001Welcome everybody. I'm Philip Canine, president of the board of education. Whenever please stand for the pledge to the flag of the United States of America to the republic for it stands one nation and justice for all. >> Thank you. >> Okay. Uh just a quick fire code announcement. Emergency. Please be aware of your rear exit and the exits to your left and to your right. Uh we have a full house here tonight. Um I guess everybody saw our board email, our uh that we put out from our public relations person and I said, "Everyone come on down to one of our board meetings is where you can see and hear all the good things we're doing and I guess everybody took us up on that." So that's great. Thank you for being here tonight. Okay,
002we're going to start our meeting off with the u presentations. We're going to start with our 10ear recognitions. After the tenure recognitions, we're going to stop for a fivem minute break um if any other people want to take pictures and then we'll start with our uh pride and presentations. again. Okay. So, with that, um, Dr. O'Hara, let's start with the attend. >> Sure. Yeah. The fiveminute recess will be for a break and I think our three teachers might have some lessons to prep. So, we want you to be able to get home also. So, um, with that, I'm going to turn it over to our high school principal, Dr. Gonzalez. And I think if the board would like to move to another seat. >> Good evening. It is my absolute pleasure to speak on behalf
003of three Outstanding teachers. Three-way tie for first. These educators are be making a major milestone this evening. They are receiving tenure. The students of this high school are so lucky to have these three teachers in their lives. and we at Icelip High School could not be happier or more proud to have them on our faculty. Would Mr. James Deany, please come to the front. [Applause] Jimmy Feny, you are a valued member of the special education department at Icelope High School. Mr. Mr. has a deep knowledge of instructional strategies across multiple content areas including science and mathematics. As a teacher and colleague, he is personable, enthusiastic, and always energetic. Mr. Fini, you are known for your excellent rapport with students, families, your fellow teachers, and your supervisors. In addition to your many teaching responsibilities, you have
004been actively involved. In fact, I would say you're on the leaderboard for school spirit for certain. actively involved in the extracurricular life of our high school for the past four years, demonstrating your commitment to supporting students beyond the classroom. As a grade level co-advisor, Mr. Feny gets his students to participate for several years. He has supervised homecoming float building. Thank you very much. And skits for class of the classes where is that dons some very imaginative attire. Last year he coordinated the junior prom and this year he is co-advising the class of 2026 with the senior prom and all of the wonderful end of the year events to come. Mr. Feny, by being present and involved with our students, you have contributed to a positive school culture at ISO High School. You have established meaningful
005working relationships with students which have fostered a strong sense of belonging for them. Overall, you have brought considerable energy, creativity, and positivity positivity to our high school. I could not be more proud. Congratulations on your 10th this year. And can we get Mr. Feny's family and supporters to come down front so we could do a photo? Come on down. [Applause] Mr. Matthew Chris, you're next. [Applause] Mr. Chris, you are a pillar of the special education department at our high school. During your years at Icelip High School, you have cultivated outstanding working relationships with supervisors, colleagues, students, and their families. You are a masterful teacher. Your calm demeanor and deep knowledge of content area and instructional strategies, you put students at ease and allow them to do their best work. As an educator, Matt, you are
006patient, caring, and kind. You hold your students to the highest of standards while creating a supportive learning environment. I have seen Mr. Chris work his magic in class by supporting students, tackling the most difficult mathematical problems, and meeting with success. because of you. You embody the maxim sticking with your students and never giving up on them. In addition to your many teaching responsibilities, Mr. Chris, you have made significant contributions to the extracurricular life of our high school. You have been a valuable team player. You, according to the athletics department, have been the most dependable volunteer crew member and coach and you have assisted with a long list of teams including baseball, football, soccer at various levels at the middle and high school. Mr. Chris, congratulations. I could not be happier to have you as part
007of our faculty. Thank you. [Applause] And with the full Chris family and supporters, please come on down. [Applause] Mr. Rford class. [Applause] Ah, Mr. Riker, you are an esteemed member of the high school social studies department. And I'm going to say you're a Renaissance man. Here's why. According to my records, you've taught social studies to students at almost every grade level at Icelip Middle and Icelip High School. You are a gifted educator who's taught various levels of students. from students who have real academic challenges to students who are seeking additional academic challenges in your advanced placements uh United States history and advanced placement politics and government courses. Your department supervisor, Dr. Robert Drazilski, shared and I quote, "Mr. Riker fosters a growth mindset by providing constructive feedback, encouraging reflection, and celebrating effort as much as
008achievement. By building strong relationships and maintaining high expectations, Mr. Riker creates a supportive environment where students are motivated to take academic risks and develop both intellectually and personally. End quote. And if that were not enough, in addition to your considerable teaching responsibilities, you have volunteered or volunteer as a grade level advisor for the past several years. Currently, as co-advisor with your partner in all things school spirit, co-advisor to the class of 2026. I believe you've been their uh the adviser to our students since their freshman year. Is that correct? Wow. You are a dedicated, energetic, and enthusiastic educator. We are thrilled to have you as part of the Iceland High School family officially. Congratulations to you. [Applause] And the new Mrs. Riker and Please join us up. [Applause] Thank you. Would you folks like to
009leave or do you want to stay with us? [Applause] [Music] [Applause] Okay. The next part on our agenda this evening is a presentation from Dr. Gonzalez, our high school principal. Uh for the board last year, Dr. Gonzalez shared some data and updates on some programs. This year it might not be quite as in depth, but I think she's prepared to share information about some changes in the high school to start the school year off. Maybe a brief little piece of data and then I think a few minutes of words from some of our students. Right. Is that about Thank you so much for the opportunity to present to you this evening our trustees. By the way, what just happened was one of the favorite parts of the job of any school leader to be able
010to acknowledge some of our teachers is a blessing. Although I will do most of the talking this evening, our work here at the high school is a true collaboration and I would like to acknowledge my building leadership team, Miss Lisa Ward, Mr. Charlie Rudo, and Dr. Sabrina Camro, our new dean of students. For everything that they do on a daily basis for our staff and the young people in our care. Since joining ice schools, I've had the opportunity to present on a handful of topics. Each year, I'm looking to bring some a little bit different say perspective or angle. I had the chance when I first got here to present to you on some major enhancements that we did to our course offerings. Following year, I talked about our college awareness curriculum, including some of
011our college awareness tours. Last year along with my team we offered a comprehensive overview of stu student data including participation rates in athletics in the arts and some of our academic programs. This presentation I hope will shed some light on climate related issues at our high school and some of the day-to-day operations with regard to two major areas. Our new cell policy and some new attendance taking measures at Iceland High School. I am pleased to report to you that the state of our high school is strong and what seems to be on many people's mind this school year is how is that new cell phone ban going? So, let's just dive right in. our belief. Here's the premise that if by reducing distractions that cell phones and other internet enabled devices can cause during the
012school day, we believe that students will have more time on task. Let's see what students and teachers are saying. More student engagement will lead us to greater student success as Icelift continues to rise. A quick recap. The phone free schools law that was enacted this school year is not just about cell phones. It's smart watches and tablets and earbuds, airpods, and so forth. The school day means the whole school day including passing periods, lunch periods and so forth. There are exceptions. I will tell you that we have honored all ex exemptions and there are fewer than 1% of our students who have received exemptions per board policy and state law. We believe that these devices can substantially interfere in the learning process, that they can contribute to negative mental health outcomes for our young people,
013possible student misbehaviors that get in the way of learning, and overall a reduction in student engagement. We know that some of the research shows that a common misconception is that If a student has access in an emergency in a school context to a phone, it could be helpful. The research states just the opposite, that it could be a hindrance. Here is a recap of some of the initial concerns about the proposed bill. We had a community forum right here in the auditorium this past summer in July. It was very well attended. And if you were here that evening or listening from home, you may recollect these were some of the concerns that were brought to our attention. Our team here at the high school with our teachers. We have worked diligently to address those concerns
014to adhere to the board policy with fidelity. Here's a quick snapshot. When students enter our school building, my expectation, our expectation is that the phone or the devices are powered off. They enter the school building without AirPods so forth. That upon arrival, they go to their lockers and they deposit all of those items in their lockers for safekeeping. When the bell rings at the end of the day at 2:00 p.m., students at that point should gather their things. At that point, they may check to find out whether parents have texted a change in the afternoon plans. Students are always encouraged to attend extra help after school. and they will have for the entire afternoon access to their phones to communicate what their afternoon schedule will be. Parents and guardians are always welcome to contact us.
015Please, if anyone needs to get a message to their son or daughter, do not hesitate to contact us in the main office. and we have made our offices and phones available for students needing to contact parents and guardians during the school day. At this point, safe to say all of our students know what the rule is and what the expectations are with regard to personal electronic devices. These messages are being communicated and reinforced in classrooms. Every student received a paper copy of the student handbook. We've had multiple grade level assemblies. We did those the very first week of school because we believe that students who are prepared and informed will be successful. We've reiterated these messages through parent square updates certainly in our meet the teacher night which was a wonderful evening in September. Here's
016the good news. I was wrong. I worried a lot about this this summer and my team says it's going to be okay. You'll see. On any given day, we are seeing about 10 or fewer devices, maybe a cell phone here, AirPods there, maybe a smartwatch. That means that 99% of our students are doing the right thing on a daily basis. That means my team was right. They said, "We've got this. There will be more cooperation." And I am pleased to report to you, the board, and to the community that things are working. Now, there has been some adjustment. There have been infractions. Most of the infractions that we've seen are first time predictably. The red bar there is nth grade. Our ninth graders are trying so diligently to know what is expected and to meet
017our expectations. So what are the teachers saying? I had the opportunity to meet with the teachers as a whole faculty in the middle of September. I asked them to answer some questions on the short survey and this is just a a small sampling whether art chem special education across the board teacher after teacher they're sharing that our students are more engaged and that if we go back to the root of the legislation and the core of the board policy that's what we were hoping for. We see testimonial after testimonial. How about the second bullet there? Less gossiping, more face-toface meaningful interaction. How about in English? That process of collecting phones that we've been engaged in, you know, when the students were walking in and putting the the phones in the in the pockets, that took
018time. So, our teachers are sharing, but let's go to what our students experience. After all, it's their high school experience. How about the second bullet? Less congestion in the hallways because more kids are looking up and not down. So, please visit us. come and see the palpable changes in the most positive of ways because you're not going to hear silence or experience the silence. You're going to hear kids engaging in more conversations in our hallways, in our classrooms. And we could not be more pleased. Fewer distractions, more focus. Oh, by the way, 35 students, 35 wonderful kids who didn't have to responded to the principal's call for feedback. I put a simple Google form with a couple questions in the grade level Google classroom, I think on a Sunday, and I got 35 respondents in
019grades 9 through 12. How about the three disconnect for 6 and a half hours a day. What a gift. That is a gift that we're giving to our young people who have been so saturated by so much. Part of me wonders why did it take so long? I'm glad we're here now. This is very succinct. I thought this was an outstanding kind of synopsis. In the words of one of our seniors who has experienced three years of what it was and how pleased there is more attention, there's more meaningful conversation and dialogue in our classes. Combine that with some new attendance taking procedures. So last year, I see Mrs. Stern is in the audience. Mrs. helped us to pilot the move software and we ended the school year with about I'm going to say roughly
02010 or 12 teachers who piloted this tapped in system which helped to automate our period by period attendance giving us procedures giving us more accurate real time data increasing I believe overall safety and security. It gives security admin, main office staff, touch of a button, we know exactly where students are. Main office, it sure beats the old school paper passes, right? So, from about 10 or so teachers who piloted at the end of the school year, first four days of school, thanks to Mr. Rudo and the leadership team, we came together with our teachers who were willing to try something new. We went from 10 or 12 to the entire faculty within the first few days testing out a new system. What are the teachers say? Look, less time taking attendance, less time collecting phones.
021This is translating into more time for instruction. And just like in the old days, there's hall duty, bathroom duty. This system is providing greater accountability for students who are realizing, gosh, maybe I'm spending too much time out of class. Got to get back. This is what the teachers are saying. Again, let's dig a little bit deeper. What do the kids say? Everyone has to be on time. Of course, that was our expectation always. Uh it's just that the accountability is there. Attendance is going faster, less time to take attendance. So, it's not just the teacher's perspective, it's the students reality. Class starts faster. We're getting into the building faster. Our next steps So there are students and in fact the parent who came to me in July after the community forum about the cell phone
022cell phone policy is here this evening the student a parent said to me I'm just concerned about what about the kids who are having a really hard time relinquishing or letting go and we are meeting them where they are and trying to work with them. We're looking at some of the feedback. Kids are saying, "Well, actually, you know, now we have so much more time. We're not looking at our phones. Uh, how about board games and puzzles and things that we can do?" So, we're looking at those options. We have been partnering uh you probably heard me say it teacher night with kids in seats. It's a wonderful nonprofit. They give us season ticket holder uh tickets if the the season ticket holder decides not to use them. So, we're using tickets to Broadway shows,
023tickets to all kinds of uh competitive sports contests, including we sent a student and a parent to the writer cup because of kids and seats. In order to be eligible to enter the raffle, you have to have you need to be in good standing. So, we're looking in addition to some of the consequences, we're always looking for the inducements, the celebrating the success of the students who are always doing is expected of them. We have in terms of Red Ribbon Week, that's an opportunity to plan a variety of wellness activities. We're going to talk about digital wellness. We have an exciting initiative led by Miss Lisa Ward. I'm going to go now. If you have your phones, speaking of phones on you, I would encourage you if you can save these dates, please join us.
024Quick show of hands. How many of you have heard of the anxious generation? Number of you. All right. So, we hope that you will join us for a book talk that will take place one evening in October, one in November, and one in January. Very, very relevant. So, let's go back with this additional time. What are we going to do? What are we how are we going to capitalize on this increased engagement and time and focus in class? I'd like you to hear from some of our students. [Music] Hi, I'm Julia Drummerhouser. I'm a senior and I am I've been a varsity soccer player at ISM for 3 years. My hard work on and off the field has awarded me the recognition of being Newsuesday 100 and I've recently been committed to Westfield State University
025for my soccer. >> Hi, my name is Thomas. I'm a sophomore here at High School and I am rising. My experience here taking pictures at events has helped grow my photography business inside and outside of Iceland. >> Hi, I'm Allison. I'm a senior and I am I've been involved in theater outside and inside of Iceland for decade um participating in ISIL in the theater program has definitely been connections and opportunities necessary to further my career and major in musical theater. >> Hi, my name is Silia Ting. I'm a freshman and I am rising. My first few weeks at Icelip High School have been great. I feel welcomed and comfortable in this community and that's going to prepare me for all my future years at Iceland High School. >> Hi, my name is Joshua. I'm a
026senior here at ISFP High School and I feel like I'm rising because I was recently recognized as a semi- finalist for the National Merit Scholarship because of my high school PSAT which I feel like is a good accumulation of all my hard work and dedication here at High School. >> Hi, my name is Amanda Mardones >> and my name is Valentina Salmore >> and we are seniors at ISIF High School and we are rising. Our experiences outside of IS High School have inspired us to start new programs in IS High School such as robotics and 3D printing. >> Another thing that we're working on is creating a website that can provide guidance to more students in college preparation and outside of school programs. >> My name is Tina and I have graduate and I am
027rising. I am no longer a student and I am a worker of the high school. And this is what you are learning today for the future. >> Hi, I'm Lucy. Hi, I'm And we are juniors in high school. >> I think the schools and help us improve our language skills which learns and prepares for our future. [Music] So, imagine the possibilities. After all, we've just been back in school for one month. Come and see us. What questions do you have for us? presentation. >> Thank you, Mr. Thank you. [Applause] Okay. Um, just to recap, congratulations to all teachers that received tenure recognition. It's exciting to see that. And again, Dr. Gonzalez, thank you for that presentation to your staff. That's great. Thank you. Okay. Uh next under our prior presentations will be our first policy
028rating. Uh Mr. K. >> Thank you, Mr. Janine. Um tonight, policy 6830, which is the travel reimbursement policy is on the board agenda for our first reading this evening. The policy is being amended to reflect the total reimbursement for meals and incidental expenses for when schoolboard members and employees attend school related functions such as conferences and workshops. As well, the district will be utilizing the US general services administration rate for Long Island and New York as opposed to the Internal Revenue Service reimbursement rate. The policy will be placed on the board agenda for adoption at the board meeting to be held on October 14th. Thank you, Mr. D. >> All right. Thank you, Mr. Okay, folks, that um concludes our ISO pride and presentations. We're now going to move on to our agenda items at
029this time. Are there any questions from the board on any of the items we'll be voting on this evening? Any questions from the public on any of the items that we'll be voting on this evening? Okay. Uh with that, I'd like to get a motion for consent. Item 5 A through 5W. Can I get a motion? That's Mr. Green. Can I get a second? >> That's Mr. Leo. All those in favor? >> I opposed abstain. And they will all carry. Uh we do have two items that are not part of consent. And that will be item 5X, which is the approval of set card contracts. Can I get a motion? >> Mr. Ber, can I get a second? Is Mr. Austin? All those in favor? I opposed. >> Abstain for the same reasons stated in
030the August 26th, 2025 meeting. >> And that will carry. Uh the next item that we need to vote on is item 5Y, approval of the special education schedule, CPS. Can I get a motion? Mr. Green and the second was all those in favor? I >> opposed. Abstain. abstain for the same reasons stated in the August 26, 2025 meeting. >> All right. And that motion will carry as well. Okay. Uh next, moving along will be our public questions. And I do have public comment cards. And the first one I have here is uh Carolyn Sland. Sure. >> So, my name is Courtney Serola. Good evening everyone. Board administration. My name is Courtney Skola and I am a lifelong resident of Icelip having graduated in 2006. I now have two young daughters, one of whom currently attends
031UPK and the other who will in a few short years. I am speaking tonight on a topic that leaves heavily on all of us, the safety and security of our children. I am speaking on behalf of myself, Caroline Sutherland, who has led this petition with me, and many other concerned parents and members of our community in favor of having qualified armed security guards in all of our schools. Every day when your child walks into school, you should feel confident that they are in a safe environment where they can learn without fear. Sadly, the world we live in today makes this assurance more difficult. There have been far too many tragedies this year alone that we have seen unfold on the news. And we cannot let ISIL sit by and not take action to defend against
032something like this happening here. While having armed security in our schools can be a polarizing topic, this is not about politics. It's about protection. Armed security is not meant to intimidate our students or create fear, but to serve as a shield between danger and our children. While we secure our banks, hospitals, concert venues, sports venues, airports, mass transportation systems, malls, and government buildings, we leave our children, our most important assets, most vulnerable. In a critical situation, every second matters. The several minutes that it takes for police to arrive at the school could be the difference between life and death. Armed security guards provide an immediate line of defense, able to react at a second notice. Having trained armed professionals on site ensures that if the unthinkable were ever to happen, our schools would not be
033left helpless. Not only would armed security offer immediate protection, it would also serve as a deterrent. Anyone who may seek to do harm or cause violence in the presence of our children will know that we are not a soft target, that we are prepared and ready to protect our children. Although I personally am a proud gun owner myself and have been raised around guns, I understand that some may worry about the presence of weapons in schools, let me be clear. We are not trying to militarize our schools in any way, shape, or form. We are not asking for someone to come in off the street with a weapon to protect our children. We are asking for trained, qualified, responsible security, preferably retired police, corrections officers or military to do the very job that they have
034spent their lives training to do. These are people who are trained to respond in dangerous situations, who have years of experience handling weapons and can use their prior training along with additional training to protect our kids and teachers. It's important to understand that armed guards don't replace preventative measures like counseling, secure entrances, or anti-bullying programs. They complement them. Just as fire extinguishers, smoke alarms, and fire sprinklers are all layered protections against fire, armed security is one critical layer in a comprehensive school safety plan. Our neighbors in both East Icelip and West Icelip has already implemented armed security to better protect their students. Comarmac, Smithtown, Farmingdale, Masipa, Half Hollow Hills, Miller Place, Riverhead, and Rocky Point are some of the other schools who have chosen to take this approach as well. I spoke with Pete McCann
035of the West Isa Board of Education who informed me that they chose to use their existing security guards and pay them a $10 differential, which came to a mere $100,000 per year addition. East Cyclip also chose to use their own security guards and based on their board of ed meeting notes in 2021, they pay their arm guards a slightly higher salary of $5,000 per year additional per guard. Hills West, Smithtown, Comac, and Masipua chose a different approach to go with Covert Investigation, a Long Island firm specializing in providing armed security. There are many options we have that we can look at to meet the security needs of our district. At the end of the day, we must ask ourselves what is the price of safety and what is the cost of inaction. If we can
036take a step that may prevent even one tragedy, if we can provide even one more layer of safety for our children, then it is not only worth doing, it is our responsibility. In just a few short weeks, we have compiled an online petition, almost 100% through social media, which as of today has garnered 527 supporters, as well as over 100 signatures on our paper petitions, we now have close to 650 signatures. With the total budget voters ranging from 963 to 1,521 the past three years, given the additional time, we are confident we would have the community behind us to vote this through. We asked the board of education and administration to act courageously and swiftly to protect our children in ISIL schools and add trained, qualified armed security guards as an additional safety measure. Thank
037you. [Music] [Applause] Thank you, Mr. Roll. Um, we do, you know, we take uh security here. Uh, it's a priority. We're always um looking at risk assessment. Um, Dr. Har, we already spoke about this because we know this is coming. What I'd like to do is get a community forum going. maybe talk a little bit about the um the genesis of our gardens and schools and have a presentation of uh you know the benefits of it and then what we'd like to do is a um a survey with the u teachers the uh the people in the community that have children here and you know get all that input. So we get this going. >> Yeah, it would be my pleasure. So >> yeah, I don't know exactly how we'll do it. We'll set up
038some roundts and some discussions and we'll figure out ways to garner everybody's insights and opinions and um we would we would have to put a timeline on it. We would have to come back with some information for the board of education late January early early February because we definitely have budget implications. >> We also did a presentation I think I believe was about a little over a year ago homeland security here that spoke about you know violence that's in the school district. So, you know, we'll move forward this up to date on this. >> Caroline, >> good evening. My name is Carolyn Southernland. I still president, three small children. My daughter is our first grade at Wing. And I kind of just wanted to feedback off of what Courtney mentioned and kind of just acknowledge
039that we know that, you know, meal a major factor in school violence. Um, as a health care professional myself who's worked in the field my entire adult life and more importantly as someone who's cared for a family member with a lifelong mental health condition, I deeply understand the need to invest in prevention, treatment, and long-term support. I know firsthand the inadequacy of access to mental health care and am committed to working with the district and our community to improve access to mental health services for our children. At the same time, mental health reform takes decades to fully implement and to show results. So, while we pursue those important long-term solutions, um we're just asking to take practical steps now to reduce the immediate risk to our students and staff. Um so, we've again started this
040petition to ask the board to strongly consider utilizing trained vetted and supervised armed security personnel in the school. um specifically law enforcement and military professionals. As she mentioned, um the purpose of the position of the position for these security guards is narrowly focused to detect and stop an intruder or an active threat and to fight critical time for first responders. And again, as she said, if we protect our money, our professional athletes, and our politicians, it seems to make the most sense to protect our children as they are our future. again to be repetitive. What we'll do is we'll have these forums where everyone can get all the information that's necessary um so that everyone's well informed uh on the features and benefits and yeah go from there. Okay, thank you for your question. Next
041is uh Evie Regaki. stage, right? So, she's wondering if they're going to be more. So, have the chance to use and learn. >> Uh the answer is yes. We have um actually furniture stations on order and so I think we're >> 16 uh we're going to have 16 total stations um just so that you don't walk away feeling misled. It will not happen overnight. The materials are backorded and then once they arrive um we do have a hurdle we have to clear we we have to clear the space out for probably about a month. So we have a challenge of figuring out uh where can we put the students so we can keep instruction going and keep getting them toward their license. Um but there's an expression that says uh you can't make an omelet
042without breaking some eggs. So, it'll be messy for a little while and then it will it will be a really good space after that. And furthermore, in support of this program, um we have plans to include an entirely new cosmetology space in the future. Do you have a timeline or >> um >> she's a senior so she's wondering if it's going to be like soon or down like >> Yeah, Evie, I I would be misleading you if I told you it would be it'll be perfect for your senior year, but it it will be what do you think? >> I don't have an exact timeline yet because you know work in schools is difficult. there's there's so much um constraints and red tape and back orders and and sed approval and things like that. Um
043the short answer is yes and the the long answer is unfortunately your senior year will be a little bit you'll have to um kind of make work with what we have now but it will be better in the future. >> Thank you for your question. card is Sam first and foremost would like to thank the board visiting all the parents and community members always a chance to speak and ask questions and make statements if necessary. I'm happy to see that there is such a turn out for the armed security petition that we'd like to see happen within our district. However, today my topic of concern falls into another category that needs to attention. Illegal residency within the ISO school district has become topic of conversation between many of our taxpaying community members and parents. This
044is a situation that unfortunately is experienced in almost every public school district. In I had asked a question how much it was per student for a general education which was 19,000 per year versus a special education which was 52,000. I have also come to understand there is a separate financial category for students that need ENL services. Parents have deeply expressed their concern as they feel the situation has become more differential. I've had community members talk to me in confidence about how students obtain transportation services at the bus stops but do not live in their neighborhood. They know of a relative or of a family member, a friend that is obtaining residence on their street and a child is dropped off and picked up daily. This is nothing new. This has happened for a very long
045time, but is now more than ever a constant reminder of the importance of residency checks. I'm fully aware of laws in place to protect children's educational needs within a district. if a family has become displaced and or homeless. But I believe we have to start asking ourselves how far that law is being stretched where it becomes excuse me where it crosses over to being blatantly abused and also being fully aware that there are parents and legal guardians that have never once resided within the school zone of ISO school district and are completely pulling the wool over our eyes. Today's technology allowed us to make our school districts almost completely digital. Parents Square and Infinite Campus has been a godsend for communicating many things in Snap. The downside of it, unfortunately, falls into a place where
046mail is not being sent out nearly as often as it used to be, preventing mail not being kicked back to the district on the regular, allowing you to investigate if that family is using that address and is not residing there at all. I have had countless stories that have been told to me that are in fact factual about children that are that are attending an ISIL school that have never once resided in our beloved township. At the end of the day, a school district is still a business. There are employees and there are salaries. We are also forever grateful for anyone who volunteers their time in making our school district a better place, such as our board members and our wonderful PTA volunteers. But they too deserve the respect of their taxpaying money being used
047properly. Like any business in which an individual or a family is paying into is an investment. I for one can say I'm not too thrilled about the way my investment is being handled. If a staff member reports a student for not living within the bounds of ISIS school district to administration that should not be in any way brushed off. If a community member reports a family for not living here and is witnessing their children getting on and off the school bus, that should not be brushed off. I in no way am interested in dropping any names or dropping examples because I believe that would embarrass the administration for failing to act on complaints. I hold myself to that moral standard. It is theft of taxpayer funds and it is illegal. It also robs students of
048opportunities and then overwhelms a district that cannot financially keep up with the demand. In my in my hand, which I have printed, I hold a residency affidavit that was printed out from the school district's website before it was changed. All of the residency affidavit that were previously on the old website, I cannot seem to find on the new one. says, "I further understand if my child is found to not be a legitimate resident of the school district, I will be legally responsible and will be build for the school's district annual tuition rate per child retroactive to the first day of admission." If one student at 19,000 per year attended ISIL schools for seven years illegally, that cost the district $133,000 in tuition that should be paid back. If a special education student at 52,000 attended
049a school district for seven years, that's $364,000. 36400,000, yes, in tuition. That is per student. That is not for multiple students. This is just for one student. I think we all can admit that we know and unfortunately as much as we can investigate that there are students that are attending is schools that do not belong here. Even if it's just one, this money is way too much and that could be used for other services within the school district for legitimate children. So that is just my understanding of what's going on. I do believe, just a suggestion, that this needs to be mailed out to every single resident that has a child attending ISIP schools. We need to do residency checks. There needs to be legitimate paperwork. Like I said, we are so lucky to be
050living in a time where we have apps, we have Google Docs, we can get things done immediately. I was able to sign my children up there before school clubs this week with probably 30 seconds. But unfortunately, that's not the case with residency checks. They do need to be mailed out to every single resident that is just speaking on behalf of the board. We are proponents of script requirements. We want to see that we want students to be a vetted. Um I I would be naive in saying that someone isn't sneaking in that shouldn't be but it's a good point that you brought up. I did not know that the res but just being with Dr. O'Hara that is a new website. So that could be a website on that but >> well when Dr. Wellstein
051presented he had mentioned that he would be adding things after it was unveiled or woke up. So I will double check with that. tomorrow. >> It it's a hard topic to bring up because it's a topic that I have spoken about with many parents. Parents have come to me because I did bring up the topic in April um at a board meeting. It's it's an uncomfortable conversation because we don't ever want to point fingers. We don't ever want to recuse, but it is a reality. It's a reality like I said in almost every public school district. This is an amazing district. I love this district. I don't want to be taken advantage of. That's really where my passion on the topic comes from is just making sure that all of the children whose parents are
052living legitimately within the district are given opportunities. I would hate to see an opportunity given to another student that isn't legit. And again, I understand the homeless >> laws. I completely understand. I just sometimes unfortunately it's one of those topics like they take it a mile and I really really want to see the school district being taken advantage of um based on those costs. >> Yeah, I can tell you um um it's I'm a little disappointed to hear that people think that they um I think you said I'll brush it aside. I forget what term you use, but >> um >> and again I don't I really don't want to drop names and drop examples because I do respect those people's privacy. >> Yeah, I wouldn't ask you to, but um what I would ask
053is um if you have that relationship with those people, you can go back and ask him to call me personally. >> And I can tell you that um whether it's my office or Dr. Callahan's office or our people who do enrollment, >> we do not ignore any clue uh that somebody doesn't live here and and our um our MO is to exclude first and ask questions later. >> Uh your point about um parents square, I think is a really good one and I have to think about How do we do that? Um, I will tell you there was a district in Nassau County several years ago that that um tried to force everybody to reenroll and um they ran foul the New York State Attorney General. So, I don't know what the answer is, but
054we'll we'll think on that. Um, but I I can tell you that that we exclude we we don't um take the position of okay, you stay in school while they figure this out. >> Yeah. We take the position of your um your last day in school is Friday >> unless you come in and prove to us you live here and everybody who calls us we do the best we can to follow up. >> Yes. And I I also am very realistic that unfortunately it is also very easy to lie. It is very very easy to lie for for example and I am not using this in a negative way. I've lived here since 1989. I have gone K through 12 at Iceland and so has my husband. Our and the district were absolutely thrilled about
055that. But for example, when me and my husband first became engaged, we did obtain an apartment in Seville and we didn't before we bought our first home. And we didn't feel like changing our driver's license over to an apartment that we were really going to only obtain for 12 months. So, we can we had our driver's license. We still had our ISIL residence and all of our information, our mail, everything was still at our parents house for that one year while we were engaging and getting in the process of getting married. And I thought to myself today when I was writing this up, how easy it would have been to just simply if we had a child and didn't legally live here to register them within the school district. So those kinds of things are
056just >> we do require utility bills and and um affidavit and leases and things like that. It's not just a driver's license. And >> it is difficult sometimes to prove it though. >> And and that is true because you really can have a relative going, they don't pay rent or they just live here, they need cash. And that and that becomes a very odd gray area where it's very hard to tackle. And I understand that. Um I'm not completely blind. you know, reasons of why it's difficult. I'm really, really not. I just wanted to make a point to bring it up to the board and let you know that I am not the only one that is >> struggling with these thoughts and watching these things happen. >> May I share two more points with
057you? >> Yes. Um uh one thing that happens to us sometimes is we receive a phone call and somebody will tell us um oh these two students dropped off at this bus stop >> and uh every day there's a car that picks them up >> and um sometimes when we investigate that we do confirm that the child lives in the district but it's a child care issue babysitter picking up at that stop or they're going home with somebody. >> um and that we do that I'm not sure the public is aware of, but we use private investigators >> to sit on houses that are outside the district when we have some sort of a clue that somebody's being driven to the district from another place. >> And um in those cases, the law kind of
058requires us to have several to many days of evidence of this. >> It can't just be one day. >> That's right. And I understand because a lot of children as my own children um you know have grandparents that could be living locally that they are using childare for. So I totally understand that. Um unfortunately there are people out there that are just looking to get people in trouble for the sake of getting out of trouble. I am not one of those people. I just wanted to bring awareness to >> I can tell you you know echo what Denise said. This is an issue we agree. We agree 100%. You're not bumping up against somebody who has a different philosophy or something. Thank you. >> Okay. Thank you so much. [Applause] >> Yeah. I mean, Mr.
059Dened asked, "Is there an avenue? If you want to report something, call me directly and and we will work on it." And if you know people that are worried about calling, call with them. You know, you've been to my office, so bring them with you. You know, whatever you can do to help. Was there was there a phone number that was on Is that what you were gonna say? There was a phone number I I'm unfortunately not aware on our old website where that phone number was located. I did try to find it one evening. I wasn't very successful. You know, lost, you know, my train of thought on that. Um just a suggestion that should be in a really really obvious place. >> Yes. Um maybe just right up on the homeage requirements. >>
060Okay. Unfortunately, some of us, you know, might not know where to look for that. So, you know, maybe just having it on one of the main pages, you know, maybe a small banner on top or on bottom would just be a little bit more helpful for us on a visual level. Okay. Dr. Wanted to comment. >> Oh, sure. That's exactly what I wanted to add. So, uh the office of student support services handles all registration and enrollment and residency um reviews, inspections, and we work very closely with our investigators and then we will Dr. um we also have families that come in and speak to us directly when invite them in. Um and so that was I was going to ask if you have anything please you know bring them to our attention. The other
061thing is registration enrollment you will find on the new website. Um all those forms um under the office of student support services. >> Okay. So that's where you'll find all the information. >> Thank you so much. >> Thank you. >> Two more. Victoria Olson. Good evening everyone. On November 13th, we celebrate World Kindness Day. A day to remember that even small acts of kindness like a smile, a friendly word, or helping someone can make a huge difference. To honor this special day with the help of Dr. has created a special edition world t-shirt. The shirts are being sold at $15 and all profits will go directly to Isa lessons in a backpack supporting children in our school community who need a little extra help. The order will be available on parents square this Friday and
062it is going to be sent out to the entire school district. It is our hope to fill the halls with students, teachers, and staff wearing their United Kindness High School edition shirts with pride, showing our universal ability to exhibit kindness and goodwill towards others within our school. I would also like to take a moment to thank our board of education for supporting initiatives like this that bring our community together and help teach the importance of kindness every day. So on November 13th, please wear your your kindness t-shirt, share your smile, and fill our schools with pride and most of all, kindness. [Applause] >> Okay. And the last public comment card, this person is not in attendance as when we post our live meetings. If you wanted to send questions to the board of education, it
063would be read off and it's from Amy Sweeney and it's also in regards to a security school and a proponent for guns and so basically it's everything that said and Caroline said as well. So we'll reach out to her and And that is the last of our public comment cards. >> All right. Um Okay, folks. So, that um concludes our public questions. Now, this is one of my favorite parts of the board meeting when we move on to reports and our exio student. >> Thank you. >> Good evening. Over the last few weeks, the school year has been going great. Fall sports are in full swing and it's been great to see so many students supporting ISIL and playing the sports they love. I'd like to encourage parents to remind their children about the many
064opportunities available through school clubs. Clubs are a great way for students to meet new people, build leadership skills, explore new interests, and strengthen school spirit. Information about clubs was recently updated and can be found in the newly redesigned district website. This week is homecoming week in ISIL. Each grade at the high school is working on its own holiday themed float. Students should check Google Classroom for details. It's not too late for students to get involved in float building. Students from all schools can take part in the parade and enjoy sphere week activities. We're looking forward to Saturday's football game is a great way to bring the community together. Thank you. >> Thank you. That's going to bring us to our dates to remember school's going to be closed on October. to celebrate. I want to
065wish you a happy holiday. Um October 3rd is going to be the ISA Hall of Fame unveiling. October 4th, which will be the homecoming festivities. Again, the parade will start at 12:30. Carnival at 2 p.m. football game start at 2 p.m. Schools will be closed on October 13th for observance of Columbus Day. And our next board of ed meeting will be on October 14th. And those who haven't been to our board meetings, this board meeting will be at the Sherwood Elementary School. What we do is we take the board meetings on the road and each school will highlight something that they want to talk about tonight. Dr. Gonzalez high schools. So on October 14th, that's going to be 6 p.m. will be our executive session. 7:30 will be public. Again, that will be at the
066Sherwood Elementary School in the auditorium. And uh hopefully we'll see everyone at homecoming. Uh as the football is doing well. They have two and one. They will disable and uh let's make it three and one hopefully after Saturday. That's the score that we're seeing team much success on Saturday. They're working hard. Okay folks. Um that's going to wrap it up. Can I get a motion for >> second? Stay safe everyone. Thank you for attending. We'll see you at the next