001regular board of education meeting. This time I'd like everybody to please rise and the pledge of allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the stands one nation indivisible. Please be seated. Again, I just want to welcome everybody to our March regular board of education meeting. At this time, I'd like to turn the microphone over to Mr. Gman as we observe a moment of silence for Mr. Bob Simon. Robert Simon who was a an industrial arts teacher in Jericho for 30 years serving our our students from 1965 to 1995. He uh passed away this week and I would ask us all to spend a moment of silence in his memory. Thank you. I asked Chris if I could have the microphone as we begin our meeting this evening.
002Um and I wanted to take a few minutes. Um over the last eight weeks, 10 weeks. Uh I've received a an incredible amount of support and love in suggesting the renaming of the Kenyak Elementary School from people who've been part of this district in some cases for 25 years. teachers, administrators, board members, students, parents, grandparents, and literally I've received hundreds of letters of support. And I can't tell you how that has touched me as I complete my 30th year as the superintendent of the Jericho schools. my 47th year as a superintendent in the state of New York. So, the longest standing superintendent in Jericho and the longest standing superintendent in the history of the state of New York. I could not I could not be more proud of the 30 years that I've spent in
003the Jericho School District. And as all of you who know me, I call this home. This is my home. This is the place that I love 24/7 morning, noon, and night. The issue of naming Kia has brought what uh I would call some March Madness um which has upset me greatly because it's so atypical of who we are and what we believe in. People have um vilified people. They have threatened people and there has become a part of this honor that has really tainted this tremendous honor. So this evening, um, I respectfully request that our board of education please take off our agenda this evening the renaming of the Kiaak Elementary School and not have discussion regarding the renaming of the school. And I do that for my love of the school district and my
004belief that that is truly in the best interest of our school district and to also protect all of those who've stood up tall to support me over my 30 years and over the potential renaming of the Kenyak Elementary School. Thank you, [Music] [Applause] Mr. Gishman. Um, obviously the board of education will respect your wishes as a board president, as a community member, as as a parent of of children in this district, and and most importantly, as your friend. Um, you're an extraordinary man who has done an extraordinary job shephering what I would say is arguably the the most prolific um time in in the history of Jericho schools. I'm confident that most if not all of us are here for Jericho schools and uh the work that you've done, your level of commitment and your
005love for this district is unwavering and I thank you for that. Thank you. [Applause] I just want to say that you're a mench and the reason that you deserve this is because of what you just did. That's brilliant example. And with that, um, I I'm sure that in in some point in the notsodistant future, this district will do something to honor the commitment and service of Mr. Grisman and I personally would like to see that happen. So, we'll definitely keep that in mind. But with that, uh, we will respect Mr. Grisman's wishes. Uh, I would like to remove the discussion on the renaming as well as the resolution from tonight's agenda. Thank you. All right. At this point, um, I'd like to recognize Mrs. Helen Creekstein. [Applause] Good evening everyone. It is my absolute honor
006to celebrate Banna Buff Banna Buffa as she reaches this welldeserved milestone tonight in receiving tenure. From the moment she joined our school community, teaching in both the middle school and the high school, it was clear that she possesses a remarkable work ethic, leads with kindness, and goes above and beyond for her students. Brianna is a highly collaborative member of the math department, and each year she has been here, she has brought more and more to the table. She never seeks recognition for her outstanding work. In fact, I often hear her colleagues say, "Brianna created this and shared it with us." For her, it's never about who gets the credit. It's about lifting the entire department. She is the kind of teacher who never gives up on a student. No challenge is too great, no question
007too small. She meets each with patience, creativity, and a steadfast belief that every learner can succeed. Her classroom is a place where mistakes are seen as opportunities, curiosity is encouraged, and growth is inevitable. What truly sets Brianna apart is not just her skill in teaching math, but her spirit of collaboration. Whether she's sharing ideas with colleagues, contributing to department initiatives like building thinking classrooms, or embracing a new teaching assignment, she approaches every task with enthusiasm and genuine desire to make things better for everyone around her. She lifts those around her, making our entire school district stronger. Brianna, please just join me up here for a moment. Tonight, we celebrate all that she has accomplished. All that she has accomplished, but more exciting is the road ahead. Because if the past is any indication, the best
008is yet to come. Congratulations. [Applause] Not sure. All right, we're just about to get to the good part. Um, with that, um, I would ask for a motion on schedule JTA ID15060 teacher tenure appointment. Do I have a motion? Second. All in favor? So move. Congratulations. All right, moving right along uh into recommended actions. Number one, approval of minutes. Recommended motion be resolved that the board of education make any necessary corrections and move the approval of the minutes of the regular meeting dated February 11th, 2025. The budget workshop number three dated March 6th, 2025. in the budget review meeting dated March 13, 2025. Do I have a motion? Second, discussion. All in favor? Unanimous. Thank you. All right, we're going to move into uh reports and discussion. I'd like to start with the students first.
009We'd like to start with middle school student council Angel Sha. Welcome. Thank you. Good evening. My name is Angel. I'm an eighth grade student council representative. It's a pleasure to be here this evening. On Friday, February 28th, the middle school participated in an EST day. The students and staff participated in RP circles with an emphasis on the theme friendship. Restorative circles helps helps us to connect with each other and with our teachers as we talk about important topics. A big thank you to Miss Breland and congratulations for the huge turn on and outcorn of big goods on March 17th for our annual cupcake war. And a great job to all of our student leadership participants. This year's theme was worldly cupcakes. The seventh and eighth grade students will participate in the Long Island History Day
010this Sunday at Hawa University. A big thank you to Miss Kwell, our NHD coordinator, and our seventh and eighth grade social studies teachers. They are working around the clock for this exciting event. Good luck to our participants this weekend. Community service classes and student counselor are planning an environmental awareness week in honor of Mr. Khan's retirement. Students will be collecting recyclables in our building and will cash it in for envir environment donation. Yesterday, the Jericho Middle School mock trial teams competed in their annual competition at Suffk Community College. They had been busy working on their case for the past few months with Mrs. Delerra and Missar. They were ready to demonstrate their impressive legal skills. Congratulations to all. Thanks to our generous PTSA and arts and education program. We hosted author Gordon Corman on Friday,
011March 7th. Mr. Corman has written over 100 student children and young adult books and has sold over 30 million copies worldwide. Students were treated to special assembly where Mr. Pman spoke about his inspiration as a writer and we had a book signing after school where students could meet him up close. This afternoon our school play Jolly Roger and the Pirate Queen was held in the little theater. What a wonderful performance and we will be having a evening performance tomorrow evening. We hope you can join us. There is still time to purchase your child's journal on the Jericho Middle School website. Well, that's all for now. Have a great evening. [Applause] At this time, we'd like to turn it over to Caitlyn Choy and Rachel Lee for the high school student council. [Music] [Applause] Good evening
012everyone. I'm Rachel Lee, student council co-president, and I'm Caitlyn, the other co-president. and we're excited to be here tonight to share some of the amazing things that have been happening at our school this past month. And trust us, there's been a lot. So, let's dive right in before we get another email. And first up is battle of the classes. It was a fierce competition between the grades, but in the end, the Star Spangle seniors took home the win. Yeah, we did. Shout out to all the Yeah. Um, shout outs to all the classes for bringing the energy. We saw a display of school spirit and questionable athleticism from both the students and the teachers. But um yeah, the seniors succumbed the win once again. And speaking of awardworthy performances, our high school musical production was
013a huge success. From March 6th to 8th, our talented students took the stage and let's just say we're all breaking free into the stand standing ovations every night. And another highlight was diversity day on March 18th. The auditorium was packed for performances celebrating cultures from around the world. It was a beautiful reminder of what makes our school community so special. And of course, this week was also language week where students got to embrace different languages and cultures. And now, let's talk sports. Spring sports are officially here, which means it's time for athletes to get back on the fields, track, and courts. And speaking of firsts, Jericho now has its first ever flag football team. First home game is next Wednesday. And before we fully move into spring sports, let's take a moment to celebrate how
014winter sports wrapped up with a bang. Our boys swimming team absolutely dominated at states. Tristan Yang is now all state for diving. Matt S is all state for 100 breast. And our medley relay team is also all state. Oh, and no big deal. They also set three school records on March seven. And not to be outdone, track and field also crushed it at states too. Jacob Lee earned all state honors in the weight throw and Rachel Lee, she sounds cool, was also named all federation in the race walk on March 8th. And the excitement doesn't stop there. The unified basketball season tips off on April 1st. We can't wait to see our athletes back on the court. And let's not forget about our unified bowling team who finished their season by placing first in their
015division. They're truly running history. Absolute legends. I can't even bowl without bumper. And on April 3rd, we have the Hall of Fame ceremony at the Jericho Public Library featuring a performance by our Jericho tri musicians. Also with the help of Triumph Jericho who held piano last week on March 14th to 15th. Now for all the academic overachievers, the end of quarter 3 is coming up on April 4th. So if you're forgetting about those assignments, now's the time. And one more academic achievement. On March 28th, our students will be heading to Hoff will be heading to Hofra for the Long Island Bath Fair. They prepared research papers on mathematical topics of their choice. If you ever need proof of if you ever need proof that some people actually like math, here it is. To sum it
016up, school spirit is at an all-time high. Our athletes are breaking records. Our performers are shining on stage. And quarter 3 is almost over. Thank you for your time, and we can't wait to see you. But the next month, [Applause] at this time, I would like to turn it over to Mr. Matt Shaw, our student board representative. That's fine. Great. Hi everyone. Uh thank you so much. Thank you to the board for giving me the opportunity to present. Uh I am Matt Sharf, the high school student board of education representative. And today I'm going to be discussing school spirit at Jericho. Um particularly in the context of a survey that I sent out to high schoolers. Um, so just as a quick overview of what this survey was to cover, the sur this survey was
017designed to gauge how Jericho students feel about school spirit and culture at Jericho High School. The survey covers sentiment on overall school spirit, individual involvement, and and specific contributors to school spirit. The survey was sent out to all high school students via Canvas and we received a total of 244 responses, which is about 20% of uh the high school. The survey is entirely anonymous and all questions were optional and I provided a link there for the survey. Uh this will be able for the I'm sorry the data from the survey and this will be able to be accessed um I believe once we send out the slides in the board summary. All right so quickly um initially we to get an idea of the participants as you can see those are the grades. There's a
018bit of a discrepancy with a lot of 10th graders. Thank you to the health teacher Miss Schmidt for really promoting this form to the sophomores. Um, and additionally, I asked students if they whether or not they attended Jericho Middle School. So, really the objective of this question was to kind of um see if there was a discrepancy between those students um who have been here in Jericho for their entire lives and maybe those students who haven't or were more new to the district, if that's a bit of a discrepancy in how connected they feel. Um, it's also to gain a bit of an objective lens for students who maybe have interacted with other school districts in the past and to see um the comparison there. So, I'll be able to I'll touch on it a
019bit more as we go further in the presentation, but just overall, I really didn't see a significant difference between those students who attended Jericho Middle School and those who did not. So, that's a great sign that we're really doing um a lot of positive work to uh make sure that school spirit and a community connection is still um transmitted to those students who might not have been here uh as a middle schooler. All right. So the first section that I covered within the survey was an overall sense of spirit and culture. So um for the majority of the questions it has been scaled from one to four. One indicating strongly disagree and four indicating strongly agree. So the first statement was I believe overall that school spirit is high at Jericho High School JHS. So
020as you can see there is the majority of students who do agree or strongly agree that school spirit is high. However there is definitely still that proportion who may disagree. So it's an opportunity um to see that we're starting from a definitely a good point with the majority of students viewing it positively but there is definitely more work to be done. Um so the next question was I believe that overall school spirit has increased since I came to JHS and this is a similar proportion of students who agree with the statement showing that we have been doing a lot of work. We're really trying to increase the initiatives that we have year over year the events the opportunities and seeing that students have felt an increase is definitely very valuable. The next question was there
021are one or more clubs in JHS to which I feel like I truly belong. Um as you can see here there's also again um the majority of the students do agree or strongly agree with this statement and I think this is really great. We've been trying to implement um I know there were more clubs that have been proposed this year and then also something that I think is really a driving factor of this is the club fair. So, we've offered the club fair for the past few years um for particularly incoming freshmen during freshman orientation, but this year specifically, we included it during the school day um during a wellness day in fall. And I think it was a really great opportunities to for students to find more clubs, really see the opportunities we have
022out there in Jericho and it's it really shows that there is that great involvement. Additionally, the next question was pretty similar. Uh, I have one or more strong personal communities within JHS. And again, um, the majority of students do agree with this. This can be clubs, as mentioned before, athletic communities, cultural communities, grades. Um, so it's great to see that sense of belonging and how students feel like they're truly a member of at least a community. But of course, um, again, there is a minority who disagrees with that. So, it could be great to maybe expand and look for more students who might not be um, in these communities. So I then asked a short answer question of how do you feel the sense of school spirit and community at JHS could be improved or
023encouraged. So I received a variety of responses a lot of which talking about more events um and things of that nature. Um like I said the comprehensive list can be viewed afterwards um by taking a look at the Google sheets that I've linked. But just for a few that I uh highlighted some student one student said JHS could host more grade specific events. For example, there could be individual competitions amongst each grade, which allow most people to participate in school spirit events. Additionally, someone said, "I feel like school spirit and community can be improved through passing more clubs that are valuable and that make impact, and also by making merch or free." Merch is something I'll touch on later in the presentation as well. Um, and additionally, decrease the pressure to have students compete with
024each other so they can have fun and enjoy school. I know that's an overarching um overarching goal of Jericho High School administration, but maybe particularly in terms of events or school spirit events, this could be a great thing to look at to see if you know we have maybe more collaborative events of that nature. And the second segment of this survey was personal involvement. So I asked I attend school events, athletic events, concerts, musicals, competitions, etc. And this was from very rarely to regularly. So um the majority of students chose either regularly or very regularly here. Um but again there is a proportion of about 40% who have not. So maybe that could be um a bit more expanded through promotion and different opportunities. Um this this uh results were actually very interesting. The question
025was I I wear Jericho Jay-Hawk merchandise, athletic team merch, club mers, etc. Um the majority of students here actually indicated that they very rarely or rarely um wear Jericho Jay-Hawk merchandise. So this could be, you know, merchandise is really a great way for a great u vehicle for fundraising and marketing for particular clubs and Jericho as a whole. So maybe there could be um some things to look in there. I know the other students mentioned um the price point that could be an issue, maybe promotion, maybe making students more engaged in that process. Um but I think this is really an opportunity to um increase some school spirit through merchandise. Additionally, uh we asked question, school spirit, school social media accounts help me stay connected to the community and updated with events. And a large
026proportion do agree with this. This makes a lot of sense. We've really been trying to increase the amount of engagement in our Instagram accounts and creating a lot of reels, you know, involving students and interviews, involving teachers, making something they can talk about in the hallways, and it's great to see that that has uh paid off. And in a similar vein, I've been more likely to attend slash participate in events promoted through school social media accounts. Again, the majority of students agree with this. So, it's great to see that social media is having a positive effect, which makes a lot of sense in the modern environment. All right. And then for the final section of this survey, um I tried to take a look at particular contributors to school spirit. So, the question was to
027what extent do the following contribute positively to school spirit for you at JHS? And so, for each of these different activities, opportunities, of course, it's not a comprehensive list, but I tried to pick out a few. Students could indicate not at all, a small extent, moderate extent, or a large extent. Um and so looking at the data, these are the top six. Overall, it was very positive responses regarding the vast majority of these as in positive contributors to school spirit. But um in a in descending order from the most positive was battle the classes, wellness days, pep rally, homecoming, nest periods, and the Jericho High School Instagram that everyone here should be following. Um and so something really interesting about this is to me particularly is the placement of wellness days. You know, you might
028not think of that um initially as something that's fundamentally school spirit focused, especially at um in comparison to things like pep rally or homecoming, but it really shows that um students are really taking a lot of the emphasis that we're placing on mental health or wellness or decreased stress to heart and that's really has a positive effect um in terms of that mental health and those delegation of resources, but then um also in terms of school spirit and a sense of connection to the community. So I think that's um really emblematic of Jericho. Um and then something else worth of note here is the students who indicated that they did not attend JMS Jericho Middle School also indicated a significantly larger score for the wellness days which shows that those have been successful likely in
029facilitating those communities and making new students um feel even more welcome. So uh the final question or final multiple choice question I asked was to what extent have the following alternative spaces made you feel more comfortable in the JHS environment during free/aunch periods. So this was formatted very similarly to the previous question and again um there's very positive responses over across the board. Um as you can see here the library is something that sticks out um even over the senior lounge with TVs even during March Madness. Um, I think that's again very emblematic of Jericho High School, very indicative of the type of students that we have here. A great reminder for that, um, that students do still feel that kind of comfort and that sense of belonging even through the library. Um, and you
030know, having those resources, having those alternative spaces is incredibly positive for students. Um, something else to point out is the students who did not attend Jericho Middle School also, um, indicated a higher score for Cath 126. I've been showing that's another great vehicle of the facilitation of teamwork and different communities in general. So then finally I asked for um additional short response conference suggestions in terms of what new events, activities or offerings would you love to see at JHS. So we got a lot of actually great responses for this. A lot that I'm going to take back to uh from a student council perspective that I'd love to implement later in this year even next year. Uh, but some of the ones that I'd like to point out is someone said junior prom, dances, and
031more great field trips. Events like homecoming for the other sports seasons as well. Movie watch parties, live events, or and more often selling of school merch scheduled properly instead of random times. Um, all all school doubles bad or pickleball tournament would be really fun because everyone can play. And then this one's my favorite. I feel like a senior tailgate would be great. We can bring barbecues and lawn chairs and just hang out by the senior parking lot for the day. I am totally up for it. Love to see Mr. Herbert on the grill. Uh, that'd be great. All right, so thank you so much for looking at the data. Like I said, like I said earlier, if anyone wants to take a look at um the specifics themselves, I linked that spreadsheet that will be
032sent out. Um the averages will be displayed on separate sheets and then you can also see each individual responses which could be useful for the short responses. But then uh we also have prepared a video. Thank you so much to Caitlyn Choy and Rachel Lee, my co-presidents in helping edit and film this. So let's hear from the students directly. Thank you. [Applause] A solid six. I would say a seven. I would say like a 6.5. Yeah, I'll say 6.7. I would say like solid 7.6. I think we have some work to do it, but like you see the hallways decked out right now. Um I rate it a six. Some people do it but some people don't. Like teachers will do it at times. Um like the grade reps do it or other students don't
033do it cuz they think it's weird. But I don't think it's weird. I think it's great and we should all do it. Eight. How do you rate school spirit on a scale from 1 to 10? Like a one. Five. Cuz no one really cares. They don't really dress up. Um, four. Why? I don't know. I'm not very spirited. What do you rate school spirit? Eight. I'll say like seven. 10. And why? Uh, just feel like it. Seniors, I would give it like an eight. Freshman, juniors, sophomores, like three. I think school spirit is definitely brought by the seniors. Speaking from experience, like freshman, sophomore, junior year, I definitely did not was not the one to dress up for spirit week. And I think that's a trend here at Jericho. I'd say it's a 10 all
034the time. I like our school spirit here. I think it's like a six because it just gets annoying sometimes. There's too much school on a scale from 1 to 10. Zero. I think really it's just the same old thing every year. I think, you know, we need something to spice it up. I need school during high school. Let's get one more time. Um, 10 out of 10. That's great. What What makes it a 10? Why is that? A lot of the gameplay fun, but there's not a lot of people. Seven. A million. We are so spirited 24/7. We got music playing in the hallways. I mean, it's just amazing. I think it's a solid like 9.5. And it's a 10 cuz we're great, man. We're Jericho. Seven. There are definitely areas of improvement, but overall
035it's pretty strong. So, what are some of your favorite activities or clubs or communities within Jericho? I started doing science club. Yeah. This year, so that's been really fun. I got to say I love battle the classes, pep rally, all the clubs we have. Really like battle of the classes and pep rallies. Probably being on the sports teams. I would have to say the basketball team would be good. Yeah, I would definitely say like club sports like I'm in coro and that's like a huge like community for me. Wellness days are great. nest days nor nest periods. Those are five. Some places like Broom Cafe 126. It's an awesome place. People can connect. That's where we're at right now. There's games you can play. They have arcade games, hot chocolate. You know, thanks to Mr.
036Bletz connected. Um, another thing is the teachers are very very nice and so are the students. Everyone is, you know, very socialable and um it's really easy to talk to people. What would you change? Uh, it's more just like adding like just more like everyone wearing jack clothes. Uh what are some additional things that maybe you've seen at other schools that you would love to see in the Jericho community in order to promote that sense of school spirit and Jericho pride? Middle school we had these things called team days a team bonding experience where you get to do activities incorporating like many activities throughout the year um accompanying the one large battle of classes could be really fun. Uh I definitely have to say junior prom. I also say junior prom. It has to be
037a junior prom for me. Just some days every now and then where um all the students and teachers in the school kind of come together, play games together, you know, and just have fun. Our spirit days are a little lackluster. Um but other than that, maybe we could just like I don't know, be more spirited, encourage more um dressing up costumes and stuff. Maybe more like schoolwide events, like things that bring kids together. Maybe we could do like grade spirit weeks. Then okay, I think big hide and seek tag. [Music] [Applause] Thank you so much again. [Applause] First off, great job and excellent delivery as usual. Um, just want to commend you on your efforts. One of the things that came up a few times was was merch. Um, obviously, you know, from time to
038time those types of things are sold. Do you think it would make sense to establish like a a school store or even potentially put merchandise in in vending machines or some sort of kiosk where where kids would have more access to it? Yeah, that's honestly um so we could that's definitely something to look into. I was actually discussing that with Dr. friendly earlier when we were taking a look at that um the data there. But I think some sort of school score or just some sort of, you know, I guess an additional marketing through that so students are more aware of it and it's more, I guess, promoted on a daily school level could definitely be um a positive. But I think it also should be um because I I I don't think there's any
039shortage of merch, you know, in terms of offerings, I you know, clubs and athletics. So it might be um you know there definitely things to look into regarding just why students uh might not be wearing it as much or purchasing or maybe if they are purchasing or not wearing um but a school store could definitely be a good idea and I know that's been successful in a lot of other schools. Great job. Any other questions? All right. Thank you. [Applause] All right. At this time, we're going to continue with presentations on the Disney trip. I would like to invite We're going to since everybody's already want to say what a great job Max did. We got to show them our school spirit right now. Let's give him a round of applause. I want to thank
040the board of education and our superintendent for giving us this opportunity to speak about our big Disney trip this year from 2025. And we have special people from a very important community here, our art and music students. come on down and let them introduce themselves. But we also want you to see our beautiful Nikki trophies over there that we have on display for you to see tonight. [Applause] Hi, good. Hi, good evening members of the board of education. My name is Crystal Law and I'm here with Asha Wong, Christopher Zoo, and Samara Makiva. We want to say a big thank you for the opportunity to participate in the Disney Imagination Campus programs for both music and art. We all had such an incredible experience and are extremely grateful. Here are some of the memorable highlights.
041One of the most memorable parts of the Disney trip for me was the Avatar Flight of Passage ride at Animal Kingdom. Because the wait time for this ride is usually over an hour. We had to wake up at 5:00 a.m. to be the first ones at the park and we're escorted through um before the sun came up. The ride was like a Pandora simulation. We flew on bikes through the trees and it felt like we'reing flying alongside the Na'vi people who say Cico, which means rides rise to the challenge. After the ride, my friends and I could not stop talking about how magical and surreal the entire experience felt and how early and how the early wake up was totally worth it. We truly lucked out with timing and the breakfast was great, too. I
042agree. The breakfast was really good. But the most memorable part of the Disney trip for me was getting the chance to participate in the Disney Imagination Campus Coral Workshop for the second time. We were lucky enough to spend two hours with a Disney Animal Kingdom performer, learning about the qualities of performers, specifically Disney performers. This year we learned a Lion King medley of Can You Feel the Love Tonight and Circle of Life in Under Two Hours, which really demonstrated how quickly Disney performers need to learn music and express it. We were also fortunate enough to create our own sounds to go with the movie scenes both songs went with. We giggled, we splashed, we were birds chirping, but most importantly, a few of us got to test out our roars. At the end, we created
043a short video showcasing our own sound effects and vocals. This experience truly helps with our performance the next day. I agree. The workshop was really fun, but the most magical part of my experience was definitely watching the Epcot fireworks private dessert buffet. This was one of the few moments where everyone on the trip was together. So, I was able to be with all my friends from orchestra, band, chorus, and art at home once. I became closer with the underassman I knew. Um, from being president of Triumph, but I was also um sorry, I was also while also becoming closer to our music teachers. After our social hour with at least three bowls of ice cream in our stomachs, the fireworks began. Of course, the fireworks were amazing, but one line from the spoken part that
044really stuck with me and I actually wrote it down in my notes, not knowing that I would need it again reads, "How miraculous it is for us to live on this planet all at the same time." Which truly transformed my mindset, realizing that the best part about this trip and the greatest blessing in life is being with the people you love and care about. All right, maybe it was more than three bowls of ice cream, Chris, but as someone who's been on numerous school funded trips, from flying to LA for the International Science and Engineering Fair and traveling up to Albany to play jazz music for some Congress members, I can confidently say that this Disney trip has been the highlight of my high school career. I remember Fantasia, the final event of the trip.
045I remember sitting amongst a sea of my classmates under the Florida night sky and the collective breath we all took in as the first fireworks lit up the arena in a dazzling display. I remember thinking that this trip is something that every kid in the arts program should look forward to in their high school path. The amount of care and dedication put into making sure that every individual had an amazing experience is something that I deeply appreciate. Again, we just want to thank all of our teachers and chaperoons for making this trip so unforgettable, for caring for us uh and for caring for all of us. Performing on the Disney trip Disney stage was an honor knowing that we represented Jer High School with pride. Going to Disney World during our senior year was the
046gift that we'll treasure forever. And we'll pack up the magical memories up and take them with us wherever they go. Just not with the packing list and matching shirts. Speaking of traveling, from the luggage drop off to the bus ride back to Jericho with and all the days between. I felt very at peace traveling with my fellow peers and chaprons, which is extremely comforting and special. I usually only travel with family, but on this trip, we became each other's family by making new friends and taking good care of each other. This trip has truly brought me closer to everyone. I can't wait for next year. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts into the top of Expedition Everest. Hope you enjoy your Disney pins. [Applause] Okay, great job. Thank you very much. At this
047point, I'd like to turn it over to the council. Good evening, Mr. Richmond, board of members, central administration, faculty, staff, and community members. I'm hold and I am the president for the Jericho joint PTA council and it's my pleasure to be here tonight. On Monday, the joint PTA met with Dr. Daniel Smith, Jericho High School psychologist and club advisor for JMAC and project lead. Dr. Smith had a good discussion about speaking with our kids about tough topics. Her strategies regarding listening to our kids, being non-judgmental, and positing all resonated and pro provided excellent advice. Dr. Smith answered all of our questions from how to get our kids to open up to ways of being cognizant of our own feelings. She offered great resources to further our knowledge such as the Child Mind Institute. Thank you
048again to Dr. Smith and we appreciate all she does for our children and our school. All of our units have been very active this month. Kenyak had a very successful popcorn fundraiser using double good which gave back 50% of their profit and helped them raise over $850. A percentage of that will be going to Halie's Heart and American Heart Association. On April 10th, they will be having Holly Rock Entertainment for a game show night. Jackson Elementary is preparing for the multicultural night on March 28th. The event will be filled with food performances and a fashion show. On April 23rd, they have reserved Adventure Land for their families as a partial giveback and are excited for their beach party themed staff lunch on May 15th. Jeffrey Ratner and Robert Seaman held a bingo night last week
049for their fifth grade and celebrated park week. On Monday, they had Corey the Dribblers come to school. They were a huge hit. For their community service drive this month, they are working with Got Sneakers and are collecting cleats and used sneakers. If anyone wants to donate, there are bins outside of Jen Free Rat. The middle school ran a very successful Valentine's Day boutique sale to raise money for their Arthur visit last month. They have also been enjoying their new popcorn machine PTA bought for their many activities. The middle school and the high school PTSAs hosted an amazing faculty and staff appreciation lunch on Wednesday, March 12th with an Italian theme this year. They outdid themselves with an amazing grazing table, gelato mocktails, great food, and more. A special thank you to all the volunteers who
050helped make this day so special for our amazing staff. The high school began this month with their battle of the classes competition where the seniors came out on top. It was incredible to see all the school spirit once again in the high school. Last night, the juniors who want to drive next year were required to attend a mandatory driving meeting presented by the Nassau County District Attorney's Office. We want to thank everyone involved in our high school musical show this year. It was held in a big auditorium and did not disappoint. What talented students we have at Jericho. The senior committee has been busy fundraising for their senior party and are excited for their final bait sale on May 1st to celebrate commitment day. SEPTA is excited to announce they are awarding nine teacher grants
051this year at the April boarded meeting and are preparing for their soldout robotics night at the end of March. In April, they will be having a movie night showing out of my mind. All abilities month is taking place in April as well. Incept will be collecting change. Thank you so much and have a good night. All right, with that, I would like to turn the table over to Mr. Gishman with his superintendence report. Thank you, Chris. Uh, our enrollment as of March the 14th was 3,321 students. Uh, again, uh, I love hearing of all the the student recognitions, uh, that are highlighted by our middle school and high school student council reports. Uh again, as we work toward the spring, uh there are more and more recognitions of the uh incredible accomplishments of our middle
052school and high school students. Um again, just uh fills us up with pride seeing all that our students are involved in and all the accolades that they receive. Uh one of the things that I do want to point out is as many of you know, this is the first year that we moved our musical to the auditorium. Um and it was an incredible success. Uh I came to uh my wife and I came on Saturday night to see the be musical uh and walked into the auditorium and was amazed that literally the auditorium was full. Um in the past we would fill the little theater with 200 or 250 uh parents there walked into the auditorium and there must have been 800 or 850 people in the auditorium on Saturday night. The kids did an
053absolutely incredible job and it was so wonderful to see us using our stage and our our lighting equipment, our sound equipment, and uh again so proud of our of our students. Um to our middle school and high school uh PTAs for once again putting on an incredible uh incredible lunchon. Um it was breakfast, lunch, and dinner for many of us and really appreciate uh all of the hard work and all the good food that you shared. Uh the last thing that I actually want to share with the board as well as with our community, um I know that you're aware that um we're very active in the legislative work that takes place in Albany. Uh I was in Albany two weeks ago um and we meet with u unofficially with many representatives both from the
054legislature and the governor's office. uh the good news that I want to relay to you tonight and again I I believe that it's not official at this point um but I think we've been uh given uh some clues uh the entire regulations regarding the EV implementation EV buses uh for school districts again we've seen some semblance of that can getting kicked down the road um we are now told um that it is getting kicked way down the road we we will not see any significant regulations probably probably and uh again I guess I will off the record say potentially for six eight or 10 years uh the understanding of the financial impact uh on school districts not only for the cost of the bus but the cost of the infrastructure uh the re the realization
055that the the costs at this point even with the increased funding that that's out there um that it totally is unrealistic given the increases the significant increases that school districts are dealing with in terms of their transportation costs, their insurance costs, uh their retirement their retirement cost increases. So that is good news that I share with the board and and share with Victor as well and with our community. Thank you. Hi, I just had a question regarding the enrollment report. Um it shows a 24 uh decrease over budget estimate. Approximately how much do does each pupil cost us with general education? Approximately Victor approximate cost per kid 40 in Jergo. Yeah. Yeah. 30. So 40,000. So 38 40. So that's like around $950,000 that that we're under budget because we have less enrollment. Yeah. Oh
056no. So can you explain it? We don't budget per kid. We well well but classes and our enrollment has actually increased by 10% over the last 10 years overall. Um but every year we look at uh sections at the elementary level and sixth grade which is easy. You take the number of students you divide it by 23 and you come up with the number of sections. And um at the secondary level uh at the high school especially uh we have to wait for the scheduling. We just had some meetings uh this week uh looking at some of the um cost new courses that were offered and the participation and we've been making decisions uh based on that. Okay. But regardless you guys are budgeting for x amount of students per year and then and then
057you obviously the enrollment report each each month you're looking on how many students we have. So 100% yeah for the for the following year to look at the number of FTEEs will potentially be and we budget for contingencies because um you don't know what happens during the summer. Most districts in the area uh enrollment has fallen over the last 10 years and I think that's been a topic of debate at the state level that districts are receiving more aid than they did and their enrollment has uh decreased over the last 10 years. We're in the opposite situation. Thank you. All right. At this point, we're going to move into opportunity for the public to be heard. Please note, if you would like to make a comment or ask a question, please tell us your name
058and affiliation. If you are representing a specific group, if you would like the statement to be included in our board minutes, you must hand in a written copy of your remarks to our district clerk, Victor Manuel, immediately before speaking. As always, public discussion on matters relating to staff and students in which their reputation, privacy, or right to due process or those of others could in some way be violated is prohibited. Before we get into the opportunity for public to be heard, uh I do expect uh that we have a number of uh emails related to the renaming of Kiaak School. Uh since that is no longer on the agenda, uh Steve, what's the best way to go about that? Obviously, they will be reflected in the board minutes. I I don't personally see a compelling
059reason to read all of them. That's board's discretion. That's is it our I mean, if we're taking comments and people have sent them in, don't we have to take everybody's comment? You're taking them. It's whether you're reading them out of the folder. That's just documenting them in You would obviously document this. This letter came in from person A about subject Y. Okay. You're telling us legally that in the minutes in the minutes it would go that way as well. It's not you're not you're not ignoring it. The letters did come in reflect and are they available for reading? Sure. If they want to be inspected they're there. But they they're inspected on our website or they just inspected in person. Get copies of anything that comes to the board gets copies of No. No. I
060understand that. But I'm saying it's reflected in the minutes once it's once it goes to Mr. Emanuel. No, no, but when you see reflected, it says statement from so and so. It doesn't say what the statement says. We can make copies of it. How many How many emails do you have? Only a couple. Well, there are a few, but a question a question would come up. Um, not everyone had a specific dean as far as uh being a resident of the district. They were somewhat anonymous. Well, I don't think we should be reading anonymous letters, but I I do think there's different as I said, I don't did they come into they didn't come into DOE questions or comments or is very yeah I think there were a few I think we can make them
061if they're related to the renaming I think we can make them available for review um unless we want to have every one of them read no as long as we're we're on the right side of the law with that I I have no issue with that if you could just get copies of those to the board and you will I believe there the ones for tonight Yes, I have one follow up on based on an email that I received that I'll touch upon before the uh we go to the the budget resolution, but that's BOE questions, but is there another email address? Anything any of those either the emails to BOE or BOE questions you have a copy of that and will be documented in the minutes? Yes. There was one that we received that
062was not sent to BOE. Um, there was one that I'm not sure it looks like a a hard copy letter that I'm not sure if it went. That's also not You did get that. The board does have this one. Um, this one went. This one went to the board. This one said, "Dear Board of Education members. Well, these are going to be reflected in the minutes because they were submitted to you. So, that that's fine. Do we Why don't we start with the communications that are unrelated to the the school reading? Sure. Do you want to do you want the public to speak first? Usually, we do that at the end. We can do that. That's fine. So, I still would like clarity on ones that maybe just had a first name and didn't didn't
063like provide an address. I would not read those in at this meeting. and and if they're not identifying themselves, I I I don't think it's it's something that should be submitted even with administr that's that's our policies. You have to identify yourself. Oh, I know. But under but I go to Mr. Good said under open meeting law, you you don't technically have to identify yourself is my understanding guidance and it's again it's when it comes to public office when it comes to open meetings law um regarding those type of things, it's really dictated as to how you want to how you want to drive it. Obviously, you can't cut off communication opportunity to be heard, but if you want to have specific rules, for example, you have to give your name. That is that would
064be permissible as long as you're consistent. The reason I ask is because a couple of years ago there was a letter that was read that the name did not want to be provided and the board um had uh told us to actually delete a piece of the uh video clip from the YouTube and to remove it from the minutes. So I I just want clarity as far as I think we have to talk about that a little more. Yeah, by by no means are we trying to suppress anything. Just in the interest of of, you know, moving this meeting along and and not spending in order amount of time reading letters in support or in in opposition to something that that's not happening tonight. No, I I agree. I just want to be consistent like
065when we put in the minutes. Okay. Thank you. Fair enough. That that being said, uh individuals who'd like to come up and speak, please do some of those. Good evening. How are you? Hi, my name is Rob Misella. I'm the vice president of the Glen Head Glennwood Landing Greenbell Civic Association. Um, some of the members asked me to come here just to see if this board was aware of the New York Trans Propel New York cable uh projects. We We are okay. More than you'd ever know. Okay. So, I won't get into what it is then. Um, I just wanted to uh let you know that the article 7 proceeding uh has been accepted to move forward. Um, there is an April 2nd deadline um if you want to become a party to the case
066and be uh eligible to receive introven funding. Um, so I just wanted to also let you know that the Northshore Central School District and the Rosman School District have uh joined in as parties to that case and I'm going to give you their applications. That's great. Wonderful. And maybe we can share that with our council to review and make a recommendation whether we should be joining in that case as well. I will pass that off to Carrie Antondo from my office directly. So I just want you to know because I I do know one of the cable lines will be coming right through right through you guys. Uh so it is this is like a year ago project 10 foot deep trenches cables this thick. Um it would be extremely disruptive to uh commuting, getting
067to and from school um the buses and it it will just create all sorts of potential uh major logist logistical issues. Thank you. Appreciate you taking it. Thank you so much. I'm really kind of you to come down here and kind of inform us and and invite us to be part of this. I did write the name on one of the things. There's a website called no best world no best.org. It has information about All the contact information, instructions are all part of that. Um, it's the uh the case number is there. So, if you just go um online and just type in DPS case and put the number in, it'll take you right to the uh the site where you could uh go in and and file an application. Those were two examples of
068what the two school districts and and the good news is that Smith represents both districts and so so we will share that with our attention. Thank you. All right. Have a great night. Anybody else like to speak? Okay. No, we're just seeing if anybody else would anybody else like to come up and speak. Okay. Thank you, Mr. May. Um, the board did receive this one. Uh, emails, letters, and verbal statements have been submitted to the board of ed at past meetings. At the February 11th, 2025 meeting, it was mentioned that Jericho voiced a website publishing articles from a group of parents opposed the change as reported in the SASIA Jericho Tribune on February 20th, 2025. But who are these parents and do they live in our district? Why do they attend meetings in person or
069submit written statements with their names and school affiliations? Why is a district allowing anonymous individuals who hide behind a group name to influence decisions affecting our schools? For years, Jericho school district members have identified themselves and stated their affiliations when speaking at meetings or submitting written statements. These individuals demonstrate transparency, courage, and commitment to our schools by standing up publicly at board of ed meetings. They voice their opinions, express concerns, and ask questions, actions, and deserve respect and recognition. However, in the past four to five years, various individuals and groups using different names have sent letters, emails, and petitions, written articles to local newspapers or contacted news outlets. These groups have spread false information, vilified community members, attacked our board, PTA, and other community members who follow the district's policies for public statements at board
070of ed meetings. These groups and individuals refuse to abide by the same standards, choosing an admittity to avoid transparency and accountability. speaking at board of ed meetings or submitting a signed statement reflects character, honesty, integrity, and respect of fellow school district members. The district verifies student residency every few years to ensure eligibility for a Jericho education. If verification is required for students, why shouldn't the same standard apply to those who submit statements, petitions, or other correspondents to the board of education? When the board of ed seeks public input, it should come only from verified Jericho residents/taxpayers, current to former community members, alumni, current students, and those who work in our schools. The policy discussed and voted on at board of ed meetings directly impact students, teachers, administrative staff, faculty, and taxpaying families. I urge the
071board of ed to board of education to implement the following policy immediately. One, petitions, emails, letters, public comments at meetings, and any other correspondents to the board of education should be limited to Jericho taxpayers, current or former community members, alumni, current students, and district employees. Only input from verified individuals should be considered. Two, individuals who refuse to provide their full name or verify their affiliation with the district should not be allowed to have submitted statements read at Jericho board of ed meetings speak at board of ed meetings and all anonymous correspondents, emails, letters, and petitions should not be acknowledged by the board of education. Allowing anonymous unverified groups or individuals to have their opinions considered by the board of education undermines undermines transparency and is disrespectful to the taxpayers, residents, and students of this district.
072The board of education has consistently encouraged community engagement. That right is reserved for the verified residents of the district. Those who have a genuine stake in shaping the present and future of the Jericho school district. Sign Gina leave me. That's all I have. I mean you're going to not are you going to respond to that or I wasn't going to respond. No, I was just going to let the the Oh, I I just think there Well, I think there's two parts of that that are just incorrect. one, I don't believe, as we were just talking about, we've allowed anonymous um statements to be made to be made. And so I think to say that we did that in the past two months is is a false claim. I'm not familiar with any anonymous statements that
073we read into the record or that we read from at any meeting. You just said there's names, but just the first name that you haven't verified or know who they Well, that that's a separate issue that that that's you you you I thought the email said if I remember when I read the email it said that that the board was reading anonymous emails which has never to the best of my knowledge has not been done in the last two months. I think at the last meeting Dr. Feresto made a reference to a website but in no way shape or form did he read any emails from them. So so that was the first thing and and the second thing and and again I defer to Mr. good stat as our legal expert. My understanding of
074open meetings law is that um as as Mrs. Levy knows as as a former board member, we operate under New York state law. New York state law um has an open meetings law uh provision and under that open meetings law provision if you allow people to speak you must allow equal opportunity for all people to speak and that includes unfortunately in most cases non-residents but that it legally would be extremely hard if not impossible for the district to say we are going to take comments but if you don't live here um you can't speak. So that there's there's contradictory language between the committee over government as and the commissioner of education. So the committee open government which has no authority which is not interpret laws. They don't make laws. They don't rule decisions. They don't
075make decisions and they don't have any authority. They say what you just said. You allow one, you allow all. The commissioner of education has opinion commissioner's decisions. The alternative that says you are a school district. If you are running a school board meeting and you have the ability to limit it to people who are residing or taxpayers who you represent in your district and you can restrict speaking to just those groups of people because but we've never done but but tonight was a perfect example. We got some very important information from from this gentleman who based on his affiliation I'm assuming is not a resident of the Jericho school district. So again I'm not saying I'm not saying I'm all I'm saying is what the law is. And so there is a lot of school
076districts that have had that have policies that do restrict to certain groups um for actually this board considered and then rejected a couple of years ago a policy that would have done that. Um that was that was discussed. I believe Mr. Czech made a comment in public about the draconianness of what that policy would have looked like. But there are some districts that open it up to civic groups. that are some it is not just as it's not just as you live here you can speak how it works but if we let this gentleman speak and I'm very happy that he spoke because he gave us information we did not have we now obligated oursel to allowing someone who wants to speak who doesn't live in the district to get up now and speak because
077we've allowed this gentleman to speak well you don't have a policy that does it that says anything I think we need to explore this a little further and I think there's a couple of facets to So, first off, you know, I don't think the board wants to suppress anybody's speech. We've never done that. We also need to be careful that we're actually getting our business done. And there's there's plenty of groups and individuals that may have agendas, you know, that that may live 600 miles from here. They're going to come here and potentially hijack a Jericho school board meeting and we will not be able to get our business done. So, we don't want that either. The other facet to this is is how do we sort through input whether it's from the community or
078from people who are potentially outsiders and how much do we weigh those opinions based upon their connection to the district. I think, you know, we need to, you know, potentially figure out a way to make sure people feel like they're being heard, but at the same time, if we're making big decisions that affect the district in significant ways, I I know I'll speak for myself, I do think that that should be really limited to to those who are taxpayers, you know, members of the or you live within the the confines of the Jericho school district or have some strong connection to Jericho schools, whether it's, you know, a teacher, administrator, uh, you know, an alumnist who may have moved from the area. But again, you know, we need to be able to to really get
079to the the important feedback and kind of separate out the noise because, you know, on big issues. My concern is is what we're hearing from from district residents and not so much from outsiders. Granted, the gentleman who came here tonight to talk about Propel and the fact that, you know, we're potentially going to be trenching large electrical cables right up 107 that's going to be extremely disruptive to, you know, potentially our operations. That's that's really important information and I'm glad you came and we all thank you for doing so. So, I think we we have to find that balance and that's something that we need to work on. Because that was mine. If I could just say something for exactly that information, could we just possibly when you think and look at this when it
080pertains to us that someone like yourself, you're right, and you let them know why you want to come and speak because they are informing us that has an impact on the taxpayer dollars and I do agree with with what you had said. It is wonderful to come in and speak, but see the point and what we've been talking about are these bigger names, things that are anonymous. People don't know really who know they are. I think we need to be really careful. Just last month or the month before, I remember we had people that don't live here and we allowed them to come speak. So, we have to be very careful. No, we we we don't want to be, you know, so either we do it or we don't. We don't want to be hypocrites.
081I mean, we have to have some sort of, you know, you shouldn't speak unless you're invited. You want to speak when you say the price of me don't even if it means we stay here an extra hour or two. something. Well, we're discussing a problem that doesn't exist right now. If it exists, I agree. We'll have to deal with it. But according to Mr. Goodstead, it's it's a very unclear um legal arena. I don't think we need to go down, but just to be safe, we've not read anonymous emails at this board, right? So, I think that's the most important. It is. You're 100% correct. And I guess that leads me to just a question. Random email comes to board of ed questions. It's signed Ralph, no last name, no address, and it said they
082write under each ter resident, but we have no way. I've responded and asked me, please provide your last name. But those are ones that I wouldn't necessarily read because right, but I when emails like those come through, I I you know, they're sending an email to board of education or they're sending an email to, you know, in some instances, you know, an individ individual board member or or Chris Veresto. I will not un infrequently respond. You know, would you please provide your last name so I know I'm I don't remember the last time I ever saw an email come in with with an address, you know, proving that they're Jericho resident and we don't require that. So very often by signing Jennifer, you don't know Jennifer even if I say you there's thousands of but
083at least we have some sense again I don't think we're going to solve this and I don't think there's inherent problem. I think making it more narrow. It just causes us more. I'm not advocating we do that, but it's it's a conversation. It obviously, you know, the genesis of it was was Gina's letter. Thank you. Can I um you drafted a policy for us either last year or earlier in the year about um if you want to speak at a meeting, some of it was to send an email in first. So maybe we could re we could recirculate that policy and just look at it and see if it's something that you know we could live with or something that could work or if something we could use as starting point. We we discussed that
084and I think it was pretty unilaterally or or unanimously rejected as being completely um over the top from the standpoint of being exactly contrary to what people love to talk about the Jericho way of of allowing people to speak and and have the ability to contribute. Like I said, we do have instances. We probably had two or three instances in the last few years where there are people who, you know, a lot of people show up and maybe people who don't necessarily live right within this district. It, as Mr. Czech said, it's difficult. It's just the price that we have to pay. If one meeting a year, we end up listening to 20 extra minutes of emails or 30 minutes of of speeches. Um, I think it's more important. I to your point, Sam, I
085don't disagree. I I think you also need to draw a line in the sand with respect to disruptors and you know nationally some of these schoolboard meetings have turned into circuses where you have you know disruptive individuals who serve no legitimate purpose who are bringing nothing to a meeting that are just looking to turn it upside down on its head. So, thank God that's not happening. But, you know, if that was to occur, you know, that that would potentially Yeah. Then we'd have to look at it a little bit. Victor, Victor, do you read all the emails that come in? Do you read them at the board meeting? Sorry. Can we read the question? Do you read all the emails that come in? If they if an email comes to us and they specifically say,
086"Please read this." I Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. That's Yeah, that's I'll read that. If they don't ask that, I'm sorry. If they don't ask to No, no. If it there could be emails that just go, right? We receive emails every day personal about people's respond to the ones that need a response, but again, not everything. For the people at home, just so you didn't hear that, if you have an email that you want to be read and you send it to the board, you must put on there, please read this publicly at the meeting. If you just send the email, it will not be read publicly, though the board will receive it and of course read it. Yep. I mean, Jericho, I have to say, is unique with the reading of the emails. I don't
087I go to many board meetings. This is the only district that actually reads emails out loud. Most districts just say we receive correspondence from person A about subject Y and they are available on the website for people for people to want to read. So, if you want to, we don't make them available on the website. We have to read. We don't have to make them available. You just make it. It's documents are foiled. Thank you. It hasn't been a problem. Yeah. Okay. Can we move on? Excellent. Thank you. Uh we'll move into new business. Number one, state environmental quality review act SECA. This is related to our capital improvement program type two determination. I'm not going to read the uh the entirety of this. It is available in the agenda packet. Uh but suffice it
088to say the resolution essentially is that the board of education declares itself lead agency in connection with requirements of state ed state environmental quality review act further resolve the board of education after review of the proposed action hereby declares that the projects are type two actions which require no further review under set. Do I have a motion? Second discussion. All in favor unanimously carried. Thank you. Number two, um recommended motion be it resolved that the board of education hereby authorizes the following proposition be included on the ballot at its annual meeting on May 20th, 2025 as follows. Proposition number two. Shall the board of education be authorized to expend a sum not to exceed 6,111,869 from the capital reserve fund established on May 17, 2022 for the purpose of completing capital improvements to districtwide roof
089repairs replacement. Districtwide window replacement, structural repairs at William Williams Elementary School, district-wide ceiling and lighting upgrades, gymnasium floor replacement at Kyok, districtwide cham and masonry reconstruction, districtwide asphalt and paving upgrades, districtwide security upgrades, districtwide exterior door upgrades, all of the above to include all labor, materials, equipment, apparatus, and incidental costs associated there with a motion. Second, Jill. discussion. All in favor on time and on budget, Mr. Manuel, please. Thank you. Excellent. Um, next recommended motion be it resolve that the board of education adopt the attached notice of annual meeting and election of board members for the Jericho 3 school district board of education and for the Jericho public library trustees. Do I have a motion? Second, Jill discussion. All in favor? Carry. Thank you. Before we get to the adoption of budget for 2025 2026
090school year, uh we did have a follow-up question from the most recent uh budget review meeting regarding uh student licensing of u software specifically Microsoft suite as well as a Bosey's expense breakdown. I did reach out to Mr. Manuel and Dr. Fogerty earlier today. I know Dr. Fogy that's a lot of information that was requested on short notice but maybe you could just speak to something uh with respect or Victor who wants to go first. Sure. The um I I'll start with the Google Workspace and the Microsoft Can we confirm the licenses high school students actually hold? Um the response is they have a Google Workspace and Microsoft A5 license. The district cannot save cost on a product that doesn't pay for. We do not pay for the students um for the the Microsoft A5
091license that comes with um the program. The A5 licenses are included free when you buy staff licenses. We have prepared a student tech uh tech guide like the one we put out last year but with more detail. It is currently being reviewed by fellow administrators who are recommending changes for um for release next week. Uh as far as the expense breakdown, I know we had a pretty um lengthy discussion a couple of weeks ago and as far as the Boseies costs associated with the technology department, there two I think there were two pieces to the question. One was the expense side, one was the revenue side, right? Um so I'm just going to go through a list of items that are included um on the expense side. uh P schoolool, uh DPSS, NASTEC, -ate, the
092Microsoft consortium, uh printer, toner, um our data inter uh internet and voice which goes through bow tie is included in that class link, near pod, canvas, um method test prep, electronic databases, um for the library, discovery education for the library, optimum, ISP, zoom, uh flet, scholastic Um, Google Chrome licensing, CISCloud, ND, NWA, uh, Microsoft, Azure Commit, Soundtrack, Quaver, Ed, Chat to Schools, Parent Square, uh, Turn It In, Explore Learning, Advance, Advanced Engineering Services, and uh, also our hardware is purchased through there, whether it's uh, Chromebooks, laptops, uh, desktops, etc. uh on on the flip side on the revenue side I mentioned during the budget presentation that state BOS's aid is received the year following the expenditure so um obviously we don't know what the aid is going to be next year for what we spend
093this year so I I took a look back at last year's so for uh technology in total um we spent one this is the 2324 school year we spent $1,516,756 6 of which 187,823 is um is not an aidable expense leaving an aidable expenditure net of 1,328,932. Our aid ratio in that category is 53.5%. And our net aid that we're receiving this year for last year's expenditures is $710,979 which represents 40 47% net aid on the total cost. Sure. Yeah, please. Sorry. Um on it should it should I think it is on. Okay. So regarding the um breakdown, you named parent square, powers school, canvas, I think a few other software things, but I remember in the budget, I think those were separate line items and and I forgot the total number, but the Bosey's
094line item seems to have like a lumped up amount. Is there a way to the total amount was 1,500? Yeah, but I I don't think like parent square was on that. I think that was a separate line item because that was that was like 20,000 or something. It was an actual figure for that whereas the 1.4 or whatever that number is seems to bundle all these other things. My question is no the the parent fair was part of the impulse. We we get it through both. No, I I understand but I I if I recall correctly and I don't know if Dr. Fogert can confirm I thought it was those softwares were separate because there was an actual price associated with those whereas with the Boseis expense it was just the lump sum item with
095a bunch of stuff that we don't see. No, I think it was the opposite. Okay. The numbers that were listed correct if I'm wrong Patrick in the slide were Boseies. The ones that didn't have a figure were not through Boseies and I negotiated prices and we didn't want to. Yeah. Thank you. Okay. Last question on the A5 thing. So, thank you. The students have two emails correct. Yeah. Okay. Do teachers communicate with the A5 email where the A5 lic. Okay. So, how do I guess like the question is it see and I get it's like a technology gap, but how are they going to utilize the A5 license which really is more powerful and prepares them for life in the workplace versus Google if the teachers aren't giving them stuff in that email is the
096is the expectation that they're pivoting from Google assignments over to Microsoft Office suite. Thank you. That's it. I appreciate it. Thank you. Thank you. All right. Um I appreciate the the clarification, Mr. Thank you, Dr. Uh we'll move back to uh number four, which is a big one tonight. Adoption of the budget for the 2025 2026 school year. Left my reading glasses at home, so I just move this back a little bit. Recommended motion be resolved that the board of education adopt the proposed budget of 143 million 970,018 for the 202526 school year and be it further resolved that the voting machines appropriately reflect that amount. Do we have a motion? Jen second Joe discussion. Quick. Does the money we get for federal aid come through the US Department of Education or does it come
097through some other mechanism? So the federal funds that we receive is not part of the general fund. So it's not part of the adopted budget because we receive those separately. So that would include the biggest grant that we get um is the IDA funds which is for uh special needs students. Uh so that's the largest grant that we receive and then we receive smaller grants in the uh title one area. Um and we also receive federal funding for school lunch. But does that all get funneled through the department of education for allocations? The federal grants and so for example the UPK is is also separate but that's not federal that's state. Right. No, I'm just understanding if the Department of Education put those away next year where I mean I assume they're going to provide
098money from somewhere, but it sounds like our our federal grant money comes through the Department of Education. It does. Um it Yes, it does. It funnels through the New York State Education Board, right? It's under federal programs that are run by the Department of Education. Thank you. and neighborhood. Thank you. Thank you. Big weight off your shoulders. Great job with the budget. Such an attentive and skilled business official. I I know how much work you put into this. night and day. Uh, and it's it's a huge task and and your budget presentations were were phenomenal. So, thank you. I don't do it alone. There's a lot of No, there's a lot of people and your entire office, but it that's goes without saying, but uh you know the buck stops with you. So, great job
099and thank you to everybody that works with all moving along. Jericho Public Library budget 202526 recommended motion be resolved that the board of education authorized the 2025 20226 Jericho Public Library proposed budget in the amount of 5,885,993 and the amount to be raised by taxes for the 202526 to be $5,592,54 as approved by the board of trustees on March 10th 2025 and be further resolved that the voting machines appropriately reflect these amounts. Have a motion. Second, Divia discussion. Can I just add the word um library before board of trustees? Is it just by the Jericho public library board of trustees? Yes, we did not do that. Um okay, with that modification, all in favor? Unanimously carry. Thank you. All right. The intermunicipal agreements. Yeah, I'd like to bundle these. Uh the 2025.6 intermunicipal agreement with
100the Franklin Square Union Free School District, the Harris Union Free School District and the Fort Washington Free School District. Be it resolved board of education approved the attachment 2025 2026 the municipal agreement to offer maintenance and repair services in the Jericho transportation facility to the above name districts motion second chill discussion all in favor carried thank you acceptance of donation recommended motion be resolved that the board of education accept the donation of a popcorn and Hoporn for the middle school PTSA who respectively request said donation be used at after school events to provide snacks to the students. Do I have a motion? Second, any discussion other than a very big thank you. [Applause] Sure the kids are going to love it. All in favor? Jill, unanimously carried. Thank you again for the generosity. Very kind.
101Acceptance of donation. Recommended motion be resolved that the board of education accept donation of $3,500 from the middle school PTSA who respectfully requests said funds be used for the Boseis arts and education program at Jericho Middle School toward the author visit with Gordon Orman. Do I have a motion? Okay. Second, Joe. discussion other than a very big thank you yet again. Thank you. [Applause] I don't imagine anybody's going to thank you again. All right. All in favor? Unanimously carried. Sam, would you like to thank Thank you again. your your generosity goes a long way and and the kids absolutely benefit from this. So we truly appreciate that. All right. Acceptance of first reading policy number 5684 extreme heat condition days be a resolved the board of education accept the first reading of the following policy.
102Extreme heat condition days. We have a motion. Motion second. Chill discussion. Thank god we have air conditioning. A little typo the first line. Okay. Um, the board of education is committed to maintaining a safe and healthy environment for the students, comma, staff, and other occupants. Right now, there's a period. Do we have a question? Sure. It says less than 82 degrees in one spot and then less than 88 in another. Can you just explain why not the same? It's the state it's the state requirements. There's two different there's two different levels. You have to start the planning when it's when it's going to be above 82 degrees inside the building or outside building if inside the building. Again, this is something that you guys will never have to worry about because you have air conditioning.
103It's mandating this policy in effect. But there's two different levels. That's why. All right. Thank you for the clarification. What temperature do does our air conditioning keep buildings at during the summer or dur during the uh hot months of the school year? I have them set degrees with a 68 68% humidity. That's why to encourage our dress. Thank you. All right. All in favor on the extreme heat. All right. Unanimous carry. Thank you. 13. We're going to skip. The board has not decided on on nominees for Bosey's board of education. We table. We can table that. Yes. We have a motion to table that second. All right. It's fine. Discussion. All in favor? All right. So, thank you. Uh, federal single audit report June 30th, 2024. Recommend a motion that the board of education acknowledges
104then. Do we know the deadline for sure? but able to worry about recommended motion that the board of education acknowledges receipt of the federal single audit report of school districts external auditor Colin Dowski LLP for the year ending June 30th 2024 do we have a motion secondia discussion does this get done every year or this is the bannual thing they do every year the federal funds audit is um the due date is 6 months later than the regular general number. Thank you. All in favor carried. Thank you. All right. All right, we're going to move into approval of schedules. Schedules A15040 to [Music] U50 85 U376. So it's 15 A15040 through U 376. Which number is that? It is E29. There I found it. Okay. Um All right. For a separate vote. So A15040 through
105U376 with the exception of E15095 which is the first student 2025 2030 RF. Okay. And then we'll do that separately. Do I have a motion on the above with the exception of the first student? Secondia [Music] discussionable first. I just want is that something? Yes, we do. I thought it's the same. Oh, formerly it's Yeah, it's the same. It was taken over. Is that a joke? Yep. J. Uh, yeah. I'm just looking 1584, which is schedule consulting services. I'm sorry. Uh, 15084 schedule Oh, tuition. Tuition consulting services. I regarding um I was just kind of looking at some of these for just as an example question. We have um Eileen Solomon E for one student term 2425 neurosych eval $6,000 neurosych and autism assessment $7,000. So is this just what this person is charging for
106that one student I'm sorry so there was a question with respect to some of the uh a neurosych eval $6,000 IE for one student. Yeah. So that's the maximum that we would pay if parent requests an independent education. That's the maximum. Yeah. But isn't there a standard price usually? I mean, so they fluctuate that the neuroscychologists have been raising the prices. So that's 100% but I've never heard of su it's excessive unfortunately. That's the going rate. That's the going rate. How long is that assessment take? I imagine it's variable, but typically two or three days. Two or three days. Okay. No, I I know it's excessive. I just heard that expensive and the neuroscychologist also reviews it with the parent. So, no. And is a report generated? Obviously, no. So, have we looked to find
107just less expensive people? We can't pick that that on an IE parent choice, right? But can't we say we're, you know, we're maxing out at 4,000 or $5,000. So, we raised it actually on the special ed plan for the for the two years that we just did. It had previously been4,500, but yeah, it's just not covering enough. It wasn't covering. These are very very expensive. Okay, that's okay. Thank you. Thank you. Anything else on the uh the schedule with the exception of first student? All in favor? Okay, unanimously carried on the schedule. Now, we're going to jump to the first student. That's going to be E15095, E2927, First Student, 2025, 2030 RFP. For those who aren't aware, uh, First Student is the contractor that provides bus service for our students. Uh, and that that contract
108is uh is up for renewal. Do we have a motion on this? Motion second. Deio discussion. All right. Anything else? This is a big one. Victor, you want to give a little synopsis of it. So, first student has been our transportation contractor for I believe over 30 years. Um, the last few years they wanted to put us out to bid. As I explained, surrounding districts were being put out to bid um over the last five years at 20 to 30% uh increases in one shot. Um we did an RFP and our goal was to try to smooth it out without busting the budget in any singular year. Um we recognized that we were below market uh compared to other districts as far as price was concerned. Um, and I think I've been discussing it with
109with the board publicly for the last year or so that um, we're we're coming to an RFP and we need to um, move forward and it's going to be expensive. That was one of the bigger challenges I was concerned about at the beginning of the school year. Um, at at the end of the day, we were able to smooth it out to a little over 8% per year for each of the five years. um 8.2 8.5 8.3 somewhere in that area for each of the five years. And again, the goal was to not get hit with uh 30% in one year, which would have been very difficult to overcome. Um as far as service, the service has been um phenomenal. um especially postcoid when we're hearing other districts had uh significant driver shortages and uh
110we read articles day after day with um uh busing not being available um for s significant amounts of time. We were fortunate uh again our long-term relationship with the contractor uh where we you know we definitely had some bumps in the road, no pun intended, but um you know for the for the most part Uh weathered very well uh during that and at this point we're fully staffed and things are running um pretty smoothly, very smoothly I might add and thanks to Castelle for his leadership um this year. Um he's done an absolutely fantastic job. Uh it's definitely not an easy job there especially when you get into September October. Um and uh a lot of the issues, a lot of the buses are first student and he's the uh first person that uh speaks
111with them and make sure um if the bus is late it, you know, it doesn't happen on consistent basis and we fix it right away and we provide uh smooth transportation. Um you know, at the end of the day, it's expensive, but it's uh the best option I felt um for the way forward for the district. Um we budgeted a an appropriate amount for for next year and we'll see similar increases for the next uh four years uh until we get to year five. But again, it was the best way to do it without affecting a singular budget in any one particular year. And uh Victor, I'll say thank you again to to you and everybody in your office for getting this done. Obviously, Castell and your staff and the transportation department. Uh this is
112a a big ticket item in our budget. Uh but it is without question extremely important and and most importantly I know I speak for the board when we want to make sure that our kids have safe and reliable transportation and that's exactly what's provided for this contract. So thank you again. Thank you. Okay. All right. Are there any contingencies in here? Like if let's say the price of gasoline went up a dollar. We're responsible for gasoline. also exp. So we would be responsible for fluctuations in the gas price. Um it's it's not a white contract, so we're paying for gas and currently it's like that as well, right? Um so yeah, we'd be responsible for that. Um, you know, again, I I'm confident that the service we're currently receiving, uh, again, we have a 30-year,
113um, uh, relationship the district has with with this contractor, and I'm confident we'll continue to have some transportation services for the students. And I think what's also important to note is Victor says, we have a 30-year relationship. We have a 30-year relationship with the same regional manager, the same regional manager we have dealt with for 30 years. Um, has been our consistent go-to person who has bent over backwards to ensure uh that you still gets the support that he needs. Um, and again, he's been a a good friend to us literally for 30 years. Yeah. Is he retiring or No, he's he's staying. He's going to do 40. have a bus named after him as well. [Applause] Can we uh just bring this up for vote on the transportation first? All in favor? All right,
114that's unanimously carried. At this time, I'd like to make a motion the board go into executive session to discuss the appointment of a particular person motion. Yeah. No, I I was going to close with that. We we we will return to to close out the meeting, but we will not be redoing a regular publication. All in favor of going to executive session. All right. Thank you everybody. Have a good good night. Stay home. Thank you. Oh no.