001Mhm. >> Everybody, we're going to get started. If you would, please rise and join me in the pledge of allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. We just need to tell them Yeah. Madam, so you know, we're going to start this evening with a public hearing. Um, Ms. Meserole, if you would, thank you. Good evening. I'd like to open the public hearing at this point. Uh, there are two resolutions on the board agenda this evening. Uh, both of them involve tax exemptions. Only one of them require a public hearing and that is of the volunteer firefighter and volunteer ambulance workers. Uh, so this is a requirement. So, tonight we're presenting
002this tax exemption for legal adoption as offered by Nassau County under New New real property tax law, RPTL section 466A, former section 466C. On December 5th, 2025, Governor Hochul signed a bill modifying New York real property tax law section 466A to allow for the surviving spouses of volunteer firefighters and volunteer ambulance workers who are killed in the line of duty to receive this exemption so long as the school district which has authorized the exemption under section 466A adopts a resolution authorizing such additional benefits. The amount of the exemption is up to 10% of the assessed value. The minimum service requirements are between two and five years, depending on local choice. Nassau County allows for this with two years. There is a lifetime benefit option which grants a lifetime exemption after 20 years of service. If
003a volunteer firefighter or ambulance worker dies, an unmarried surviving spouse may be included in this exemption as well as line of duty death spouses. The purpose of this public hearing is twofold. One, it serves to have the Board of Education first reauthorize the tax exemption for volunteer fire and ambulance workers, and then to also authorize the inclusion for surviving spouses to continue to receive this exemption as long as they remain unmarried and reside in their residence within Seaford's boundaries. In order to qualify for this exemption, the following eligibility requirements pertain. You must live in the district served. Your property must be primary residence and used for residential purposes. Certification process. Yeah, I'm sorry. I do have this outlined for you all, but it's easier to just read it. Sorry about that. Um there is a
004certification process that is done typically prior to January 2nd of the year in which the the following year that the exemption would be um elect. The geographical boundaries are very important here here in Seaford. You go one block, you're in Wantagh. Another block, you're in, you know, Island Trees. So, um it's very important that that the that the residence is within the Seaford School District and to be sure of where you're volunteering for that. The exemption does not reduce the tax levy, but rather it shifts the burden to other taxpayers. And uh as I had mentioned, a formal filing must be made with Nassau County, the Department of Assessment uh for this exemption with the proof of uh your entitlement. So, at this point, I would open up the public hearing to any questions or
005comments with regard to this particular exemption. Okay. So, here closes our public hearing. Thank you. Okay. Uh we're going to now move on to um, our public session and we will pass the mic to our student board member for his report, Matt Kind. Hello. I have a vote. You're on. I'm on. Hi. So, good evening, everyone. I hope you had a great weekend. Uh, I'm sorry for my attire, first of all. I just came from a baseball game. That is fine. We won. We were losing 3-0 then we won. So, recently at the Seaford schools, the hottest topic in my opinion is college. So, as college commitment and awareness day approaches us, which is this Friday, May 1st, many seniors are posting and publicizing their commitments. So, this is a very exciting time of year.
006This week is the most exciting time because here at Seaford, all the faculty and administrators are racking their heads to see where all the students go to continue their school journey and academic journey. So, they can see what they do beyond Seaford. So, that is just very impressive for everyone. In addition, the end of the year is also represented in testing. So, as the year wraps up, we have AP tests, final exams, and Regents exams coming up. So, with these exams, we also have academies that are now being held. So, we highly encourage all students to take advantage of these sessions because the teachers are our teachers are taking out valuable time to help the students. So, we encourage that strongly. And also, staying on theme with the end of the year festivities, senior prom
007is also approaching. So, taking place on June 10th at the Bethpage Golf Heritage Club, senior prom is right around the corner. And prom tickets are being sold and the contracts are being held handed out. So, with those being due this week, everything's coming to a close and the whole year is ending. So, thank you so much for all your time and have a great evening. Thanks, Matt. Okay, now we'll move on to Dr. Pecoraro's administrative report. Okay, so as you will be able to see through the PAR on the board of education tonight, we've been doing a lot of hiring lately. Uh a lot of new Vikings are in our crowd, so as has become customary, we'd like to recognize them. I'd like to take the opportunity to thank Dr. Jacob for doing a phenomenal
008job orchestrating the interview process as well as the many administrators who are in our audience tonight. Um it really does take a village to be able to you'll see um go have a very, very thorough hiring process and be able to garner the support of community and the result is we have exceptional new Vikings joining our team. So, without further ado, I'm going to this no particular order. I'm um trying to do it by school, but other than that, there's no particular order here. Um the first person that um will be joining our team is Maria Bellacosa and Maria's here today. Hi, Maria. There we Um she's going to be a general education teacher with the Manor. Um one of the things about Maria that was very striking was she has this air of positive
009energy about her. She is certified in general ed and in TESOL. Uh she has her degrees from Molloy College and she's coming to us from being in a position at Oceanside. She has had several positions at Oceanside. Um but again, through her demo lesson and the interview process, we're really excited for you to join our team, so welcome, Maria. Uh next we have Christian Shane. She's right there. Uh she, too, is going to be a general education teacher at the Manor. Um again, what struck us most about Kristen or what struck me most about Kristen is uh how innovative she was. She's a very experienced teacher. Her degrees are from Long Island University where she has a Bachelor of Science in Childhood Education. She has a Master's degree in Educational Literacy from Queens College. And
010she also has her gifted and talented extension certificate from Molloy University. She has been a teacher in the Elmont School District since 2018. And as I said, um the innovation, the enthusiasm, and your experience was very very obvious. So, we're very excited for you to join the team, Kristen. Okay. Um also, at the Manor, we have a new physical education health teacher, Trent Um so, um Trent has his mas- uh his Bachelor's degree in science and physical education from Kean State College. And then he has a Master in of School Health Education K-12 from SUNY Brockport. He comes to us from his current position in Franklin Square. Um also, I believe Trent said he was very interested in coaching as well. So, um Mr. Witt, you have another person willing to join your team in
011that capacity, too. So, Trent, welcome to the team. Okay. Next, we're going um to talk a little bit about Caitlyn Gonclaves. Is she here? Saw her. So, um a a a little bit about Caitlyn, she comes to us from Westhampton where she's teaching ENL there. She'll be an ENL teacher for us here. She has her bachelor's degree from Adelphi and her master's degree from Adelphi University. One of the things in interviewing Caitlin that was very striking to me was the pedagogical expertise she has and how to address teaching ELLs and her passion for her craft. So, we're really excited for you to join my team. I know Ms. Basulto is very excited. Yes, she's laughing to join the team. So, welcome. Thank you. Okay, and at the high school, Matthew Sapolanski is here. You want
012to So, Matthew is literally coming to us fresh out of his bachelor's degree in adolescent education and physics from New Paltz University, SUNY New Paltz. Um you know, one of the things that I want to say about Matthew is I do think that you have resilience down with regards to our secret scholar traits because Matthew came in for the interview in Central Islip and had to go back and his college volleyball team was in the NCAA volleyball tournament at the time, so he had to run back for practice. So, he came to us and ran back and didn't seem too worried about it. You were like calm as a cucumber. That was really impressive. So, so we're really excited. Matthew's passion for physics was was very very obvious to us when we were going through
013the interview process and he did a really nice demo lesson. So, WELCOME, MATTHEW. OKAY, AND THEN WE ALSO have Thomas. Where is Thomas? Isn't he Thomas Um Thomas is going to be joining our special education team at the high school. His education is that he has his Bachelor of Arts from Molloy College as well as his Master's degree. He comes to us through from Rockland Center um with very strong recommendations including from the Superintendent of Schools. And it was very obvious to us when we were interviewing Thomas that his passion for teaching and particularly mathematics as well um was was something that we think will really bolster our special education department at the high school and will be a great new Viking. That's it. Very good. I'll move on to new business. I need a
014motion for agenda item four one and two, please. Move it. Second. Any discussion? All in favor? I. I need a motion for agenda item five one and two. Move it. Second. Any discussion? All in favor? I. This is the resident comment section. Any Anyone in the audience wish to speak? Okay. Uh correspondence All correspondence received by the board has been responded to with the exception of an email from today. Uh we're going to move on to some new business. I need um a motion for agenda item 8 A 1 wherein we are casting our vote for three members to the BOCES board uh for Deborah Coates, Jeanine Diass Esposito, and Lawrence Greenstein. Move it. Second. Any discussion? All in favor? I. Need a motion for agenda item 8A2. Move it. Second. Any discussion? All in
015favor? I. Uh next is contracts. We'll do these together, if that's okay. All right. Need a motion for agenda item 8B1 through 10. Move it. Second. Any discussion? All in favor? I. I need a motion for agenda item 8C1 and 2. Move it. Second. Any discussion? All in favor? I. You have to stop me. Okay. Okay, no problem. You can take my job anytime. I need a motion for agenda item 8D1 through 3. Move it. Second. Any discussion? All in favor? I. I need agenda uh motion for agenda item 8E1 and 2. Move it. Second. Any discussion? All in favor? I. Okay, we're going to move on to the resolutions, which I'm going to read. On the resolutions? Yeah, and I'm going to read it in, okay? Uh so, I need a motion for agenda
016item 8F1, which states as follows. Whereas on December 19, 2025, New York real property tax law section 471 was enacted to provide eligible surviving spouses of police officers who were killed in the line of duty with a real property tax exemption from school taxes on real property owned by the eligible surviving spouse of a police officer who was killed in the line of duty, so long as the school district in which the real property is located adopts a resolution authorizing the exemption, subject to the requirements of New York real property tax law section 471. Now, therefore, be it resolved that the Board of Education hereby authorizes the application of the surviving spouse of a police officer who was killed in the line of duty tax exemption in the amount of 50% of assessed value and
017be it further resolved that pursuant to New York real property tax law section 471 the Board of Education designates that application for exemption must be made to the local agency responsible for assessment of real property in the school district. Um any discussion on that? And we'll do it by roll call. I. I think did we move it already? Okay, move it, please. Move it. Second. Any discussion? Okay, I. I. I. I. I. Great. Um and now we're going to move on to agenda item 8 F2, which which is another resolution which states as follows. Whereas New York real property tax law section 466A was enacted to provide eligible volunteer firefighters and volunteer ambulance workers with a real property tax exemption from school taxes on real property owned by the eligible volunteer firefighter or volunteer ambulance
018worker so long as the school district in which the real property is located after public hearing adopts a resolution authorizing the exemption subject to the requirements of New York real property tax law section 466A. And whereas the school district previously authorized an exemption pursuant to real property tax law section 466A and whereas on December 5th, 2025 Governor Hochul signed a bill modifying New York real property tax law section 466A to allow for the surviving spouses of volunteer firefighters and volunteer ambulance workers who were killed in the line of duty to receive this exemption so long as the school district which has authorized the exemption under Section 466A, adopt a resolution authorizing such additional benefits. And whereas the Board of Education has held a public hearing on the proposed amendment, now therefore, be it resolved that
019the Board of Education hereby reauthorizes the exemption of the volunteer firefighter and ambulance worker real property tax exemption as contained in New York real property tax law Section 466A to volunteer firefighters or volunteer ambulance workers, and authorizes the exemption of the volunteer firefighter and ambulance worker real property tax exemption surviving spouses for those volunteer firefighters and volunteer ambulance workers who were killed in the line of duty in the amounts up to 10% of assessed value. And be it further resolved that pursuant to New York real property tax law Section 466A6, the Board of Education designates that application for exemption must be made to the local agency responsible for assessment of real property in the school district. Can I get a motion, please? Move it. Second. >> Any discussion? All in favor, I. I. I. I.
020I. Thank you. Any miscellaneous discussion items from the board? Okay. Closing comments. Welcome to all our new hires. We're very pleased to have you. Um a special thank you to uh the Sea Harbor PTA for their donation of the Bose Academic Entertainment uh music technology. They donated a monetary sum in order to secure um uh for an assembly in May. Um and thank you to DonorsChoose for the donation of a wood storage case at the middle school. So, thank you to them. Um anything else new, different to discuss? No. Okay. I need a motion to adjourn. Move it. Second. Any discussion? All in favor. Aye. Thank you. Thanks.