001tonight. Can I have a motion to call the meeting to order? Motion Tom, second Chris. Any discussion? All in favor? All right, it's good to see everyone tonight and I love the excitement of awards night. Um I know it's a little crowded in here cuz we had way more awards than we expected, so we will go through them quickly and I am going to start with the Pledge of Allegiance, so please rise. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America. To the republic one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all. All right, good evening ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to our board meeting. We have a lot of great students to celebrate tonight and we thank you for coming whether you're here or watching from home. We'd like to
002start with Dr. Foy and the Pilot Club. So Dr. Foy, please come on down and let's introduce your students. Dr. Foy. >> Good evening everyone. Thanks again for this opportunity. This time I'd like to invite three lovely ladies from the Pilot Club, Sayville's Pilot Club, to come up and join us here at the podium. So, for those of you that don't know, this is an annual tradition here at Sayville, and the Pilot Club of Sayville is a division of Pilot International, one of the leading civic service organizations in the world today. Named for the intrepid riverboat pilots, Pilot chose its name to represent guidance and leadership. Members come from all walks of life. They are executive, business, professional, and community leaders, as well as retirees. Pilots all share a common goal, to help those in
003need and improve the quality of life in their community, as well as the communities around the world. The Pilot Club of Sayville has generously offered once again to sponsor an essay contest for all of our fourth graders. We're grateful for this partnership between the district and the Pilot Club for this contest. As a tradition, the topic is Sayville, my hometown. This is an open-ended topic, gives students sufficient latitude to approach their writing from a variety of viewpoints. So, as a request from our board last year, and we totally love this, we are going to invite our students up to read their essays to everyone, and then at the end, they'll receive their awards. So, at this time, I would like to invite Cherry Avenue, Leo Pushpan, >> Firstpan. Firstpan, to please come on up to
004the podium. Leo. >> [applause] >> Sayville is not just a town, it is a community. One reason is that Sayville has great festivals. Another reason is that Saugus has great schools. And the last is that Saugus the town is very convenient. Saugus is a community because it has great festivals. For example, Summerfest, Fallfest, and Boat Burning are all great fes- uh festivals of Saugus. Summerfest is where there is carnival and food stands and many stores up and down Main Street. Fallfest is where people put up stores on Main Street for cheap prices. Also, there's a great view and just a wonderful sight. Boat Burning is where at night they put a boat on Main Street and then light it on fire. There are over 500 people there each year, and it's also the face of
005Saugus. Saugus is not just known for their festivals. They are also big with the school district. The elementary schools are the best. I like Sweet Avenue. I love the teachers. I like my first grade and fourth grade teachers the most because they take care of everyone and treat everyone fairly. Also, I love that the safety is top-notch. The security guards work their butt off to protect and keep everyone safe. Also, you can make great friends and adult friends since everyone is so kind, helpful, and grateful. And the last reason is that Saugus is a very convenient town. There are restaurants, supermarkets, shops, dentists, barber shops, and doctors. There are more barber shops in Saugus than any other town. >> [laughter] >> The shops are convenient because they are right in the middle of town. Doctors
006and dentists are also right in town. So, if you ever need help, everything is there. Saugus is not just a town, it is a community. Saugus also has awesome festivals like Boat Burning and Summerfest. Also, Saugus has This is just a copy of I don't know what happened there. Okay. >> [applause] >> I'm going to have to jump in and have a >> [clears throat] >> You want to stay up? Yeah, come on, stay up here with everyone. You deserve a round of applause. Hop over there. >> [applause] >> From Lincoln Avenue, we would like to like to invite up Layla Papa. >> [applause] >> The hometown of your dreams, Sayville, New York. Have you ever been to Sayville, New York? Well, you should most definitely plan your next vacation here. Sayville has so many
007unique things to do. There's amazing cafes, there's also awesome shops, dessert places, there's even parades and festivals. There's also plays you can go see at the high school and middle school. Sayville is also labeled friendliest town of America on our welcome to Sayville sign. I think it's pretty cool. Sayville is definitely the best hometown ever. My first reason why Sayville is the best hometown is because it has such cool cafes and shops. Some popular cafes we have in Sayville are the Shabby Tabby Cat Cafe. The Shabby Tabby is a place where you can have break- breakfast, lunch, or dinner with a bunch of cute kittens. You can also adopt one of the cats for $1.50 to $1.99. I once went there for a birthday party and we got to feed and hold the cats. It
008was the best. Another Another cafe that we have in Saugus is Joe Walsh's cafe. It was burned down and slowly built again. Another famous cafe is the Wayward. You can order popcorn as a side dish. Those are about all the famous cafes I know we have. So, let's move on to the shops. One shop that we have is Coco and Row. It has such cute stuff. It has slime, mugs, and you can even do parties there. We also have great dessert places like Sweetfrog. At Sweetfrog, you can make ice cream with no help. You grab your cup, fill it with your favorite flavor that they have, and put on the toppings yourself. I love the cafes and shops we have in Saugus so much. My second reason why Saugus is the best hometown is because
009of all of the town events we do. We do Miracle on Main, where it's kind of like a Christmas parade. There's a few Boy Scout and Girl Scout troops that march in it, including mine. At the end of the parade, Santa Claus comes out on his sleigh with the firefighters and police cars. They also give out candy and go around the town after the parade sometimes. It's really fun. Ano- another event we do is called Summerfest. There's games, carousel, the Zipper, the pirate ship, and more. It is so fun. Once I went with my family, and I went down the biggest slide I've ever seen. It was yellow, and me and my sister went on it. She sat on on the mat, and I sat on her lap, and we went down. I yelled so
010loud because I got scared, but it was still so much fun. We also do a Veterans Day parade, where the Girl Scout and Boy and Boy Scout troops march in it. March in it with the soldiers and firemen and police. It's really cool because my Girl Scout troop also marches in that. At the end of the parade, we get all gathered around the wreath with our troop names on it, and we listen to the soldiers. They shoot their guns up in the air, and it's not too loud, but it's still very, very loud. And my favorite events that happen happens is at the Sayville Pizzeria. At the Sayville Pizzeria, they do they do Friday karaoke nights. You get to eat your pizza while getting to hear the amazing singers that came to sing. I think
011the singers there are so good at singing that they should be a professional soloist. I love the events in Sayville so much. I I could go to every event. My third reason My third reason why Sayville is the best hometown is because of all the awesome plays you could go to at the middle school or high school. I love to go see the plays. I went to the middle school for a field trip to go see a show called Grease, and it was so good. I also saw a few shows at the Sayville High School. I saw Puffs, where my sister was the lead role. I also saw Music Man, where my sister was an ensemble, meaning she was a background character. And Sayville did also a small movie theater. I saw a few movies
012there. I saw Luca, The Wild Robot, Mean Girls, Wicked, and I also saw a recording of Hamilton there. The quality was amazing, and the sound quality was also really good. The plays in Sayville have such so much great talent. Those were my three reasons why Sayville is such a fantastic hometown. You should definitely plan your next trip here. There's movies, amazing dessert and food, great shops, and the best little cat cafe. Sayville is the best hometown ever. >> [applause] >> Good. Good job, buddy. >> [applause] >> Last but certainly not least, from Sunrise Drive, Gabriella Snyder. >> [applause] >> Sometimes in life people don't know where to live. Well, I have found people that live that have a lot of of trouble because the world is so big, but I realized Sayville is the best
013town ever. They have even been voted the friendliest town in America because they always come together and help raise money for people or things in need. They're They're also more amazing things about Sayville, like the fun activities to do, the awesome festivals, and so many delicious food places. Yum. Are you ever bored and don't know what to do? Well, if you lived in Sayville, you wouldn't be. If you're aching for some buttery popcorn and yummy drinks, you should go and and enjoy a movie at the Sayville's one-of-a-kind movie theater. There is also the Sayville Public Library where you can almost find any book you are wishing to read. Don't forget about the Foster Ave Park with a playground, picnic tables, with some area to run around. It also has an additional beach. The playground is
014so much fun, and the and right next to that is the tennis court if you want to play a game. There are so many fun activities to do in Sayville. Have you ever been to a festival better than Sayville's? I bet not. In summer, you can go to Summerfest with a bunch of rides, delicious foods, and carnivals. Some rides are really fast, some spin really Some spin really fast and if you're looking for a calm, relaxing ride, you should go hop on the Ferris wheel. Wow. Do you think I forgot about winter? Well, I didn't. In winter, you can go to Miracle on Main Street where people come together to watch the tree light. The lights are so beautiful, you can always always find people caroling. In fall, you can go to Applefest. If you
015want to go shopping outside in the fall, you should definitely stop by. You can find so many cool things and you can buy or you can just walk around and look. All the things are also homemade. From From that whole paragraph, I hope that you have learned Sayville's festivals are the best. I hope you didn't forget about Sayville's delicious food places like Brownstones, the Sayville Bean, and Five Points. If you ever want outstanding Nikki Nutella crepe, some yummy pancakes, or a healthy omelet, you should definitely go to Brownstones. Do you want to take a quick food break and just order with no wait or even if you want to stay, you should have You have to go to the Sayville Bean. They have really yummy food. Don't forget. If you want to relax and listen
016to some live music, you should definitely go to Five Points. Sayville's food places are one of a kind. I hope from reading this essay, you have learned that Sayville, my hometown, is the best town ever. If you don't have a house yet or looking for a house now, you know to move to Sayville, the friendliest place in America. I realize that Sayville has so many things to do, places to eat, and one-of-a-kind festivals. Sayville will always be my forever home. >> [applause] [cough] [clears throat] >> Good job. Good picture. >> [applause] >> Sure, just before we go, I do just want to recognize, you know, this is a standing tradition here in Sayville for well over the decade that I've been here, um and it definitely predates most of us here in this room. Um
017so, it wouldn't be what it is without the partnership with people like Mrs. Hart, Miss Cubell, and Miss Falabella. So, round of applause for Pilot Club, please. >> [applause] >> And congratulations to our three students this year. All three of them back up. Sure. All three come on back up. We'll take one big group photo. How did you come up? So, it's from the school board. You three winners of the Pilot essay contest those were amazing speeches. We're all so proud of you. We want to present you with our award. Take one big picture of all three. So, just stay right there in the middle. Okay. Take a picture in front. And three, two, one. Beautiful. Thank you. >> [applause] >> At this time, I'm going to call up Mr. Amano, who's going to provide
018some awards for the Lincoln Avenue Elementary School. >> [clears throat] >> Thank you. Uh I have the pleasure of presenting a number of talented students from Lincoln Avenue who participated in and earned recognition in this year's PTA Reflections competition. PTA Reflections is a nationally recognized arts program that encourages students to explore their creativity and express themselves through various art forms including visual arts, photography, literature, music composition, dance choreography, and film production. This year's theme, I belong, inspired students to create original works that reflected their personal experiences, perspectives, and sense of connection to the world around them. We are extremely proud of our Lincoln Avenue students for their hard work, creativity, and outstanding accomplishments in this year's competition. Uh you can go to the next slide, Dr. Thank you. This year, our Lincoln Avenue students won
019or placed in the categories of dance choreography, film production, literature, music composition, photography, and visual arts. Their achievements are a wonderful reflection of the creativity, dedication, and talent of our students, and we congratulate each participant for representing our school with such pride and excellence. Thank you. I'd like to invite Blake Pintar and Annelise Donohue up at this time. >> [applause] >> I'd like to begin by recognizing our New York State PTA Reflections winners. We have Blake Pintar who received receiving the award of excellence in primary music composition, and Annelise Donohue who is receiving an award of merit for intermediate photography. Congratulations to both students on these outstanding achievements and for representing Lincoln Avenue so well at the state level. >> [applause] >> Now, I'd like to call up Madison Kennedy, Ella Matheson, and Reese Mullen.
020>> [applause] >> These students were all recognized as Suffolk County PTA winners. Madison Kennedy received recognition for primary photography, Ella Matheson for primary dance choreography, and Reese Mullen for intermediate visual arts. Congratulations to each of these talented students for their creativity, hard work, and wonderful accomplishments. >> [applause] [applause] >> Thank you. Now I'd like to call up the students who participated and placed from Lincoln Avenue. So, please coming up, Christopher C.J. Merlo, Madison Kennedy, Emerson Wade, Reese Mullen, Ella Matheson, Penelope Ray Rasmussen, Olivia Matheson, Blake Pintar, Emily Breezy, Finley Wade, Arianna Day, Annelise Donalds, and Kira Arni. >> [applause] >> Oh, okay. She It was two together. All right. All right. Um >> Here you go. 3 2 1 Woo! Good job. >> [applause] >> I do want to talk just a little bit about
021their projects. Thank you. Uh uh Lincoln Avenue Visual Arts winners are CJ Merlo for his rendering of the Belong Family and Madison Kennedy for My Home. Next slide. Emerson Wade for Holding Hands and Reese Mullen for Where I Belong. In Dance Choreography, we recognize Ella Matheson for her dance rendition of the way I am supposed to be, and Penelope Ray Ransom Newton for Just Dance, and Olivia Matheson for I Am Awesome. >> [applause] >> In Literature, we congratulated Blake Printup for her poem We Belong, Amalie Faricy for Belonging, and Finley Wade for Everyone Belongs. >> [applause] >> In Photography, we recognize Madison Kennedy for My Home, Ariana Day for My Siblings and I, and Annelise Donalds for My Team. And then finally in Music Composition, with their accompanying artist statements, we congratulated Blake Printup for
022We Belong, Emerson Wade for Special, and Kira Oni for Puzzle. Congratulations to all of our talented students for sharing their creativity and beautifully expressing this year's theme of I Belong. And I want to give a very special shout-out and heartfelt thank you to To volunteer judges for taking the time to review and evaluate our students' reflections entries. Your support, encouragement, and thoughtful consideration means so much to our students and school community. By sharing your time and talents, you help celebrate the creativity, imagination, and hard work of each participant, which makes this program so meaningful and memorable for all. So, thank you. >> [applause] >> Is she ready? Miss Van Boxel is going to come up and do our music awards. Thank you. Good evening. >> [clears throat] >> Excuse me. Thank you for the opportunity
023to recognize the outstanding achievements of our middle school student musicians. Each year, students work to prepare a solo to perform at the NMEA solo festival held each spring. They are evaluated and given given a score by an independent adjudicator. Based on that score and teacher recommendations, the students being recognized tonight have been chosen for all-county ensembles. The following sixth grade students, based on their score at the 2025 NMEA festival, were selected for Suffolk County Music Educators Association Division 1 all-county ensembles. For all-county chorus, Emily Clancy, >> [applause] >> Emily Minerva, >> [applause] >> and Violet Senatore. For all-county band, Jason Felice, >> [applause] >> Zachary Helbach, and Owen Westervelt. >> [applause] >> And for all-county orchestra, Ryan Sereno and Maybelle Valenti. >> [applause] >> Sure. Hey, look at me, smile. One, two, three. >> [applause]
024>> The following seventh and eighth grade students were selected for Suffolk County Music Educators Association Division 2 All-County Ensembles. For All-County Chorus, Cameron Alvarado. >> [applause] >> Avery Gilbert. >> [applause] >> Merino Maddox. Emily Miller. >> [applause] >> Okay. And for All-County Band, we have Mason Rostein. >> [applause] >> All-County Orchestra, Adam Ormond. >> [applause] >> Okay. Christopher Larkin. >> [applause] >> And Jameson Vaccaro. >> [applause] >> Congratulations to all of our honorees this evening. >> [applause] >> Good job. Congratulations. >> [applause] >> Okay, at this time we're going to Okay, at this time we're going to to our budget hearing. If you'd like to stay, please do. If you'd like to leave at this time, please feel free to go. No judgement. Uh we will be recognizing some high school students I believe shortly
025when they get back from the high school play. Desmond, Desmond. >> spread out. Would you mind going in the hall and just telling everyone who's out there that they could there's plenty room and they could come sit with you? Yeah, Sarah, would you do Thank you. Yeah, I just >> Okay, ladies and gentlemen. Now, we're going to move on with our budget hearings. We have a few in a row, and then we're going to take a pause because some high school students are coming from a play, and we're going to recognize them. Then we're going to do our general business meeting, which will include the the swearing the bringing into the district several of our newest staff and we're really excited to see some of you in the audience tonight joining the Sayville family. So,
026at first without further ado, if Mrs. Fowler is here, we're going to start with the library budget presentation. Do you want to do that first? Okay. Good evening. My name is Jennifer Fowler. I'm the director of the Sayville library. I'd like to on behalf of the Sayville library board Thank you. Is that better? On behalf of the the board and the staff, I'm pleased to present the proposed budget for the 2026-2027 fiscal year. I'll walk you through the library's accomplishes accomplishments over the coming year, our priorities moving forward, and how this budget supports the services, resources, technology, staffing, and community spaces that our residents rely on every day. So, this side guy. So, in addition to the budget vote, residents will also be be voting for one library trustee position. Deborah Mitchell is the incumbent
027candidate running for a 5-year term. Ms. Mitchell has served on the library board since 2012. So, this slide represents our year in review. This past year was an incredibly impactful year for the library. Our patrons borrowed over 72,000 ebooks and e-audiobooks, showing the continued demand for digital materials. We performed more than 600 notary transactions, checked out 1.1 million items, and provided nearly 1,000 community service hours for local teens. The library also served as a gathering place for the community, hosting 631 community groups, and welcoming over 22,000 attendees to library programs. >> [clears throat] >> Last year, we averaged approximately 11,300 visitors per month, and this year we are on track to exceed 140,000 visits overall. These numbers reflect that the library continues to be one of the most heavily used and valued community asset in
028Sayville. The next slide. Thank you. This slide just highlights a few examples of the programs and experiences we provide through the year. The 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten initiative supports early literacy and school readiness for young children. Programs like the chess club help build critical thinking skills, social connections, and teamwork. And our annual library lock-in creates a memorable experience that encourages teens to view the library as a self a safe, welcoming, and engaging space. These programs are about much more than entertainment. They support education, community connection, and lifelong learning. So, as we develop this budget, we focused on several key priorities. First, maintaining our current operating hours and ensuring that we continue to provide consistent access to library services. Second, maintaining adequate staffing levels so that we can continue to deliver the level of service our
029community expects. And we also prioritized funding for programming, technology, and the ongoing maintenance of our building and grounds. Finally, we continue to invest in staff training and the professional development so our employees can remain responsive to the evolving community needs and new technologies. This slide provides an overview of the library's projected revenue. The majority of the library's funding comes from local tax revenue, which supports our day-to-day operation and our debt service obligation. Other revenue sources are includes donations, fines, and miscellaneous income. This budget also reflects that we are no longer expect to receive a pilot payment. The proposed budget is a balanced financial plan designed to sustain the library's services while remaining mindful of taxpayers. Okay. Make sure we're good. So, this portion of the budget focus directly on library services and operations. The funding
030that supports books, downloadable materials, databases, library programming, and outreach services is based on anticipated demand. We continue [clears throat] to see a strong demand for digital resources, which is reflected in the increase to the downloadable materials. Operational expenses include office supplies, staff training, memberships, and printing and postage costs, all necessary to keep the library functioning efficiently. Next slide. >> [snorts] >> Maintaining the library facility is essential so that we can continue to provide a safe, welcoming, and functional environment. These expenses includes our utilities, repairs, equipment maintenance, insurance, furnishings, and contractual services. Based on last year's actual expenses, we anticipate a cost reduction in the buildings operations. But like many organizations, we continue to experience increased costs associated with administrative expenses and professional contracts. A significant portion of our budget supports staffing, which is our most
031important resource. Our librarians, our clerical staff, custodians, guards, and pages are the people who provide direct service to the public every day. The budget reflects the addition of a full-time youth services librarian, contractual salary obligations, employee benefits, retirement costs, and health insurance expenses. The budget also includes the debt service payment associated with the library's bond, which will be satisfied in 2027-2028 fiscal year. One more year and our bond is paid. Not that we're counting. Uh tax impact. So, what does it come down to? For the average home owner with a home assessed at 40 40,000, the proposed budget reflects an annual increase of approximately $36.14. So, that breaks down to about $3 per month, roughly 70 cents a week, or 10 cents a day for your library. And finally, looking ahead, our goals remain focused
032on serving the evolving needs of the community. We will continue supporting early literacy, lifelong learning, maintaining a responsive collection in all formats, and creating flexible and welcoming spaces for collaboration and study. We also plan to expand outreach efforts and strengthen our partnerships with the school and the community organizations. So, on behalf of the Board of Trustees, the entire staff, thank you for your continued support of the Civa Library. >> [applause] >> Thank you. Any questions from the board? Okay, thank you. I just want to say thank you to library, its staff, and its board, the board of trustees for the thankless job that we know that you do. And we recognize that our library is a place much more much bigger than a place where we just get books. It's become a community hub. So,
033thank you for the work you do. Thank you. And I just want to mention how wonderful it is to work with your librarians in in the school. I work in other districts and it's not so easy sometimes, but we have so much collaborative work that's happening. Sometimes I don't even know. I'm like, "Oh, this is another thing." So, each year it just gets more and more and Thank you. >> the staff and and the museum. >> [applause] >> And at this time we have the Historical Society. I'm glad you have it up there. Okay. You should have done a slide show. Good evening. I'm Kimberly Barry. I'm president of the Sayville Historical Society. I'm here to present our proposed budget for 2026-2027 and to answer any questions the board may have. Our total proposed budget
034for 2026-2027 is $98,800. Of that, 40,800 will be covered by society funds. We are requesting 58,000 from the school board, an increase of $1,000, 1.8% over over last year's request. Here is a line-by-line breakdown. Buildings and grounds, $37,500, unchanged from last year. This covers routine maintenance, repairs, and landscaping of the property. Insurance, 21,200, down from 22,000. This is our property and liability insurance. Our website, $600. This is now its own line item. Last year it was absorbed within other categories, but since we are starting to um become bigger and we've been pushing forward with more things this year, uh we decided that would be separate cuz we want to make that more active. Exhibits and historical collections, $750, up from $500. This covers archival supplies such as acid-free folders, storage boxes used to preserve the
035collection, as well as materials used for exhibits. Publicity, postage, and stationary, $1,800. We consolidated postage and stationary into this line item. This covers printing, mailings, and promotional materials. To keep the year-to-year com- uh comparison accurate, the 2025 figure was adjusted to 1,300 to reflect that same grouping. Utilities, 7,500. Up from 7,200. This covers electric, heat, and water for the buildings. Sayville High School scholarships, one of our favorite things to give. $2,000, unchanged. These are scholarships we award to Sayville High School students. Staff, 2,200, sorry, 22,000, unchanged. This covers staff compensation. Office equipment and technology, $750, down from $1,000. This covers our computers, our printers, and any other general office supplies. Accounting and legal, $3,000, up from $2,800. This covers bookkeeping, tax filings, and any legal fees. Community events and programs, this is where all of
036you, you know, come part with us. 1,700, up from 1,600. This supports our public programming, including Farm Day, the Holiday House Tour, the Holiday Open House, and our regularly scheduled monthly monthly programs. So, on behalf of the society, that brings our to- our total to 98,800. And we thank you so much for your support. And like I said, you'll you should be looking forward to some exciting things. This is going to be a great year coming up starting September. You're going to see very, very steady programming, and things are going to start getting uh exciting. But, I'll I'll just leave that as a mystery, so you'll be intrigued and come down. Also, look out for our newsletter. Thank [applause] you. >> [applause] >> I just want to say thank you, also, to the board of
037the historical society. And um I have heard rumors of some really good work that you're doing, and I think we're all looking forward to it. I'm so excited. You know, this is something new for me. I've never given a speech before, so I just can't wait to, you know, show this town what we can do. Absolutely. Where can we locate the newsletter? Oh, it's usually at the main building. We normally send the e-letter out by e- e-letter to members, but we also make it available in multiple locations. So, it's usually either in a display or display cabinets in the adult section, so we have like a library for that and then it gets scattered in different places. So, and it's really fun because we always try to keep track of how many we do. And
038um so, every every time we put it out, it's more and more being taken. So, it's really cool. That's great. And but I'm looking always for ideas to to write on. But, there's a lot here. There's a lot to say. So, but I never I I do it from my how do you say? From from my travels. I I meet people or I see places and that's how my life will find them. So, they're always fun. But, thank you very much. And as you can see, we have a lot of student writers who could maybe contribute some of our articles. Yes. We're doing that to see young people write, you know, appreciating Sayville because, you know, you hear a lot from the adults, but to hear it from the kids is great. So, that makes
039you want to do your job, you know, uh work harder. Nice. Us, too. Okay, do you want to um go to the uh candidates? Sure. Okay. Okay, we're Oops, sorry. Hi, we are slightly out of order, but it seemed to have made more sense doing it this way, so I would just like to introduce the school board candidates. Um we have two open seats for in our election next week. Um we have Tom Cooley, who is our incumbent running for um unopposed, and for the open seat that was vacated by James Burch, we have Kyle Valentine, and we have Jason Rowland. I thought I saw I I know I thought I saw you. All right. Uh good luck to all of you. Um and um next week um part of the budget and um the
040uh res- um the resolution for the um the Was it prop four? And and the trustee vote as well as the budget vote for the library trustees and the historical society. And just for the record, so everyone's clear, uh proposition one on the vote is a yes or no vote in favor or against the budget, school budget. Proposition two is going to be the library. Uh proposition three will be the historical society. And proposition four will be the capital reserve expenditure to and we'll go over that again and that's posted everywhere. Um we're going to take a short break before we get into the school budget hearing because we do have some high school students we wanted to recognize, but they just got over here from the school play. So they finished up so we
041can recognize them so I'd like to reintroduce uh Ms. Van Boxel who's going to celebrate our high school students. >> [applause] >> Thank you. So as mentioned before, we are recognizing students who were selected for um Skaneateles All-County Ensembles. And Emily was over at doing Little Mermaid, right? At at uh SCM? Okay. Yeah. So Emily was uh selected for the Division Two Skaneateles All-County Chorus. >> [applause] >> One, two, three. Perfect. Thank you. >> [applause] >> Okay. You ready for the budget presentation? >> Yes. Yes. Okay. >> Okay. We are at the point now where we're going to um have Mr. Bartels go over the uh school budget hearing and final presentation. I want to just kind of go back though and summarize what we've uh gone through throughout the year as a district. We
042started talking about the budget in public in November and December where we talked about our priorities. We're going to share those priorities. In January, we had our first meeting where we presented the tax cap and the um state aid formulas and kind of went over that in a public session. We then had a session uh in February where we talked about our income and our expenditures and we went over each line of the budget line by line in public. Uh that was recorded and posted on our website and that presentation along with the tax cap presentation is also available on our website. We then had a third budget meeting where we talked about enrollment, we talked about transportation, we talked about the three-part budget which is required by law, and we also talked about the
043uh uh what would happen if there was a contingency budget. Um and then we had a follow-up meeting where we did the presentation again presenting all of those items in summary so the board could vote to adopt. Uh we then sent out a budget newsletter and uh in a couple of days a budget report card will go out with a lot of numbers on it as well. Uh but we're really um very proud of our budget this year. It is under the tax cap. It does maintain and enhance our programs. Uh we also have the capital reserve that uh is money that it's already sitting in an account. Uh so the expenditures being voted on this year in proposition four will not be any increase to the taxpayers uh for this year but will supply
044the district with some much-needed renovations in our high school theater, our uh high school weight room, our uh math classrooms, and our security upgrades across the district. So I just want to kind of kind of summarize like all of the documents and all of the presentations and where we've been. It's all public knowledge and available on our website. Every aspect of this budget, every line of this budget, uh it's very transparent and we're very proud of it and we were very excited to put it forward to you and to the community. And without further ado, I'll introduce Mr. Bertels. Thank you, Dr. Ferris. So I wanted to remind everybody of our budget priorities that we started off with and we've been talking about it each meeting. First, we wanted to close the gap. So, last
045few years there's been a big gap between our expenditures and our revenues. Uh we need to close that gap, make sure we have a balanced budget, and our revenues and expenditures are about the same. Then we wanted to maintain all of our programs. We don't want any cuts to the programs, and we want to look to try to enhance in any way we can different parts of the budget. We also wanted [clears throat] to reduce the use of our reserves. So, we've been spending a lot of money in our reserves to balance the budget. We want to reduce our reliance on that. Um and it's uh continue to get that down. That's been a practice that's been going on for uh since 2017-18. And lastly, we wanted to look for new uh new revenue streams.
046So, in addition to our taxes and our state aid, we're looking to uh increase other sources of revenue where we could. Um and which includes additional forms of state aid. Uh tonight, I wanted to kind of just review quickly uh the budget timeline. Uh the requirements that we were uh had to have within our budget. Uh I wanted to go over a three-part budget summary uh along with the revenue. Uh do a quick budget overview of what we've included in this budget. Uh talk about the tax cap and the tax levy and the tax rate. Uh to go over the capital projects and the capital reserve again. Uh discuss the contingency budget and what happens if the budget fails. Uh give a couple of budget and voting updates. Then I want to talk again about
047the status of our 25-26 budget as far as the revenues and expenditures go and where we stand in our fiscal stress. So, as as Dr. Ferris mentioned, we've gone through a number of budget presentations. Again, all of the information is on the district's website. Uh but tonight, we're at our budget hearing. This is something one of the items that's required by the state. Uh, just to have a hearing on the budget. Uh, we cannot make any changes at this time. Uh, so the budget is set for the vote next week. The state requires us to have a number of different items within the budget. Uh, first is that the budget information has to be presented in English and Spanish. So, the documents that we have for the budget um, that [snorts] we uh, have available
048for the community and on the website, we have to have in English and in Spanish. Uh, we're required to uh, provide the budget in a three-part budget format. So, there are several different formats uh, that you can present the budget in. Um, the one that the state requires you to provide is the this three-part budget. So, that's what how I will summarize the budget tonight. Uh, we're required to provide the property tax report card, uh, which is a document that the state requires that shows our total spending, what our tax levy, uh, and percentage changes are, and what our fund balances are expected to be at the end of the year, as well as uh, what our use of our fund balance will be for next year. We're required to provide a 16-day budget notice
049that does a comparison of the proposed budget to a contingency budget, and also shows what our tax levy limit is. Uh, that document was just mailed, uh, so it should be in homes possibly today, uh, tomorrow. Uh, it's required to come within a week of the actual budget vote. There's something called a salary disclosure statement. That's uh, a document that lists all of the administrative salaries that are above 109 179,000 dollars. That's a number when they started this requirement a number of years ago, it sorted out around 100,000. That number increases every year as far as the salaries that we're required to report. Uh we have a property tax exemption report, which is provided us by the assessor um for Islip. Uh that shows our different tax exemptions throughout the district. Uh we have to
050make the budget available. So, we have a budget document that's provided to all of our schools. It's available at the public library. And all of the different documents are listed on the district's website. Uh and the last requirement is, as I mentioned earlier, this this budget hearing tonight. Um and again, there's been a tremendous amount of information that's been presented throughout the budget process. And please review the district website for the presentations if you need additional information. Our three-part budget, um so our administration component of the budget uh has decreased by about $100,000. Uh our capital uh program piece has increased by $581,000, and most of that is due to debt service from the bonds we issued last year. And our program uh portion of the budget, which is the largest section, is up about
0512% or 1.5 million. Uh and most of that is due to contractual increases. So, overall, our budget is up uh 1.94% over last year. Uh we need to balance that, so our revenues have to equate to that as well. And our state aid, uh we're seeing an we're projecting an increase for next year of $1.4 million, or close to a little under 4 and 1/2%. Uh which is a significant increase in state aid. So, um that was a big help for next year. And our appropriations, uh again, one of our goals was reducing dependence on reserves that we reduced by almost 25%. So, we dropped about 1.3 million dollars from the use of reserves to balance our budget for next year. Uh in our tax levy, we are at 2.79%, which is under the tax
052levy limit. Talked about that with the tax cap. The reason the number is really a little higher than the 2% cap that people are familiar with is due to a formula and how we calculate that tax cap, which excludes items like debt service. So, that big increase in the debt service is really a reason that we're at 2.79 instead of 2%. And overall, our revenues are up 1.94%. So, we have a balanced budget. Those are just some highlights of what's included in this budget. We were able to maintain all of our current programs and staffing. So, every position that is in the budget and in place during this 25-26 school year is budgeted for 26-27. So, there have been no cuts to any of the positions that um were in place for this year. We
053also added two contingency positions for next year should enrollments dictate any increases or we need to add another section. Um and again, all staffing levels are determined by our enrollments for each new school year. So, all of those positions in the current year are in the budget for next year, but as we do every year this time, we look at our enrollments and our projections for next year, we make our staffing determinations. >> So, just as a point of fact, because of the kindergarten enrollment, we need three sections at each elementary school next year to maintain about 20 in a class. So, we're going to use one of those contingency positions to hire a kindergarten position, which means that we have nobody left on the excess list. Uh we were able to uh put in
054the implementation of a new pre-K through 5 literacy program within this budget. Uh we were able to kind of restore some of the professional development uh that we've had uh to support and enhance middle school academic teams. Uh we have uh we'll be able to continue the distribution of new Chromebooks to students in grades 5 and 9, so reducing that time frame they have before they get that new Chromebook. Um addition of three middle school sports teams to expand student opportunities. Uh restoration of the summer school program uh for struggling students for the high in the high school. And restoration of curriculum writing and professional development activities across the district. We also have a number of capital projects uh to enhance our facilities at all of our school buildings. As I mentioned, [clears throat] the
055tax cap calculation is 2.796% uh our proposed tax levy is right at that number, just slightly less at 2.791. So, we are under our tax cap, which just requires a simple majority to pass this budget. Uh in looking at our tax rates, I wanted to just kind of take a quick look first at the current year's tax rate. So, what we projected from 2024-2025 into this year at this time last year was an increase of 2.2% in the tax rate. We don't get our final assessments and base proportions uh from the assessor and how they actually calculate those rates until the fall. So, what happened this past fall was we did get good news. That actual tax rate that we thought was going to be 2.2% turned out to be 0.36% for this year. So,
056I just wanted to put that out there cuz it did come in, you know, much less. It was a a great for the taxpayers here in Sayville. Uh so, the home uh assessed at 45,000 uh would see a $36 increase. So, that was uh that was a nice thing to see uh in the fall. So, having said that, right now we're looking at a 2.79% increase in that tax rate. So, a similar home at 45,000 would expect to go up $273 next year. Uh but again, as happened this year, that could change. Um it could change negatively as well. It could go up a little higher. But, um I just wanted to put that out there. That's uh that number probably will change. I'm not sure which direction it will go, but uh the average
057at this point is $273. Our capital projects. So, we want to improve the district every year. Um every year we're required to do different maintenance projects to keep everything up um for safety issues and basic maintenance repair. Uh what we have in the budget for next year is playground upgrades at the three elementary schools. Um we have uh upgrades to the middle school girls locker room. Uh the lockers and the floor will be upgraded. At the high school, we're going to upgrade the wrestling room to the fitness center, the weight room to the bike and weight room to the bike dance studio. There's another piece that kind of goes with that that's in the capital reserve. Uh I'll mention that in a minute. Uh we also plan to uh replace the drop netting partition in
058the gym, uh which currently causes a problem during volleyball games. Uh little thing, but I I it'll would a big difference. Um, same thing. Uh, in the library we have a skylight which is uh, great to have but when the sun's at certain points in the sky it becomes extremely bright inside and uh, could use a a shade system for that. Uh, then the last two items uh, district-wide HVAC repairs and just general repairs to site work, lighting and masonry. These are uh, budget numbers that were in our building maintenance budget codes which I've moved here uh, so it's calculated a little differently within the tax cap so it kind of helps move the budget forward and keep all of our uh, staffing positions within the budget and give us a little bit more flexibility.
059Uh, so that's what these two last items are. They were kind of in the budget just moved to a different part of the budget. So our total transfer to capital for next year is $1.5 million. Ahem, the capital [clears throat] reserve as Dr. Ferris mentioned will be proposition four. It will be not require any additional funding from uh, the community so no additional taxes. Uh, the money is already there. It's in place. It's in that reserve. Uh, we've identified four projects uh, to use that money for and each of these projects uh, will impact every single student in the district uh, including rising seniors unfortunately. For the current seniors so this will be for next year. >> [snorts] >> Uh, we're going to upgrade the high school auditorium sound and lighting. Uh, we're going to
060move the weight room uh, to the fitness center. We have math classroom upgrades by adding whiteboards for both the middle school and the high school. And we're going to have security camera additions and upgrades throughout the district. >> So, what happens if the budget goes down? So, if the budget fails, there are a couple of options. Uh one is the board could do nothing and adopt a contingency budget. Uh the board could put up the same budget again uh to try again to pass. Or third option would be to make a change to the budget. And you could change the budget either higher or lower. It doesn't have necessarily have to be lower. Um it would depend on what the board would like to do. Um hopefully we don't have to run into any of
061those options and the budget will pass on the first shot. If the budget does fail um a second time uh we would have to have a 0% increase in the tax levy. What that would mean is we would need to cut 1,895,000 dollars from this budget. Because of some of the requirements under a contingency budget, most of which are capital projects, you can't do capital projects unless they're emergency projects. So, many of those projects would be eliminated as they're not emergency projects. So, uh to cut that 1.895 million, we would cut about 180,000 from the administrative component, uh 1.5 million from the capital component, and 215,000 from the program budget component. Uh one of the other requirements under a contingency budget is that the administrative portion of the budget cannot be any higher than last
062year's budget percentage or the current budget percentage that failed. So, by cutting the administration portion by 180,000, that would bring the overall administrative component down to 9.427, which would be less than those last two. Okay. Some of the other requirements under a contingency budget um that could have been impacted could be academic programs, staffing, athletic and extracurricular programs. Um it also prohibits purchasing of new equipment. Many of those items probably would not be impacted, but any of them could be during a contingency budget. So, that's why I kind of have them up there, but even for next year if that were to happen, those should not be impacted because of the big reduction in the capital component. So, there would be no capital construction projects allowed. And the other piece is uh under a contingency
063budget, there's no allowed community use of facilities without fully recovering [clears throat] any costs associated with using those facilities. So, even using a field would have to be charged something because there's maintenance on fields that are required. So, um that's the one really big negative is is it would impact our community groups. Budget updates. So, on state aid, the state is now up to an 11th budget extender, which was passed uh yesterday, I believe. Um they still don't have They say Governor said last week that they were kind of on the verge of a deal, and then the legislature said no, they really weren't. So, uh we'll see how long they take. There has been no discussion or information coming out from these discussions about what they're discussing involving state aid. The only thing really
064involving schools that they've been talking about is delaying the implementation of the electric school bus mandate. So, that's really been the only thing that we've kind of heard coming out of the state um budget. So, really no new information on that. So, uh not going to change our budget at this time. Hopefully, they'll get more money for next year and that will be a pleasant surprise and we'll be able to include that in our revenue for next year. Voter registration information. So, to vote for next year, if you're not already voted not already registered, the last day to register to vote for next week is actually tomorrow. So, you have to come in to the district office between 9:00 and 3:00 tomorrow um to register if you're not already registered to vote. So, that's the
065last day to register for this vote next week. Is it Is it the 14th, which is Thursday, or is it the 14th? It is It's Thursday the 4th Thursday the 14th, not tomorrow, Thursday. Okay. And all It's okay. Thank you. Uh and um as we've mentioned a few times, the budget documents are all on the district website. So, >> [sighs] >> revenues and expenses. So, we're at finally at a point this year >> [applause] >> where I I think I can safely say that our lines have crossed and we will have more revenue this year than expenses. So, right now we're looking at about $100,000 difference on the plus side. Um in this case, a negative is a positive um as that will mean we have more revenue than expenditures. Um what that means the
066next slide is we will have a higher fund balance at the end of this year than we had at the end of last year. So, all good news is we have a total projected revenues and expenditures there. 102.7 versus 102.6. Um that ratio is 100.11%. The reason I put that ratio in there is that's been a critical ratio impacting the school district in our fiscal stress. Um you get assigned six 6.67 points for each year of 3 years that you are uh under 99%. So, if your revenues are less than 99% of your expenditures, you get assigned points for fiscal stress. The last 2 years, we've been hit with both of those pieces. Um we will not be hit with that piece this year, which gives us now a break because they they take this
067every 3 years. So, now not having it this year, even if we did, which I don't plan to, um and I hope there's not, um if if you're under um 99% in the next 2 years, you still have this 1-year break, so you're kind of held off. And I'll show that kind of on the next slide. And these have been our fiscal stress designation scores. Uh so, with zero in 2019, went to 6.7, dropped down to zero a couple of years, um and it started to increase in '23, '24, '25. Um we were able to stem that, so at the end of last year, I was able to make some adjustments um before we closed out our books for last year to keep that number to 23.3 based on where our money was within our
068fund balance. So, 25 points is the number where you first get designated at low fiscal stress. We don't want to be designated at all. So, we're going to keep below that. Our number for the end of this year, will be 16.66. So, I know that already based on the information that we have. I can guarantee that's what the number is going to be for next year. At the end of 2026-2027, I'm going to project between 10 and 23.33 points. So, I'll show you kind of where that is on the next slide. So, this These are the different ways that they calculate fiscal stress. They use six categories. Unassigned fund balance, total fund balance, operating deficit, cash ratio, cash percentage of monthly expenditures, and a short-term cash flow. So, what I was able to do was
069move more money into our unassigned fund balance at the end of last year. So, that's how I was able to eliminate those points, that 8.33. So, we will have plenty of money in our unassigned fund balance, enough to make sure that doesn't happen for the next several years. Our total fund balance, we were well within the numbers, so there has not been any issues there. Our operating deficit, that's the numbers I was talking about, the revenues versus the expenditures. So, that's where you see that we started with 6.67, jumped to 13.33, could have gone to 20 points had we had a problem this year again. Because I wasn't sure of that very early on when I started, I could only borrow a certain amount. So, at the beginning of the year, that last category, short-term
070cash flow, that's based on how much money we need to borrow to cover our expenses throughout the year until we get our tax revenues. I had to be very careful about how much I added to our tax anticipation notes. So, I made sure we were only going to get hit with 3.3 points. If I borrowed another million dollars, it would have jumped to 10 points. I could not risk that uh because I could risk jumping over the 25 points. So, now when I look to next year, if I keep a small increase in our tax anticipation notes, I could be 3.3 again. I think I may need to go higher than that. I don't not going to know that really until the summer. But, because we are going to be using hopefully capital reserve passes,
071we'll be using that. That's also some of our reserve money. Um that will put more pressure on our cash flow. So, I may need to borrow a little bit more. So, I may need to get to the 10 points. Um so, I think we'll probably be 10 points on that for next year. The operating deficit, I believe, pretty confident will only be 6.67% because now we'll have cuz at the end of next year we are not going to be below 99% of revenues and expenditures. So, another 6.67 points will drop off. So, we'll be down to 6.67 there. Even if we weren't, the highest we would be is 13.33. If I have 10 points in uh tax anticipation notes, we'd be still be at 23. So, that's why as far as a total for next
072year, we could be anywhere from 10 to 23 points. So, we're still not going to be designated for fiscal stress, but you just have to be careful with these different numbers because uh you know, just one or two pieces can can hit you. So, we watch that carefully and we plan for that. And then just to summarize again, budget increases 1.94% tax levy increase 2.79 which is under the tax cap proposition number four use of our capital reserve of 1.1 million um increase uh use of facilities and everything no additional increase to our tax levy money is already there. >> [sighs] >> And then lastly is just budget vote next week 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. on next Tuesday um May 19th at the old junior high in the renovated gym 30 Green Avenue. That's it.
073THANK YOU. >> [applause] >> ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? NO, I JUST WANT TO SAY THANK YOU to Dr. Ferris, Robert, and entire district for you know, making this our priority this year and it's a great feeling to be able to accomplish it. Thank you. Thank you. I I did forget I need to thank all of our administrators, Dr. Ferris, um all of the central administrators, the principals, the directors, they've all been great. um It's not been easy. So, I I did need help. This is not something I could do by myself. I did need help of all the other administrators. So, I want to thank them as well. >> [applause] >> Uh thank you, Robert. Uh we're obviously in a better position than we were last year. It's much easier meeting tonight. Uh so, obviously
074the the crossing of the lines is great news. Is there Was there anyone So, that was what? That's like 3.1 3.12 difference that like net positive for us. Was there any one thing that swung that in our favor or was it just like a combination of little things or Uh there were a few things. The largest thing really is the state aid. Okay. Um, that we were able to pull back on. We were able to make some adjustments in our transportation aid. Um, and some of the how some of our um our our budgets were allocated. Uh, so we were able um pick up a lot of extra transportation aid as well as building aid. And most of these aid. All right, great. Thank you. >> [clears throat] >> I might too would just like
075to say thank you. Um, both of you for all of your hard work. Um, and you said it wasn't easy, you make it look very easy. Um, but I know it wasn't. Um, and it's it's good as a board member because this is obviously the fiscal responsibility is one of our biggest responsibilities and it's almost like uh, like we're a parent and we want to make sure we can provide for all of our children and it's just like that's how we are as board members. We want to make sure everything is okay for our students and our staff and our buildings and everything and our programs. Um, so this is just such great news and I hope we continue on this trajectory. So, thank you. Anything else? All right, I just want to say thank
076you obviously and thank you to you and everybody else who's part of this. Um, it's not um It was a group of It was a group effort. Exactly. Um, you know, we set four priorities, you helped us meet them and I think the closing of the gap um is just putting us in a better spot and also the ability to recognize that there were places that we could take some of the control of our budget and find revenue sources other than depending on state budgets which obviously are never in stone and things keep shifting around. Um, our ability to just um maintain programs Sorry. Maintain programs and and even um enhance certain places is is promising and I think has us going on a a new trajectory and obviously um having our reserves going in
077the right direction. And I am confident that fiscal stress will not be something in our near future and we will keep going. So this is an amazing budget and thank you. Yeah, I also would just want to say thank you and you know, sitting on the budget advisory committee and and going through the numbers in in great detail. I've learned a lot. You asked a lot of my questions. Answered a lot of my questions. Because it is such an intricate process. So kudos to both Dr. Ferris and Mr. Bartels and all the administrators for helping us out. And I think this is what the the community deserves. You know, tax cap. Simple approval and you're growing programs and you're getting some sports teams and you're getting maintaining programs that we all love. So thank you
078for that. Thank you. Okay, moving on. We've actually had quite a bit of correspondence this since the last meeting. Just a few of them. Obviously we can't talk about some things publicly by by law. But just to let you know what questions or inquiries or just comments that we're we're getting in summary. We received two emails from parents concerned about possible cuts to the music program. But as you heard tonight, that is not in the cards thankfully. We received an email from a parent about an issue at Lincoln Avenue. We received an email from parents regarding the willingness part of the hiring process for our next superintendent which we'll address in a little bit. And we have received six emails from a community member addressing concerns about the access to information regarding the budget and
079um some of the [snorts] data which as we've said over and over again is coming either by mail is at the library or is um accessible on the website and we received one email from a community member praising the budget process and um its outcome. All right. Um moving on to board discussion, we have a bit there as well. Hold on. Um so last month we looked at um two versions of possible um dates for not the calendar. The calendar is not changing. The one that's on the website is. This is just the scheduling of the board meetings when we're going to meet. Um 2 years ago we used to meet on the first and third um Thursday. We try to keep the Thursdays until we get into the spring um of the month and
080last this year we changed to a first two Thursdays of the month. Um and um you know, there was obviously some back and forth about which one works better and um what we did is created a third version which is a hybrid of those. So the third version basically what it does is in the longer months um October and March specifically because there's um five Thursdays in those um or close to it. Um we're going to do first and third and the rest of the months we're going to stick to the first and second um sticking to that idea of workshop and business um being um separate. I think we've learned a lot from the workshop meetings and I know the board finds them informative and um I hope the community does as well and
081then keep the business to the business meetings where we can do our award ceremonies and um those sort of things. So um unless we um just want to hear about feedback um if everyone is okay with that compromise um and if so, then we can go ahead and and publish those dates. No, because it's not the actual calendar. It's just um Okay, so we're good. All right, so we're good. Yep. Um, thank you. Um, all right, use of the facilities report, any questions or comments? All right, good. Um, Kathy Van Doorn has some interesting um things that she attended um she wants to share with us. Thank you. Hi everyone. Um, so on April 7th I attended the Islip Town School Boards Association Bay Shore, West Islip, East Islip, Islip and I was there um
082in attendance for Sayville. And I want to share with you. So, I know that we have um piloted the magnetic reading program, but I still want to share what they shared. Uh, they talked about U-FLY, which is University of Florida Literacy Institute Foundations and is primarily used as a K through 2 core curriculum for systematic explicit phonics instruction. Um, it is frequently used for intervention for struggling readers in grades 3 through 5 suitable for classroom, small group, or one-on-one instruction. And studies and data does show significant literacy gains for kindergarteners and first graders with some students gaining nearly a year and a half in skill development. So, you know, maybe just something to put in our toolbox if it's something that we ever want. It's very cost-effective. The instructional manual $70 and then the digital
083toolkit which um you can is free and you access all of the other instructional resources at no cost. So, I thought that's nice for our toolbox. If you want to share that I'll bring it to Ms. DeMola. Okay. Good. I set that down. This is my notes and copies. And then this other one I really found quite interesting having lived in a high school for so many years um is the MOOV m o o v app. I don't know if anyone's heard of that. So, this automates attendance. It works with Infinite Campus um for classrooms, gym, library, bathrooms, cafeteria, events, practices, entering buildings, um and the best part I thought was the safety element that in an emergency the administration would know where everyone is. So, it's an ID card that is created for every
084student and there are swipes outside every the gym, every classroom, the bathroom, the cafeteria, and they swipe going in. So, you go to the class, you swipe in for attendance, you leave to go to the bathroom, so you swipe out, then you swipe into the bathroom, um swipe out, and so forth. So, um it also So, it can search individually for a student, but it can also search a room. So, if there was a crisis, it's kind of like a heat map showing density in a room to know where there is space if we needed to put other students. Um and as I said, the lunchroom is really a big one. Um some districts are now also using the ID card to purchase their lunch and also for taking out library books. So, the other
085districts presently using it are Comsewogue, Huntington, Babylon, Patchogue-Medford, Brentwood, Northport, East Northport, Wyandanch, Kings Park, Centereach, Islip, Central Islip, Bayport-Blue Point, North Babylon. Um So, the cost is Yeah, they did ask. Uh the ID cards are $2 per student. They're a smart card that taps. The reader outside each class or wherever we want it to be is $100 and it needs to plug in somewhere. So, most don't have outlets in the hallway, so I was told that uh many of them plug it in by the smart board or the computer. Um so, I obviously the ID cards have to be purchased, you know, for each student. The readers are a one-time purchase, and then it's $7 per student per year, but it is all aided through BOCES. Um and then if you should really want
086the fancy is the rolling station where you know you tap something and then the photo appears, but it's not necessary. That's $1,500. So, I have um the gentleman's name and his phone number. I know we're not spending the money now, but you know, if we ever were looking into it, I have the info. I thought it was really interesting. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, especially the safety piece of it, you know, knowing where everyone is. So, then I also attended on May 6th uh an AI webinar called thoughtfully integrating AI into school district operations. I don't know if anyone else was here. The topics covered were an overview of what's new with AI. Um They talked about an AI chatbot, which is new to me. I don't know if it's you all know about it. Um where
087it assigns human characteristics to the machine and actually um a mom thought her daughter was texting friends before her suicide and it was actually an AI chatbot. And then actually the very next day I received from NYSED this about AI chatbots are targeting kids. So, we need to educate our kids and I was also wondering like maybe if Mr. Couter, if we could just a thought, have some kind of workshop at night like SEL has workshops at night for parents to do something for parents to inform them of this because it's very dangerous. Um So, ethical concerns and all that. So, they also talked about legal and privacy concerns, talked about integrating AI. Um there's a lot of ambiguity in school that I remember and I was only there for the very beginning of it.
088Who can use it, you know, in what class? It varies. If you can use it, how you can use it. Are you penalized and so forth. And lastly, they talked about ongoing policy reviews and revision for AI. So, I did a little research and I saw that we have policy 4526E which is acceptable use policy, and policy 5555, which is privacy and security for student data and teacher principal data. So, I'm I'm guessing it's touched upon in there, uh but at this webinar, they said it it wouldn't be it would be a good thing to think about having an AI policy. So, maybe we'd like to think about that. Um So, when I had just jotted down, we need to remember that AI should enhance teaching and not replace educators. We agree. Thank you, Kathy.
089Policy 5550 is one of the ones that's under review, correct? >> I think it's one of those we're talking about, yes. Um we're reviewing uh well, policy committee Desner and I both sit on, and we both have realized that you you it moves very slowly, policy. You could get bogged down in a single word for for, you know, a good session. Um but yeah, uh I think that it is we're all feeling that AI is moving faster than any of us can even digest, and trying to get some policy um that um is going to wrap around all of it will probably be nearly impossible, but we still need to get rolling, and I'm I know that Nisba is going to, you know, they usually um provide at least a framework for policy for us
090to look at, and um I know Nysed is also working on that. But the doxxing and the um the the chatbots is really, really scary. You never know if it's the person or not anymore, um and it it's being used not for positive, and it's something we need to be aware of, and we all need protection from. So, um I would like to uh thank you. Thank you. Um thank you for the information. Thank you for attending. Um I also know I don't know if it was brought up here, but I know that we just got in our e-box our emails today that um Nisba on behalf of all of the um actually Long Island's chapter of Nisba um is putting forth a resolution to the state to ask for the delay of the e-buses
091because of the cost, not because they're not dedicated to the environment, but it's a cost the districts are not able to to take on at this point. So, I'm not shocked that that's what's coming out of part of the discussion. Um okay, upcoming training opportunities. Nisba's busy in the spring. Nisba's 66th anniversary business meeting is on Thursday, May 28th from 6:00 to 9:00 in Commack. Nisba's annual convention webinar series, "Better Board Decisions Start with Better Data", on June 17th at 12:00. Nisba's 2026 Leadership in Education event is July 24th and 25th in Albany. Nisba's 2026 virtual superintendent evaluation workshop is on August 20th. Um and Nisba's 2026 annual convention and expo is October 22nd through 24th, and that will be in Buffalo this year. Love Buffalo. >> [laughter] >> Um that's always fun. It's during
092the week, and since all of us work, it's very difficult and especially to get to Buffalo and back. Um but um hopefully some of us will be able to be in attendance. If you'd like to go, obviously let us all know. Um and um That's it. Any questions? I think we can also go virtually. Yeah. You heard both of we did. The entire day with no breaks and interactive classroom. >> Yeah. I think the experience is much better. We were like running around trying to get into conference. >> I thought last year's was much better than the years before, but yeah, maybe virtual's the way to go. Okay, anything else for board discussion? Oh, yes. We did have one question. So, Mr. Decker has mentioned the green bin closing, and we didn't touch upon it
093on April 20th, so I just wondered if anyone heard anything if he's going to >> Yeah, missed email. and Mr. Decker have been talking about that. She is not here right now, but she's going to talk to you guys about that at June 4th. Great. Dr. Carson, I know that this just had come up about the retirements. Um so, you're going to check and see if all the retirements >> We always invite everybody. Yeah, everybody's invited, right? Okay. Uh usually we invite like now for next month. Got you. Okay, so it's teachers and clerical staff. Anybody who gets invited. Yeah, okay. Yeah, that that is a standard practice. Great. Okay, moving on. Um first thing we're going to do is open up our public session for any um comments about tonight's agenda. So, is there
094anyone who is coming to the microphone to speak? All right. Oh, yes, please come on up. Oh, Mr. Rowland, hi. Hi. Is Is this good? Can you hear me? Hi, everybody. I'm Jason Rowland. Um I just wanted to come up and ask a question about uh the prop four. If the budget passes, but the proposition fails, and on one of those line items you have kind of split between both of those programs, if that happens, what's the plan for that project? >> Right. So, there are two parts in the capital line that's part of the budget, and there's one part that's in the and all three would be great. If one goes down, then we would have to readjust the others and maybe do like one or two. Okay. And then the only other thing
095um I wanted to mention just cuz I know that obviously this is a much better uh budget presentation than I think the community has been used to over the last couple years. I'm really glad to see the momentum uh change in our favor, and I think that's that's really good. Um one of the things though that I kind of noticed in the tidings here about today's meeting though, uh, did bring up some additional concerns just because the So, um, I guess my question would be the letter, uh, Ms. Harding that you wrote in in here, was this vetted prior to it being published by any kind of attorney or legal It was? Okay. So, my my my So, my my concern there is that the New York State specifically has a lot of laws that
096stop boards and associations from being able to advocate for propositions and things like that. You're able to present the information in a completely neutral manner and and that kind of thing, but asking for support and those kind of those kinds of verb- that kind of verbiage is really strictly viewed as a, uh, breakdown of of that compliance. And it's not to say that there are shortcomings there that could be putting the district at risk, but it just it opens up doors, I think, in a time where we're trying to gather some momentum and push this district to the next level, um, I think is this tidings is a great step there. Having, uh, this kind of a public posting of a board seeking a specific vote from the community is a violation of New York
097State law, case law, and I just I'm it's not really the kind of thing I think we should be, um, we should be having. So, uh, just want to bring it out there and make sure that everyone was aware that it's probably the kind of thing we should avoid in the future. Yeah, I'll get a copy. Okay. Thank you for your comments. Two. I know. No, I do see what you are saying. All right. Uh, any other comments? And about stuff on the agenda? Actually, what what you just discussed a bit. Okay. Yeah, please come to the microphone. Susan Kubel, resident, I can It's all right, just press the button. Yep. There you go. Susan Kubel, resident, I thank you for doing the budget. I know there was many hours and many discussions, many nights
098of going through all the budget. I thought it was very nicely done. Sorry to say that, but I think it it was and uh but the one thing I'm saying now, when we had mentioned about AI, about the chat, they had it on television today. It is a bad thing to have. So, I'm all for it. Thank you for bringing that to everybody's attention. Have a good night. Thank you and you never have to apologize for thanking us for doing a good job with the budget. >> [laughter] >> Out of the ordinary to get a compliment today. But it's certainly not something to apologize for. Yes. All right, any other comments? All right. Thank you. We're going to move on to um our um our resolution section. Um so, I'm going to start with um
099What was that? Yeah, recommended actions. Kelly helps me here. Um uh 6.01 to 6.05. Can I have a motion? Tom, second, Kelly. Um discussion. Um I would just like to point out that um obviously we're having several special meetings um and um um later in the agenda, we will be accepting Dr. Varughese's resignation and although there will be plenty of time for a goodbye, we do wish you the best in the future. Um and um our plan right now is to put in place an interim next year to be able to then open up a very inclusive, transparent um process in choosing who our next superintendent will be and we will search for input from all of our constituents um community members, parents, um administrators, teachers, clericals, um any SRPs, as well as um our
100students um and we will make sure that every one of the community is heard. Uh we will set our goals and priorities first and then we will do our best to pick um you know to to to pick a candidate in a timely manner so that there is um time for them to um prepare to meet you know with the person who is next. Since you mentioned I just want to take a moment to thank the board um the community. It's been a an amazing experience. We've had lots of ups and downs but um everything we set out to do we accomplished in the end and I'm very proud of that work and I just want to take a moment to thank the students. Uh you guys are amazing and um it's a wonderful community
101and it was an honor to serve you. So thank you. Thank you. >> [applause] >> All right. Before we vote is there any other discussion? No. All right. All in favor? All right. Motion passes. Uh moving on to 7.01. I broke this down 7.01 to 7. Sorry, 7.07. 701 to 707. Got a motion? Kelly. Tom. And um discussion? Go ahead, Cathy. Um I would just like to say thank you to Mike Tabor for the scholarship for Jane. Um I worked with her. She was a passionate, dedicated, beloved teacher um by her students and a mentor to many teachers. Thank you for that. Awesome teacher. And we can also um thank the SDS for the scholarship as well. $2,000 scholarship. Yes. SDS is Suffolk Transportation Services. All right, any further discussion? No, all in favor? All
102right, motion carries. Moving on to 7.08 to 7.15. Can I have a motion? Motion. Tom, second Desmond. Discussion? Go ahead, Chris. I would like to thank Let me just pull this up real quick. 11. I would like to thank uh Mr. Jones for donating money to the elementary school orchestra program. So, thank you for that. It's much appreciated. >> [applause] >> Okay, any further discussion? All in favor? Sorry. >> [laughter] >> Motion carries. All right, next one 8.01 to 8.03. I did. You go to next. It's okay. 8.01 to 8.03. Can I have a motion? Kelly. Second. Tom. All right, discussion. The moment they've all been waiting for. I just want to take a moment to recognize some of our new staff members and many of you are here. So, if you are here as
103I call your name, just give a wave to the audience. We have Daniel Heedles who's being appointed as our high school health teacher. >> [applause] >> We have Lisa Ventimiglia who is being appointed as our middle school social worker. Patrick Konarski as a middle school high school science teacher. >> [applause] >> Teresa Whalen as our middle school psychologist. >> [applause] >> Michelle Gunter as our high school guidance chairperson and counselor. >> [applause] >> Kellen Gregory as our speech and language teacher. >> [applause] >> And Roberta Zoller as our elementary teacher at Cherry Avenue Elementary School. >> [applause] >> I I want to take a moment. I met every single one of these people and I want to take a moment to congratulate them, welcome them to the Sayville family. This is an amazing district. It's
104the best place in the world to teach and you're going to be so happy to to support our kids here. But also to our administrative team who spent hours combing through resumes, screening candidates, coming up with uh interpersonal tasks that these candidates had to do which we haven't done in the past and we've got an amazing group of candidates here who are going to make this district even better than it already is because you're going to bring joy, you're going to bring warmth, you're going to bring caring and learning to our students. So, congratulations and welcome. >> [applause] [applause] >> You came to a very informative meeting. I know it's a long meeting but I hope your excitement overrides your boredom but Well, I think they're fully funded so they're happy. >> [laughter] >> What?
105We have not voted yet. No. Any discussion? I was just welcoming you in before we did it. All right. Any discussion? All right. All in favor? All right. You're official. Welcome. >> [applause] >> Welcome to the family. We know you'll be happy here. We're happy to have you. All right. Going to take 8.04 by itself. Can I have a motion? Motion. Can I have a second? Tom Chris. All right, discussion. All in favor. Abstain. Abstain. That's a five in favor, one abstain. I just I'm mentioning I'm abstaining because my husband is on the the volunteer coach >> of list, yes. He will be. It's okay. It's okay if you don't approve. >> [laughter] >> All right, we Yes. Uh well, we thank him and all the volunteer coaches because and that again another one of
106those jobs of service that is really important to our kids in our sports program. Um all right, 9.01 to 9.03. Motion, Chris. >> Second. Second, Tom. Um any discussion? I was just happy we're approving the Lego Robotics Club. I know that looks fun. I'll take a moment to thank our elementary principals and Misty Miolla for meeting together with Mr. um Cavner, thank you. Cavner to make that happen for our students. So, thank you to those Very exciting. Um all right, um any other discussion? All in favor. Okay. Um moving on to our upcoming dates. Um May 19th is the budget vote next week at the old junior high. That vote goes from 7:00 to 9:00 and if you'd like to be there when the the count is announced, we are in the old junior high
107school at 9:00 p.m. um for that after the polls close. Um May 20th, middle school orchestra concert um 7:00 to 8:30 at the middle school. Um May 21st, high school one-act plays, which are always a ton of fun at 7:00 p.m. at the high school. Um May 21st also Lincoln Avenue spring concert 7:00 p.m. at the table middle school. Um on May 25th, Memorial Day schools are closed, but I do invite you to town near um I'm going to forget the name of that Sparrow Park where they always do a dedication to the the veterans. It's a it's always a very very heartfelt so thank you for their service and the um Give me the word. Sacrifice, that's what I was looking for. Thank you to sacrifice that they made. On May 27th is community
108connect day. It's one of the most amazing days in in Sayville. That is when all of our high school students go and do some act of service during the school day. Almost every civic association and there are so many opportunities for the kids to go out and work and and give back and it's always amazingly received. The entire high school. Every student goes out and does something. It's really one of the coolest events. And the carnival that was that was next and the carnival is that night. So Sayville Strides carnival is that night. At 6:00 p.m. at Sayville Middle School. Oh, it's at the middle school? Rain or shine. If it's a sunny day, the sun is shining we're out in the back. Okay. If it's fine in the gymnasium and if it rains we
109go inside. All right, that one year we had it inside. It's great. Yeah, that was last year. It was great. It was It didn't matter that it was inside. >> Rain or shine. It was awesome. Rain or the perfect rain or shine middle school and that's our Sayville Strides um um carnival. And June 4th will be our next board meeting. That will be a workshop meeting and that will be 7:30 p.m. at the middle school. Big awards event. Another big awards event. We always have things to celebrate here in this district. Um Anything else? All right, we will open up to our second public comment which is on items that are not related to the budget or may have been related to the budget and you didn't get up at that time. So is there
110anyone who would like to speak? All right, seeing nobody I would like a motion to enter into Did somebody want to speak? Did I miss it? No, okay. Into executive session to discuss matters relating to particular personnel. Motion Kathy, second Desmond. All right, any discussion? All in favor. I want to thank everybody for coming tonight. I know it was long, but it was definitely worth it and informative.