenda. I want to add that we will be in need of an executive session tonight. So that'll be added with the motion. >> Mike >> second. >> Any discussion on the agenda? Okay. Please note we will have a session. Next item is the consent agenda which is resolution 052 2025 moving the items on the consent agenda. Motion. Second. >> Any discussion on the consent agenda? All those in favor? I opposed. Consent agenda is approved. Next item of [clears throat] business is public comments. Do you have any
002public? >> You don't have to read it just for me. >> No, I have to read it. >> Oh, okay. All right. >> I get in trouble if I don't. Uh the board of education occurs in public participation at school related matters board meetings. BOE is here to listen during this period of the meeting. Persons wishing to address the board should state their name and of our organization. We generally like to limit to about three minutes to each speaker. So uh everybody gets a chance to speak. Uh we ask people to conduct themselves in a civil manner. The board cannot permit a public session discussion involving district personnel or students by name. So please avoid that. persons wish to discuss matters involving indiv individual district personnel should present their comments and or concerns to the
003board for written statement. Um the post session is generally not a Q&A period. Um we're here to listen to what you want the board to hear. Uh we will likely not address specific questions or respond to specific concerns. Um, if you want answers to specific questions, you can address those questions to supervis. Uh, the president shall have the right to discontinue any public comment that violates this. >> Okay, then you're up. >> All right. Do you need me to stand up or never? >> You do whatever you're comfortable with. >> Okay. beautiful. Um, primarily I came today after finding out daily and a dollar short about how far the Bloomingdale school conversation progressed and I apologize my lateness, but um, mostly I feel like it might be helpful as a Bloomingdale person um, for the
004next set of, you know, maybe some of the controversial things that do come up and will continue to come that it might be helpful for community members, taxpayers, what have you, if we had a better idea of when these subcommittees are made um and people want to be on them. I can speak on my own. I have tried to become a member of some subcommittees. Never made the cut and I think I know why, but it's okay. But what is the process for choosing who makes it, who does not make it? um you know when we go to put in hey I'd like to be on this subcommittee should we be including why we think we should be on this subcommittee um you know what do we bring to the table should we be including
005less to it's not really generally understood [clears throat] by the lay person like myself what the process is so it might be more helpful I can tell you there's a general um feeling if you will with the push back that's coming about the Bloomingdale school thing that the people who wanted Bloomingdale to stay open were left out purposely. I'm not saying that's true. I'm just saying that's the feeling. And so maybe having some clarity and understanding that that was the feeling. I'm not saying that's what happened. But maybe we don't understand how the subcommittee was chosen in general and perhaps that's maybe the problem. I know in the past I didn't understand how it's, you know, so I guess me being here is that also I felt on the flip side that I know quite
006a few people on the board were discussing that they felt like Bloomingdale wasn't coming to the table. I'm not shy. I'll come to the table anytime. Had I known that would have been helpful in the discussion, I would have been here a heck of a lot sooner. So, I feel like some of us that are open to being here and open to discussion could have and should have been here sooner. I didn't know I was needed. The other people that I know are more open didn't know they were needed. So, it kind of stinks that we're a little bit too late. However, that doesn't mean we can't do better next time because I think the community plus the board would be a heck of a lot stronger if we could work together instead of reading
007about it in the paper or on Facebook or what have you. So, that is just basically what I came here tonight to say is that I I think maybe we could have had a different outcome had we worked a bit harder together than apart. >> So, you know, your your perspective on this is is not unique. We've heard this Okay guys, and I appreciate you coming speaking up on I can tell you this. Um, we advertise for committee members. We utilize all our school media to do it. It was in the newspaper. We talked about at board meetings which are broadcast. Um, would you be shocked to know that we got 12 people and only 12 people interested? Yes, I am shocked to know >> that was the number of people after we we reached
008out with every mechanism we had >> and that's what we got 12 people on the committee. Um it's a little premature for me to speak about the results but I think you'll find that the committee uh has members from um the Bloomingdale community have spoken strongly and advocating for their position. Mhm. >> So the idea that uh uh the committee did not take anybody with that perspective is untrue >> and I I think that's a great thing that is clarified now. >> We held two public hearings that we posted again all our meeting is covered in our request newspaper one specifically at my request to be in Bloomington. >> What do you think the total number of people attended those two hearings? >> I know I wasn't there but I'll be honest with you. Say
009500, 400, 300, 200, 150. >> 12 at most. >> Well, people between the two means a little more than that. It wasn't 50. >> And would it shock you? By the way, they were broadcast as well. So, you can go see them. >> Yeah, they were. >> You can go watch them. >> Okay. The vast majority of conversation in both those did not boil down to the closure or remaining open at Bloomingdale. They were topics somewhat related. People the comments from people that went to the Bloomingdale hearing very few of them were actually about the opening and closing of it. Um one was adjacent land owner and wanted to know what would we do with it. things are are insulated but not to the point that is most contentious. So I agree we should work
010together. We we have been working on this since 2017 in an open manner in a forum such as this. Um I don't know what else we can do rather than go to door door to door knock people's doors and say we're here. So your point's well taken. I think I would be remissed if I didn't say this. It has to be both ways. If you're interested in this, you have to get involved. Um, you have to make sure that you're monitoring what's going on. You have to attend meetings. You have to get on our website, look at meetings, you have to call board members. But to show up at the 11th hour, it's like, "Oh, wait a minute. We didn't know. Tell us what we could have done differently because we availed ourselves of everything.
011We spoke about it at least over a year in this in this forum. How we want to do this so it's inclusive. So, I'm all for inclusivity. I'm all for people calling in. Every board member here will respond. We will share with you in the forums. I urge people to watch that. If you couldn't get the sense from the people on that committee just how emotionally torn they are over this topic, be it school staff, board members, community members, you [clears throat] could hear it in the tone of their voice. So, I could I could share with you that all of us are frustrated with the fact that, you know, we're being crucified for a decision um that we're agonizing over and being uh told that we don't care. We care deeply. Both my kids
012went to boom. I've said that repeatedly. I love booming school. Um but I cannot make people come to these meetings. I cannot make people reach out. I cannot make people do any of [laughter] those things. We have been open to all. So that's that's my statement for me person other committee or board members can can speak to it themselves and this is unusual that we're having this but this topic is huge right now and it should be huge we know that we said from day one no matter what decision we do to reorganize our district some people are going to be angry some will be happy no matter what we do and the last thing I'm going to say on this is this piece that's congenous and it is we recognize that it's just a
013piece of bigger puzzle that we're wrestling with. We have we have a multitude of things that are coming down roads and we're trying to get everything in order so we don't uh find ourselves in a in a fiscal crisis. [clears throat] We have ebus mandates coming. We've got a 20% projected increase in health insurance premiums with no offsetting revenue for that right now. That might equate in our budget next year of $2 million that we got to figure out how to cover. So this is a piece of it. We understand that for if you live in Bloomingdale, it's the thing you care about. Um, you know, Dian spawn is saying, uh, we can do almost anything, but we can't do everything. So, we've got to decide what the mix is here. And so, those are
014some of the main things that that I would say we've said repeatedly in in these forums. So, you know, we and we also said we will take people's input right up to the last day of the vote. So if people have other ideas, they've got things that they want us to know, they should tell us. Uh the final thing I would say is this concept that uh this is a done deal and we decided from day one that this is what we're going to do is untrue. I will not lie that the the the research and and the commission, the study we commission point to a direction, but we have been desperately hoping that there's something else that would come and say, "Hey, have you [laughter] thought of this?" No, we haven't. But yeah, the
015other thing I want to emphasize is we have no plan to show that building and let it be. What what will happen there? That'll be a step two if the vote is such to close it and reorganize our district. We want that to be a vital part of the Bloomale community. We don't want to think that way. Um and we'll go the ends of the earth with everything we can to try to keep it that way. Um I was at a meeting today at Boseis. Um, you know, I I said to the Bos Superintendent, listen, um, we're open to any and all options for that building. He asked how it was going. I said, it's contentious. [clears throat] So, we want community members say, you know, if it can't be used for this, could it
016be used for that? Yeah. Well, maybe. I don't. [cough and clears throat] Some people have made suggestions that simply aren't legal for us to do. They're great ideas, but they're not, right? Some people have said, well, why don't you pay for it out of this? Well, we just can't take all of our money in our accounts and say this is now going to go to that because there's laws that tell us how we have to spend our money. So, it's no secret. I've been hit with this. Everybody here probably has been hit with this. Well, you should have taken that money you spent on the dirt field, spend it, keep moving home. >> I will say this for probably the 500th time. It's not legal to take the money out of the fund designed for
017buildings and grounds and improvement and put that towards teachers pay keeping that building open. It's just not legal. So, I appreciate you coming tonight. I know you can hear the frustration of my voice, right? >> Yeah, I can. I've met you before [laughter] time or two. But mostly I did I really wanted to just reiterate to everybody that there there are people who care >> and that do see both sides and [clears throat] I sit on other committees. So I do also understand the time that it takes, the commitment that it makes. You know that you have to take time away from your own families and that you do it and I know you do it. You don't have to say >> what I was going to say Liz, we got another committee coming up
018soon. It'll be a community committee >> just because you know that all my kids are graduating. >> No, [laughter] that's not >> it should matter more than >> not yet they're not [gasps] a committee to select the superintendent. We're going to have uh different stakeholder groups. What will be >> and so [laughter] but why right and u >> but it does it does matter it does matter to some of us that grew up in Bloomingdale also went to Bloomingdale school. >> Yeah. >> Sure. and have family members, friends that work at the school. It does matter to those of us that I know I know that everybody I I highly doubt that that people made up their mind well in advance of what they wanted to see happen. I don't think that personally, but seeing
019things that float around and seeing things that are misrepresented [snorts] that shouldn't be. >> So hopefully you can understand that not everyone feels that way and that the work you're doing does matter. So, so listen, if first thing I said to every committee me member was you all represent somebody whether it's friends, family, neighbors, reach out to anybody and everybody. Everybody in the committee was given permission to create their own uh advisory group if you will to to bring stuff to us. Okay. So, that's another part of of trying to include everyone. I would say this, if we're not close to ideas, keep them coming. Send them our way. So, if people have ideas, they can still email using the website that they have. >> They can send them right to the board clerk. She'll
020make sure we get it. They can send to all of us. They can call us up. Uh they can meet with with individual board members or committee members. [clears throat] Um or we got one more hearing coming. Um they can come and and and speak their mind. We want to hear it. >> Our email individual email addresses are on the website. I know all of us I'm pretty sure it's safe to say all of us have had people reach out um you know we want to hear and I would like to say that everything Mar said because it has been frustrating because I don't know how else we could have possibly advertised we even asked people you know from other organizations and spread this [clears throat] and you know to say that this is something
021that we've lost sleep over if we didn't care about this we wouldn't spend this amount of time for zero pay [clears throat] zero respect and zero appreciation. This is not this is probably the worst decision we've had to make in my tenure and I dare say for people that have been on the board longer and this is something that we have agonized over and I'm not sure that legally we could have been even more opaque than we have. We haven't hidden anything. We've been clear every meeting is on YouTube. you can look at, you can go back and watch all of them so that you see exactly what the committee has been faced with and I encourage people to do that. Um, but I agree with Mark 100%. We are frustrated. We are frustrated that
022um at the our meetings at the public hearings all our administrators came and staff from the school came and I believe there were four people at the Bloomingdale meeting and we were ready for a 100 plus people and four came and then the next night we had three board meetings that week and the next night another four maybe five and it's heartbreaking because at the the same time it is really frustrating to have your name in the paper and on Facebook and everywhere around saying how evil you are and how my sole intent is to close Bloomingdale when it's not the thing that all of the public the district [clears throat] is that we are not responsible for one child we are responsible for every single child in this district in almost 700 square miles
023we're responsible for all of that and we have to do what's best. >> So, thanks for coming, Liz. I appreciate it. >> Come to more. >> I'm not sure. I'm not sure she will. [laughter] >> Uh >> I I'll be comment I will be very honest with you. I do pay attention. Not the closest attention because I do I do trust in the decisions that are being made. I have school tool. I didn't I didn't see this coming this quickly. I'm just being honest for myself. I cannot speak to anyone else. I didn't see this coming this qu this quickly. I did not know about the and and Mark can attest to where I grew. I grew up Main Street Bloomingdale. We're talking like the ghetto. >> I I was I I'm Bloomingdale Bloomingdale. I
024didn't know about those meetings. I did not not until I saw the scing report in the aderond price. So I really didn't I did not know I when I read that at sitting at at my work I happened to walk by and I saw friends I saw Mark Farmer Mark Farmer Mark and I thought she is so cool is he coming in to work. I work I work in Ray bro and I thought wait a minute and I backed right up and I thought oh my this has gotten a little bit further than what I had thought. We get criticized from time to time about not posting stuff on parent square for different groups or organizations. We want to get the word out through our network. >> One of the reasons we try to be
025discriminated with that is we know parents get barrage with this stuff, >> right? Yeah. >> So we we try So that's another piece of when we try to spread information. >> I guess part of me is trying to I really am truly trying to see it from both sides. Um I I was surpris I was very surprised And [clears throat] with four kids, it's hard to surprise me these days. I I was shocked to see how far this had advanced. I really I really was. So I would have been there. I can I can tell you I would have been there. >> Next meeting. >> Sorry. >> The public hearing is the 18th of February. >> Okay. >> Um that'll be in the high school auditorium and it will be live 12 at 6:30 p.m.
026Our next meeting is the 4th of February and then the 28th of February 25th and they're all on the website and there's a big banner for the public. I just want to add one thing to to Mark's point, you know, about um a lot of things Mark said, but so we want to hear from people and you know, Mark's saying, you know, we're not like we want this time until the decision is voted on to collect data. And I think what we've gotten personally, what I've seen a lot of is people from Bloomingdale who are speaking to kind of the emotional attachment to the school and that is totally valid, great to hear, but it doesn't give us data to operate from to do something different. So, if there's a different solution out there, it's
027not that we don't want to hear that, but it's just if we get barrageed with a bunch of emails about I went to Bloomingdale and it matters to me, like I totally get that. I mean, I went to uh Lake Kobe for kindergarten when I closed. I get it. Um, but I think what we need if there's going to be different options considered is here's a viable option beyond the emotional. Not that we don't care. Everybody here, nobody joined the board to close deal, but there's got to be more than just my emotional attachment to it. That makes sense. >> All right. Thank you. Anyone else in the public like to make a comment? [clears throat] Okay. Moving on to financial reports. Nikki, >> um, everything is saved on the drive. There were a few,
028uh, transactions and budget transfers this time. There's a couple of them that are are over the 10,000 that are pretty significant. The first one is that we took all of the officials funding out of individual athletics lines and moved them into the athletics fossies budget code because that's we're paying both for those things and we're tracking on a spreadsheet now so that we can um budget each of them their own line next time. >> So does that mean that uh we will still know how much we pay for officials by sport? Right. >> Correct. But the pool of money will come out of the central pool >> for this year. Yes. >> Why this change? >> Um so we've always been paying Boseis for that for I can't say always always just for the past
029couple of years that I've been here. Um and they do a budget transfer every time. And this money was budgeted specifically for officials and for paying Boseies for the officials. So next year the plan is to put Bose's codes. We talked about it for this year but not doing it because it was I was too into it. So we'll have we'll be tracking on the Boseies budget codes instead of a budget transfer every time. >> Yes. [clears throat] So the in history we used to pay each official individually by a voucher out of our out of our budget and the business office would have to do that and coach would collect the voucher. Smith, you would review it, sign off on it, go to the business office. They've got the check official. While the the
030league as a whole has gone to a different formula to be a little more efficient >> and it's still reviewed by Forest before we pay the invoices and um what we get for documentation with all the official name, the sport, the night, you know, all the information. So we are tracking it. It's just rather than doing a bunch of little budget transfers which is >> great. >> Thank you clarification. >> Sure. And then the other one was for um >> All right, let's get the resolution on the table. 053 2025 approving the current budgetary transfer report as presented for the school business executive motion >> second any more discussion on the financial report [clears throat] in favor I any opposed resolution is approved moving on to old business capital project update >> I mentioned it
031at the last meeting that the work that was being done by foot under our EPC. We discovered we had a big section at the really needed some insulation. We had spots in the wall where it was nothing but bare to the outside wall. So I talked about how we might be paying for that. We actually because the ETC came in right on target, we have a little money in the EPC project available to us. So, I brought forth a resolution this evening um for a contract between Danforth and this school to do that weatherization and the balance valve. Remember, we talked about the valves being in the wall, going the wrong direction. We need to correct all of that. So, they will do the weatherization. So, we'll actually have some insulation and hopefully not waterfalls
032into the tech room anymore. uh and the balance of the valve replacement as part of the DPC project itself because it certainly is a money saver uh and an energy saver and the total cost is $83,277 the resolution on the table discussion 054 [clears throat] by between Danport and district for upgrades to weather station motion Second >> any discussion further discussion on this >> so that 83,000 is the total cost of the legis >> correct >> and that is coming from the >> correct >> it was just extra money for over in that contingency okay >> I just clarify that 83000 wasn't an overage of it >> well we we had voter approval of $2,300,000. Our our initial budget came in at 23 and change. Uh knowing anytime we do a project, there's always something
033we find unexpected in the project. So there's there's room in the voter approval for that addition. That that was the surprise on this project. >> And then when does that happen? >> Uh Vern, do you have that answer? >> When is it happening? >> Yeah, I'm not sure there. depending upon the weather, but we're shooting for the two week spring break uh to do what they need to do on the piping and the univvents at Prova. Everything is on the first floor. So, in order to do it, they got to drain down the entire building and then do the repairs and fill it back up. And in talking with them, we felt that that was more than a start on a Friday night and work the weekend job in [snorts] case anything goes wrong. [clears
034throat] But if the weather holds and is fairly decent, not below zero or anything crazy like that, we're looking at doing it the two week spring break. Any other discussion? Was it better? I any opposed? Resolution is approved. The district facilities planning committee update. Um we did meet last week. Um at that meeting we did uh review the uh the uh impact statement. Um that that'll be under new business as well tonight. Um it was an opportunity for each committee member to uh add their take on on the proceedings thus far. Uh each committee member uh spoke. Uh Deina had a conflict with the with the town board meeting. So she sent in a uh written statement that was uh read and Scott Kim declined to speak at the meeting but sent a written statement
035in Monday which has been added to the record. Nancy, you might want to add to it. >> No, I mean I I think just the the origin of it was that we decided to try and you know for the facilities planning committee to not have to try and all agree on the same plan, right? Everybody have different ideas, different plans, how they opin, you know, we thought the best way to make sure that everybody got their opinions and their what they thought. So, I think it was good. >> Yeah, just same thing. it. I wasn't sure how we were going to send a, you know, a recommendation to the board as from the committee and I actually quite liked the way it worked out because everybody did get to be heard or or say their
036piece and and you know we're all the other board members, you know, besides three of us that were on the committee, you know, really just hearing exactly what what they wanted to say, you know, what each individual said. and I thought it was really valuable to hear that. >> Okay. Uh there'll be more on this when we get to new business, I'm sure on the legislative priority brief. >> That's me. Okay. Um so Gina, thank you very much for bringing some of the uh specific data points that were helpful to strengthen Diane. Thank you. I appreciate it. Um I gave it a read over. I think it looks great. Hopefully, Tori, you would agree and you're ready to take this puppy the back page copies. Not straight, but I'm sure it is straight. Um, yeah.
037So, you guys have seen it. We've had it a few weeks now, I think. So, >> well, I would just I I already told this to Zach for the meeting, but I did just speak with um resident in the town of Vermont who who worked for many years for the office of real property and taxation services. So, he would he was working for the state to appraise state land. And so, I just didn't understand how like the second bullet, while the state pays tax on forest preserved lands, the state determines their value, which may or may not align with local property value. That's actually not correct. I learned tonight local just like all our homes, you know, are um assessed by our local assessor that is hired by the town. That's how state land is
038assessed as well. the state office of property services taxation whatever say real property they actually appraise state land and sometimes assessors will use the appraisal that the state has come up with because they don't know they don't have the knowledge or ability to appraise that land on their own as unusual land it's usually large acreage not like there's lots of sales equivalent sales going on which is how appraises assessment are are determined. But if a local assessor can use a different number and they might assess it at a higher level than the state has and the state has the same rights as all of us do to go and grieve our taxes and and um >> to be at that meeting. >> Yeah. And I said I asked him does the state always win? He
039said no. You know, if if the appraiser, sorry, the assessor difference between the appraisal and the assessment, if the the the local assessor has good reason for assessing it at that amount, then then, you know, they that's what would go and it's assessed more if it's lake frontage, it's assessed more if it has old timber on it. It's assessed equally as private land. Keeping in mind that large acreage is assessed, there's discounts for large acreage. I own, you know, some acreage. I don't pay, you know, the same, you [snorts] know, amount per acre as somebody who only has one acre, right? Like that's just how assessments are are, you know, are done. So it might seem like the state has a mile and a half shore shoreline on a particular lake and somebody has 200
040feet and they're like, "Well, the state's paying this and I'm paying that." Well, that's just kind of how assessments go. He says it's a it's not a science. It's an art in a way the way that appraisals are done and assessments are done, but it's done fairly as the same way as local um you know, the rest of us get. So So just I I just would be careful at being inaccurate. May I ask Nancy, did you speak to the office of real property or to Martin the tax assessor? >> I spoke with someone who was retired from the office of real property tax. >> So I think it would be important since we're talking about our district to actually speak to the assessor. I've spent a lot of time with the assessor recently and
041his answer is good luck with any of that. We really because how does he know what state landing value? So theoretically, yes, we could come back [laughter] and argue [clears throat and cough] that, but I'm thinking factually for us as a district and our lands that at least Martin is the assessor for that isn't the way that it works. The way I understood from conversations that we've had really because everybody asks about all the state land waterfront. that's been a repeat answer that he's had at the reassessment meetings. And I just think that would be valuable for us to maybe speak to him directly on how he feels that process. >> Yeah, I'd be happy to. Yeah. >> And he he doesn't do all the towns. He does quite a few and and he does
042har [cough and clears throat] >> I went to the one at the airport last night. >> They did a great job. Yeah, >> I was happy to, you know, I said I was happy to put down these forums so people could understand how this taxation works. It can be confusing >> and you know if we don't want to get into like if we feel like semantically speaking we don't want to use this bullet I think we could simply reward it >> in the sense of like kind of in the same vein of what the first part was roughly 44% of the part being performed by the state is it it limits the amount of growth that we can do in the in the district as well. So, I think there's another way to frame this.
043It isn't as potentially provocative so that it gets lost in the sauce and they're like, "Well, that's not technically true." And I'll do one of those. I think, you know, I I think I had put a a recommended sentence in there. So, if you want to take a look at it, you can. But otherwise, that would be my recommendation. If we don't want to get into the semantics of what was Martin said, if we do whatever, >> right, >> bring him in a different way. Except see if it's a stronger point >> because the real Oh, I'm sorry. >> Because the real reality is that that land is devalued because of all the covenants on it. So at the end of the day, they have beautiful waterfront property that because it is APA, that is
044forever wild, because it has all those covenants on it is valued significantly less than the land owner with 200 feet of mud. that has a has house on it. So at the end of the day >> well or the cheated out [snorts] of the value that land could have >> it will never be it will never produce that land will never house a building that has a child that goes to the school district. So it will never go up in value for the buildings and it will never send anybody to school. And to Deina's point the other day in that meeting was that that I was really interested to hear her talk about how they're trying to kind of expand that so that they could get more development in Bloomingdale. Like to me that's a
045really crucial point which is that >> yeah you can't you can't raise a child on state land I mean >> directly right so I think that's a really crucial thing if we're talking about the problems of not just the rural funding but also like development that is such that people can move here for housing and employment and businesses >> and all of these things really speak to the bottom line of what we have finances for to provide. So when we're talking about reorganizing our school and and staffing and and keeping schools open or shut, this really is where it all starts on the ground level. And so when people say to us, well, what are you guys doing about it? Well, I'll tell you what we're doing about it. We are pushing for this in
046this legislative brief that some board members have put together, which I think is fantastic. and and [clears throat] Glory who knows Albany way more than I would ever doubt [laughter] and goes down there and advocates for this stuff. We're as our little group here are doing everything within our power to address the means by which we provide education including advocating in Albany for things as basic as how do you choose how to fund schools? Why does Sarin Lake get um way less state aid than surrounding districts? Why are we classified by the state as being a fairly wealthy district when everybody in this room knows that's not accurate? So, we're doing what we can from our end on that. So, I I applaud this work. uh any of the the adjustments need to be made,
047I'm in favor of to make it uh a little more succinct, maybe a little more accurate, but the work that's been done on this uh by Zach and Tori and presenting it, [clears throat and laughter] and I've never seen anything like this come out of my time on the board as well. So, thank you for doing that. >> I'd like to reach out to U Brian Gustler and the attorney in this book um that you know the intricacies of every little bit of the education law and have them look over it as uh you know, do you have suggestions? Is there a better way to word this? Because the fact of the matter is the state is paying a different rate per square foot than we're paying per square foot. However, the sausage is made,
048their sausage is cheaper than our sausage >> and they have more sausage >> and they have a lot more [cough] sausage than most of us. So, I know Brian has been very good at in the past telling me teaching me how to say what I really want to say in a way that is more polite and still gets direct. [laughter] Well, Dory, [snorts] I think it's a great idea to have someone review it that has a little more knowledge at this level than we do. So that when we go there and we when you go there and speak, you're speaking on things that's got a solid foundation. >> Can I ask you just the the scar we get some money for scarcity? Is it >> scarity? >> Yes. >> What what is that? How does
049that work? What is it? Do you know how that works? >> I part Yeah. Me neither. >> The part I can I can talk about comfortably is that it's the the population >> density per square mile. It is in our case it really goes more to scarcity than density because if you look at how many students like you look at the population over 675 square miles and then you look at the student population over that mileage. Um yeah but where I understand that concept that's why we get the the scarcity but how do what how does it come out? I think it's a figure in our aid ratio and that's what it just came out with our aid study [laughter] but I didn't actually download it. I just print it off. So I was gonna
050go I was going to go look for it. Yeah, you'll see. But I'm not sure I can pull that figure. >> It's a it's a multiplier somewhere in the aid ratio formula >> for for our our aid [snorts] individual per student aid not not the building aid or transportation aid. >> Correct. >> Or is it somewhat in the transportation? That's where it would really matter. Right. Because you got to drive to get those kids. I'll have to look. Yeah. I'm just curious because I >> Yeah, you can bring that mix up. >> Okay. We do get a little I mean I don't maybe it's not that much money, but it is it is something the state does to uh like we don't we get a little bit extra money to offset that. We are >>
051so we're going to be getting into high budget season. So you can bring that next time. Just really quickly, there's a email that we all got from NISSBA today. Brian Fesler is going to be testifying tomorrow. The state is having budget hearings for all the different divisions. >> He's testifying tomorrow and they posted his written testimony and it's it's worth reading. >> Okay. >> I don't say that because I'm a giant nerd who like I'm talking to Brian about other things. I may be in >> I may be in Albany with you um depending if if I can make that work. in his written testimony is specifically stuff about the penalization of road districts. So, it's clearly on their agenda. They're thinking about actuarial equations and whatever that looks like. But, it's um so I
052think I think actually this will would be well heard by legislators because now it goes to the one house budget where they're going to have to make more sausage. >> They're going to have to make more sausage and then confirm then we put it with polls and hopefully come out together. especially if they're already, you know, some of them are resolutions just for this fall addressing the foundation a issue in addition, >> but they know like we've gone to legislative meetings with regions like they know they have problems with the aid formula. They know and so like I just think continuing to reinforce >> just have to keep going because if we don't they made an adjustment and it took years to make that adjustment from the time >> it's a big shift 20 years.
053Yes. Between we we instituted foundation a here's the formula and we're going to fully fund it was like 20 years. >> Well, they had to be actually sued and moves in court and still didn't pay >> decades to this all comes back to why this brief is so important because if we don't nobody else is going to scream louder for us. >> Well, we recognize this long you keep harping on this. the the big urban districts have a lot more juice than Albany than the rural districts and we just got to continue this I see as is a worthy effort in that vein and again we're appreciate that you'll go to Alb and speak for us >> and whatever replacement sentence you put in there [laughter] >> all right moving on to new business >>
054presentation of the educational impact statement Is there something you want? >> I think the chair. [laughter] >> Okay. So, you have the statement that uh when we look at our last building, [cough] I believe it now to my right. the the uh the spoken narratives that uh were given at the meeting. I got this ahead of time. We'll get up to you when I read it over, but you got to see whatever he said in person and what Deina sent written and then what Scott entered u on Monday by correspondence. It's it's pretty lengthy. it uh you know but one thing that uh I think that we [clears throat] can get digging for is that uh neither Diane nor I were aware that there was a deadline and that the statement had to be done
055uh by March 1st if we're considering reorganizing the schools. Um so we had to readjust the timeline for that and and this reflects that. But luckily the way the committee was organized, the topics were talked about, the information that was provided to the public merged very nicely with what the state wanted on their educational impact study. So um because of the way we did our business, we really had most of the information just need to be kind of assembled which D did for us. Um, and it's it's a good read for the public if they want to see, you know, kind of what the committee did or the thing we looked at. Um, the binder that we put together in the committee was achy binder mostly filled with data that we collected, information that was
056requested and that's kind of summarized in this impact statement. >> Is this statement on on the outside? It will be tomorrow once it's accepted by >> [clears throat] >> You should go look at that state. >> Can we request Aaron? I don't think any have to, but like they've written so many stories about this issue. I mean, I feel like to Liz's point, there's so much in here that would be would inform people on the process and the opinions and all that. Can we request that the paper printed as well, >> just to make sure we're getting it out as much as we can? >> I can let them know that it's available. Also included with this is the uh our administrative team's uh impact statement addendum. The administrators kind of working in parallel the
057organization took on a lot of tasks. They looked at potential scheduling uh if they were concerned there or things that need to be overcome. Um they've looked at uh phasing versus allin-one. They've looked at all kinds of things and they were very gracious to assemble what I think is a extremely well put together explanation of their position on the reorganization as a whole. So if you haven't had time to take a look at that that's that's part of this that's included as well. >> So that'll be made public as well. >> Absolutely. Okay. >> And uh I really think that uh it's a good read. Um, you know, we sit here and we debate this uh in forums and hearings in our meetings, but the truth of the matter is no matter what decisions made,
058it's the admin team with our our staff uh that's going to have to implement whatever we do moving forward. So, their input I find incredibly valuable um insight as to what we have to be aware of when we're making decisions. So the admin that's here and the ones that maybe watching here, thank [clears throat] you for all the hard work you did parallel to the work we were doing. It's entirely valued by us and I think there's tremendous step in there. So thank you. I don't want to discuss or further delve into the the impact statement because after after the end of the meeting I'm gonna sign it give it to Gina then I can post it for everyone in the public to see I'm going to hand deliver a copy of this [laughter] >>
059I already sent it out to everybody in good >> I can All right. Anything else on that? Dian, thanks for my hard work on that with the admin kind of assembly and to the board members around the committee. Thank you for all of your very helpful and honest input. And I'll say this at our next committee meeting, but I'll say it here as well. Uh I highly value the input from all our committee members and even people that saw things differently. I think that was as important as anything to have people that see the uh issues differently. So, >> I I really appreciated um the time that that uh folks put into especially because I didn't put in so much time. I really appreciate the time people put into um writing their thoughts down very
060well spoken and they were well written and um and you really do get a sense of pretty big picture from lots of different perspective perspectives on this and and it all does [clears throat] mix together to really come out you get a good sense of things and I appreciated everybody's input. I would second that Nancy. I thought people really >> were heartfelt and and and spoke eloquently about the issue. >> Yeah. >> All all all sides >> including this the admin's statement. So thank you. >> Okay. We're moving on to reports. We'll start with the super. >> So I always ask as we start budget lost in all of this is the start of budget season. and we've been working on um getting that ready to go and we start meeting very quickly with our
061administrator and supervisory team leaders and I'm always asked to share at the start of that process what our school or at least my school budget philosophy is and it really hasn't changed at all in my time that I've been here. Um I've tweaked how I've said it but I've really said the same thing. This will be the 13th time. And the goal is to design a budget that provides maximum educational opportunities for our students, including curricular and co-curricular activities while being mindful of our fiscal responsibility to our taxpayers. Our decisions are based on data. Programming changes are driven by enrollment and student interest. The first consideration is the impact of changes on students. direct resources to the most significant student needs and preserve educational opportunities whenever possible. It's based on cost effectiveness, addressing our programming
062needs and our tax sensitivity. We have two things that don't necessarily go together, right? Lots of needs and lots of things we'd like to do for every individual student. And yet at the same time, uh people pay taxes in our office. We watch them come in and pay their taxes for a month. um and watch the struggle that is for many of our families. So we have to balance the two things together. And Mark is right. I always say we can do anything. We can't do everything. So we need to prioritize what those things are. I think the facilities planning subcommittee did exactly what asked to do. The members reviewed data. This is our binder. I think sometimes their eyes crossed, but they took it seriously. Asked questions, sent questions. We toured buildings. We listened
063to the public input and wrestled honestly with the difficult trade-offs because that's what it is, tradeoffs. While the committee did not issue a single unified recommendation, a majority of the members independently arrived at the same conclusion about the best way forward. And that conclusion is a district configuration with Petrova as a UPK through sixth grade building and the high school as a 7 through 12 junior senior high school which would require closing Bloomingdale Elementary. And I agree with that conclusion. This conversation didn't start this year and it didn't start with this board or this subcommittee. For more than a decade, the district has been watching and talking about a steady decline in enrollment. Even as students academic, social, emotional, and programmatic needs have grown more complex. Eventually, doing nothing becomes a decision in itself and
064often the most costly one for our students. I want to acknowledge that this is hard and it's hard in more than one place. So, we're talking about Bloomingdale Elementary, and Bloomingdale Elementary is a close-knit school with deep roots, lots of families um that have had multi-generations attend, and the possibility of its closure is painful. That building holds generations of memories, and I don't take that lightly. I also want to acknowledge that this is hard for our middle school community. They've been lost in the conversation. Our middle school currently serves grades six through eight and under this proposal that model would change. Staff would be split between two buildings and that matters. It affects identity, relationships, routines and a sense of belonging. Anybody who's worked in the middle school knows that middle level work is specialized
065and the people who do it care deeply about their students. And I don't minim minimalize that either. So this is not about what we value less. It's about what we must protect more. The change in configuration improves equity by giving all elementary students access to the same services and supports. It aligns more closely with certification, staffing, and scheduling realities, allowing us to respond more effectively to student needs over time. And it helps preserve academic, extracurricular, and support programs that would otherwise be at financial risk. If this plan moves forward, grades seven and eight will not simply be absorbed and expected to fit here at the high school. They will need there will need to be clear structure, dedicated spaces and adult support that recognize the developmental needs of these students. There also the need for
066thoughtful planning to support the staff navigating transitions. We're holding a lot of truths at once. We're asking Bloomingdale families and staff to grew the school. We're asking middle school staff to rethink how their work is organized and where it lives. And we're asking our community to trust that these conversations are happening with intention and care. My budget philosophy has been consistent for many years. The decisions grounded in data, focused first on students, mindful of taxpayers, and aimed at preserving opportunity wherever possible. And I believe this configuration reflects that philosophy. I also want to acknowledge the many people in our community community who are quietly trusting that this work is being done thoughtfully and in good faith. And I don't take that trust lightly either. It matters and it carries responsibility. My commitment is to continue
067approaching this work with care, transparency, honesty, and a focus on what is best for students now and in the years to come. So, with all that in mind, this is how the process moves forward. We put it in place and board voted on it. I'll bring formal recommendations to the board at its next meeting on February 4th. Um, Douglas and I are working on those right now. >> [snorts] >> There'll be [clears throat] a public hearing on February 18th at 6:30 uh in the high school auditorium which will provide another opportunity for community input and the board is scheduled to vote following that hearing on February 25th and I heard board members to say it tonight. They are still seeking input. So, right to Gina, right to any of the board members. As superintendent of
068this district, I am responsible for the dayto-day operations of a $38 million business, employing almost 300 staff, not including substitutes, most of who live right here in our community. I'm also responsible for educating a thousand students this year, providing them with not just classroom learning, but extracurricular experiences that will expand their horizon. My responsibility from the day I was hired to the day I retired is to know the district intimately and to act with intention rather than drift. This plan of a UPK6 eprova 7 through 12 at the high school, the closing of Bloomingdale Elementary is the way to move forward and gives us the strongest footing to take care of our students and our taxpayers. And I do know how hard that decision is, but it is a decision we need to make. Okay,
069thank you, Diane. Moving on to administrative reports. Josh, got it for us? >> No comment. [clears throat] >> Amy, uh, >> nothing for tonight. Thanks, >> Melissa. >> All set here. Erica, >> wait a minute. >> I'll go first. Nothing to report. [laughter] >> Our students will have the opportunity to swim at Lake Kby Beach this summer thanks to the New York State Swims Grant. We'll be busing our students at Camp Amber Sands Lake Cold Beach every single day to swim and enjoy the beautiful water right here in our own town. Thanks to them. >> Thank you, Erica. >> Hey, student report. >> Um, so last week was midterm week and then there's an after prom fundraiser tonight at River Trail. The senior games are starting and next week is National Cross. >> Perfect. >>
070Okay. Board reports. financing. >> Mark, >> I'm sorry. >> I'd like to give a little brief. >> I apologize for Go ahead. >> Uh, so keeping with the theme, Bloomingdale was a little contentious for buildings and grounds over the weekend. Uh, we had a significant event go on down there. Just wanted to make you guys aware of it and where we're at and what happened. Uh so Sunday morning uh I got on as we all know it was what 21 below 22 below Saturday uh 15 below Sunday. Uh when I got on the computer Sunday morning and onto the building management system uh to check all the buildings uh like I do frequently in the winter. Uh when I got to Bloomingdale, I first noticed the boiler temperatures were at 80°. And uh when I
071looked at room temperatures that I could see, we had uh two rooms that were one was 31 and the other was 34 and the others were in the 40s and 50s. Uh the heating system was not operational. Uh the manner that it went down uh was not an alarm condition because if we get alarms on the building management stuff, if a boiler goes off, uh it sends out an alarm that we've got a flame failure or whatever or circulator pump goes down. uh we get the I get the email and lets me know uh but this event was not an alarm condition. So what had happened uh was the whole building management system and the water temperatures and everything are calculated by an outdoor sensor uh to let the computer system know what the outdoor
072temperature is. And we had a uh malfunction of that outdoor temperature sensor. And that sensor was telling the computer system uh when it was 15 below out that it was actually 70° outside. So the whole heating system was in warm weather shutdown. Uh which there's a setting in there that we can adjust and do whatever. Uh so uh yeah, it wasn't an alarm condition. Uh I got on I overrode the setting to uh make the warm weather shut down or the uh set point for the warm weather shutdown to actually be 125 degrees. So I got the boilers to come on. I got the circulators to come on. I got everything to come on. Uh but the end result of it was uh we got down there uh and did a survey of the building
073and we did not freeze up any domestic water. Uh but the weakest points in our heating system is the heaters or the unit vents uh because uh they are all ducted to the outside uh and sit on the outside wall uh in order to uh get the fresh air changes that we're required to have by the state. So those are the coldest spots in the room actually especially when there is no flow going through them. Uh what we had basically was uh the old section uh we had uh five rooms that were froze up. Uh and the new wing uh was basically uh every room in every office in the new wing except for two uh were frozen. We could see uh we went through uh triaged it. Uh we were able to shut off
074uh as much as we could possibly shut off of what we could see of split pipes, broken pipes in the unit vents and the heaters. Uh so we got everything isolated. Uh got heat going where we could get it going. And then on uh Monday uh it was opportune to have a snow day that day because I don't know that we could have uh had school uh on Monday. We were lucky enough that all of the active classrooms uh that were in the old section of the building uh actually had heat uh in them. We only had two. Uh the staff room and uh the work room [snorts] in the old wing were froze up and we lost two offices in the old wing but they were small. So uh but we got things going.
075Uh we had uh so there'll be some discussions. It's probably not going to be all uh on the district uh because our controls contractor uh was in working on the system on Thursday uh and he's owned up to it. Uh they were there. They have called in all the resources uh at this point. So more than likely it is not going to be on the district, it's going to be on the contractor. Uh but he had uh three Danforth uh texts there uh all day Monday, three there all day yesterday uh repairing the splits and getting everything thought out so we could see what we could see. Uh luckily we had no property damage from splits uh with floods or leakage as they [snorts] thought things out things that we didn't know. Uh they were
076able to catch and contain and took care of it. Uh today uh they were there half a day today. with the three techs got all of the holes filled up or plugged up and everything is back together and running. Uh in the end we lost uh four I think it was four [clears throat] actual coils in the units or in the heaters that are not fixable. uh the big unit in one of the classrooms. Uh the coil can be replaced. Uh but that's not a offtheshelf item which you just go get. So it'll be a while to get that fixed. Uh the other coils were smaller heating units in the individual offices, the counselor office living and the tech IT office and stuff down there. So, we are back together. Uh, and the building is
077uh all but a few rooms are uh are heated and back online. They plugged up a lot of holes and a lot of splits, but fortunately, we did not lose any domestic water or have any major floods. Uh if I hadn't caught it on the computer system at 9:30 Sunday morning, I don't think we would have been that lucky by Monday when the staff came in. So >> sounds like a bad situation was rectified before we come. >> Yep. >> It's curious that there wouldn't be a temperature alert though. >> We're looking into that also. >> They're separate systems. [laughter] So that would be my one question is moving forward um having spent the weekend in a frozen house and buying pipes and dealing with pipes all weekend. Um what are we need to look
078at? Are there redundancies? How do we establish those redundancies? And what about the other buildings? Is that something um I know the high schools newer. Is there any redundancies here? Any Thank God you did look, but the fact that there's no temperature alarms anywhere in that I'm concerned about. >> There used to be uh but they were tied in on an old system and it appears that they were not uh updated or tied into the new building management system. >> So, we're going to check on that and you'll let us know. >> Oh, yeah. >> Perfect. I know it looks like they're going to take responsibility, but have we reached out to our insurance? >> We will once you know that needs to be done within 48 hours of the incident and then I will
079tell you because we've been dealing with insurance adjusters homes that should be >> their insurance company has already been notified. >> All right. Thank you, >> V. Thank you. we could work on that and any of our staff that were involved thank them as well. >> Okay. [snorts] >> And the other thing is is everybody we're in the same boat now that you're talking budget. Uh just making people aware the same thing everybody else is complaining and each one of us is complaining about the electric rates. Uh fuel oil's been pretty stable but the electric rates and the electric bills have been way out of whack and way out of control. that everywhere. >> Yeah. >> Significant. Uh next next month's meeting, you'll probably be seeing some budget transfers because uh uh with Nikki uh
080we're only into January and a couple of our electric accounts. Uh I'm going to have to transfer money because I won't have enough money to pay the next upcoming bills. Is that >> the electric bill here last month was $12,000 which was up three close to $3,000 from last month. >> We use National Grid as our electricity supplier. Has the district considered using a like a an esco where you get a a flat rate? it it doesn't always beat the um variable rate that that the utility has, but at least it's something you can budget around because it's >> some of it, but most everything that we've got is all on demand as well. And that's where the the demand charges >> demand, you can't do anything about that >> are high. And the same
081with everybody else, it's the delivery charges. our delivery charges are running 60 to 70% sometimes of what the actual electric usage is, >> right? >> And there's no control over that. >> But but those those fees are fixed. I mean, not fixed, but they don't vary month to month. The only that varies month to month and swings widely are the [cough and clears throat] most homeowners are feeling supply. So >> yeah, >> I think something to consider because it can at least having a fixed rate can just smooth out the the unknown. >> And and the odd part here this month at the high school, even though the bill was up close to $3,000, we actually we use a lot. these hundreds of thousands of kilowatts a month, but we are actually two 2,000 something
082kilowatts less this month than we were last month. These are the uh the financial creeps in all areas of our budget that we're trying to solve um without whatever mechanisms we have at hand. And we say this all the time, we have so little control over the money we get or how it's spent yet we're expected to somehow cover the cost. Um, it's just good we're not going to all electric buses. [laughter] >> Sorry. >> Okay, Nancy. >> Okay. Well, at first I have >> Thank you, >> um, Katie Lava. She isn't here to say she doesn't have a report. She sent it to me, so I'm going to read it short. Uh she said this week we are participating in the great kindness challenge and the Crayola creativity week which will be a week
083full of fun themes and activities. Our theme will be color the world with kindness. Each day the students are creating cards and projects for the for bus drivers, custodial staff, peers, etc. Friday we will be joining the global assembly and having a kindness parade. We are getting ready for a schoolwide trip to the ice palace on February 9th. And on February 12th, we were working with [snorts] family volunteers and Satie on a schoolwide Valentine's Day pancake breakfast. So, I might go to that. Um, and then I was just going to let people know I um I think I said in an earlier meeting that I was asked to serve on the NISB's DEI committee, area six representative, I guess. And so, we had a meeting a week or so ago. It was a like orientation
084uh Zoom call and uh so I just tell you a little bit about what they're doing. I'm I'm pretty excited about it. I think it's going to be a really valuable time spent for me. But um their committee is kind of a similar structure to ours. It's a um a board committee that provides advice and counsel to municip directors and staff. Um and they uh well of course related to supports that [cough] you know related to the area of GEI uh and there are 2026 initiatives they have five one is to develop a mentor program among districts you know where one district might mentor another one is to enhance the soar campaign which I'll talk about in a second a third one is to develop an assessment program and tools for assessing our efforts I
085think will be valuable for us. Um fourth is to link this soore campaign with portrait of a graduate. And then the fifth one is to embed advocacy efforts. The sore campaign it's s a r is for success equals opportunities plus appreciation plus resources. And I'll just read what they wrote. wrote. They said, "At NISBO, we believe a focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion helps all students find success. When we provide students with greater access to opportunities, appreciate them for who they are, and give them adequate resources, then every student will have the ability to soar." So, you know, that sounds kind of hokey, but that's, you know, that's how things are sometimes. And I think that was created a little bit when um DEI was all of a sudden like being a little bit demonized
086from [snorts] from a federal government, but it's still you might see that sore campaign and some of this was um I think it was in the on board magazine. There are 17 members from each from uh one member from each area. The 12 areas the big five schools are represented. There's a council of black social black school board members representative. Um there's two members from MISOS New York State School Council on School Superintendent and then several NISBA staff and we're going to be meeting every other month virtually with one inerson meeting on March 28th. So, I think it'll be pretty exciting and I think it'll offer I I feel like I'm going into it, you know, [cough] just open [clears throat] to learning. It's a really dynamic group with a lot of experience. At least
087that's what it feels like to me. So, I feel like I'm going to be coming in. I mean, I certainly can represent, you know, what our little rural school district um, you know, can offer what we're doing, but I feel like there's a lot I can bring to our work here, you know, from the greater statewide efforts. >> Okay. Thank you, Justin. >> Joe, >> um, thank you for that, Nancy. I look forward to that, especially the assessment part. Um the Trump administration has dropped its lawsuits. So they were being sued on first amendment grounds and they're not appealing that. So keep doing the work. Um I was in uh New York City last Friday at the Society for Ethical Culture for a an event with um the Board of Regents, some of the board
088of regents around the new graduation requirements and a whole bunch of kids. It's it's going to be really awesome. So, um, just thanks to them for what I think is a really interesting program coming out. I think they've got their work cut up. We all have our work cut off on that one. Um, I wasn't able to attend the DEI meeting last week. I was really sick. >> Forgot you can't talk about that since you weren't. We did have a DEI committee meeting last Thursday. Um, Joe was sick. There were it was a smaller little bit smaller group than usual because we hadn't had one in a while. I don't know. But it was still really valuable. We had a um presentation from Melissa on um I hadn't really thought about what I was going
089to say tonight about this, but but um some of the next ready classroom um this is the curriculum is not my strongest point, but h how we're in we're bringing in DEI elements into our next ready classroom. How that will then merge with portrait portrait of a graduate. Is that well done? >> Pretty good. [clears throat] I would say she hit her learning target. What would you say? >> That's what I was thinking. It was an effective effective activity. >> Okay, that's all I have. >> Thank you, Zach. I think >> uh been talking with Josh about our the kids that we are getting to go uh to Albany with us and uh we will have more details. >> Perfect. Mike, >> um I think I talked about going to the uh assessment uh forum
090last night at the airport. Um Shel government class is going to be taking a uh a unit on local government. She invited me to come in next week and speak about how the school board interact interacts as a function of local government. >> So I'm going to get back in the classroom for the first time in very long time. So kind of excited about that. Hope I don't have to get everybody any attention. Just saying. [laughter] So with that, we are in need of an executive session. Can I get a uh for medical financial credit employment history first corporation matters the appointment suspension discuss corporation? >> Second. So, Zach and all those in favor I take a little break here. [laughter] >> They don't need any tickets. >> I'm going to open the book. >>
091I'll call you tomorrow. to watch.