[2:54] I pledge to the flag of the United

[2:57] States of America to the standyice

[3:06] for

[3:12] Good evening and welcome to the

[3:14] September 15th meeting of the board of

[3:16] education. I'd like to welcome everyone

[3:18] back to the 2026 2027 school year. I

[3:22] know our students have been hard at work

[3:23] these past few weeks and I want to thank

[3:25] Dr. V, the cabinet, and all the admin

[3:28] for all their work this summer behind

[3:30] the scenes. We're all looking forward to

[3:33] hearing the opening of school updates.

[3:35] Um and with that I will start with

[3:39] agenda item 41

[3:42] um amendment to the superintendence

[3:44] agreement for 20 26 2027 school year.

[3:48] Can I have a motion?

[3:52] I just have to read it. Christine,

[3:58] » be it resolved that Be it resolved that

[4:00] the board of education with the

[4:01] recommendation of the superintendent

[4:03] hereby approves the motion to I'm sorry.

[4:09] Be it resolved that the board of

[4:10] education hereby approves the amendment

[4:12] to the superintendent's contract as

[4:14] attached.

[4:15] Do I have a second?

[4:17] Uh Lori. Okay. All in favor?

[4:20] Okay. Thank you.

[4:23] Okay. And uh Dr. V, I'll turn it over to

[4:26] you for your superintendent report.

[4:27] >> Wonderful. Thank you very much. Good

[4:29] evening everyone. Um so I'm going to

[4:31] give a superintendent report that is

[4:33] very much specific to uh the start of

[4:35] our school year and again to uh follow

[4:37] your sentiments. Uh Jackie, uh

[4:39] congratulations to all of our students

[4:41] who have started another academic year.

[4:43] We're so happy to have you back. Um

[4:45] thank you to all of our administrators

[4:46] and our faculty and staff for welcoming

[4:48] our students with such open arms. Um,

[4:50] and thank you to all of our families who I know have had many routine changes

[4:54] this year. Um, and many differences in

[4:57] how we are getting to and from school

[4:59] and I appreciate the continued feedback

[5:01] um to our transport transportation

[5:04] department and uh to my office as well.

[5:06] So, I just wanted to bring up a few

[5:08] things that have been recurring just so

[5:09] that you know uh our eyes are on it. We

[5:12] continue to work with our EPD as well as

[5:14] with our town. Uh, one of the first

[5:16] things is that we are still actively

[5:18] recruiting for crossing guards. Um and

[5:20] so uh the application link was sent out

[5:22] in my message um on Friday. I know that

[5:25] the EPD is also um trying to recruit

[5:27] heavily as well. Um but if you have

[5:29] community members, if you have people

[5:31] who are interested, um it's a couple of

[5:32] hours in the morning, couple hours in

[5:34] the afternoon, and we are looking for

[5:36] those crossing guards. Um that being

[5:38] said, we do have crossing guards who are

[5:40] stationed over at Anne Hutch and over at

[5:41] Webster and Wilmont in the Greenville

[5:43] area, and they will continue to be

[5:45] there. Um and we are thankful for their

[5:48] support. Um there are a few

[5:50] intersections that I've also heard a lot

[5:52] about that I just wanted to bring out.

[5:54] So one is uh we'll start with Waverly

[5:57] Hall and Maine coming up from the south

[6:00] um does get congested in the morning and

[6:01] we do have our eyes on that. Um we are

[6:04] actually looking to uh go out to RFP for

[6:06] now a small traffic study in the Waverly

[6:09] area just to help with some of the

[6:10] congestion there. Uh when that RFP is

[6:12] ready uh to go, we will be reviewing

[6:14] everything and making sure that the

[6:16] consultants know exactly what it is that

[6:18] we're looking for in terms of

[6:19] recommendations to help us alleviate

[6:21] that area. On a plus side, however, we

[6:24] opened up the Bellow Avenue entrance on

[6:26] the north uh coming section of Waverly

[6:28] and it has been working really, really

[6:30] well. Um, not only does it uh kind of

[6:33] alleviate the pressure that goes down

[6:34] into Hall, which used to be the

[6:36] entrance, it really does move faster,

[6:38] kind of like a a drive-thru where five

[6:42] cars go right up and kids are taken

[6:44] right out of the cars and then they

[6:45] swoop right out into a hall and then uh

[6:47] parents can get on with their day. So,

[6:49] the Bellow Avenue has been working well.

[6:51] Uh just a friendly reminder and I know

[6:53] that uh Miss Mandeli and Miss Oliva are

[6:55] sitting in the audience tonight as well

[6:56] that if you are coming for early drop

[6:58] off at Waverly to go right to that main

[7:00] entrance where the pergola is. Um it

[7:02] opens as early as 8:20 a.m. and if you

[7:04] pull right up into the circle it also

[7:06] helps alleviate that main avenue uh

[7:08] entrance. Uh but Waverly has been um

[7:11] getting faster each day and so that is a

[7:14] real bonus. uh Greenville, it is working

[7:17] like a welloiled machine over there with

[7:19] our back entrance and with the new

[7:21] striping with the drop off and the loop.

[7:23] Uh we are definitely get definitely

[7:24] getting more cars going in and out and

[7:26] straight down Rino has working well with

[7:29] our our families who are dropping off

[7:30] via car. Um and the new sidewalks that

[7:33] have been laid by our facilities

[7:34] department, which you'll see some images

[7:35] of later on this evening, have been a

[7:37] great um just pathway for our students

[7:39] as they're coming up from Rino Drive up

[7:41] to the uh blacktop. And I believe our

[7:44] facilities department is looking to put

[7:45] another little sidewalk in on the maple

[7:47] side of things so that um families don't

[7:50] have to go all the way up to Rishino

[7:51] when they're walking up the Maple Road.

[7:54] Um for Greenville, we did hear a little

[7:56] bit of um concern around just how

[7:58] Greenville buses were finishing out on

[8:00] that tier and then getting to Waverly a

[8:02] little late. So at this point, I want to

[8:04] thank Miss Si and Miss Nikai uh for

[8:06] working with the bus transportation to

[8:09] now get the bus students out first.

[8:11] they're alleviating and they're clearing

[8:12] out um pretty quickly. And then our

[8:14] walker second so that those buses can

[8:16] hit the road and get into their way

[8:17] relief um tier of runs right away.

[8:20] Middle school and high school uh before

[8:22] I get to an Hutch. Fascinating, but it

[8:26] worked really smoothly right from day

[8:27] one. So um I just want to commend middle

[8:29] school and high school for not only

[8:31] having the loop in the back moving as

[8:33] quickly as possible and as safely as

[8:35] possible, but also in the high sorry in

[8:37] the front of the high school. We had

[8:39] that gate open coming up Stewart and

[8:41] that flow of traffic just going two ways

[8:43] really is making a difference. Um there

[8:46] were a couple questions around why we

[8:47] don't open that gate at dismissal time

[8:49] at the high school. And the reason for

[8:51] that is it does get a little narrowed

[8:52] down towards the end um beyond the gate

[8:55] at the end of the day because the we

[8:58] start to get cars parking on both sides

[8:59] and by the time we have to clear those

[9:01] buses to go down if we have parent cars

[9:03] that are waiting in queue to get the um

[9:06] get through the gate uh buses can't

[9:08] clear. The good thing about high school

[9:10] dismissal at the end of the day is that

[9:11] it's a little different than the start

[9:13] of the day when all the students arrive.

[9:15] At the end of the day, a good majority

[9:16] of our students go off to athletics,

[9:18] they go off to clubs, they go off to

[9:20] walk with friends home, and so there are

[9:22] much fewer students um who are actually

[9:24] departing all at the same time. And so

[9:26] the car traffic is um a little less than

[9:29] the morning. Uh speaking with Mr. Welsh

[9:31] and his administrative team, those cars

[9:32] are clearing out of there at the end of

[9:34] the day pretty quickly. Um and then it's

[9:36] a quiet campus uh once students are

[9:38] gone. Um and Annne Hutch, uh Joyce has

[9:41] been working very smoothly. We are

[9:42] thankful for the SRO who is stationed

[9:44] there. Uh we're also thankful to I'll

[9:46] give Nature's Cradle a little shout out.

[9:48] Uh they've been trying their best not to

[9:50] park their cars on Joyce Road when we

[9:52] are uh at the start of the day and the

[9:54] end of the day. I know it's not perfect

[9:55] yet. Um but we are thankful that our

[9:58] community partners are working with us

[9:59] and then that front loop continues to be

[10:01] successful for not only our buses um but

[10:04] also for our parent drop off. So um thus

[10:07] far we have gotten a little faster each

[10:09] day. We've gotten a little um safer and

[10:12] smoother. And I want to thank again our

[10:14] SRO, our personnel who have been out

[10:16] there in their bright colored vests. And

[10:18] again, we are actively recruiting for

[10:19] those crossing guards. So, please do um

[10:24] recommend anybody that you might think

[10:26] would be interested. Um on the outside

[10:29] we have uh Brook and Maple and Erot I

[10:32] believe are the street uh where we have

[10:34] a push button that is on order but

[10:36] there's a supply supply chain back order

[10:38] and so as soon as EPD and the town

[10:40] receive that button I do believe they're

[10:42] going to be fixing that up. Um, we also

[10:44] know that there is a uh request for a

[10:46] full-time crossing guard at that place.

[10:48] And again, as we continue to actively

[10:50] recruit with the EPD, we will make sure

[10:52] that that is one of our top priorities

[10:53] to get that person there. Um, but thus

[10:55] far, we have EPD who has been driving

[10:57] through andor stationing there for a

[10:59] portion of time during an arrival and

[11:01] dismissal as best they can. Um we do

[11:03] have a uh stationed uh police officer at

[11:08] Wilmont and 22 uh which is one of the

[11:11] busiest intersections as the students

[11:13] come up. We have the crossing guard at

[11:15] Webster and Wilmont. They pressure the

[11:16] students up to the uh traffic officer

[11:18] and then the traffic officer makes sure

[11:20] that they can get over to Maple. So um

[11:23] that has been working well. We also now

[11:25] have a no right-hand turn out of the

[11:27] Lord and Taylor driveway. Um that's also

[11:29] helpful at the beginning at the end of

[11:31] school hours uh just to clear the way on

[11:34] those roads. Um we also have some

[11:37] conversation around that mill road right

[11:39] by the Barata restaurant um and Fiser

[11:41] Avenue. Uh we are keeping an eye there.

[11:44] Uh I think the word is there are islands

[11:46] and push buttons there and so that um is

[11:49] a little bit different from some of the

[11:50] other intersections. Um but as we engage

[11:52] our traffic consultants that is also one

[11:54] area that we have our eyes set. So when

[11:56] that RFP is put together, um it will be

[11:58] interesting to see uh what some of those

[12:00] recommendations might be.

[12:03] There's been a little bit of feedback

[12:04] around the um out of school uh offschool

[12:09] district and private school uh buses

[12:11] that uh are vendored through our beep

[12:13] consortium which is the Bronxville

[12:15] Eastchester Pelum Tahoe consortium. That

[12:17] means those buses service not only our

[12:19] school district but the other districts

[12:21] as well. Um we are having some

[12:23] consolidated stops as are Bronxville and

[12:26] Takahoo. Um and I believe Pelum is doing

[12:28] something as well on their own. Pelum

[12:30] has a much larger number of students who

[12:32] are going off to those um private and

[12:34] off-d district school sites. Um but we

[12:37] are continuing to work with our SW

[12:38] Boseis vendors so that we could try to

[12:40] iron out some of the uh concerns that

[12:43] we've been hearing. We don't

[12:45] particularly manage this uh thing by

[12:47] ourselves. it is done through SW Boseies

[12:49] and the consortium allows us to uh find

[12:52] some savings with consolidated spots. Um

[12:55] so again we'll keep working on that but

[12:57] we do have uh the concerns coming in and

[13:00] we are addressing them. Um

[13:04] and then my last uh piece for the uh

[13:07] update for me is that we do have some

[13:09] upcoming financial presentations in the

[13:11] month of October. uh we will have our uh

[13:14] bond legal council and our fiscal

[13:16] adviserss who take care of our bond

[13:18] experience come present as well as our

[13:20] auditors uh in on October I think 13th

[13:23] is the date. Um so I know there were

[13:25] some questions around that. So that will

[13:26] be happening as well. Um and then

[13:29] related but now I'll throw it over to

[13:31] Dr. Meyer. Uh right at school our after

[13:34] and our before child care uh providers

[13:37] have had a little growth as well.

[13:40] >> Yes. So we have over 370 students

[13:44] participating in the before and after

[13:46] school care through right at school. Uh

[13:48] we work very closely with them in terms

[13:51] of uh communication

[13:54] uh consistency stability. Uh so we're

[13:57] excited to be able to offer that.

[13:58] There's no one no family no student on a

[14:01] wait list which was really important to

[14:03] us. and we're working with uh individual

[14:06] families if there are issues uh um that

[14:09] need additional support and uh I think

[14:12] that has helped in many ways the

[14:14] transition to um some of the new times

[14:16] and and transition with the

[14:18] transportation.

[14:29] » Yes, we can go into student information.

[14:32] Oh, okay. Great. Yep. Um, all right. So,

[14:34] then I'll turn it over to Dr. Meyer

[14:36] again. Uh, he's going to introduce some

[14:38] very special students this evening.

[14:44] » Thank you so much. So, uh, I get the

[14:46] opportunity not only to in a few minutes

[14:49] introduce some of our building leaders

[14:51] and administrators who are going to talk

[14:53] about the opening of the 26 27th school

[14:55] year, but also acknowledge some

[14:57] accomplishments we've had both right at

[15:00] the end of last year, but also in the

[15:02] last couple weeks from our students. So,

[15:05] I'm going to first invite up Miss Libu

[15:08] and Mr. Carol to introduce uh one of our

[15:12] middle school students who at the end of

[15:13] June won a very prestigious award which

[15:16] was honored last Thursday.

[15:20] >> Thank you Meer. Good evening everyone.

[15:22] Um Mr. Car and I are very proud to this

[15:25] evening welcome and we'll call her up

[15:27] right now. Uh Deafany Anise Akinsky.

[15:30] Come on up.

[15:32] [applause]

[15:37] » [applause]

[15:38] >> Daffany shared that last spring. Come

[15:40] here. Thank you.

[15:42] >> Uh last spring her mom was looking for a

[15:45] way of her to for her to submit her

[15:47] writing outside of school, which is

[15:49] always very wonderful and a beautiful

[15:51] thing to see our students flourish

[15:53] outside of the school building. We know

[15:54] they do amazingly well. We see their

[15:57] growth in their writing and their

[15:58] speaking and their math and in all the

[15:59] content areas within the building. And

[16:01] for us to see them uh win nominations

[16:05] and um really expose the work outside of

[16:08] the school is really a beautiful thing

[16:09] and something we're very proud of. In

[16:11] this case, Deafany, who is currently in

[16:13] eighth grade, won um was the winner in

[16:16] the Writer Express youth environmental

[16:18] creative writing contest and her poem

[16:20] which um she submitted was um nominated

[16:25] for this uh award. I want to

[16:26] congratulate her once again at the

[16:28] Hudson Valley Writer Center. Writing

[16:30] center, [applause]

[16:36] » what it was about. Do you want to tell

[16:38] us a little bit what your poem was

[16:39] about?

[16:40] >> Um,

[16:42] so the poem was about climate change and

[16:44] like the issues about climate change.

[16:46] Um, I wanted to write it because I care

[16:48] a lot about that topic and I think it

[16:50] should be um cared about more because I

[16:53] don't think we're caring about our

[16:54] climate, like our earth enough. So,

[16:57] that's why I wrote the poem and I'm very

[16:59] um happy that I did because I hope it

[17:01] like um engages readers.

[17:06] >> Thank you, Z. Thank you for representing

[17:08] EMS so well. [applause]

[17:13] We'll get a photo. Congratulations,

[17:28] Dafany. That's amazing. And also great

[17:30] example of uh inter interdisciplinary

[17:33] uh lens and work. So well done. We're

[17:36] excited uh to see your award and uh

[17:39] chance to honor it tonight. A second

[17:41] group of students and and they come from

[17:43] the high school uh took a test probably

[17:46] many of you have heard of and also taken

[17:48] yourself and this is a an exam we offer

[17:51] uh for um our students at the high

[17:54] school which also uh puts them in a

[17:57] position to get one of the most

[17:58] distinguished honors. So I will have Mr.

[18:02] Welsh, Dr. Gillson,

[18:04] Miss Glenn Meyer come forward to uh

[18:07] honor these three students.

[18:14] Uh, thanks Bill. So, it's my pleasure

[18:16] tonight to introduce three outstanding

[18:19] EHS students. Uh, Lucas Strauss, Govern,

[18:22] Constantinos Magnusales, and Join Zo.

[18:27] Come on up, guys. [applause]

[18:36] So, as Dr. Meer just alluded to, uh,

[18:39] these wonderful students were recently

[18:41] named semi- finalists in the 2027

[18:44] National Merit Scholarship Program. Um,

[18:47] the prestigious recognition begins with

[18:49] exceptional performance on the PSAT, but

[18:52] it represents much more than success on

[18:54] a single test. It reflects years of hard

[18:57] work, academic commitment, and

[18:59] dedication to learning. Fewer than 1% of

[19:02] US high school seniors earn semi-final

[19:05] status each year. Lucas, Constantinos,

[19:08] and Joan now have the opportunity to

[19:10] advance to finalist status and compete

[19:12] for National Merit Scholarships later

[19:14] this year. We are incredibly proud of

[19:16] all three and congratulate them on this

[19:18] well-deserved recognition. So, can we

[19:20] have a round of applause?

[19:22] [applause]

[19:28] » Great job. I think we're going to get a

[19:29] photo right here.

[19:50] » [applause]

[19:54] » Thank you. So, now we get to go to the

[19:57] start of the school year. And uh the

[19:59] start of the school year brings a lot of

[20:01] excitement um from new teachers to new

[20:03] classes to new friendships. Uh but

[20:06] before we get into those those moments

[20:08] and all the uh different opportunities

[20:10] our students have had, I do want to take

[20:13] a second to acknowledge the heroic

[20:15] effort that our administrators put in

[20:18] over the summer to make many of the

[20:21] adjustments and shifts that Dr. V

[20:23] alluded to uh and mentioned uh in her

[20:26] opening um uh presentation,

[20:29] superintendent report. And uh you know,

[20:32] each summer as an administrator, you're

[20:35] used to putting in the time and building

[20:37] those classes, building the schedules,

[20:39] hiring new teachers, uh just making sure

[20:42] all those little pieces are in place.

[20:45] But not usually you're not expecting to

[20:48] basically transform the arrival and

[20:51] departure of your students from the

[20:52] buildings. But these administrators took

[20:56] this challenge on uh without question.

[20:59] You could see them wandering the

[21:01] streets, looking at the the parking

[21:03] lots, uh reshuffling spots for their

[21:07] teachers and thinking about every

[21:09] possible way of really maximizing

[21:13] and making safe that whole process. And

[21:16] kudos to them for what they were able to

[21:18] accomplish. Um I think all of us have

[21:21] been pleasantly surprised. It's not

[21:22] without challenges there. It's not

[21:24] without some bumps, but overall uh we

[21:27] really appreciate all the work that

[21:28] they've put in, which was above and

[21:30] beyond their job. So, thank you. And

[21:34] that leads us to our schools. So, each

[21:37] of our schools had a great opening to

[21:39] the year. And what I'm going to do is

[21:40] I'm going to introduce or or welcome up

[21:42] the administrators from each of those

[21:44] buildings to talk a little bit about the

[21:47] opening of the school year and then what

[21:49] are some exciting things to look forward

[21:50] to. So, our Waverly administrators, if

[21:53] you'd like to join us,

[21:59] » thank you, Dr. Meyer.

[22:03] Good evening, everyone. Um, so I'm happy

[22:05] to share that Waverly is off to a

[22:08] wonderful start. On September 2nd, we

[22:10] welcomed 415 kindergarten and first

[22:13] grade students, and our opening has been

[22:15] incredibly smooth. And during these f

[22:19] first few weeks of school, our priority

[22:22] has always been building community and

[22:24] creating a sense of belonging for our

[22:25] youngest learners. We launched the year

[22:28] with our schoolwide PBIS sore assembly,

[22:31] introducing our favorite mascot, Echo,

[22:34] which uh helps us focus on building

[22:37] community, uh building classroom

[22:39] routines and procedures, and uh

[22:41] establishing those learning environments

[22:43] where children feel safe, welcomed,

[22:46] valued, and ready to learn. So, as we

[22:49] build that strong foundation, we're also

[22:51] excited about our instructional focus

[22:54] this year. Small groups, purposeful

[22:57] play, big growth. We introduced this

[23:00] focus to our Waverly staff in a very

[23:03] Waverly way through play. After sharing

[23:06] the book, What to Do with a Box, our

[23:08] faculty work together in teams with

[23:10] cardboard boxes, using their

[23:13] imaginations to build and create. There

[23:16] was a lot of laughter, collaboration,

[23:19] problem solving, and some pretty

[23:21] impressive creations.

[23:23] But behind the fund was an important

[23:25] message for our students. Children learn

[23:29] by doing. And so we're especially

[23:32] excited to partner with Sarah Lawrence

[23:35] College as we deepen this work, learning

[23:38] alongside their faculty and exploring

[23:40] how play can be intentionally woven into

[23:44] rich developmentally responsive learning

[23:46] experiences for our youngest students.

[23:50] This year we will continue to strengthen

[23:53] our high quality small groupoup

[23:56] instruction allowing teachers to meet

[23:58] children with they are and provide

[24:01] targeted responsive instruction while at

[24:04] the same time we're elevating purposeful

[24:07] play um as an essential part of the K1

[24:11] learning experience.

[24:13] This gives children opportunities to

[24:15] create, communicate, collaborate,

[24:18] problem solve, and apply their learning

[24:20] in meaningful ways. And as you can see

[24:23] from the beautiful photos, um the work

[24:26] is already happening throughout our

[24:28] classrooms here at Waverly.

[24:30] And on behalf of our Waverly staff and

[24:33] faculty, uh we believe that when we

[24:36] combine intentional teaching with the

[24:38] natural curiosity and joy of childhood,

[24:41] wonderful things can happen. So again,

[24:44] small groups, purposeful play, big

[24:47] growth. We're very excited for a great

[24:49] year. Thank you.

[24:52] [applause]

[24:56] » Thank you. to now introduce uh our

[24:59] administrative representative from Anne

[25:01] Hutch, Mesi.

[25:05] » Good evening. Laura apologizes for not

[25:08] being here tonight due to a family

[25:10] obligation. However, I am honored to

[25:13] share on her behalf.

[25:15] We first would like to thank our parents

[25:17] and guardians for their partnership in

[25:19] creating a smooth and successful arrival

[25:22] and dismissal process during the first

[25:24] few weeks of school.

[25:26] From the first day, we focused on

[25:28] building strong classroom communities

[25:30] and establishing clear expectations.

[25:33] Students began participating in morning

[25:35] meeting circles which helped them build

[25:38] relationships, develop a sense of

[25:40] belonging, and of course getting to know

[25:44] one another. Each class created a

[25:46] classroom charter. students identified

[25:49] how they hope to feel at school this

[25:52] year and the actions they will take to

[25:54] help everyone experience those feelings.

[25:57] We held our first heart assembly to

[26:00] introduce and review our schoolwide

[26:02] expectations

[26:06] and at the same time our students began

[26:10] engaging in our robust curriculum.

[26:13] We are excited to implement mystery

[26:15] science, a new science program that

[26:17] provides opportunities for hands-on

[26:20] learning. In the photos, you will see

[26:23] our fourth graders learning about the

[26:24] human skeleton. And you can see they

[26:27] applied their understanding of bones and

[26:29] joints by creating a robotic finger.

[26:33] We launched our beginning of beginning

[26:36] units in reading, writing, math, and

[26:38] social studies. Through junior

[26:41] gradebook, students are participating in

[26:43] thoughtful conversations about

[26:45] literature and strengthening their

[26:47] critical thinking skills.

[26:50] We look forward to an exciting year

[26:52] filled with meaningful learning

[26:54] experiences.

[26:55] And then we just have some upcoming

[26:57] events. Tonight, our students are very

[27:01] excited about our welcome back event

[27:03] held from by the PTA. We have back to

[27:06] school night on this Thursday, photo day

[27:10] September 25th and our fifth grade

[27:13] sports night on the 29th.

[27:17] » Thank [applause] you.

[27:20] >> Excellent. Next up, we have Greenville

[27:22] share some of the exciting things

[27:24] happening across town.

[27:28] >> Good evening, everyone. So, we've had a

[27:30] wonderful start to the school year at

[27:31] Greenville with a strong focus on

[27:34] building community and belonging.

[27:37] Through more meetings and class charter,

[27:39] students are reconnecting with friends,

[27:41] building new relationships, and

[27:43] establishing strong classroom

[27:44] communities. We've also been reinforcing

[27:47] our Greenville schoolwide expectations

[27:49] to be safe, to be kind, and to be

[27:51] responsible while jumping right back

[27:54] into learning. But most importantly,

[27:56] Greenville wants every child to feel

[27:57] welcome, valued, and proud to be a part

[28:00] of our school.

[28:04] So, these pictures really capture the

[28:06] joy of being back together. And that's

[28:09] been a real highlight of these first two

[28:10] weeks of school, just seeing our

[28:12] children gathered together on the

[28:13] playground morning and at recess time.

[28:16] Our students have been reconnecting with

[28:18] their old friends, making new ones, and

[28:20] enjoying the important moments together

[28:22] outside the classroom. and it's been

[28:24] wonderful to see them all smiling,

[28:26] playing, and feeling back at home at

[28:28] Greenville.

[28:31] We've already had a busy start to

[28:33] Greenville. We welcomed our students

[28:35] back like everyone on on September 2nd,

[28:37] but we had a wonderful back to school

[28:39] night last week um where we got to greet

[28:41] our parents and they had an opportunity

[28:43] to meet and talk with their teachers. Um

[28:45] and we celebrated picture day yesterday,

[28:47] so everyone came to school in their

[28:49] finest outfits looking adorable. This

[28:51] Friday, we're looking forward to our PTA

[28:53] back to school event, which is another

[28:55] great opportunity to bring our families

[28:56] together. And we're so grateful for the

[28:59] partnership of our families, our PTA,

[29:01] and our staff. And we're so looking

[29:02] forward to another wonderful Greenville

[29:05] great year.

[29:08] » [applause]

[29:11] » Now, before I introduce the next school,

[29:13] I just want to note you can see a a

[29:16] growing arms race of photos with each

[29:19] school as it passes. I'll just say the

[29:21] next school had over 20 slides when it

[29:24] was originally submitted to this

[29:26] presentation. Um, I don't think I have

[29:28] to say much more to introduce our

[29:31] administrators from the middle school.

[29:32] Uh, but Miss Leu and Mr. Carol, take it

[29:35] away.

[29:37] Thanks, Dr. Meyer. You made me trim

[29:39] down, but that's okay. We have a lot of

[29:41] fun at middle school. Um, starting with,

[29:43] of course, our very, very warm welcome.

[29:46] You'll see our PTA donated beautiful

[29:48] balloon arcs to help welcome our

[29:49] students. Um, the first day, which is

[29:52] always a nice way to welcome them to a

[29:54] festive and fun environment. On the

[29:56] first day, you can see that um, our

[30:00] supportive staff created a real warm and

[30:03] welcoming environment for our sixth

[30:04] graders. We just can't say enough of all

[30:07] the planning and preparation that took

[30:08] place before the students even arrived.

[30:11] Our custodial staff, our hallways were

[30:13] shining, our lockers were clean. Um, we

[30:16] also are very happy and thankful that we

[30:19] have four new student bathrooms in our

[30:21] building this year. So, that was

[30:22] available to our sixth graders

[30:24] specifically in that hallway for them.

[30:26] Um, joyful smiles always, right? We want

[30:28] to create that environment, that middle

[30:30] school where our students feel welcomed,

[30:31] we feel loved, they feel like they're

[30:33] supportive in that school environment

[30:35] during this very critical age of

[30:36] development. And of course, a shout out

[30:38] to our security back um that we see

[30:41] there, Ed, who's always welcoming

[30:42] students all year round. And um we all

[30:44] have a little fun on the first day. Of

[30:46] course, why not a selfie with the

[30:47] principal? And um we were ready for

[30:50] success on the first day. The pictures

[30:51] you see there are the teachers preparing

[30:53] the students engaging from day one.

[30:55] That's an earth science class in eighth

[30:57] grade. day one engagement in eighth

[30:58] grade ELA class as well.

[31:02] We um continue to build that community,

[31:04] sense of community during our lunch

[31:05] periods, which are by grade level. We're

[31:07] so lucky to have that team structure and

[31:09] the um exploratories time designated for

[31:12] the age groups at the middle school

[31:14] which help us build the um school

[31:16] community that we're so proud of.

[31:19] We started the first day uh the first

[31:21] week we ended with a real fun assembly

[31:24] where the students and the staff got to

[31:25] engage in a game show type of an

[31:28] experience and this helps us continue to

[31:30] create that positive school culture that

[31:32] school environment that we want the kids

[31:33] to love to want to come to school every

[31:35] day and um gets us to know the students

[31:38] and the students get to see the staff

[31:39] engage also in in a fun way to start the

[31:42] year. So again, we're very thankful for

[31:45] our partnerships with the parents to

[31:46] thanking them for that trust they have

[31:48] in us and supporting their children

[31:50] during their middle school years and we

[31:52] look forward to seeing everyone on the

[31:53] 24th at 7 for our open house. Um, and

[31:56] some additional dates here for the

[31:58] middle school include tomorrow and

[32:00] Thursday will be our school photo days

[32:02] that we u have reminded parents through

[32:05] the parent square and some text

[32:06] messages. And um we welcomed back some

[32:09] of the dates that were up there have

[32:10] already passed, but they were certainly

[32:12] successful, especially our locker setup

[32:14] night where we get to see the

[32:15] chandeliers and the magnetic wallpaper

[32:17] and locker um ladders and locker rugs

[32:20] come to play. And the design that goes

[32:22] into that is certainly um amazing to

[32:26] see. And um our sports modified sports

[32:28] began last week and the PTA is holding a

[32:32] welcome back event tomorrow from 5 to

[32:35] 7:30 in the front middle school lot

[32:36] which we welcome everyone to attend. Not

[32:39] only middle school families and students

[32:41] and of course again our back to school

[32:42] nights next week at 7. So thank you

[32:44] again for the opportunity this evening

[32:45] and for all of the support as well.

[32:49] >> [applause]

[32:50] >> Thank you. And last but not least, I'd

[32:53] like to invite up our high school

[32:55] administrative team to just share some

[32:57] of the highlights of the high school.

[33:05] Oh, you already did the slide. Um, so

[33:07] like everybody else, really excited

[33:09] about the the start of the year. I felt

[33:11] like it went about as well as it could

[33:13] have. Um, you know, I'd be remiss if I

[33:16] didn't thank my wonderful assistant

[33:18] principles, Dr. Gillson and Miss Glimmer

[33:20] Meyer. Um, opening any school is a huge

[33:23] task. At the high school, we have

[33:24] hundreds of classes that we have to get

[33:26] students into. Um, you know, and they do

[33:28] it with grace and really just a student

[33:32] laser student- centered focus. So, thank

[33:34] you both. Um, a few things that we're

[33:36] focusing on at EHS this year, um, our

[33:39] continued work around active student

[33:42] learning environments. Um, Caitlyn

[33:44] mentioned it earlier. It's one of my

[33:45] favorite phrases. Students learn by

[33:47] doing. Uh, this year we're also going to

[33:49] focus on authentic assessment. You know,

[33:52] that phrase has had many names. Problem

[33:54] based learning, project-based learning.

[33:57] For me, at this moment in time,

[33:59] authentic assessment is the perfect uh

[34:01] moniker for what we're trying to do when

[34:03] you juxtapose it against all of the

[34:05] artificial intelligence that students

[34:08] are flooded with. So authentic

[34:09] assessment is is a main priority for us

[34:12] this year. Uh we're really excited to

[34:14] continue our SEAL work, the revamped

[34:16] advisory program and uh peer mentoring

[34:19] as a component of that. Um I was had the

[34:22] pleasure last year to speak quite a bit

[34:23] about our advisory program. It was year

[34:26] zero. We heard plenty of feedback and we

[34:29] revamped it. Um and I'm excited about

[34:31] it. It's themed by grade level. So,

[34:33] ninth graders with a peer mentoring

[34:36] component, 39 upper classmen have been

[34:39] selected as peer mentors for our ninth

[34:41] graders. Um, their entire focus is on

[34:44] the transition to high school. 10th

[34:46] grader uh 10th grade advisory classes

[34:48] are all about executive functioning.

[34:50] 11th grade is on healthy relationships

[34:53] and 12th grade of course is on the

[34:55] transition out of high school. Um, so we

[34:57] think it's really a smart um, you know,

[35:00] change and really delivers the

[35:02] programming our students need. Um, one

[35:05] thing that you've heard me talk about is

[35:06] transferable skills. Um, the next two

[35:09] bullets here go together. We want them

[35:10] to develop skills that they can use

[35:12] beyond here. And sometimes that requires

[35:15] what we call productive struggle, right?

[35:17] It's okay to have to work a little bit.

[35:19] Um, and if it doesn't come easy at

[35:22] first, the journey is part of the

[35:24] process. uh and ultimately gets us to

[35:26] that goal. So, um I've heard the term

[35:29] ustress instead of distress. I don't

[35:31] know if that really makes too much

[35:34] sense, but we want students to welcome

[35:36] the challenge and understand that their

[35:38] education is a process. Um so, the nth

[35:42] grade schedule walkth through uh was our

[35:44] first event that the peer mentors uh

[35:47] participated in. We structure our 9th

[35:49] grade orientation, you'll see there on

[35:51] September 1st and 2nd as a two-part

[35:53] event. We think it's more effective that

[35:55] way. On the first, ninth graders can

[35:57] come and do a walkthrough of their

[35:59] schedule to ease some of the anxiety

[36:01] around coming to the building. And then

[36:03] on the night of the first day of school,

[36:05] we come together as a community for a

[36:07] barbecue. Again, the peer mentors were

[36:09] there. It provides Joe, Aaron, and

[36:11] myself with a great opportunity to talk

[36:13] to kids one-on-one, and they come back.

[36:16] We want them to feel like EHS is home.

[36:18] And after the first day of school, what

[36:20] better place to be? Um, on September

[36:22] 9th, we had our first advisory day that

[36:25] was part of the revamp program. Ninth

[36:27] graders engaged in a really fun

[36:28] scavenger hunt. 12th graders were with

[36:31] their counselors. 11th and 12th graders

[36:33] got their uh 10th and 11th graders got

[36:36] their introductory lessons. Um, Mr.

[36:38] Rampony is going to talk about a

[36:40] athletics in a little bit, but we held

[36:41] the fall athletics night uh which was

[36:43] attended by 175 or so parents um which

[36:47] was a really good first step in in our

[36:49] athletic season. On the 23rd we have

[36:52] back to school night. Um we also on the

[36:55] 23rd, not posted here, but an event that

[36:57] I appreciate each year will be holding

[36:59] our annual club fair for students to

[37:01] understand all of the offerings here at

[37:03] the high school. The 28th is our college

[37:05] fair. This year it's at Pelum High

[37:07] School. we always rotate with them and

[37:10] uh the 16th we look forward to a

[37:12] wonderful homecoming weekend in fall pep

[37:14] rally. So thank you for the opportunity

[37:16] and we look forward to a great year.

[37:18] [applause]

[37:22] » Thank you to all the schools. It's been

[37:24] a great opening to the year and we're so

[37:26] excited to share some of the uh upcoming

[37:29] events, but also opportunities of

[37:31] learning and experiences for our

[37:33] students. Uh from destination

[37:35] imagination to the expansion of National

[37:38] History Day, uh to now we're offering

[37:40] the the AP Capstone Diploma with AP

[37:43] Research being offered this year for the

[37:45] first time. So many new classes,

[37:47] exciting opportunities, and it's going

[37:49] to be a great 26 27 school year. So,

[37:52] thank you so much and thank you to the

[37:54] administrative teams for for all the

[37:56] hard work they've put in. [applause]

[38:00] Now, it's my pleasure to turn it over to

[38:02] the special education department and our

[38:05] directors to speak a little bit about

[38:07] the work the start of the school year.

[38:14] » Hi, good evening everyone. Before we

[38:16] give a brief update, we'd like to share

[38:17] a warm welcome to Miss Paresi who's

[38:19] joined our department this summer. While

[38:22] Miss Prey is not new to um is new to our

[38:25] department, she's not new to the

[38:26] Eastchester community. For the past two

[38:28] years, she has served as the assistant

[38:30] principal at Anne Hutch. Um Miss Pissy

[38:33] brings a wealth of experience and

[38:34] expertise in special education, having

[38:36] worked as a special education teacher

[38:38] and as well as previously served as a

[38:40] principal of a special education school.

[38:42] We're excited to welcome Eleni to our

[38:44] team and we look forward to the work

[38:45] that she'll contribute in her new role.

[38:48] [applause]

[38:53] Sorry.

[38:55] Okay, back to business. So, just a brief

[38:57] update regarding our um special classes

[39:00] this year. There are nine elementary

[39:02] special classes, four at Waverly and F

[39:04] and Hutch and seven special classes at

[39:07] the secondary level. Three at the middle

[39:09] school and four at the high school. um

[39:11] through a very extensive recruitment

[39:13] process. We are proud to say that while

[39:15] our programs are primarily designed to

[39:17] serve our resident students, we are

[39:19] pleased to share that we have also

[39:21] expanded our enrollment to include 10

[39:23] out of district students on a tuition

[39:25] basis. This includes six students at the

[39:28] elementary level and four students at

[39:30] the secondary level. So generating

[39:33] additional revenue for the district

[39:34] while maximizing the capacity of of our

[39:37] already existing specialized programs.

[39:42] We also wanted to recognize our ESY

[39:46] program extended school year program

[39:48] that runs for six weeks over the summer

[39:51] providing continuity of services which

[39:54] um prevent regression among our

[39:56] students. Over this course of the six-w

[40:00] weekek period, we had approximately 35

[40:02] staff members supporting and educating

[40:05] 70 students. We're so grateful for our

[40:08] staff um who work ESY and dedicate much

[40:12] of their summer to supporting our

[40:14] students. It was a great success and you

[40:16] know wonderful to host at Anne Hutch.

[40:22] » Great. And then finally, we just wanted

[40:24] to share a few curriculum enhancements

[40:27] and professional practices that we are

[40:29] continuing to build upon to highlight

[40:31] for the year um in order to continue

[40:34] achieving student and staff success. So

[40:37] um we've strengthened our supports

[40:39] through hiring a key staff member this

[40:41] year um a board certified behavior

[40:44] analyst, Miss Regina Mordella. She's

[40:46] going to be joining us districtwide

[40:47] starting in October. We're also going to

[40:50] continue our work with our department

[40:51] chairs. not only just our special

[40:53] education department chairs at the

[40:55] secondary level but all of our content

[40:56] area chairpeople

[40:58] and then this year we really have

[41:00] implemented some targeted trainings to

[41:02] ensure some consistency among procedures

[41:05] practices and regulations so we've

[41:07] started with a cohort of administrators

[41:10] um teachers related service providers to

[41:12] work on 504 CPSSE and cse trainings in

[41:17] addition we're continuing our work with

[41:19] um our CPI training this really provides

[41:22] our staff with proactive strategies to

[41:25] prevent or assist with deescalation um

[41:28] situations for challenging students. We

[41:31] also have uh had the opportunity instead

[41:34] of using CPI to be our trainer, uh two

[41:37] of our staff members have gone through

[41:39] extensive training that's called train

[41:41] the trainer to become our in-house

[41:43] trainers and actually work with our

[41:45] staff. this year all of our staff are

[41:48] reertified and refreshed for training

[41:50] every one to two years.

[41:53] Um also our G&R inclusive group we

[41:56] wanted to share we are continuing work

[41:57] with that. Um this is really to enhance

[42:00] our instructional and inclusive

[42:02] practices and really focus on that

[42:05] barrierfree learning for all students.

[42:07] Primarily this year we're doing our K

[42:09] through five for the full day co-teers.

[42:12] And then lastly, this is super exciting,

[42:14] is our Teachtown curriculum. This is a

[42:17] an evidence-based practice which aligns

[42:19] with our standards and is really for our

[42:21] New York State alternately assessed

[42:23] students. Some of our other students who

[42:25] are state assess use this to supplement

[42:27] the curriculum. We piloted this last

[42:29] year in a few of our classes and we're

[42:31] really happy to say that this year we're

[42:33] doing it K through 12 in all of our

[42:35] special classes. Um,

[42:38] we also found that our New York State

[42:40] assessment results this year, which we

[42:41] just got back, um, have gone up

[42:44] tremendously due to the due to

[42:47] implementing this curriculum. So, we're

[42:49] super happy with that. Um, together, all

[42:52] of these enhancements are helping us

[42:54] build some staff capacity while

[42:56] strengthening our continuum of services

[42:58] that we provide to our students. And

[43:00] finally, we just want to take an

[43:02] opportunity to thank our SEPTA

[43:03] organization for always their continued

[43:05] support and partnership. And finally, to

[43:08] our building level administrators,

[43:10] staff, teachers, and faculty. As you

[43:12] just saw from those five building

[43:14] openings, we could not be more proud to

[43:16] have such a collaborative and inclusive

[43:17] environment for all of our students. So,

[43:20] thank you.

[43:22] [applause]

[43:27] So, next we're going to be calling up

[43:29] the facilities department and then right

[43:31] after that we have a presentation from

[43:33] athletics

[43:40] and as Mr. Sheldon gets um set up at the

[43:42] computer there and I don't know if you

[43:45] need any support for Mr. Blute or is it

[43:47] all ready to go?

[43:48] >> No, we're good to go.

[43:49] >> Okay, great. Um, I just wanted to give a

[43:51] big shout out uh to the entire

[43:53] department who worked tirelessly this

[43:55] summer uh which you'll see much of the

[43:57] work uh but on top of just the regular

[43:59] phases of capital um as well as just

[44:01] getting ready for closing down the year

[44:03] and opening up a new year uh we had all

[44:05] of the parking lot enhancements done as

[44:07] well. So thank you.

[44:08] >> Thank you.

[44:10] >> So good evening everyone.

[44:12] I always like to present this slide who

[44:14] we are. Um we maintain over 500,000

[44:18] square feet at the school district. So,

[44:20] what does that mean? That means hundreds

[44:21] of classrooms, over 3,000 student

[44:24] workstations that are cleaned every

[44:25] summer. We're roughly 40 people deep. We

[44:29] have a little less than 30 cleaners from

[44:32] cleaners to custodial workers to one

[44:34] senior to a head custodian in each

[44:37] building, a full maintenance staff and

[44:39] an office manager and myself. So, we're

[44:42] the folks that come in all summer long.

[44:45] We don't get the summer off,

[44:48] but

[44:49] we get to clean the buildings. We get to

[44:51] make them ready, and we also get to do a

[44:54] lot of cool projects. So, we're going to speak about some of that

[44:56] stuff that happens. Not everyone sees

[44:58] what happens behind the scenes, but um

[45:00] we're going to take a little dive into

[45:02] it tonight.

[45:03] So, uh we had the 20 22 capital project.

[45:09] We're now in phase five. Um we call this

[45:12] five 5C. was the smallest portion of it,

[45:15] which was the middle school bathrooms

[45:17] that Miss Leu mentioned earlier. So, we

[45:19] have four multi-person student

[45:21] bathrooms, two boys, two girls, along

[45:23] with three single-use restrooms. We also

[45:26] have a major locker room renovation

[45:27] going on in the middle school. Uh should

[45:30] be completed the first week of November.

[45:33] We also did some preemptive work at

[45:35] Greenville and Waverly for the future 5A

[45:38] and B section. So, that meant uh

[45:40] abatement work in some of the areas. so

[45:43] we could start work um this winter and

[45:46] we'll help carry through next summer. Um

[45:49] so take a quick look at that. These are

[45:52] the new middle school bathrooms. They

[45:53] came out beautiful. We are still waiting

[45:55] on mirrors. They were backorded, but

[45:57] other than that, they're fully

[45:59] operational. I think the students are

[46:00] loving them. They're clean. They're

[46:02] neat. They're new. They look just like

[46:04] many of the ones that we've put in the

[46:05] other buildings so far.

[46:08] This is where the locker room is earlier

[46:11] this week when I took these pictures.

[46:12] So, what you're looking at on the left

[46:15] is uh where the new bathroom's going to

[46:17] be in the locker room. And then there'll

[46:18] be um a uh kind of like a team room on

[46:22] the other side of it. And the picture to

[46:24] the right is the wall that they're

[46:26] framing to create kind of the studio

[46:28] space. It could be used as yoga, dance,

[46:31] um whatever the PE teachers feel is

[46:34] appropriate for this space. So, that'll

[46:35] be a nice space that's going to have

[46:37] mirrors that go around a majority of the

[46:39] room when it's all said and done.

[46:42] This is the old boiler room in

[46:43] Greenville in the annex building. I

[46:45] didn't have a before picture. I wish I

[46:47] did, but there used to be two big old

[46:48] boilers there that were no longer in

[46:50] use. We took them out. Next summer,

[46:53] we're going to get new electrical

[46:54] service that will go in that room. For

[46:55] now, we're using some custodial storage,

[46:58] but definitely repurposing the room and

[47:00] the space so it could provide the energy

[47:03] and and some of the other mechanical

[47:04] pieces for heating and ventilation

[47:07] upgrades in the building next summer.

[47:10] So phase 5 A and B is really the

[47:14] majority of the work at Waverly and

[47:16] Greenville, which is all the new HVAC

[47:18] renovations, units, uh boiler

[47:21] conversions, chillers, pumps. Um we're

[47:24] also doing the restrooms in each one of

[47:26] those buildings. Um Waverly is slightly

[47:30] smaller because we're really focusing

[47:32] the older section of the building

[47:33] because the the other section was built

[47:35] in the early 2000s, so that's all ADA

[47:37] compliant. But the the multi-person

[47:40] bathrooms on the older side will all be

[47:42] updated. Um along with domestic water

[47:45] piping that will help with our lead

[47:47] numbers, although we don't have major

[47:49] issues with that that we have filtered

[47:51] water fountains everywhere, but updating

[47:53] those things along with a majority uh of

[47:57] the mechanical units need abatement. So

[47:59] we'll take care of those things when we tear them out. and the back of

[48:03] Greenville down in the lower section of

[48:05] the annex building will get all new

[48:06] curtain wall with um film glass for the

[48:10] students.

[48:13] So part of what you don't necessarily

[48:16] see right now is the architects and

[48:17] engineers along with our construction

[48:19] manager have been working to get this

[48:22] approved by New York State Education

[48:24] Department. Waverly is approved. We're

[48:27] expecting uh Green Bail's approval uh

[48:31] shortly. We are going out to bid for

[48:33] this work in the next few weeks. So

[48:35] Waverly, we're going to bid them as two

[48:37] separate packages because it is a large

[48:39] amount of work and we feel potentially

[48:42] there might be savings if we could do

[48:44] two, but we want to make sure we have

[48:45] the right contractors for each each

[48:48] project. So we're going to bid Waverly

[48:50] first. That will come in, but at the

[48:53] same time, Greenville will go out. We're

[48:56] hoping to have all bids back before

[48:58] Thanksgiving. make a ward over the the holiday break and start construction

[49:03] the winter of 27.

[49:06] That means at night we'll be running the

[49:08] pipes in the ceilings and the areas that

[49:10] you don't necessarily see maybe some of

[49:12] the the tunnels that are there now or

[49:15] border rooms and mechanical spaces. And

[49:18] then next summer will be very busy.

[49:20] We'll retake everything out of all the

[49:22] classrooms and do the do the renovations

[49:24] as needed and the bathrooms and

[49:26] everything else we just talked about.

[49:31] So, some of the more fun things that you

[49:34] could see right now, these are all the

[49:36] projects that the facilities department,

[49:39] whether we took it on all ourselves or

[49:41] had contractors help us with. Um, I'm

[49:44] not going to read every one. We're going

[49:45] to go through some pictures so you guys

[49:46] can see it. But, as we know, we did

[49:49] major parking lot improvements at the

[49:51] high school and middle school. So, now

[49:52] we have the two-way traffic. That was a

[49:54] great idea. It worked well.

[49:56] Um, we upgraded the um,

[50:01] lock or the the bathrooms in the gym

[50:03] lobby because they weren't part of a

[50:04] capital project. Um, so we put a little of our own effort in,

[50:08] plus we had some contracted effort and

[50:10] it came out really nice. We're

[50:12] renovating a closet in room 208

[50:16] um, into a bathroom for the program

[50:18] that's in there. Uh, the chemistry fume

[50:20] hoods, which never really worked right,

[50:23] are now operational. That should be

[50:25] great for the program. We redid the

[50:28] flooring in the middle school band room,

[50:29] although that wasn't part of the

[50:31] abatement project in an earlier uh

[50:34] capital project. The flooring was very

[50:36] old. It wasn't hot, but we were able to

[50:38] replace it. Um, we now made a nice

[50:41] walkway to the turn style behind the um

[50:44] football field. It was a constant

[50:46] maintenance nightmare. Kids were

[50:48] slipping, falling, our own staff locking

[50:50] it at night. So now we have safe travel

[50:52] over to White Hall Avenue there. Um we

[50:55] put additional card access on restrooms.

[50:57] So if there is a lockdown in the

[50:59] building, the bathrooms are now safe,

[51:00] the ones that have doors. Um and we

[51:03] replace the loading duck door um at the

[51:06] kitchen. Greenville, we did our own

[51:08] project internally. We painted the gym.

[51:10] Our custodial staff did it. It came out

[51:12] amazing. I do anticipate some ceiling

[51:14] work there. So if you see the ceiling,

[51:15] it's not perfect still. Um, but

[51:18] whatever's not done in the capital

[51:19] project, we'll we'll take on probably

[51:22] not next summer, but the summer after.

[51:23] So, it gets a full renovation. We also

[51:26] did multiple projects at Greenville

[51:29] outside to make the building uh function

[51:31] better for arrival and dismissal. We did

[51:33] have some paving redone and some

[51:35] striping. We poured our own sidewalks

[51:37] over there uh from the street to the

[51:39] playground and we're uh renovating the

[51:41] loading dock. and Hutch also received

[51:44] parking lot improvements. For the most

[51:46] part, we did all this work ourselves. We

[51:48] did a lot of the striping and we poured

[51:50] a new sidewalk uh along the side of the

[51:53] building so students can get uh over to

[51:56] the arrival area uh safely.

[52:00] Waverly, we also did some major

[52:01] renovation um in the back. As Dr. V said

[52:06] earlier, Belleu is now a drop off area.

[52:09] I think it's alleviated some of the

[52:10] congestion in the area. it really has

[52:12] helped. Um, so we'll take a look at that

[52:14] in a few minutes along with some other

[52:16] minor exterior improvements and also the

[52:19] OTPT room which is kind of in the the

[52:22] lowest level of the building but it

[52:23] needed a little bit of love and we gave

[52:25] it to it this summer.

[52:28] So taking a look, this is Ann Hutch. We

[52:31] put uh stop bars all around the circle

[52:34] and we also did some yellow lining and

[52:38] created the new sidewalk that you could

[52:39] see there.

[52:42] This is Greenville.

[52:44] We repaved the upper rear parking lot,

[52:47] lined it so this drop off goes smoothly

[52:50] in the back. That is the sidewalk that

[52:52] the maintenance department poured that

[52:54] goes from the playground area all the

[52:56] way down to Gabriel Reignial Drive. So

[52:59] the student drop off in the front, they

[53:00] could walk right up to the playground

[53:01] safely. And that's the loading dock

[53:03] we're working on there. We report that.

[53:07] This is the gym. It was a lot more work

[53:09] than we anticipated to be honest.

[53:11] There's the walls are big. We had to

[53:14] take all the pads off the wall. We

[53:15] rehung them. We painted it. It looks

[53:18] really nice. I think the the bright

[53:20] white makes the place pop. It goes a

[53:22] long way. It's not on the rocks as I

[53:24] know not everyone likes our standard

[53:27] colors, but you know, I think it really

[53:30] enhances the space. It makes it look

[53:31] nice, especially when right after we

[53:33] redo the floor.

[53:35] This is the high school gym lobby. uh

[53:38] bathrooms. We were able to uh purchase

[53:40] partitions a year or two ago, but the uh

[53:43] enhancement of a drop ceiling and some

[53:45] tile floors. We put the lights in

[53:47] oursel. We did some of the plumbing

[53:49] modifications for the space really

[53:51] brightens the space up.

[53:54] This is a middle school um

[53:57] uh band room. We also uh rebuilt some of

[54:00] the uh storage for the for the

[54:02] instruments. I think it just enhances

[54:04] the space. The new floor matches many of

[54:06] the other spaces in the building. Kind

[54:08] of equitably looking a lot nicer than it

[54:10] used to.

[54:13] This is Waverly's uh rear drop off to

[54:16] the left. That's the new one off Bellow.

[54:18] It seems to be working very well. We

[54:20] also added stop bars in the um

[54:24] I believe it's Hall Avenue. Um

[54:27] so we could drop four or five cars off

[54:29] at a time there.

[54:32] Moving to athletics.

[54:34] Thank you. [applause]

[54:41] » Good. Good evening everyone. Um am I

[54:44] last? Yeah. I'll try and be brief. So

[54:48] this year we're working on um I work as

[54:51] I've stated publicly many times before,

[54:53] Mr. Welsh and I work uh closely

[54:55] together. So, we worked on uh this some

[54:58] of this together and we came up with

[54:59] stronger programs uh stronger

[55:01] communities as our focus this year is

[55:04] it's not about reinventing uh East

[55:06] Athletics. We we have a lot to be proud

[55:08] of. It's about taking a strong

[55:10] foundation and becoming more intentional

[55:12] with consistency, leadership,

[55:13] communication, school spirit, and the

[55:16] overall student athlete experience.

[55:20] Sorry guys. Um so today EHS today we

[55:25] have over 431 student athletes competing

[55:28] this fall. We offer 65 teams throughout

[55:31] the [clears throat] year in the modified

[55:32] JV and varsity levels. Uh last year we

[55:35] had a tremendous amount success at the

[55:38] section and state level and hopefully we

[55:40] can continue to build on that this year.

[55:43] But it's not about obviously wins and

[55:45] losses. We're looking, as many of our

[55:47] administrators said before, we're

[55:48] looking to build that sense of belonging

[55:51] and um the connectedness to the school

[55:54] and um building the family and community

[55:56] and and all the good stuff.

[56:00] So, our priorities

[56:03] for the year, um, again on the program

[56:06] side, we're looking again at

[56:08] consistency, communication, captain

[56:10] selections, coaching and program

[56:12] development, and the connection from

[56:14] youth programs to the varsity. Uh on the

[56:17] community side, we're looking at student

[56:18] voice, family partnership, school

[56:20] spirit, sportsmanship, and connection

[56:22] across uh across teams, not just

[56:24] supporting one team or or the major

[56:26] events, trying to get um the kids out to

[56:29] support each other uh across across the

[56:32] department.

[56:35] Mr. Welsh, I think you were going to say

[56:37] a couple words quickly about our

[56:39] committee that we formed.

[56:43] » Guys are hearing a lot from me today.

[56:45] Um, so we're really excited about the

[56:48] principal's athletic compact committee.

[56:50] It's a a multistakeholder group. Um,

[56:52] Mike, myself, student athletes, coaches,

[56:56] parents. Um, we're going to meet about

[56:58] six times this year. And really the the

[57:01] important thing here um is that this

[57:04] isn't a committee designed to respond to

[57:06] individual complaints or uh individual

[57:09] issues. We want to take a full

[57:12] programwide lens when we look at

[57:14] athletics. What themes are emerging

[57:16] across sports? Where are we really

[57:18] strong? Where do expectations vary

[57:20] unnecessarily? What practices from one

[57:23] program might benefit another? Um, the

[57:25] shift we're trying to make is the one

[57:27] that is listed at the bottom of this

[57:29] slide, moving from simply responding to

[57:32] individual circumstances, but to

[57:34] continuously examine the health of the

[57:36] entire athletic program. Um, so we're

[57:39] excited later this year to be able to

[57:40] provide an update on the great work that

[57:42] this committee is embarking upon. Um,

[57:45] and I appreciate Mike for for letting a

[57:47] principal have his fingertips in in the

[57:50] athletic world a little bit. So, thank

[57:52] you.

[57:56] So, our student athletic council, um,

[57:59] you know, this is a group that I

[58:00] oversee. Couple pictures up there. Um, I

[58:04] think McGee, uh, Miss McGee, you're both

[58:06] your student, your children were there

[58:08] last year. It's one of the more fun

[58:10] events we hold. It's the student um,

[58:12] excuse me, the senior citizen uh,

[58:15] Valentine's Day night where we feed the

[58:16] we feed them. They do the dance the

[58:18] students dance with the with the senior

[58:20] citizens. It's a great night. And the

[58:22] picture on the right is just about

[58:23] that's our u, you know, homecoming

[58:25] night. So again, looking to build that

[58:27] cross team support, but the role of the

[58:30] athletic council, again, we're looking

[58:32] for student voice there. Um, so we're

[58:35] getting representation from across our

[58:37] programs, and that's where we really

[58:39] find out what athletics actually feels

[58:40] like from the student perspective. We

[58:42] want them providing feedback, but we

[58:44] also want them to help uh culture,

[58:46] particularly around sportsmanship,

[58:49] school spirit, and cross team support.

[58:52] This year we're really going to look at

[58:54] captains just again consistency communic

[58:57] uh communication expectations. Um right

[59:00] now in the meeting and selecting of a

[59:03] captain could look different depending

[59:04] upon the sport. Some variation some

[59:07] variation is appropriate. Every sport

[59:09] has its own culture but the e the ehs

[59:12] captain should mean something

[59:14] consistently. We're going to work with

[59:16] coaches around the selection process.

[59:18] more importantly around what comes after

[59:21] selection. What responsibility does a

[59:23] captain have for communication,

[59:25] inclusion, accountability,

[59:27] sportsmanship, and team culture? We

[59:30] talked this uh about the fall sport fall

[59:32] sports parent night a couple times the

[59:34] other night. It was a good opportunity

[59:35] for me to get in front of all the the high school parents to start

[59:40] developing some common language, which

[59:42] is going to be a theme this year. again

[59:44] consistency, communication,

[59:46] sportsmanship, expectations, uh

[59:49] behavior, roles of the athletes, the

[59:51] coaches and the families and of course

[59:53] always health and safety.

[59:56] It was a successful night. After we

[59:58] after I spoke to the the parents as a

[1:00:00] group, the parents then broke out into

[1:00:02] their individual team meetings with

[1:00:04] their respective coaches and those went

[1:00:05] well. It was a well attended night.

[1:00:08] Again, something we're just trying to,

[1:00:11] you know, what we observed last year,

[1:00:13] the school spirit was lacking a little

[1:00:15] bit and we only attended certain events

[1:00:17] and we're going to work mostly again

[1:00:19] with the student athletic council on

[1:00:21] this, but you know, things like theme

[1:00:22] nights, which we already have, um, in

[1:00:26] place and we just want, you know, it's nice when you're out there on a

[1:00:30] Tuesday afternoon, uh, when you're

[1:00:32] playing more in front than just your

[1:00:34] parents. Uh it's nice to have your your

[1:00:37] um your friends there, family there,

[1:00:39] whatever. Even teachers, it's great when

[1:00:41] teachers show up to events. Kids really

[1:00:43] notice when teachers show up,

[1:00:45] administrators, just to build some

[1:00:47] excitement across uh across our sports.

[1:00:50] Um and obviously this just can't come

[1:00:52] from my office. uh the student athletic

[1:00:54] council, ego, captains, coaches, um

[1:00:57] staff, uh everybody really has a role in

[1:01:01] this and we're really going to focus on

[1:01:02] building this uh building this up this

[1:01:04] year.

[1:01:07] And you know, this is probably one of my

[1:01:09] biggest overarching goals is building

[1:01:11] the program pipeline. when we look into

[1:01:14] hiring varsity coaches or varsity

[1:01:17] coaches that are currently in place. Um

[1:01:19] this is a picture with me at the

[1:01:23] softball state uh semi-final regional

[1:01:26] final game last year after they won

[1:01:28] their first section championship in 35

[1:01:30] years. I happened to be watching the

[1:01:31] game and the parents brought up some of

[1:01:34] the youth players, not the modified

[1:01:35] players. They brought up some of the

[1:01:37] youth players from the little league to

[1:01:38] watch the game and I thought it was

[1:01:40] really cool and one of the parents had

[1:01:42] sent me that picture and that's really

[1:01:43] what we're looking for for those kids to

[1:01:45] travel all the way up state to watch the

[1:01:47] high school kids play to one day want to

[1:01:48] be those kids and really build, you

[1:01:51] know, that desire to really play for their town and represent their

[1:01:54] community and [clears throat] have

[1:01:56] something to look forward to. So, uh,

[1:01:58] again, our varsity coaches, we have a

[1:02:00] lot of conversations about not just

[1:02:02] coaching your varsity team and worrying

[1:02:03] about wins and losses, but how are we

[1:02:05] developing our programs at all levels.

[1:02:09] And last but not least, um, what success

[1:02:12] looks like. Um, of course, we want to

[1:02:15] win. We want to be competitive. And, you

[1:02:17] know, obviously we we all should should

[1:02:19] want that, but our definition of success

[1:02:21] for the athletic program has to be

[1:02:23] broader than wins and championships. And

[1:02:26] I have a picture up there of the new

[1:02:29] trophy cases in the in the lobby that

[1:02:31] Elliot's team helped um really transform

[1:02:34] last year with the help of the sports

[1:02:36] club raising $25,000 to get us to new

[1:02:40] trophy cases. So, we want greater

[1:02:42] consistency, clear expectations. We want

[1:02:44] captains whose titles mean something. We

[1:02:46] want positive student athlete experience

[1:02:48] and strong pathways into our programs.

[1:02:50] And on the community side, we want

[1:02:51] stronger school spirit, positive

[1:02:53] sportsmanship, productive partnerships

[1:02:55] with families, students supporting other

[1:02:57] students, and real pride in representing

[1:03:00] Eastchester. If we accomplish those

[1:03:02] things, I think the wins will the wins

[1:03:04] tend to follow, but more importantly,

[1:03:05] we'll have built an athletic experience

[1:03:07] that our students are proud of and a

[1:03:09] community that is proud to support them.

[1:03:12] Thank you.

[1:03:14] [applause]

[1:03:17] » Thank you so much, Mr. Rampony. Thank

[1:03:19] you to all of our administrators and to

[1:03:21] all of our d um department directors for

[1:03:24] uh just, you know, the anticipation of

[1:03:26] starting school is always um an

[1:03:28] administrator's, you know, not in your

[1:03:29] stomach. You're so excited. There's so

[1:03:31] much to do. Um but once the doors open,

[1:03:34] we want to see our students smiling. We

[1:03:36] want to see our students engaging in

[1:03:37] school right right away. Um and you can

[1:03:40] see from the images that they're right

[1:03:41] back to it. Um and so the next update

[1:03:44] that you hear from all of our buildings

[1:03:45] again, uh we'll be diving deeper into

[1:03:47] the academic pieces. Um but for now you

[1:03:49] know that the uh doors have been open,

[1:03:51] our arms have been wide open. Um and

[1:03:53] we're w we're happy to have everybody

[1:03:54] back. Yes. Thank you everyone.

[1:03:58] >> Okay. Before we move on, I'll just ask

[1:04:01] if any of the trustees have any

[1:04:02] questions on any of the presentations or

[1:04:04] for any of the buildings or departments.

[1:04:08] Okay.

[1:04:10] We are up to the consent agenda.

[1:04:12] Um do I have a motion for the items

[1:04:14] under the consent agenda?

[1:04:18] Rob

[1:04:25] be it resolved the board of education

[1:04:27] approve the consent agenda which

[1:04:29] includes the following. Seven approval

[1:04:31] of minutes. Eight personnel agenda. Nine

[1:04:34] committee on preschool special education recommendations. 10

[1:04:39] educational and curriculum and

[1:04:41] instruction. 11 business office

[1:04:44] recommendations.

[1:04:45] >> Thank you, Rob. Do I have a second,

[1:04:47] Sean? All in favor?

[1:04:57] Okay. Future meeting dates. September

[1:04:59] 29th, we have our board administrative

[1:05:02] retreat and October 13th is our next

[1:05:05] regular meeting. We are up to comments

[1:05:07] from the public. When you come up,

[1:05:10] please state your name and address for

[1:05:11] the record. We welcome all public

[1:05:13] comments and feedback, but please be

[1:05:15] aware that we will not exceed 30 minutes

[1:05:17] this portion of the evening and each

[1:05:19] person has a hard stop at three minutes.

[1:05:21] As a reminder, this is not a question

[1:05:23] and answer format and refrain from

[1:05:25] mentioning any individual by name. If

[1:05:28] you would like a broader discussion on a

[1:05:29] specific topic or topics, please contact

[1:05:32] the superintendent's office. Thank you.

[1:05:44] Hi, good good evening. My name is uh

[1:05:46] Radley Moss. I live at 26 Downer Avenue.

[1:05:49] I have two kids in the middle school. Uh

[1:05:52] my comments are on busing. So although

[1:05:54] some aspects of the transportation

[1:05:56] changes may be going better than

[1:05:58] expected, I don't think that should

[1:06:00] overshadow the very real impact these

[1:06:03] cuts are having on numerous families.

[1:06:05] For many in our community, the loss of

[1:06:08] busing is not a quote unquote change in

[1:06:10] routine, but the elimination of a core

[1:06:13] service that significantly affects daily

[1:06:15] life. Earlier this year, I voted yes for

[1:06:19] both budgets and very reluctantly to

[1:06:21] reduce busing. Many people I spoke with

[1:06:24] made the same choice. Not because we

[1:06:27] supported cutting busing, but because

[1:06:29] the alternative meant deeper reductions

[1:06:31] to educational programs and significant

[1:06:34] staff losses. Our community was

[1:06:37] essentially left with a poison pill

[1:06:39] choice and under different

[1:06:41] circumstances,

[1:06:42] I don't believe most of us would have

[1:06:44] supported such a substantial reduction

[1:06:46] in busing. I strongly encourage Dr.

[1:06:49] Villain Noea and the board to actively

[1:06:52] engage people across the district about

[1:06:54] what they hope to see for the 202728

[1:06:58] school year. I would like to see a

[1:07:00] thoughtful, proactive, and

[1:07:03] forward-looking plan that puts us in a

[1:07:05] path toward restoring busing in a

[1:07:08] sustainable and responsible way.

[1:07:11] On a related topic, I was surprised by a

[1:07:13] few things that were mentioned at the

[1:07:15] last board meeting regarding the vendor

[1:07:17] the district uses to calculate home to

[1:07:19] school distances. I'm one of those

[1:07:22] parents who raised concerns about

[1:07:24] discrepancies between the district's

[1:07:26] mileage determination and widely used

[1:07:29] online mapping tools. The district has

[1:07:31] told me and my wife we live 1.47 47

[1:07:34] miles from the middle school. While

[1:07:36] Google Maps shows the distance is closer

[1:07:38] to two miles. Dr. Ven explained that the

[1:07:42] vendor measures from the center of a

[1:07:44] home's driveway to the center of the

[1:07:46] school's driveway. Respectfully, this

[1:07:48] method does not reflect real life and it

[1:07:51] raises serious questions about whether

[1:07:54] busing eligibility is being assessed

[1:07:56] with a reasonable or appropriate

[1:07:58] standard. When the district's

[1:08:00] calculation differs so significantly

[1:08:03] from commonly used tools, people

[1:08:05] understandably lose confidence in the

[1:08:07] process.

[1:08:09] I also understand from what was brought

[1:08:11] up at the last meeting that the vendor

[1:08:13] has been unclear about aspects of their

[1:08:15] calculations.

[1:08:16] Because these determinations directly

[1:08:18] affect eligibility for transportation,

[1:08:22] I kindly ask that the board further

[1:08:24] updates us on the vendor's methodology

[1:08:26] and performance, especially given the,

[1:08:30] you know, shambolic issues that occurred

[1:08:32] during the roll out of transportation

[1:08:34] eligibility in August. Thank you for

[1:08:37] your time.

[1:08:38] >> Thank you.

[1:08:41] >> Any other public comment?

[1:08:51] Randy from Mort Street. Uh I want to

[1:08:54] inform the the board, especially all the

[1:08:57] members, whether they're aware that

[1:08:59] there was a meeting April 4th regarding

[1:09:02] the continuing flooding that's happening

[1:09:05] to the adjacent properties from the high

[1:09:07] school.

[1:09:09] During that meeting, we discussed a lot

[1:09:11] of things and there was action items.

[1:09:14] Now, unfortunately, there was supposed

[1:09:16] to be a follow-up meeting and I've

[1:09:19] contacted the people that were at the

[1:09:22] meeting and unfortunately I've never got

[1:09:26] a response. I called I sent emails to

[1:09:30] Dr. Villanova and to this date there's

[1:09:33] no response. There is no other form here

[1:09:36] to how to ask the question. Are we going

[1:09:38] to have this follow-up meeting? That's

[1:09:41] what I'm here for because I'm not

[1:09:43] getting any email response. So, I have

[1:09:45] to come here and ask the question.

[1:09:52] Mr. Rende, the answer in short is yes,

[1:09:54] but we are waiting on items from that

[1:09:56] list that we put together um at that

[1:09:58] meeting. So, I can follow up with you

[1:10:00] afterwards with a phone call or perhaps

[1:10:02] we could uh have a little chat before

[1:10:04] the meeting.

[1:10:04] >> I appreciate that. Like I said, I just

[1:10:06] wanted to make sure that this the loop

[1:10:08] is closed because once I send emails and

[1:10:11] calls and get no response, I think

[1:10:12] that's not the appropriate way to to run

[1:10:15] the school system. That's all.

[1:10:16] Especially with this problem, we're

[1:10:18] still having floods.

[1:10:20] >> I don't know if you're aware that we've

[1:10:21] had three more floods, which means

[1:10:23] there's more erosion, which means the

[1:10:25] school is going to be paying more for

[1:10:27] the damages. Now, it doesn't mean the

[1:10:30] school, maybe the the insurance, but the

[1:10:32] taxpayers are going to be paying more.

[1:10:35] So I noticed that Mr. Shelton went

[1:10:36] through the capital expenses. No

[1:10:38] mentioning at all on how to repair at

[1:10:41] least have a sentence saying look we're

[1:10:44] looking into this issue that's going to

[1:10:46] cost some money.

[1:10:48] >> Yeah. So Mr. Rende I'll talk with you

[1:10:50] afterwards about what we had discussed

[1:10:52] in that April meeting.

[1:10:52] >> Thank you very much.

[1:10:53] >> Thank you.

[1:11:04] Good evening. Brian Miller, 30 downer.

[1:11:06] Just going to hit a couple of things

[1:11:07] just in no particular order. There's

[1:11:09] been a lot of talk about arrival being

[1:11:10] great and it has been pretty good. Uh,

[1:11:13] all things considered, dismissal has

[1:11:14] been worse. About uh arrival, I do want

[1:11:16] to note all the emails say we're doing

[1:11:18] it 25 minutes early. It's 25 minutes

[1:11:20] before the first bell. It's actually 15

[1:11:22] minutes early. Those 15 minutes have

[1:11:24] proven key despite it being labeled as

[1:11:26] something you can only use occasionally

[1:11:28] or periodically if you need a few

[1:11:30] minutes sometimes. Those 15 minutes are

[1:11:32] when everyone's arriving. By the time my

[1:11:34] daughter arrives to school, 2/3 to

[1:11:36] threequarters of the kids are already

[1:11:37] there. And that's before the three buses

[1:11:39] that still serve Greenville arrive. So

[1:11:41] just nitpicking there, but still it's 15 minutes, but it's a key 15

[1:11:45] minutes. So occasional periodic. I mean,

[1:11:47] is that actually going to persist beyond

[1:11:49] September? Hasn't been announced yet.

[1:11:51] Uh, as far as this missile, it's sort of

[1:11:53] a low-key chaos, especially on Rino.

[1:11:55] It's going as well as could be expected,

[1:11:57] I guess. But I mean, what happens when

[1:11:59] it snows? Uh, is is responsibility being

[1:12:02] taken for sidewalks, crosswalks, who's

[1:12:04] going to be clearing those between

[1:12:06] Greenville, Waverly, and all the and and

[1:12:08] Hutch and all the adjacent areas?

[1:12:10] Because it's not just clearing enough to

[1:12:12] get buses through to have school. It's a

[1:12:13] matter of clearing it to the curb. So a

[1:12:16] child who's 36 in tall can be seen

[1:12:18] because we have 36 in tall kids now

[1:12:20] walking home to school by themselves.

[1:12:22] Speaking of which, by the way, I've seen

[1:12:24] kids repeatedly almost be hit by backup

[1:12:26] cars and re cars backing up on Rino as

[1:12:28] the trunk extends over the curb. That's

[1:12:30] something no one ever had to really

[1:12:31] consider very much before. I've seen

[1:12:33] kids repeatedly almost hit the new

[1:12:34] crosswalks that were painted because the

[1:12:36] sight lines are too are too narrow and

[1:12:38] short for what actually was painted by

[1:12:39] the town because they threw paint where

[1:12:41] it needed to be put for people to know

[1:12:43] kids were going to walk there without

[1:12:44] thinking, oh, no one's used to that and

[1:12:46] there's not enough of a sighteline to

[1:12:48] see a kid this tall walking there. To

[1:12:50] our credit, I saw one kid go like this

[1:12:52] at a car. It was pretty funny if it

[1:12:54] hadn't been so dangerous. Um, as far as

[1:12:57] uh missing crossing guards, this all

[1:12:58] should have been considered long ago.

[1:13:00] the hall uh in Maine from south traffic

[1:13:02] study you're talking about. I mean it's

[1:13:04] sort of darkly comedic. That traffic

[1:13:05] study should have been done before it

[1:13:07] was ever a consideration to put up for a

[1:13:09] vote removing the buses. This is a lot

[1:13:10] of like ready fire aim stuff. This is

[1:13:12] again it's darkly comedic at best to be

[1:13:15] frank with you. Um as far as a little

[1:13:17] late you said Dr. V to uh Waverly. I've

[1:13:20] gotten emails from parents almost daily

[1:13:22] talking about how actually dismissal is

[1:13:25] getting out closer towards 4 o'clock

[1:13:27] than 3:35 which is what it was specified

[1:13:29] as being. Uh now it's just changed to

[1:13:31] 3:45 apparently today. That's been

[1:13:33] that's interesting. Um but still kids

[1:13:35] are getting home late. And by the way

[1:13:37] the day at Waverly is now extended 35 uh

[1:13:39] 28 minutes total to 3:35. So you have

[1:13:42] kids who are staying in school 28

[1:13:44] minutes longer for instruction and then

[1:13:46] you know 2530 minutes longer before they

[1:13:49] even leave school to get home. And by

[1:13:50] the way one of the first acts Dr. you

[1:13:52] had when you came here was to cancel

[1:13:54] birthdays in school to save instruction

[1:13:56] time. Now that instruction time is 28

[1:13:57] minutes longer in Waverly. Can we bring

[1:13:58] back birthdays in the classroom? Thanks

[1:14:00] very much.

[1:14:04] » Any other public comment?

[1:14:08] We have one more.

[1:14:16] » How's everybody doing? Tim Albert, uh,

[1:14:18] one Columbus Circle. Uh, my daughter

[1:14:20] Savannah goes to Waverly. I want to

[1:14:22] thank you all for your service and

[1:14:24] especially Miss Mandelly and the entire

[1:14:27] Waverly staff for making Savannah feel

[1:14:29] safe, welcome, and uh, valued.

[1:14:33] Miss Mandelli got a big hug on the first

[1:14:36] day of school because she's the best and

[1:14:39] the best dressed. Um, my daughter loves

[1:14:42] school because of the environment built

[1:14:43] by the staff at Waverly. Um, and I think

[1:14:46] that it's easy to focus on the issues of

[1:14:49] transportation early in the year, but

[1:14:52] let's see how the next weeks play out.

[1:14:54] Um,

[1:14:56] we thankfully live in a democracy and

[1:14:59] votes do have consequences and this is

[1:15:02] the result in my opinion of what

[1:15:06] happened last year. So, this is directly

[1:15:09] to you guys. Now,

[1:15:11] um I appreciate the work that goes into

[1:15:13] developing a school budget and

[1:15:15] understand the challenges and of budget

[1:15:18] of balancing education e excellence with

[1:15:22] fiscal respon responsibility.

[1:15:24] After the first budget failed and the

[1:15:27] second one passed,

[1:15:29] I believe there are opportunities to

[1:15:30] improve um communication and public

[1:15:33] engagement moving forward

[1:15:36] as planning begins for the 2027 budget.

[1:15:39] I respectfully ask the board to present

[1:15:42] not only the proposed budget for this

[1:15:44] coming year but also a multi-year fis uh

[1:15:47] financial plan that gives residents a

[1:15:51] clear understanding of what to expect in

[1:15:53] the years ahead. Predictability helps

[1:15:56] build trust and allows taxpayers to plan

[1:15:58] accordingly.

[1:16:00] The district should also expand how it

[1:16:03] communicates with the community. Whilst

[1:16:05] Facebook posts, YouTube videos and

[1:16:07] online pres presentations are useful

[1:16:09] tools, they should not be the primary

[1:16:12] method of informing residents, in

[1:16:14] today's environment where misinformation

[1:16:16] can uh quickly spread online. Direct

[1:16:19] communication through printed materials

[1:16:21] and in-person presentations is often

[1:16:24] more important and much more effective

[1:16:27] and reaches a much broader audience.

[1:16:30] I also encourage the board to establish

[1:16:32] an early budget um advisory coalition

[1:16:36] that includes not only the board members

[1:16:39] but also concerned residents and parents

[1:16:42] from across the district.

[1:16:44] These individuals can help educate their

[1:16:46] neighbors and other parents creating a

[1:16:49] broader understanding of the budget well

[1:16:51] before voting.

[1:16:53] Perhaps most importantly, every student,

[1:16:56] I'm sorry, every resident should be able

[1:16:58] to clearly understand the uh financial

[1:17:00] impact of the proposed budget on their

[1:17:02] household.

[1:17:04] Rather than asking taxpayers to estimate

[1:17:06] or perform calculations themselves, the

[1:17:10] district should provide an easy to

[1:17:11] understand example

[1:17:13] um based on actual property value and uh

[1:17:16] tax assessments whenever available. Even

[1:17:19] better, if legally and administrative,

[1:17:21] I'm sorry, administratively feasible,

[1:17:24] the district could uh create a simple

[1:17:26] online address lookup using an AI tool

[1:17:29] where residents could um enter their

[1:17:32] home address and immediately see the

[1:17:34] estimated annual tax impact of the

[1:17:36] proposed budget. When taxpayers can

[1:17:39] clearly see that the cost their

[1:17:41] household is uh relatively modest

[1:17:43] compared to the value of maintaining

[1:17:45] excellent schools, they are better

[1:17:47] equipped to make informed decisions.

[1:17:49] Transparency, accessibility, and

[1:17:51] proactive communication will strengthen

[1:17:54] public confidence and improve the budget

[1:17:56] uh process for everyone. Thank you for

[1:17:59] your time, your service, and your

[1:18:01] consideration of these uh suggestions.

[1:18:03] Thank you.

[1:18:03] >> Thank you.

[1:18:06] Any other public comments?

[1:18:09] Okay. Can I have a motion to adjurnn?

[1:18:13] Christine. Second. Sean. All in favor?

[1:18:16] Thank you. Have a good night, everyone.

Board Of Education Meeting 9/15/26

Transcript