[0:31] I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America

[0:35] and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under

[0:39] God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

[0:46] Thank you.

[0:47] Roll call.

[0:49] Mr. Weaver.

[0:50] Here.

[0:50] Ms. Donnelly.

[0:51] Here.

[0:51] Ms. Zurek.

[0:52] Here.

[0:52] Ms. Boland.

[0:53] Here.

[0:53] Mr. Keegan.

[0:54] Here.

[0:55] Ms. DeWitt.

[0:55] Here.

[0:56] Ms. Hanley.

[0:56] Here.

[1:01] Sweetheart,

[1:03] did you already administer the oath?

[1:06] At this time, we're going to swear in our new student rep, Julia Gomes.

[1:24] I do solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States of

[1:27] America and the Constitution of the State of New York, and

[1:31] that I will faithfully discharge, according to the best of my ability, the duties

[1:35] of student representative to the Board of Education in the Port Jefferson School

[1:39] District.

[1:39] Yay.

[1:39] Congratulations.

[1:46] Yeah, usually in January they start the middle school. Gives them some time.

[1:51] We're going to start to welcome Dr.

[1:53] Carravall to the podium to recognize our student artist.

[1:56] Sure. Good evening, Mr. Schmidthan, members of the board.

[1:59] This evening, we'd like to recognize one of our very talented fine arts students,

[2:03] whose work was featured in this year's school calendar.

[2:05] At this time, I'd like to invite ninth grader Sianna Serar, as well as her

[2:09] middle school art teacher, Ms. Stacey Schumann, for her artistic guidance

[2:16] come up to the podium.

[2:21] You can face the board.

[2:22] So please join me in congratulating Sianna and as the board would

[2:26] like to present her with a copy of her framed artwork that

[2:30] presents her

[2:32] artwork from the calendar, as well as a certificate of

[2:35] recognition and a few extra copies of the calendar.

[2:40] And thank you so much for

[2:43] being here with us this evening, along with your family, and for sharing your

[2:46] wonderful talents with our community to enjoy.

[2:48] Every time they look at an event for our school, they see your artwork.

[2:51] So congratulations and thank you all for being here.

[2:58] At this time, I'd like you to surround

[3:01] your artwork, and we'll take a photo with the board.

[3:03] Okay. Congratulations. Where did we get all the pictures?

[3:08] No, where did we get this inspiration?

[3:14] Did you

[3:14] find

[3:20] me?

[3:21] I just

[3:26] saw that picture. Yeah.

[3:27] I'm coming.

[3:29] You're so sweet. I just saw the other one.

[3:31] I wish there was more.

[3:33] Thank you so much.

[3:34] You're welcome.

[3:34] You're so sweet.

[3:36] One, two, three.

[3:39] One,

[3:41] two.

[3:41] Congratulations.

[4:02] Thank you.

[4:04] Next, Dr. O'Neill is here to honor some of our long-term employees.

[4:08] Dr. O'Neill?

[4:11] Good evening, everyone. Before we begin tonight's recognition, I want to take a

[4:14] moment to thank our Board of Education, our superintendent, our administrators, our

[4:18] colleagues, and especially our Port Jefferson community for being here and

[4:22] for supporting the people who make our schools what they are.

[4:25] It is a privilege to be part of the Port Jefferson School District and to have the

[4:28] opportunity to recognize the dedication and service of some truly special

[4:32] members of our school community.

[4:34] Tonight, we have the opportunity to recognize something that is becoming

[4:37] increasingly rare and increasingly meaningful.

[4:40] Twenty-five years of commitment to one place, one profession, and one community.

[4:45] We're recognizing 14 people who have reached that milestone.

[4:49] And while their roles may look very different from one another, they have something

[4:52] important in common. For 25 years, they have shown up.

[4:56] Some have stood in front of classrooms, some have worked beside students,

[5:01] some have kept our technology running, our buildings working, and our grounds

[5:04] looking their best. Some have supported the people who make a school function every

[5:08] day, often without much attention or recognition.

[5:11] And that's what really makes tonight special.

[5:14] Twenty-five years is a long time. It represents thousands of mornings getting to

[5:18] work, countless conversations, problems solved, challenges

[5:22] handled, and probably more than a few days when it would have been easier to

[5:26] just say, "Not today." But they kept coming back.

[5:29] They adapted as technology changed.

[5:32] They adjusted as expectations changed.

[5:35] They worked through different leadership, different programs, different buildings,

[5:39] and different eras of education.

[5:41] And through all of those changes, they brought something that can't be taught in

[5:45] workshops. They brought experience, perspective, and

[5:48] commitment. The value of that kind of service isn't simply measured by numbers

[5:52] of years on a calendar. It is measured by the people who have benefited from those

[5:56] years. The students supported, the colleagues helped, the classrooms

[6:00] maintained. The systems kept running and the countless everyday

[6:04] things that happened because someone cared enough to do their part.

[6:07] So tonight, we're not just celebrating 25 years, we're recognizing 25

[6:11] years of contribution, and we're saying thank you, not only for what each

[6:15] of you have accomplished, but for the consistency,

[6:18] professionalism, and dedication you have brought to Port Jefferson School

[6:21] District for a quarter of a century.

[6:24] Please join me in recognizing and congratulating our 14

[6:27] recipients of the 25 Year Service Award.

[6:30] When you hear your name, please come up.

[6:33] Stacy Bueller, middle school special education teacher.

[6:41] Dennis Christopher, high school mathematics teacher.

[6:47] Melissa Quarry, middle school social studies teacher.

[6:55] Harry Fenton, groundskeeper.

[7:00] Megan Hine, elementary school teacher.

[7:06] Brian Kendrick, network and system specialist.

[7:14] Melissa Martin, elementary school teacher.

[7:21] Nancy Randazzo, art teacher.

[7:28] Allison Roske, elementary school teacher.

[7:35] Brian Sandek, network and systems

[7:37] administrator.

[7:43] Francois Schnetzer, physical education teacher.

[7:51] Stacy Schumann, art teacher.

[7:57] Dr. Tara Sladek-Mahar, middle school, high school social studies teacher.

[8:04] And lastly but not least, Dr. Katherine Zvokol, elementary school

[8:08] teacher.

[8:14] I'm this one.

[8:16] Thank you.

[8:22] All good.

[8:27] How are you?

[8:32] 25 years.

[8:34] Put it on your-

[8:36] Yeah

[8:36] ... just put it on your line there.

[8:37] Thank you.

[8:40] 25

[8:41] years. Very special.

[8:44] So you're subbing today.

[8:45] I'm the teacher.

[8:49] I hate it.

[8:50] Yep. Certificate.

[8:50] There you go.

[8:52] Thank you.

[8:52] Very good. Follow directions.

[8:55] Look at

[8:56] you.

[9:00] Yeah.

[9:03] Look at all the

[9:03] people

[9:12] in the

[9:13] audience.

[9:33] I was a different animal back then.

[9:36] Different.

[9:37] I was more like a

[9:37] nightcrawler.

[9:59] We recognize it's the first week of school, so

[10:04] thank you to our dedicated staff. At this point,

[10:08] I'm going to arrange my report. Is that okay?

[10:10] Yeah.

[10:11] Yeah? We will go right into my report with Dr.

[10:14] Nydick and the AP results.

[10:24] Thank you, Mrs. Chmatan. Good evening, everyone, and I'd like to thank the

[10:28] board for the opportunity to speak about the results of our

[10:32] most recent AP testing from this last May.

[10:36] During the '25, '26 school year, we once again experienced an

[10:39] increase in AP exams taken in the school with

[10:42] 433 total exams. Participation is also

[10:46] higher than last year, with 175 students taking an AP exam,

[10:51] and this is certainly a positive trend that the district is committed to

[10:54] continually increasing.

[10:56] Students with scores of three or higher was up slightly from last year to

[11:00] 85.71. And overall, I think it's clear to say that

[11:04] as participation has increased, performance has not suffered, and

[11:08] this is certainly a sign of quality instruction.

[11:12] This college credit report, formerly known as the Equity and Excellence Report,

[11:16] shows the proportion of the district's entire senior class who

[11:20] scored a three or higher on an AP exam at any

[11:24] point during high school. This year,

[11:27] 62.7% scored a three or higher on at least one AP

[11:30] exam at any point during their high school career.

[11:34] Additionally, this table shows the percentage of our entire 10th, 11th, and 12th

[11:38] grade classes who took it and scored a three or higher on at least

[11:42] one AP exam in May of 2026. For 12th graders,

[11:46] 45.8% scored a three or higher this past May, for

[11:49] 11th graders, 61% scored a three or higher,

[11:54] and for 10th graders, 54.7% scored a three

[11:58] or higher. Certainly pretty impressive information there.

[12:02] For 2026, we had 433 AP exams

[12:06] taken by our students with an average score of a

[12:09] 3.60. Over the past five years, we've also seen

[12:13] strong consistency in these average scores.

[12:16] Also, while we may have more students taking AP exams, I do want to

[12:20] send a shout-out certainly for those of our students who are

[12:24] participating in our ever-expanding dual enrollment program.

[12:28] We have many, many courses based on different passions and interests of our

[12:32] students.

[12:33] These dual enrollment courses are certainly tied to Stony Brook and Suffolk

[12:37] Community College at this point in time.

[12:41] Our AP English courses demonstrate continued outperformance compared

[12:45] to the New York State mean and the global mean.

[12:47] Notably, AP Language had a mean of

[12:50] 3.77, with 92% of our students obtaining a three

[12:54] or higher, and AP Literature had a mean of

[12:58] 3.87, with 87% of our students

[13:01] obtaining a three or higher during the

[13:03] 2026 testing cycle.

[13:08] In terms of AP World, we had 18 of our 24 students, or

[13:12] 75%, attain a three or higher. For AP US, the

[13:16] mean score was higher than New York State and the global mean.

[13:19] The percent earning a three or higher was 82%.

[13:22] It's nice to see the strong enrollment that we also have with this course over the

[13:26] past three years. In terms of AP Macro, our students

[13:29] outperformed the global mean, and we had 86% of our students

[13:33] earning a three or higher, which was a nice rebound from the

[13:37] previous year.

[13:41] AP Science courses saw, once again, very strong scores that were higher

[13:45] than both the New York State and global average scores.

[13:48] AP Biology had a 3.81 mean and 94% of the students

[13:52] earning a three or higher. AP Chemistry had a 3.6 mean

[13:56] with 88% of students earning a three or higher.

[14:02] AP Physics students performed exceptionally well again this year, with an average

[14:06] score outperforming both New York State and the global mean by almost one

[14:10] full point. Additionally, 100% of students earned a three or

[14:14] higher. AP Calculus AB continues to outperform both the New

[14:17] York State mean and the global mean with a

[14:20] 4.07 average score. In terms of Calculus

[14:24] BC, 100% of our students earned a three or higher, while also

[14:28] outperforming the New York State mean and the global mean.

[14:33] In terms of AP Stats, the Port Jeff mean was much higher than the New

[14:37] York State mean and the global mean, and we had 86% of the students

[14:41] earning a three or higher.

[14:43] With AP Computer Science Principles, our Port Jeff mean was somewhat similar to the

[14:47] New York State and global mean, with 54% of

[14:51] our students earning a three or higher in that course.

[14:57] AP Music Theory runs on an alternating year basis.

[15:00] This year, we had six students challenge the course.

[15:02] The Port Jeff mean was a 2.67, which was below both

[15:06] the New York State mean and the global mean.

[15:09] In addition, we had two of the six students obtain a

[15:13] three or higher on that exam.

[15:16] This was our first year offering AP Human Geography.

[15:19] This course was mainly composed of ninth graders, but we also did have a few

[15:23] upper-level students challenge this course.

[15:26] In all, we had 39 students take the class.

[15:28] 33

[15:30] of the students, or 85%, achieved a three or higher on that

[15:34] exam, and the Port Jeff mean of 3.64 was higher than both the

[15:38] New York State mean and the global mean.

[15:41] And back this year was AP French Language and Culture, which did not run last year.

[15:46] With this exam, the Port Jeff mean of 2.75 was below the New York State

[15:50] mean and the global mean. Of the four students taking the class, however, three

[15:53] of them obtained a three or higher on the exam.

[15:59] In terms of AP Spanish Language and AP Spanish Literature, we

[16:03] noticed that the Port Jeff mean still falls below the New York State mean and the

[16:06] global mean. With AP Spanish Language, we had 64% of

[16:10] our students earning a three or higher and 60% of students earning a three or

[16:13] higher for AP Spanish Literature.

[16:15] And with all of these world language exams, they're

[16:19] very tough and almost designed for native speakers to

[16:23] meet success. So when we talk about numbers in the 50s and 60s, it is quite an

[16:27] impressive feat for our students who are often taking these

[16:31] as a second language.

[16:34] We had both students, in terms of 2D Art and

[16:38] Design, obtain at least a three in that course.

[16:41] We are certainly very proud of the fact that the Port Jeff mean was well above the

[16:45] New York State mean and the global mean.

[16:51] And this was our fourth year of AP Seminar, and we are extremely

[16:54] pleased with the results, as we had 95% of the 40

[16:58] students earn a three or higher. The Port Jeff mean

[17:02] was well above the New York State mean and global mean.

[17:06] And in our third year of AP Research, we had all six of our students earn a

[17:10] three or higher.

[17:13] This slide details our AP Scholar awards for 2026.

[17:17] Total scholars decreased slightly from 103 in 2025

[17:21] to 90 in 2026. We did, however, have 28

[17:25] AP Scholars, which is the second highest amount over the past seven

[17:28] years. We also had 11 AP Scholars with Honor.

[17:32] AP Scholars with Distinction was the highest number we have had over the past seven

[17:36] years, with 45 students earning this

[17:40] award. This is an amazing number considering that you need at least

[17:43] a 3.5 average score on all AP exams

[17:47] taken and scores of three or higher on five or

[17:51] more of these exams.

[17:54] This was the third year that our students were eligible for the AP Capstone Awards,

[17:58] and this year we're happy to report that we had six students earn that AP Capstone

[18:01] Diploma This is granted to students who earn scores of three or

[18:05] higher in AP Seminar and AP Research and on four

[18:09] additional AP exams of their choosing.

[18:12] So when you look at the last column, the past year, we did not have...

[18:16] Or second to last column, we did not have any students earning the AP Seminar and

[18:19] Research certificate, which is granted to students who earn scores of

[18:23] three or higher in AP Seminar and AP Research, but do not take or

[18:27] pass four additional exams. So our students are all falling into the higher

[18:32] designation, which is a big deal.

[18:35] So all in all, we will reflect on all of this data and continue to look

[18:39] for ways to improve our AP program.

[18:44] I did want to just take a moment to remind the board of the

[18:48] district on how we did in terms of our AP Platinum status.

[18:53] Only 8% of schools in the United States and Canada met College

[18:56] Board's highest possible standard, and to achieve the Platinum status,

[19:00] schools must meet rigorous benchmarks for student access and success

[19:05] in AP coursework, which includes 80% of graduating

[19:09] seniors taking at least one AP exam during high school,

[19:12] 50% of graduating seniors earning a score of three or more on

[19:16] at least one AP exam, and 15% of seniors taking

[19:20] five or more AP exams, including one in ninth or

[19:24] tenth grade. So I'm so proud of our students, our faculty, for

[19:28] obtaining this designation for our school community

[19:32] because it definitely demonstrates the top-notch

[19:37] rigor that we have here in Port Jeff.

[19:41] So with that, I know I went a little quickly this evening, but are

[19:45] there any questions about these

[19:49] monumental results, as always?

[19:52] Port Jeff proud.

[19:54] Yeah.

[19:55] Yeah. No questions, but-

[19:56] Yeah

[19:56] ... amazing.

[19:57] Yeah. We were really just commenting on the Human Geography first

[20:01] year.

[20:01] I thought it was astonishing. I just said it to Pat, I said 39 kids.

[20:03] I was like, "Wow, that's amazing."

[20:04] That's the first time, and mostly ninth graders-

[20:07] Yeah, overwhelmingly

[20:07] ... to be exposed to that AP course, and to have such strong scores in the

[20:11] first year implementing that course is just very proud.

[20:14] Yeah.

[20:14] Really good work from all of our departments.

[20:17] And it also provides some of our upper-level students with the opportunity to

[20:20] challenge an AP, which has certainly been a goal of ours-

[20:23] Yeah, exactly

[20:23] ... to expose them to college-level work before they actually graduate from Port

[20:27] Jeff.

[20:28] All right.

[20:29] It's great.

[20:29] Well, great.

[20:31] Thank you.

[20:31] The mathematics are great.

[20:35] Congratulations. Julia, how are you for your report?

[20:37] Can I finish first?

[20:38] Oh. You wanted-

[20:40] I just want to say something else.

[20:40] Oh, okay.

[20:41] Is that okay?

[20:43] Well, we had a wonderful start to the school year, and we're happy to welcome our

[20:46] staff and students back to the buildings, and we look forward to open houses

[20:49] tomorrow night at the elementary school and Thursday at our middle school and

[20:53] high school. Did I jump ahead a little, Leslie?

[20:56] And so, we would like to also invite the public to

[21:00] join us next week for the Port Jefferson School District Wall of Fame induction

[21:04] ceremony on September 18th at 1:00 PM.

[21:08] We will honor two remarkable members of our schools, John R.

[21:11] Bob Estell and Leslie E. JJ Goodman Jr.

[21:15] Bob Estell was a foundational figure in Port Jefferson education and athletics,

[21:18] serving as an impactful teacher, coach, athletic director, and mentor in our

[21:22] district from 1951 to 1994. Also

[21:26] being honored is former NFL player and class of 1968 alumnus,

[21:30] Les JJ Goodman. Les stands as one of the most accomplished

[21:34] athletes and continues to inspire Port Jefferson students and the community through

[21:37] his legacy of excellence and character.

[21:40] The ceremony will take place at the athletic stadium and will be open to the

[21:43] public. In the event of inclement weather, though, the ceremony will move indoors

[21:47] to the high school library, and space will be limited to family attendees only.

[21:52] As many of you are aware, we unfortunately have been unable to field a varsity

[21:55] football team. This was not expected, and we planned 23 returning

[21:59] players and eight incoming freshmen.

[22:02] Once we realized we would not have the minimum number of players, we requested to

[22:05] combine with Rocky Point. Section 11 would allow the combination

[22:09] but imposed a no-playoff penalty.

[22:11] Faced with this consequence, Rocky Point had no alternative but to withdraw from

[22:15] the varsity portion of the agreement.

[22:18] Rocky Point has continued with our agreement for the combined JV squad, and our

[22:22] students in grades nine through 11 have been practicing with them beginning last

[22:26] week.

[22:27] The whole matter and how it transpired is deeply troubling and disappointing.

[22:31] Our students should never be caught in the middle of a dispute over unexpected

[22:34] circumstances, administrative processes, or scheduling

[22:37] concerns. The Port Jefferson and Rocky Point school districts came forward with a

[22:41] good faith proposal designed to preserve opportunities for student athletes in

[22:45] both communities. Without a combined varsity team, our high school

[22:49] student-athletes will not have a football season this year, and for our seniors

[22:53] who invested years of their lives in this program, that prospect is particularly

[22:57] devastating. We have not stopped advocating for our students, and we're looking for

[23:01] the best outcome for our athletes.

[23:03] Our players just want to play football, and our district wants to give them that

[23:06] opportunity.

[23:08] The district appealed the decision of Section 11 last week, and we were

[23:11] denied. Tonight, the Board of Education is going to consider a

[23:15] resolution to authorize our legal counsel to begin litigation

[23:19] against Section 11 in order to permit our football players to

[23:22] participate with the Rocky Point varsity football team for the 2026 season.

[23:27] And at this time, I'd like to formally introduce Julia Gomes,

[23:31] our student board member. Julia is a senior, active in student government,

[23:35] extracurricular clubs, and volleyball, and we are excited for her to join us as

[23:39] part of the Board of Education. At this time, Julia gets to give her first report.

[23:45] Yeah.

[23:45] Well, I was also told to give a little introduction.

[23:48] So hi, my name is Julia Lima de Oliveira Gomes,

[23:52] and I've been in Port Jeff since first grade.

[23:54] I am a senior, and I participated in student organizations since freshman year, and

[23:58] I've also been class vice president since freshman year.

[24:01] I've played school and travel volleyball since eighth grade, and during my academic

[24:05] career, I participated in nine clubs and 15 APs total.

[24:09] True. She's the story today.

[24:13] I was also part of the Hospital Career Exploration Program,

[24:17] internship program offered last year at St.

[24:19] Charles Hospital, and I volunteered there over the summer, accumulating over 120

[24:23] community service hours from the hospital alone, and hundreds of hours total.

[24:27] I am super excited to be the student board representative, and I really appreciate

[24:30] the opportunity.

[24:32] That's great.

[24:32] So now the actual report.

[24:36] It has been a smooth transition to start off the new year.

[24:39] Students and teachers are getting used to their new schedules and classes.

[24:42] Sports and clubs are off and running, and many of the seventh and eighth grade

[24:46] students have reported that they love having their backpacks in school.

[24:49] Town hall meetings are

[24:51] being held with the students to review the expectations and procedures of the

[24:55] school.

[24:56] There are many things happening in the middle school and high school.

[24:59] On Thursday, November 10th, the middle school and high school will be having a

[25:03] back to school night. This event is a great way for the parents of our students to

[25:07] get a glimpse of their child's academic day by meeting their teachers, as well as

[25:10] learning about the different curriculums.

[25:17] On Friday 9/11, the 11th and 12th graders will be taking a field trip to

[25:21] the PJ Firehouse for the September 11th ceremony.

[25:24] The entire district is asked to wear red, white, and blue to show our support.

[25:28] On

[25:30] September 17th, some of our high school athletes will be hosting a fall sports

[25:34] fair for the fifth grade students.

[25:36] This opportunity provides the elementary school students with a chance to learn

[25:39] about the various sports that are offered to them at the middle school and high

[25:42] school level.

[25:44] Next week is the Start

[25:45] with Hello Week. There will be various opportunities district-wide to

[25:49] support this program that was developed through the Sandy Hook Promise.

[25:53] The mission is to lead and promote by having all students feel

[25:57] included and not to feel like they're alone.

[26:00] Senior Derek Wonderland is working with the League of Yes to organize a Bike

[26:04] to the Beach event on October 3rd at Smiths Point to raise awareness for

[26:07] autism and disabilities.

[26:09] And finally, some important upcoming meetings and events.

[26:12] On September 14th, SEPTA will be having a virtual meeting.

[26:16] September 16th, the PTSA will be having a meeting.

[26:20] September 18th, the Wall of Fame induction at 12:30 at the

[26:24] athletic complex. On September 23rd, there will be a club

[26:28] fair where students can learn about the different clubs that are available for them

[26:31] to join. And finally, on September 30th, financial aid night

[26:35] presentation will be held.

[26:37] Thank you.

[26:38] Thank you.

[26:40] I'm sure you have a lot of AP studying to do-

[26:42] Yeah

[26:42] ... so if you have homework, you are excused. Thank you so much for joining us.

[26:45] Thank you.

[26:46] Thank you.

[26:48] Great first meeting.

[26:50] Happy first report.

[26:52] I am done now. Sorry.

[26:53] Okay.

[26:55] All right. We'll go to committee reports and we'll start with

[26:59] policy has not met.

[27:01] Curriculum has not met yet, right?

[27:02] No.

[27:02] They're a little early in the year.

[27:04] So we have facilities, and we'll go to facilities first.

[27:08] I thought we were doing finance first.

[27:10] You're up.

[27:10] Sorry.

[27:12] So facilities didn't have a formal meeting, but we had a facilities

[27:15] walkthrough, which is always so nice to do at the end of the summer to see

[27:19] all the work that was done. So we received a tour given by Mr.

[27:23] Lester and Mr. Minerak, beginning at district office, where we saw new

[27:27] fencing and carpeting inside district office.

[27:31] Then we walked over to the O&M building to see the floor construction.

[27:35] So everyone should be happy to know that the floor is not sloping and things aren't

[27:38] falling off shelves anymore. So that was happy. That was a good thing to see.

[27:43] While we were actually outside about to walk into the elementary school, we had a

[27:46] discussion about replacing the fence along Scraggy Road

[27:50] and installing a walkway with bollards.

[27:53] I think they're called bollards, right?

[27:55] Okay. To create a buffer between the parking spaces on the street,

[27:59] since this can potentially be a safety concern for students who

[28:03] get either dropped off or picked up from school, or even

[28:07] if they are attending school events. So Mr.

[28:11] Minerak is going to look into pricing for this project potentially.

[28:16] We then went into the

[28:18] elementary school and toured the second grade and fourth grade

[28:22] wings.

[28:24] We moved on to the middle school/high school, where we saw the labeled

[28:28] senior parking spots and new fencing by the

[28:31] middle school outer stairs. We toured the middle school art room,

[28:36] room A206, A207, saw the middle

[28:40] school gym padding, and middle school special ed offices.

[28:44] Then we moved to the high school, saw the principal's office hallway carpet.

[28:47] We went outside to the high school breezeway for tech ed and saw the stairs,

[28:51] railings, bollards where the portables used to be,

[28:55] and a new drain cover, which I think Mr.

[28:58] Minerak was very excited about personally. But he was very excited about it.

[29:02] The little things.

[29:03] Then we went on to the high school second floor

[29:07] to see, finally, the new unit

[29:10] ventilators for the air conditioning, which was again, very exciting.

[29:14] We were all very happy.

[29:16] That concluded our tour. But as always, we

[29:20] have so much thanks to our staff for

[29:24] making your classrooms warm and inviting for your students.

[29:27] I love it because I get some great ideas before I get to decorate my

[29:31] own classroom. Thank you to the high school staff for their patience with the

[29:34] installation of the HVAC system, and a huge thank you to our

[29:38] custodial, grounds, and maintenance crews, as well as our technology

[29:42] department for getting our schools ready for the

[29:44] 2026/2027 school year. Your

[29:48] hard work does not go unnoticed, and it's certainly very

[29:52] appreciated. So thank you.

[29:54] Thank you, Randy. And I'm just surprised that they were able to

[29:58] retrofit that air conditioning-

[29:59] Mm-hmm

[30:00] ... without taking so much space out of the rooms.

[30:03] Yeah.

[30:03] It was really-

[30:04] They did a great job with that.

[30:05] It's nice. It was great

[30:05] ... really nice.

[30:07] Okay, so we'll move on to finance. We met-

[30:11] We met.

[30:11] Yeah.

[30:11] Early in the year, we met. Finance met on September 1st on our

[30:16] And a lot of our meeting was about the end of last year going into this

[30:19] year. Our audit is in the process, and it's being completed, and hopefully

[30:23] should be completed shortly. We discussed fund balance

[30:27] transfers for the end of the year, including

[30:32] fund balance transfer in order to add a third pre-K class this year,

[30:36] which is a great thing for us to have three pre-K

[30:40] sections going forward in the '26, '27 school year.

[30:44] We did continue to discuss, which was brought up at August meeting,

[30:48] a new RFP to go out for potential

[30:52] possibility of a land sale near Scraggy Hill. That'll go out in the near future.

[30:57] We'll have a three-month window.

[30:59] And we discussed a couple of the other aspects that'll go

[31:03] forward during the course of the year, but it was very early in the

[31:07] year.

[31:08] And our next meeting is October 13th at 6:30.

[31:13] I think next facilities-

[31:14] It is the same night

[31:15] ... is the same day.

[31:15] Sorry.

[31:15] October 13th.

[31:17] Ditto. But right after.

[31:17] So we're both going to meet on October 13th.

[31:19] Yes.

[31:20] Okay.

[31:20] And audit, I think you're waiting to-

[31:23] Yeah. Waiting for the-

[31:23] ... wrap things up, and then-

[31:24] Yeah

[31:24] ... it'll be on the calendar.

[31:26] Correct.

[31:26] Mm-hmm.

[31:27] Great. Thank you.

[31:31] We'll move on in our meeting. So

[31:33] the board approves the minutes of

[31:37] the August 25th regular business meeting of the Board of Education.

[31:41] Could I have a motion, please?

[31:43] That'll be Tracy Zamek. Second is Mike Weaver.

[31:47] Any discussion, revisions,

[31:50] changes?

[31:52] No. We move for a vote. All those in favor.

[31:55] Thank you.

[31:57] Now at this point, we have the public comment that is related to

[32:01] anything on the agenda, on tonight's agenda.

[32:04] Is there anybody here for public comment on tonight's agenda items?

[32:10] Seeing no one's come up to the mic, we'll move on to

[32:13] the board consent agenda.

[32:16] So as recommended by the superintendent of schools, the board approves

[32:20] the following resolution,

[32:22] the facilities resolution item C1 appearing on the

[32:26] September 8th, 2026 consent agenda.

[32:29] Could I have a motion, please?

[32:31] That'll be Randy DeWitt. Second,

[32:35] Tracy Donnelly. Any discussion?

[32:39] So move for a vote. All those in favor. Thank you.

[32:43] We now have the board consent agenda for instructional

[32:47] personnel.

[32:49] As recommended by the superintendent of schools, the board approves the

[32:53] following instructional personnel resolution items D1

[32:57] through D8, appearing on the September 8th, 2026

[33:01] consent agenda. Could I have a motion, please?

[33:04] That'll be Mike

[33:06] Weaver and Tracy Donnelly.

[33:09] Any discussion?

[33:12] We'll move for a vote. All those in favor.

[33:16] Thank you. We want to welcome Lauren.

[33:19] How do we say your last name? Orel? Ormes?

[33:21] Laurel.

[33:22] Laurel.

[33:23] Tenure.

[33:23] Yes. Tenure.

[33:24] Mm-hmm.

[33:24] For tenure.

[33:25] Congratulations.

[33:25] Yes. So congratulations, again.

[33:31] And now we have the board consent agenda for non-instructional personnel.

[33:36] If I could just request, under non-instructional, if you could pull item

[33:40] E3 separate to vote on.

[33:42] Sure.

[33:50] So as recommended by the superintendent of schools, the board approves the

[33:54] following non-instructional personnel resolution items

[33:58] E1, E2, and E4, appearing on this, the

[34:02] September 8th, 2026 consent agenda.

[34:05] Could I have a motion, please? That'll be Randy DeWitt.

[34:08] Second is Shannon Hanley.

[34:12] Any discussion?

[34:15] Okay. We'll go for a vote

[34:18] on this, and we're pulling E3 for-

[34:21] Three

[34:21] ... a second vote.

[34:23] Thank you. All those in favor? We're one, two,

[34:27] and four.

[34:29] Thank you.

[34:31] And now as recommended by the superintendent of schools,

[34:38] non-instructional personnel resolution item E3

[34:42] is up for a motion.

[34:44] That would be Mike Weaver.

[34:46] Second is

[34:48] Tracy Donnelly.

[34:51] We'll move for a vote.

[34:54] And that you'll stay-

[34:55] Are you abstaining?

[34:56] Yeah.

[34:58] Thank you.

[35:01] And just to say, her daughter is volunteering as a coach.

[35:05] But we have to get it up front.

[35:06] Cat's out of the bag.

[35:10] The board consent agenda for finance, as recommended by the superintendent of

[35:14] schools, the board approves the following finance resolution

[35:18] items F1 through F5, appearing on the

[35:22] September 8th, 2026 consent agenda.

[35:26] Could I have a motion, please?

[35:28] That'd be Tracy Donnelly.

[35:31] Second is Shannon Hanley. Any discussion?

[35:36] All right. We'll move for a vote. All those in favor.

[35:40] Thank you.

[35:42] And we are for the consent agenda for

[35:45] education. As recommended by the superintendent of schools, the board

[35:49] approves the following education resolution items

[35:53] G1 through G2, appearing on the September 8th,

[35:57] 2026 consent agenda. Could I have a motion, please?

[36:01] Mike. I'm sorry, Mike, I looked at you.

[36:05] We're all good.

[36:06] It's been whack-a-mole.

[36:08] It'd be Randy as the second.

[36:13] And any discussion?

[36:16] So we'll move for a vote. All those in favor.

[36:21] So we have old business. Anybody have old business they want to discuss?

[36:28] And under new business, we do have some new business.

[36:32] We discussed a

[36:40] resolution for a litigation we wanted to bring.

[36:43] So I'll read that motion now,

[36:47] and we'll move for discussion and vote.

[36:50] Whereas the Section 11 Athletics issued a

[36:54] determination dated September 4th, 2026, that

[36:57] effectively denied an appeal of the school district to combine its

[37:01] varsity team with Rocky Point's varsity team for the

[37:05] 2026 season. And whereas the

[37:09] Board of Education has reviewed the determination, and upon the advice

[37:13] of counsel, has concluded that the determination was made in

[37:16] violation of lawful procedure, was affected by an

[37:20] error of law, was arbitrary and capricious,

[37:24] and/or it was an abuse

[37:28] of discretion. And whereas the Board of

[37:31] Education has concluded that it is in the best interest of the

[37:35] district to challenge the determination by

[37:38] filing an education law section

[37:42] 3110-

[37:45] 310

[37:45] ... 310,

[37:47] appeal with the Commissioner of Education, and for commencing a

[37:50] proceeding pursuant to Article 78 of the Civil

[37:54] Practice Law and Rules.

[37:56] Now, therefore, be it resolved that the Board of Education

[38:00] hereby authorizes its counsel, Ingerman Smith

[38:04] LLP, to file an education law Section

[38:09] 310 appeal with the Commissioner of Education

[38:13] and/or commence an Article 78 proceeding in the

[38:16] Supreme Court of

[38:19] the State of New York, County of Suffolk, against Section

[38:23] 11 Athletics, seeking to annul, vacate,

[38:27] and/or set aside its September 4th, 2026,

[38:31] determination, and for such other and further relief

[38:34] as may be just and proper, including, but not

[38:38] limited to, the immediate stay of Section 11 Athletics'

[38:42] decision that effectively precludes the combining of the Port

[38:46] Jefferson and Rocky Point football programs for the

[38:50] 2026 season. And be it further

[38:53] resolved that the President of the Board of Education and/or the

[38:57] Superintendent of Schools are hereby authorized and directed

[39:01] to execute any and all documents,

[39:05] verifications, and papers necessary or appropriate to

[39:08] commence

[39:10] and prosecute the appeal and/or proceeding, and

[39:14] to take such further action as may be necessary to effectuate

[39:18] the purpose of this resolution. And be it

[39:22] further resolved that this resolution shall take effect

[39:25] immediately.

[39:28] So

[39:30] we have this resolution.

[39:32] Mm-hmm.

[39:32] I'm in full support-

[39:34] Yep

[39:34] ... of doing this and moving forward.

[39:35] So we've obtained the motion is from Randy DeWitt.

[39:39] Second is Tracy Donnelly,

[39:43] and Mike and Tracy.

[39:45] Is there any discussion?

[39:48] No, I think this is the best.

[39:51] I second.

[39:51] I think this is-- Hopefully we get the results that these-

[39:54] This is for-

[39:54] ... student-athletes deserve.

[39:56] This is-

[39:56] To no fault of their own, being denied a season when we have a

[40:00] neighboring school district that is more than willing to take them.

[40:04] We have good faith with that other school district, and it's just a shame

[40:07] that there wasn't a resolution last week, and we have to pursue

[40:11] this. But I think it's the right way to go, and I think we 100% need to do

[40:15] this for our student-athletes.

[40:16] Yeah. I think this is absolutely

[40:20] what we need to do to continue this advocation, because the decision,

[40:24] unfortunately, is harming these athletes, and they can't

[40:28] get that season back. And it's unfortunate because they didn't do anything wrong.

[40:32] Right.

[40:32] And we have to make that point that this

[40:36] is something that has to be addressed, and this is the best way to go about

[40:40] doing it.

[40:41] It's a bad example, also, I think, for our students.

[40:43] It's-

[40:43] To demonstrate that you have two school districts willing to work together, kids

[40:46] willing to play together. You show up every day, you practice, you do the right

[40:50] thing, and it still

[40:52] didn't work out well for them. So I think they need to see that sometimes adults

[40:56] need to step in and help advocate, and that's what we're going to do.

[41:00] So I 100% support this.

[41:02] And I want to give Rocky Point credit for still-

[41:05] Yes

[41:05] ... being there and-

[41:06] Yes. 100.

[41:06] We did have an opportunity.

[41:07] They have been great in supporting and-

[41:09] Thankful

[41:10] ... trying to do right by our students-

[41:12] Yeah

[41:12] ... along with us, so.

[41:13] And just publicly saying that this is a very unique situation because I think

[41:16] there's a lot of social media out there where people are blaming this on

[41:21] lower enrollment problem that we had, when really we had a full roster.

[41:24] This is a last-minute thing that happened. It was very unique.

[41:27] So I just want people to see it as it really was.

[41:31] Well, it's unique also to the rule.

[41:33] Yeah.

[41:33] I think that's another thing. These are antiquated-

[41:36] Guidelines

[41:37] ... guidelines.

[41:37] From the '80s.

[41:38] Yeah.

[41:38] From the 1980s.

[41:39] Yeah.

[41:39] So I think that it requires-

[41:41] Sports are a little different now

[41:42] ... I mean, I hope we're setting a tone here to kind of revisit this and put

[41:46] students first so they can play.

[41:47] Yeah.

[41:47] So.

[41:48] And I think that's something that needs to be looked at in Suffolk County as a

[41:51] whole, is how do you reestablish the way we do athletic--

[41:55] in order to make sure these kids don't get

[41:58] put in a situation like this overall.

[41:59] And the decreasing enrollment isn't just in the schools.

[42:01] I think that's another important point to note.

[42:04] It's a decreasing enrollment in football, period.

[42:07] Correct.

[42:07] In playing sports like that. I think we're seeing a decrease, even in schools that

[42:11] have larger enrollment and larger populations, they're having smaller and

[42:15] smaller teams.

[42:16] Correct.

[42:16] So

[42:17] we have to be more flexible. It's time to be creative, and kids come first, so.

[42:21] Do what's right for the kids.

[42:22] So go get them, Neil.

[42:24] Bring back good news. That's it.

[42:26] Yeah. So.

[42:27] We're sending you on your way.

[42:30] So we vote?

[42:31] Yes.

[42:31] All right. I will-

[42:32] All in favor

[42:33] ... ask for a vote. All those in favor?

[42:35] In favor, please.

[42:36] Thank you.

[42:37] Thank you.

[42:37] The kids thank you.

[42:41] And Neil, we will thank you when you're here.

[42:43] Yes.

[42:46] So we have any other-- At this time, we have an opportunity for public

[42:50] comment.

[42:51] Anybody would like to...

[42:55] No?

[42:56] So we'll close the public comment portion of our meeting.

[42:59] And, at this point, there's no other new business,

[43:03] so we'll move for an adjournment. Could I have a motion, please?

[43:08] Mike Weaver.

[43:10] Mike Weaver.

[43:10] Second, Tracy Donnelly.

[43:13] Yes.

[43:15] May I ask all those in favor, please? Thank you.

[43:19] Thank you, everybody.

[43:20] Have a great night, everyone.

[43:21] Have a great night, everybody.

[43:21] Thank you.

BOE Meeting September 8, 2026

Transcript