[0:05] Evening everyone. Today is Wednesday,

[0:06] May 20th, 2026. This is a regular

[0:09] meeting of the board of education of the

[0:10] Tuo Union Preschool District. Can I have

[0:13] a motion to call the meeting to order?

[0:17] Pete second. Blue. All in favor?

[0:21] Pledge of allegiance.

[0:27] I pledge allegiance

[0:28] >> to the flag of the United States of

[0:30] America and to the republic for which it

[0:32] stands. One nation under God,

[0:35] indivisible, with liberty and justice

[0:37] for all.

[0:46] » We are going to start with um board

[0:49] comments.

[0:51] Who would like to go first? You guys

[0:53] down there. Who would like to go first?

[0:55] >> Say mic again.

[0:56] >> Yep.

[0:57] >> I'm say again.

[0:58] >> You're gonna say

[1:01] right now? No.

[1:03] >> I'll I'll just comment on the success of

[1:07] the budget vote last night. Thank you to

[1:09] the community for that turnout and for

[1:12] that overwhelming passing of the budget.

[1:15] I think it was 72.6% approval. So, says

[1:18] a lot about how the community feels

[1:20] about the job that's being done. So, and

[1:22] I wanted to also acknowledge the

[1:25] superintendent's um efforts, especially

[1:28] in those week the last week or two

[1:29] leading up to it. There was some

[1:32] concerns about some of the staffing

[1:33] moves and he I think he very proactively

[1:36] um you know made himself available and spoke to the community and got them

[1:41] to a place obviously where they were

[1:43] comfortable. So, um kudos to you uh

[1:45] Superintendent Roberts. So, that's it

[1:47] for me.

[1:48] >> Uh same thing I want to say. been in

[1:50] faith. You guys did a great job with the

[1:52] budget. As we know, there's local

[1:53] districts, our neighboring district,

[1:56] Eastchester, did not pass their budget.

[1:58] Um, and they're going to try it again.

[2:00] But we did a great job at our tax cap.

[2:03] Also adding some great programs. Benu

[2:05] did a great job of working with the

[2:07] community to explain

[2:09] um all your coffees regarding the class

[2:11] reduction, but what we're gaining on two

[2:13] ICT programs, but I don't need to kind

[2:15] of go into that. Also, congratulations

[2:17] to Seth and Amber for a wellrun

[2:20] campaign. Um, it's uh it was a was it

[2:24] was a very good uh to see everyone take

[2:26] part in this uh election. It's it was

[2:29] it's great for the community to come

[2:30] out. Also, just to both of them just

[2:32] please keep moving things forward. Uh in

[2:34] the district, this board has done

[2:35] amazing things. Um a lot of

[2:37] implementation when it come to comes to

[2:39] curriculum um and special education. So,

[2:42] let's just keep it moving forward. Um,

[2:44] and keep our kids here in the district.

[2:46] This is going to be one of our our big

[2:48] things in middle school kids. Um, so

[2:50] again, congratulations and let's looking

[2:52] forward to good things.

[2:54] >> Yeah, good point, Scott. I I failed to

[2:57] do that as well as congratulations to

[2:58] Amber, Amber, and Seth on their their

[3:00] victory.

[3:01] >> Good job.

[3:04] >> Okay. Um, I have a couple of comments. I

[3:08] want to um first thank the PCA for

[3:11] running their forum. Um it's a huge

[3:14] asset to our community that you guys do

[3:16] this for us. Um so thank you for all the

[3:19] work that was put into that. Um I also

[3:21] want to thank Robin Dunn for our um

[3:25] running our election. I know it's a ton

[3:27] of work um and I appreciate all that

[3:30] goes into that very stressful day um and

[3:33] long day. So and and days leading up to

[3:35] it. So, thank you for all the work that

[3:37] you put into it. Um, thank you to Ben

[3:40] and Faith for Mr. Roberts and Faith,

[3:43] sorry, for um all of the work on your

[3:46] budget and congratulations on getting

[3:47] that passed and Faith as well to your

[3:49] business office. Um, all the team, Viata

[3:52] and Jen and just everybody in the office

[3:55] who assists you with that budget, you

[3:57] know, great work. Um, and thank you to

[4:00] the community for coming out and voting

[4:02] um with such strong support for the

[4:04] budget. It really is um such a sign of

[4:08] the support and faith you have in the

[4:10] district and I just really appreciate um

[4:13] everybody voting in favor for it. So,

[4:15] thank you. Um next, I want to thank all

[4:18] the candidates for running. Um for those

[4:21] of you who don't know, running for board

[4:24] of ed is an extremely taxing project. It

[4:28] takes away so much time from your

[4:30] family. it is very very difficult for

[4:33] putting yourself out there. Um, and

[4:36] there are a lot of conversations and

[4:38] sometimes difficult conversations to be

[4:40] had while you're doing it. And I really

[4:43] just want to say thank you to all four

[4:45] of you for putting your hat in the ring,

[4:49] for going through um what you went

[4:51] through in the past few weeks, and um

[4:54] for anyone who is willing to do that for

[4:58] our district, I just want to say thank

[4:59] you for the work that you put into it.

[5:02] Um,

[5:04] next is, um, I had the pleasure of going

[5:10] and attending the, um, I missed the the

[5:14] band concert, I believe, but I did have

[5:16] the pleasure of seeing the strings

[5:17] concert on Monday, which was absolutely

[5:20] phenomenal. Um, I love the energy. I

[5:22] love the music selection. They did a

[5:24] rock-based um, music selection. And it

[5:27] was just a lot of fun to see the high

[5:29] school and the middle school kids um in

[5:33] that performance and uh the son the

[5:36] senoi um sonata players doing their

[5:39] pieces and it was just a great energy

[5:42] and you could really see um what a

[5:44] benefit the program is to the district

[5:47] and um I believe that yesterday right

[5:50] they went to NISMA yesterday they went

[5:52] to NISMA and the um the string

[5:57] orchestra. The Simono Sonata won gold

[6:00] for their performance um piece and they

[6:03] worked so hard on it. I mean, these kids

[6:05] are here. Every time we have a board

[6:06] meeting, they are in there practicing

[6:08] for hours in Mr. D's room. So, um happy

[6:12] to hear that the practice paid off and

[6:14] that they won. And I believe also our

[6:17] band or the jazz band won um bronze. And

[6:21] that again is a is a really really great

[6:23] accomplishment. Um, I also went this

[6:26] evening to the art show, which I believe

[6:28] the art is going to be up for a couple

[6:29] of days, right? So, it is so worth going

[6:32] to see. If you have not seen it, I

[6:34] suggest you stop by the library and go

[6:37] see it. It is just really great. Um,

[6:39] some of the artwork is just really, phenomenal. I I took pictures of

[6:44] some of them because it's amazing to see

[6:46] what these kids have done and kids that

[6:48] you've known since they were, you know,

[6:50] kindergarten and prek and then you see

[6:52] these beautiful pieces of art come out.

[6:54] Um, and I was complimenting a mother on

[6:57] her child's artwork, and she said, you

[7:00] know, it's so great that he can just

[7:01] express himself in this way. And that's

[7:03] what art does for for students, for

[7:07] anybody really, all sorts of art,

[7:09] whether it's musical, vocal, theater,

[7:12] um, visual. It just is a great way for

[7:15] people to be able to express themselves.

[7:17] And I'm proud to be in a district where

[7:19] we showcase that. Um, so it's really

[7:22] great. Go up, take a look at it. Um,

[7:24] tonight Mr. D also had some guitar

[7:26] players there adding to the ambiance of

[7:28] the night. It was it was really it was

[7:30] really really great. So, um, I just want

[7:33] to say that, you know, I'm proud to see

[7:35] everybody and what they can do and I

[7:37] look forward to being able to see the

[7:39] chorus concert which is tomorrow, right?

[7:41] Okay. Um, and that's it. That's all from

[7:45] my report. Thank you.

[7:47] >> Superintendent's report.

[7:49] >> Okay. I think

[7:50] >> you have to want to say that. I was

[7:51] gonna say

[7:53] >> President Hen may have got all my

[7:54] updates there, but I will uh embark on

[7:57] some of the same topics because they're

[7:59] very important to highlight and our

[8:00] students are doing great things. Uh

[8:02] first and foremost to our community,

[8:04] thank you for coming out in full force.

[8:05] Uh just under 1,400 voters and record

[8:08] high turnout and I I really um can't say

[8:11] enough of of Tuo families bringing their

[8:14] voter age children out. Um it was really

[8:16] a community event coming out and

[8:17] participating in our election and um

[8:20] budget election and trustee election.

[8:21] And I really do think the the high

[8:23] turnout was a testament to the

[8:25] dedication of our tremendous candidates

[8:26] that were running. Um you know the

[8:28] passion to be be leaders in this

[8:30] district and to continue to be leaders

[8:32] um in all different capacities. Um you

[8:34] know really brought people out to

[8:37] participate in the budget vote and that

[8:38] helped us to get a record high turnout

[8:41] as well as a great passing rate of uh

[8:43] 72.6%. 6% strong affirmation of our

[8:46] community of uh the good things our

[8:48] school district is doing um and and the

[8:50] opportunities that we're providing for

[8:51] our students and I think to many of them

[8:53] have been mentioned here tonight the

[8:54] concerts the awards uh the NISBA

[8:57] celebrations of getting the gold level

[8:59] four performance for our NISBA the

[9:01] concerts that took place um even the at

[9:04] codle the third grade recorder concert

[9:06] was phenomenal this earlier this week so

[9:07] a lot of great things are happening uh

[9:09] to speak about the arts and the

[9:11] experience of our students I also had

[9:13] the privilege of speaking with some of

[9:15] the students about their work and what

[9:16] inspired them and they're just so proud.

[9:18] They're so proud of how they expressed

[9:19] themselves and how they challenged

[9:21] themselves and were they um even

[9:23] surprised themselves, you know, and they

[9:25] didn't think they could produce certain

[9:27] pieces of art and they were just really

[9:29] in awe of their own talents and were

[9:30] very jubilant at expressing that um to anyone that would listen and um

[9:35] parents were there with with such pride

[9:36] and you know coupled that with the

[9:39] students performing just a great event

[9:40] as well for for the art um that was

[9:42] taking place. A lot of great things are

[9:44] going on. Um kudos to Trusty Beette,

[9:47] Vice President Baguetti, um Cassis, Mr.

[9:50] Agusa, and also Mr. Marin for running

[9:52] and and uh as Miss Holland said, putting

[9:54] themselves out there to to continue to

[9:55] be leaders in this district. Uh

[9:57] congratulations to Mr. Marin and Miss

[10:00] Cassis who were selected by the

[10:02] community to start their terms on the

[10:03] board of education beginning in July. I

[10:06] look forward to welcoming them on and also we'll be celebrating uh Mr.

[10:09] Cassis and Trusty Baguetti, Veretti for

[10:12] their service uh to the board and the

[10:14] dedicated years that they've provided to

[10:15] Tahoe. I'm sure we'll continue to be

[10:17] leaders within our school district. So,

[10:21] additionally, I want to give my thanks

[10:22] to Miss Dunn. Um,

[10:25] formerly being a district clerk myself

[10:27] for six years holding that title, I know

[10:28] how much time and effort goes into

[10:30] organizing an election, working with the

[10:32] poll workers. Uh, it's a long, long day.

[10:34] You're starting at 5:00 a.m. and you're

[10:35] going to well past 10:30 and sometimes

[10:37] beyond. and um sometimes it can be a

[10:39] stressful day as well. So, she did a

[10:41] great job handling that and being well

[10:42] organized and uh conducting a very

[10:44] professional well-run election which was

[10:47] great and uh kudos to you for all your

[10:48] efforts, Miss Dun. And we greatly

[10:50] appreciate that.

[10:52] >> Here on uh the homeront today at the

[10:54] middle school high school, we had a

[10:56] wonderful event and even our codle

[10:57] students came up for our Memorial Day

[10:58] celebration. first time experiencing it

[11:00] as as superintendent and being a part of

[11:02] that, welcoming our veterans, helping to

[11:04] educate our students about the

[11:06] importance of Memorial Day and the

[11:08] sacrifices that uh some of our

[11:11] forefathers have put on the line and

[11:13] paid the ultimate sacrifice. And then um

[11:15] it was great to have our students read

[11:17] essays. Um our students were performing

[11:20] a great community event that we had, a

[11:21] great school community event and and a

[11:23] great way to honor our veterans was

[11:25] today. So kudos to Mr. Kosano and our

[11:27] geo adviserss and all of our student

[11:29] participants that were a part of uh

[11:31] running the show and facilitating that

[11:32] this evening.

[11:34] Okay.

[11:39] Earlier this week I went to the town of

[11:41] Eastchester celebrating the American uh

[11:43] revolution 250th anniversary and it was

[11:46] great to have Annayia Charity was one of

[11:48] our students. she read uh about the

[11:50] battle the Pel's Pel's Point battle and

[11:53] did a great job representing Tuo as

[11:55] along with other school districts were

[11:56] there from Eastchester and Bronxville.

[11:57] Uh so it was great to be there to

[11:59] support her and in addition to a lot of

[12:01] great things that are going on here at

[12:03] Tuahoo. Uh I'd also like to highlight

[12:08] over the past week um

[12:10] the NISMBA students in the concert

[12:12] earning the the gold award and our

[12:14] bronze for the jazz ensemble as well.

[12:16] Um,

[12:19] and this evening again the art show

[12:21] taking place in the library. If you

[12:22] didn't get a chance to see it, please

[12:23] before the meeting is over or it should

[12:25] be up even tomorrow and later on this

[12:26] week. Tremendous art from our students.

[12:28] Um,

[12:30] tomorrow night is our chorus concert.

[12:32] So, we're looking forward to Miss Rei uh

[12:34] that performance and highlighting our

[12:36] coral students. And I also want to

[12:37] congratulate all of our student athletes

[12:39] as they finish out the year as even

[12:41] while everything's going on, AP exams,

[12:43] regent exams, all the different academic

[12:45] preparations. um many of their seasons

[12:47] are coming to a close and it's not even

[12:48] about wins and losses, it's just the

[12:50] experience that they're having with

[12:51] their their teammates and their

[12:52] families. I was able to attend some of

[12:54] the senior games and the um the

[12:56] pageantry that goes into that, the

[12:58] thought, the care for our students and

[13:00] celebrating their success uh becomes

[13:02] very memorable moments for for all of

[13:03] our families and students and it's great

[13:05] uh great testament to what we do as a

[13:07] culture here at Tuahoo. And I think my

[13:09] highlight of this past week was be uh

[13:11] going to Miss Migan's class at Codle and

[13:14] being a part of Shark Tank. So, we have

[13:15] some wonderful entrepreneurs and future

[13:17] business uh young men and women that'll

[13:19] be coming up that we're pitching their

[13:21] products um and really put on a great

[13:23] show with uh working collaboratively and

[13:25] coming up with some new ideas uh that

[13:27] will will solve many of the world's

[13:28] problems. So, uh I will definitely be

[13:30] investing in uh some of those projects

[13:32] and uh she puts on a great program for

[13:33] our students to be engaged for that. So,

[13:35] thank you for inviting me to that. Uh

[13:37] and lastly, I want to end the agenda

[13:39] this evening. we have uh the for the

[13:42] board to consider and and approve later

[13:44] on would be the contract agreement with

[13:46] the CSEA. Um kudos to the board. This is

[13:48] the third bargaining unit to settle the

[13:51] contract um providing the vote later on

[13:54] that the board has settled and that was

[13:56] one of the board's gold, one of my

[13:57] goals. So, it's been a lot of work, but

[13:58] um kudos to all of your efforts and to

[14:01] the bargaining units, the leadership of

[14:02] all of our units to settle those

[14:04] contracts that year and put us in a good

[14:05] place for the next several years. fair

[14:07] contracts for our employees, but also uh

[14:09] very fiscally responsible agreements.

[14:11] So, very very pleased to put that on the

[14:13] agenda for your consideration um and to

[14:16] support our to our employees and to

[14:17] really leave us in a good place moving

[14:18] forward.

[14:20] >> Thank you.

[14:23] Comments from the business management.

[14:24] >> Thank you. I just want to thank the

[14:26] community for the overwhelming support

[14:28] on passing the budget. Um it's a long

[14:31] process that um is not done in

[14:34] isolation. and we have a strong

[14:36] administrative team that um really keeps

[14:39] our students in mind and everything is

[14:42] built around the students. So, thank you

[14:44] to them and Mr. Roberts and to the

[14:45] board. Um thank you for um to Vice

[14:49] President Baguetti and Trustee Kassen

[14:51] for their dedication and service to the

[14:53] board and um congratulations to our new

[14:56] board members um Amber Cassus and Seth

[14:59] Mirren. Um I do have an update. The

[15:02] governor's budget was finalized. Um,

[15:05] perfect timing. So, um, the state aid is

[15:09] increasing to 2%. So, that is good news.

[15:12] Um, there was also some changes to the

[15:15] formula that puts a little more weight

[15:17] to um, English language learners and to

[15:20] students in foster care. So, that is

[15:22] going to be built into the formula. um

[15:25] in the governor's budget was also um a

[15:28] five-year extension, meaning delayed for

[15:31] five years on the zero emission bus

[15:33] mandate um which there was a lot of

[15:35] advocacy around. So um it was that by

[15:39] 2027 any new bus purchase had to be a

[15:42] zero emission bus that's being pushed to

[15:44] 2032 and full fleet conversion deadline

[15:47] is being moved from 2035 to 2040. Um and

[15:52] on another very positive note in the

[15:54] budget, um the governor um the final

[15:57] budget did include an increase in

[15:59] universal prek funding up to $10,000 per

[16:03] student um from 5400 and um a mandate

[16:07] that by 2829 school year, all

[16:10] fouryear-olds whose parents want UPK, it

[16:13] will be required. So um that is some

[16:16] positive news there. Thank you.

[16:19] >> Thank you.

[16:20] Just one last thing, Robin. Um your your

[16:23] service to the district is going to be

[16:24] missed, so I know it's on the agenda for

[16:27] tonight. So, thank you for many years of

[16:29] what you gave this district. Um big

[16:31] shoes to fill whoever takes your

[16:33] position next. So, thank you for your

[16:34] service for all those years. Thank you.

[16:36] Seriously. Thank you.

[16:40] » Um thank you, Faith. That's really good

[16:42] news about all those updates, especially

[16:44] the bus.

[16:45] >> The bus is huge.

[16:46] >> That's huge.

[16:48] >> Yeah. So, that's great. Um, thank you.

[16:51] Okay. Uh, and now we have comments from

[16:53] community partners.

[17:05] » Alex, before you start, I just wanted I

[17:07] forgot to mention the SEPTA event, and

[17:09] that was a great event.

[17:10] >> Oh, thank you. That was a lot of fun.

[17:12] >> It feels like it was a year ago, right?

[17:13] It does feel like a long time ago, but

[17:15] it was a great event and thank you for putting it together and it was well

[17:19] attended and I hope that your

[17:21] fundraising did well with it. It did. It

[17:23] did. I can everybody even hear me? I

[17:26] should Okay, so that was the first thing

[17:29] I was going to mention. Thank you to

[17:31] everyone who came out. Oh, by the way,

[17:33] I'm Alex Campana, the president of

[17:35] SEPTA. Um, who everyone came out to

[17:37] support the Raise a Glass Raise a Grant

[17:39] um event. It was wonderful. We had a

[17:41] great turnout. Um it just really brought

[17:44] the community together and got awareness

[17:46] to SEPTA and hopefully bring us some new

[17:49] members for September. Um and what was

[17:52] even better was seeing friends and other

[17:55] community people there who don't have a

[17:58] child with special needs and they were

[18:00] just there to support. So that was

[18:03] um because of that event we were able to

[18:06] fund four grants. We're going to be

[18:08] doing one in another month and then

[18:11] maybe a few more in September. So, it

[18:14] really turned out great and hopefully

[18:16] all of those teachers will really get to

[18:19] enjoy and all the kids will get to

[18:21] benefit from um the great grants that

[18:24] were um put in and we'll be putting out

[18:26] like a notice with the different types

[18:28] of things we were able to fund soon. Um

[18:30] it was wonderful and I just also want to

[18:32] say thank you to everyone who came for

[18:33] the inclusion and friendship fest. It

[18:36] was also a great turnout. Even in the

[18:38] rain, everybody was there. Um we added

[18:41] some new things this year, the bubble

[18:43] bus, a few different food trucks, and um

[18:45] different crafts, and everything was

[18:47] gone by the end of the night. The food

[18:49] trucks seem to have done well, so it was

[18:52] wonderful. Thank you.

[18:56] » Thank you.

[19:04] Hi, I'm Sue Hores. I'm the president of

[19:06] the PTA. Um, I want to first give a

[19:10] shout out to um Allison Bamford and

[19:13] Terresa Treli who are the co-chairs of

[19:15] our um community and school relations

[19:17] committee. They were the ones who um

[19:20] were the brain children or were the uh

[19:23] brains behind the teacher appreciation

[19:25] week a few weeks ago. Um, I got a lot of

[19:28] great feedback about the espresso guys

[19:30] that were um, brought in for the

[19:32] teachers as well as the lunchon. Um, and

[19:34] so I just wanted to uh, say a special

[19:37] thank you to the two of them because

[19:38] they'll be cycling off the committee and

[19:40] they've done an amazing job both years

[19:41] in a row. Um, they just really stepped

[19:44] it up and just uh, really I think

[19:46] obviously we want to show our teachers

[19:48] and staff how much we appreciate them

[19:49] and I I feel like they really felt it

[19:51] because they were different and kind of

[19:53] um, cool offerings. So, um, thanks to

[19:56] them. Uh, just a couple of things of

[19:58] what's, uh, coming up is next week we

[20:00] have the, uh, Scholastic buy one get one

[20:03] book fair down at Codle, um, from the

[20:05] 26th to the 29th. Um, there are parents

[20:08] are able to come in at some point. Um,

[20:11] the the uh, communication went out for

[20:14] when they can come in and and and

[20:15] purchase, but uh, that's the final book

[20:17] fair of the year, and of course, the

[20:19] kids really enjoy that. Um then of

[20:21] course on June 5th is actually a very

[20:23] big day because we have field day which

[20:25] of course is always a fan favorite for

[20:27] all the kids. But then that night we

[20:29] have our fifth grade luau. Hopefully the

[20:31] weather holds out. We uh we do have rain

[20:33] dates for both of those but hopefully um

[20:36] the fifth graders will get to have their

[20:38] um you know their ultimate celebration

[20:41] before they graduate from being codle

[20:42] cubs. Um and then the final thing I

[20:45] wanted to mention tonight is June 9th is

[20:47] our end of year celebration which

[20:49] includes our volunteer recognition um

[20:53] recognition of our lifetime achievement

[20:54] award honore which is Peggy Angelo. Um,

[20:58] I do want to mention to the board, it

[21:00] was a former board or maybe maybe Pete

[21:02] might have been on the board at that

[21:04] time, but um, today we went to a site

[21:06] visit because the event is going to be

[21:07] at the Bronxville Women's Club and we

[21:09] happened to meet the president and she

[21:11] mentioned how grateful she was to Tuahoo

[21:14] back during COVID when the the um the

[21:17] venue wasn't being used obviously and I

[21:19] think that there was a board meeting

[21:20] there. I don't know. I don't really

[21:22] remember that but anyway, she wanted to

[21:23] say thank you so much to Tuahoo for

[21:25] always remembering them. So, Bronxville

[21:27] Women's Club, it's a beautiful venue.

[21:29] That's where we're going to have the um

[21:30] the event this year. And I just wanted

[21:32] to kind of say to the board, you know,

[21:34] um it's it's always nice when our

[21:35] neighbors recognize Tuco as a community.

[21:38] And she did notice she she said how what

[21:40] a special community Tahoe is. And of

[21:42] course, three of us agreed with her um

[21:44] the the the programs committee that I

[21:47] was there with. So, I just want to

[21:49] encourage everybody to come out. It's

[21:50] not just for PTA members or volunteers.

[21:52] We really want anybody in the community

[21:54] come. It's a free event. um come as you

[21:56] are. If you're coming sweaty from a ball

[21:58] field, do it. No problem. We just want

[22:00] everybody to come and um for the short

[22:02] presentation um to honor Peggy and then

[22:06] we're going to just mingle and enjoy

[22:07] ourselves for a little while. As I like

[22:10] to say as as people, not parents, right?

[22:13] We we are still people. So, um I would

[22:15] love for the board to attend that night

[22:17] as well. June 9th, 7 o'clock at the uh

[22:20] Bronxville Women's Club. Okay. Thanks.

[22:23] >> Thank you, Susan.

[22:35] Good evening, Beth Sylvester, president

[22:37] of the athletic council. First, I just

[22:39] wanted to shout out and echo what all of

[22:42] you had shared. Thank you, Mr. Roberts

[22:44] and Faith, for the thoughtful budget,

[22:47] all of the work and e effort you put

[22:49] into educating the public about it. Um,

[22:52] congrats to Amber and Seth and thank you

[22:55] Pete and Scott for years for your years

[22:57] of dedication and service. Um, tomorrow

[23:02] we will be featuring our final senior

[23:04] athlete of the on social media of the

[23:07] 2526

[23:09] school year. So, please check her out on

[23:11] social media. It's a special

[23:14] person.

[23:16] Um, also just wanted to share that our

[23:18] annual varsity athletic awards dinner

[23:21] and hall of fame dinner will be held on

[23:23] June 2nd at Molenos at 6:00 p.m. It's

[23:27] open to the entire community. Um, we

[23:30] will celebrate our all league, all

[23:32] section, all state recipients as well as

[23:36] um our senior award recipients as well.

[23:39] Um, and thank you to Mr. see Miss Pinto

[23:42] and Miss Florio for helping make this

[23:44] special night possible. And uh details

[23:47] for that dinner are on social media and

[23:50] get blasted out like every week. So um

[23:53] but obviously if anybody needs invite

[23:56] information, please reach out. Thank

[23:57] you.

[23:58] >> Thank you.

[24:01] >> Okay, now we're up to first recognition

[24:04] of the audience. Um, the board of

[24:06] education allows for public

[24:08] participation at its regular monthly

[24:10] meetings. The first recognition of the

[24:12] audience period is reserved for comments

[24:14] or questions related specifically to

[24:16] items on the current public meeting

[24:18] agenda. Each speaker is permitted one

[24:20] opportunity to speak for up to three

[24:22] minutes. Responses from the board of

[24:25] board or superintendent may be provided

[24:27] later in the meeting during the board

[24:29] and superintendent comment section or

[24:31] may be followed up at a later date as

[24:33] needed. The board and the superintendent

[24:35] will not engage in back and forth

[24:37] dialogue during the public comment and

[24:39] question portion of the agenda. Do I

[24:42] have anybody for first recognition of

[24:44] the audience?

[24:48] Nope. Okay. Um on to the consent agenda.

[24:54] Resolved that the board of education of

[24:56] the Tuahoo Union Free School District

[24:58] hereby approves this Nope. Sorry.

[25:13] Oh, sorry. Which How far are we going on

[25:16] the consent agenda?

[25:19] » The problem.

[25:20] >> It's just one just the one item.

[25:22] >> One, two, one, two, three.

[25:23] >> One, two, three. Yeah. One through

[25:24] three.

[25:25] >> Sorry. Usually it's listed in the

[25:26] resolution. That's why. Um, so a motion

[25:30] to approve items 1 through 4 of the

[25:35] consent agenda. Do I have a motion?

[25:38] >> It's three, I believe. One through

[25:39] three.

[25:39] >> Great. Sorry. One through three consent

[25:42] agenda. Do I have a motion? Lou. Second.

[25:45] Pete. Any discussion?

[25:48] All in favor?

[25:51] Okay. Business of the board.

[25:55] Certify the election results. Resolved

[25:57] that the board of education of the

[25:58] Tuahoo Unifree School District certifies

[26:01] the results of the May 19th, 2026 annual

[26:04] budget vote and trustee election. The

[26:06] budget, yes, 1004 votes, no 378 votes.

[26:10] Trustee election, Amber Casses, 747

[26:15] votes. Seth Mirren, 768 votes. Do I have

[26:18] a motion?

[26:21] Pete second,

[26:24] Joel. All any discussion? All in favor?

[26:30] Approve an MOA. Resolved that the board

[26:33] of education of the Tuahoo Uner

[26:35] Preschool District hereby approves the

[26:37] MOA dated May 14, 2026 by and between

[26:40] the district and the Civil Service

[26:42] Employees Association, hereby extending

[26:45] the CBA for the period of July 1, 2025

[26:48] through June 30th, 2028 and authorizes

[26:51] the superintendent to execute said

[26:53] memorandum of agreement. Do I have a

[26:55] motion?

[26:57] >> Scott, who is that? Joel.

[26:59] >> Joel.

[27:00] >> Second, Pete. Um any discussion?

[27:04] >> I just want to say thank you um to the

[27:07] CSEA for um the very cooperative and um

[27:13] very productive negotiation sessions. Um

[27:16] anybody else have any comments?

[27:18] >> I'd actually echo the same sentiments.

[27:20] Um Mr. Yurlo, the entire CSEA

[27:22] negotiating team was very professional.

[27:24] We had great conversations uh really

[27:26] engaged in what's best for our students

[27:27] and and long-term how we can uh create

[27:29] sustainability for our district and uh

[27:31] made some very reasonable decisions uh

[27:33] through the negotiating process. So

[27:34] kudos to the entire team and uh coming

[27:37] with a very fair and reasonable

[27:38] agreement to put before the board.

[27:41] >> Thank you. Um all in favor?

[27:45] >> Excellent. That is contract number three

[27:48] that we have settled this year. um which

[27:51] does complete that board goal and I'm

[27:53] very excited about that. So, thank you.

[27:57] Um all right, second reading of policy.

[28:07] Um as a second reading of the following

[28:10] policies, these readings are procedural

[28:12] and non-action and will be taken by the

[28:14] board. These policies have been reviewed

[28:16] in the by the policy committee and they

[28:19] are required by federal, state andor

[28:20] educational law. Policy overview 2210

[28:24] board organizational meeting. This is a

[28:27] policy revision to the time frame of the

[28:30] organizational meeting which reads the

[28:32] annual reorganizational meeting of the

[28:34] board shall be held any time between

[28:36] July 1st and the Monday following July

[28:39] 20th. Policy 4321.12,

[28:43] use of physical restraints. The district

[28:45] prohibits the use of corporal

[28:47] punishment, averse intentions, and

[28:50] seclusion, and only permits the limited

[28:52] use of physical restraint or timeout as

[28:54] authorized by state regulations and

[28:57] guidance. Prone restraint is expressly

[28:59] prohibited. And policy 4321.13,

[29:04] timeout. Timeout means a behavior

[29:06] management technique that involves the

[29:08] monitored separation of a student in a

[29:11] non-locked setting and may be

[29:13] implemented for students with a behavior

[29:15] improvement plan, also known as

[29:20] uh approve a tax anticipation a tax

[29:23] anticipation note.

[29:24] >> Wait, Alison, real quick, can you talk

[29:26] about the policy overview or not?

[29:28] >> Um, you can. It's just a reading, but go

[29:30] ahead.

[29:30] >> What do we mean by anytime between? So

[29:32] this will go into effect for July 1st.

[29:35] So what does that mean on that? Any time

[29:36] frame on the organizational meeting from

[29:38] the 1st to the 20th?

[29:40] >> That's hard to could you

[29:41] >> from the first from the 1st to the 20th

[29:42] of July? What is what are we saying with

[29:44] that statement? That's when it goes into

[29:45] effect or is it

[29:46] >> so that the new policy the new

[29:48] regulation by the commissioner the uh

[29:49] previous language in our policy and

[29:51] across the state was you had to have the

[29:53] first reorg meeting the first Tuesday in

[29:55] the month of July and then if you didn't

[29:57] fall in that you had to have a

[29:58] resolution to extend it. So now this is

[30:00] giving more latitude for the board. any

[30:02] boards across New York State to hold

[30:04] their organizational meeting between the

[30:05] 1st and and the the the later date of

[30:07] the 20th or whatever that case is. So

[30:09] there's a lot more leeway to when we

[30:10] schedule the reorganization.

[30:11] >> That's good. Okay. So that's good

[30:13] because these policies have to be

[30:14] updated for obviously this stems from

[30:16] codle and stuff that would happen down

[30:17] there. So I'm glad that it's being you

[30:20] know the policies being updated after

[30:21] all those years. So thank you.

[30:24] >> Okay. Approve a tax anticipation note

[30:28] resolved by the board of education of

[30:30] Tuco Union Preschool District in the

[30:32] county of Westchester, New York as

[30:34] follows. Section one, tax anticipation

[30:37] notes here and called notes of Tuo Union

[30:40] Preschool District in the county of

[30:42] Westchester, New York, hearing called

[30:43] district in the principal amount of not

[30:46] to exceed $3 million and any notes in

[30:49] the renewal thereof and hereby

[30:51] authorized to be issued pursuant to the

[30:54] provisions of section 24.00

[30:56] and 39.00 00 of the local finance law

[31:00] constit constituting chapter 33- A of

[31:04] the consolidated laws of the state of

[31:07] New York there and called law here and

[31:09] called law section two. The following

[31:12] additional matters are hereby determined

[31:14] and declared. A. The notes shall be

[31:17] issued in anticipation of the collection

[31:19] of real estate taxes to be levied for

[31:21] the school purposes for the fiscal year

[31:23] commencing July 1, 2026 and ending June

[31:26] 30th, 2027. And the proceeds of the

[31:29] notes shall be used only for the purpose

[31:31] for which said taxes are levied. B. The

[31:34] notes shall mature within the period of

[31:36] one year from the date of their

[31:38] insurance of their issuance. C. The

[31:41] notes are not issued in renewal of other

[31:44] notes. D. The total amount of such taxes

[31:47] remain uncollected at the date of

[31:49] adoption of this resolution. Section

[31:51] three. The notes hereby authorized shall

[31:54] contain the the title of validity

[31:58] prescribed by

[32:04] um rec uh RAC and it's turn that's

[32:08] right.

[32:10] Um am I on the wrong page? Sorry.

[32:21] Section 52.00 00 of the law and shall be general obligations of the

[32:27] district and the faith and credit of the

[32:29] district and hereby pledged to the

[32:32] punctual payment of the principle of the principal and interest on the

[32:38] notes. And unless the notes are

[32:39] otherwise paid or payments provided for

[32:41] an amount sufficient for such payment

[32:44] shall be inserted in the budget on the

[32:46] district and a tax sufficient sufficient

[32:49] to provide for the payment thereof shall

[32:51] be levied and collected. Section 4

[32:54] subject to the provisions of this

[32:56] resolution and the law and pursuant to

[32:58] section 50.0056.00.00

[33:02] and 61.00 00 of the law, the power to

[33:05] sell and issue the notes authorized

[33:07] pursuant hereto and any renewals thereof

[33:10] and to determine the terms form and

[33:13] contents including the manner of

[33:14] execution of such notes and the execute

[33:17] and to execute tax certifications

[33:21] relative there thereto is hereby

[33:25] delegated and the and to the president

[33:27] of the board of education the chief

[33:29] fiscal officer of the district. Section

[33:31] five, the note shall be executed in the

[33:34] name of the district by the manual

[33:35] signature of the president of the board

[33:38] of education, the vice president of the

[33:40] board of education, district treasurer,

[33:41] the district clerk, or such other

[33:43] officers of the district and shall be

[33:45] designated by the chief fiscal officer

[33:48] of the district and shall have the

[33:50] corporate seal of the district impressed

[33:52] or imprinted thereon which corporate

[33:54] seal may be attested by the manual

[33:56] signature of the district. Section six.

[33:58] This resolution shall take effect

[34:00] immediately.

[34:02] >> Do I have a motion?

[34:04] >> Can Can you read it again, please?

[34:07] >> The first blue second, Pete. Um, any

[34:10] discussion? All in favor?

[34:14] >> Yes.

[34:16] >> Oh, sorry.

[34:21] It's a little dark in here, which makes

[34:22] it a little harder to read for my old

[34:24] eyes.

[34:26] Um,

[34:29] okay. Approve an agreement to negotiate

[34:32] data privacy agreements to to negotiate

[34:35] to. Okay. Here

[34:38] for Boseis

[34:42] Anadaga, Courtland, Madison, Boseies,

[34:46] Albany,

[34:47] >> Scaner,

[34:48] >> Skenctity, Saratoga, Boseies, Madison,

[34:51] Onida, Boseies, and Broom, Tyogga,

[34:54] Boseies have collaborated and entered

[34:56] into an article 5 general municipal law,

[34:59] intermunicipal agreement for the purpose

[35:01] of improving vendor management and data

[35:03] security and privacy practices for

[35:05] school districts and/or Boseies

[35:07] statewide known as the Rick 1 risk

[35:10] operations center, the ROC. Whereas the

[35:13] board of education of the Tuahoo Union

[35:15] Free School District through its

[35:17] affiliation with the localbased regional

[35:19] information center participates with the

[35:21] ROC and and desires for the 2627 fiscal year to authorize the ROC and its

[35:29] attorneys to negotiate data privacy

[35:30] agreements and related exhibits, DPAs,

[35:34] and vendors and third-party contractors

[35:37] that include the requirements of and

[35:39] compliance with the New York State

[35:40] Education Law Section 2D. D and part 121

[35:44] regulations collectively ed 2D related

[35:47] to student personal identification

[35:49] information PII and certain teacher and

[35:52] principal APR data. Whereas the ROC

[35:56] partners with NISD and access for

[35:59] learning students data privacy

[36:01] consortium SDPC and the education

[36:04] cooperative TEC to negotiate and approve

[36:07] EDL law 2D compliant DPAs. Whereas the

[36:10] DPAs are presented to school districts

[36:12] andor boseies for final execution and do

[36:15] not require the expenditure of funds

[36:18] beyond those budgeted. Be it resolved

[36:20] that the Toko Unifree School Board of

[36:21] Education authorizers authorizes the use

[36:24] of the DPA negotiated by the

[36:30] RAIC ROC and its attorneys consistent

[36:33] with its needs and the needs of the

[36:34] students and be further resolved that

[36:36] the Tako Unifree School District

[36:38] reserves it reserves to itself the right

[36:41] to make determinations regarding the use

[36:43] of such DPAs and the software and/or

[36:46] technology resources to which they

[36:47] relate and to consult consult with its

[36:49] own legal counsel to review any specific

[36:52] issue issues or concerns before

[36:55] executing any DPA. Do I have a motion?

[36:59] Repeat. Second, blue. Any discussion?

[37:02] All in favor?

[37:06] Okay.

[37:08] Approve cooperative p purchasing

[37:10] contract. Whereas ed data is a shared

[37:12] service organization located in the

[37:14] state of New Jersey. And whereas Ed data

[37:16] offers cooperative procurement solutions

[37:18] to the public sector organizations

[37:20] throughout New York State. And whereas

[37:22] Tuco Unifree School District desires to

[37:24] use ED data time and maintenance

[37:26] materials cooperative purchasing

[37:28] contract to contract with 192 branch

[37:31] interior services branch services from

[37:33] May 6, 2026 through April 30th, 2027. Do

[37:37] I have a motion?

[37:39] Um second

[37:43] Joel. Any discussion? All in favor?

[37:48] Accept a donation.

[37:53] Resolve that the board of education of

[37:55] the Tuahoo Unifree School Districts

[37:56] accepts the following donations from the

[37:58] Tuahoo SEC. Grade 3 through 5 chick

[38:02] hatching unit in the amount of $143.68.

[38:06] Grade K through two turtle habitat unit

[38:09] in diaramas in the amount of $230.

[38:12] Grade K through three. Admissions for

[38:15] ABA students to Westchester Children's

[38:17] Museum for the 2026 2027 school year in

[38:20] the amount of $300. Grades 6 through 12,

[38:23] take another look. Musical prop and

[38:25] costumes in the amount of $700. Thank

[38:28] you for these generous donations. Do I

[38:31] have a motion? Joel. Second. Pete. Any

[38:34] discussion?

[38:36] I'd like to just say thank you to SEPTA

[38:38] from starting out this year with an idea

[38:40] and then coming to charter and now

[38:42] funding uh programs within our schools

[38:44] is phenomenal. So a great journey that

[38:45] we've had this year and kudos also to

[38:47] our teachers uh for applying for the

[38:49] grants to support our students. Uh it's

[38:51] a great collaborative effort. So I just

[38:52] greatly appreciate SEPTA's um donation

[38:55] and I thank the board for considering

[38:56] tonight.

[38:58] >> Thank you SEPTA for your donation. All

[39:00] in favor

[39:03] accept a donation. Resolve that the

[39:05] board of education of the Tuco Unifree

[39:07] School District accept a donation from

[39:09] the Tuahoo After School Care, also known

[39:11] as TASK, of two wall-mounted fans for

[39:14] the Codle Gym in the amount of

[39:16] $2,331.37.

[39:18] This generous don donation is greatly

[39:20] appreciated. Do I have a motion?

[39:23] Lou second Pete. Any discussion?

[39:26] Thank you to TASK for your generous

[39:28] donation. All in favor

[39:34] accept a donation. Resolve that the

[39:36] board of education of the Tujo Unipri

[39:38] School District accept a donation from

[39:39] the Tuahoo PTA towards the project to

[39:42] upgrade the lighting in the Tuahoo

[39:44] Middle School High School auditorium in

[39:46] the amount of $10,000. Thank you for

[39:48] this generous donation. Do I have a

[39:50] motion?

[39:51] Lou second Pete. Any discussion? Thank

[39:55] you PTA. I did not make a comment about

[39:57] the lighting without

[39:59] >> and hopefully we have a dimmer in the

[40:00] light. We need a dimmer as well. Thank

[40:02] you, CTA.

[40:03] >> Thank you. All in favor?

[40:07] >> Um personnel recommendations

[40:15] um resolved by the board of education

[40:18] um that accepts sorry resolved that the

[40:21] board of education approves personnel

[40:22] recommendations A through J. Do I have a

[40:25] motion,

[40:27] >> Scott? Second, Pete. Any discussion?

[40:30] >> Uh, yeah. First, I want to say thank you

[40:33] to Coach Chen for many years of service

[40:35] to the Tuck football team. Coach Chen

[40:38] resigned. Um, we were able to get Rob

[40:42] McQuade. Rob McUade is currently the

[40:44] varsity girls basketball assistant

[40:45] coach. Uh Rob McQuade is one of the

[40:49] assistant coaches at Iona football and

[40:54] state championship last year for all the

[40:56] for the private Catholic schools which

[40:58] is probably one of the best football

[40:59] teams in New York State. Um and Rob has

[41:02] now committed to come over here as a

[41:04] varsity football assistant coach to help

[41:05] John Dearcos. That's a huge thing for

[41:07] our football team. So congratulations to

[41:09] Rob. And Rob's also a security monitor

[41:12] here in the building we appointed. Just

[41:13] again, thank you to coach Chen and coach

[41:15] John Dearco and also for Rob to making

[41:18] this decision to leave Iona to come to

[41:19] Taco. It's a huge thing for Taco for

[41:22] next year. Um and we Alice and I both

[41:24] have boys that play football and one

[41:26] myself this year went to Syracuse to the

[41:28] dome. So I'm looking forward to a great

[41:29] season next year.

[41:32] >> That is very exciting news. Um although

[41:34] I am sorry to also see Tango. He was a

[41:37] huge um part of the team, but that is

[41:38] exciting. Scott, um my one comment is to

[41:42] Robin. Thank you so much for your

[41:44] service to the board as district clerk

[41:47] um and your service to the district as

[41:49] um secretary to the superintendent.

[41:51] You've done a wonderful job and we will

[41:53] be missed and thank you very much for

[41:55] everybody.

[41:58] >> Anybody else?

[41:59] >> I would also like to thank Robin for her

[42:01] guidance and service this year um

[42:03] helping me in my first year

[42:04] superintendent with just learning the

[42:06] lay of the land and a lot of the all

[42:08] things Taco. So greatly appreciate. and

[42:10] I wish you all the best um in your new

[42:12] position closer to home and great

[42:14] happiness in any your future endeavors.

[42:17] >> Yes, Robin.

[42:19] >> Yes, I as well. Robin, you know, I met

[42:21] Robin when she first started years ago

[42:25] and I said, "What an asset." And and to

[42:28] this day, she's lived up to everything.

[42:30] We've had our our moments, but they've

[42:34] all been positive. And I wish you all

[42:36] the best. I really do.

[42:37] >> Yeah. I already gave I already gave my

[42:40] >> I was going to wait till the end, but I

[42:42] guess I have to do it now. But thank

[42:43] you, Robin, seriously, for everything

[42:44] you've done. You've done an amazing job.

[42:46] Um, good friend. Uh, someone you can

[42:49] rely on and, uh, I truly wish you the

[42:52] best of luck in your future endeavors

[42:55] and congratulations.

[42:57] >> It's been my pleasure to serve you, your

[43:00] husband. So, thank you all. Robin's

[43:02] always said, but I'll say it too because

[43:04] um obviously the years that I was board

[43:05] president, we worked together quite a

[43:08] bit and uh you were very supportive and

[43:10] very helpful of me and I was knew I can

[43:12] call you and get help and get things

[43:14] done. So um yeah, tremendous asset to

[43:16] the district. You're going to be missed,

[43:18] but we appreciate the best of luck.

[43:19] Thank you. Thank you for your service.

[43:22] Okay. All in favor.

[43:33] Okay. Second recognition of the

[43:35] audience. The board of education allows

[43:38] for public participation at its regular

[43:40] monthly meetings. The second recognition

[43:41] of the audience period is reserved for

[43:43] comments and questions not related to

[43:46] items on the current public meeting

[43:47] agenda. Each speaker is permitted one

[43:50] opportunity to speak for up to three

[43:52] minutes. Responses from the board or

[43:54] superintendent may be provided later in

[43:56] the meeting or followed up at a later

[43:58] date as needed. The board and the

[44:00] superintendent will not engage in back

[44:02] and forth dialogue during the public

[44:04] comment and question portion of the

[44:05] agenda. Do I have anybody for a second

[44:08] recognition of the audience?

[44:12] » Hi, Beth Sylvestri 11 Gford Street. Um,

[44:15] all of you with the exception of Mr.

[44:17] Roberts knows that um I've been

[44:20] extremely passionate about special

[44:22] education for the last 15 years. Um at

[44:25] one point I hosted uh board members at

[44:28] my home with about 20 parents present um

[44:33] discussing different uh various

[44:35] difficulties. Um I also serve as a

[44:39] parent member currently. So I do attend

[44:41] IEP meetings and assist in behind the

[44:44] scenes um in helping families advocate

[44:47] for services. Um so when Allison I don't

[44:51] know Mr. Roberts Roberts if you can

[44:53] answer my question. One of the two

[44:56] things that came up at that meeting at

[44:59] my house as well as consistently is the

[45:03] training and monitoring of special

[45:05] education classrooms. whether you have a

[45:08] dyslexic child child, an autistic child,

[45:12] everything in between is the monitoring

[45:15] and the training of the teachers. Um

[45:19] this has been a constant constant battle

[45:23] for this district. Um so when you

[45:25] mention about the policy with the

[45:27] behavior plans and the timeout room and

[45:29] so on and so forth, will the teachers be

[45:32] required as well as administrators be

[45:35] required to be trained every year and

[45:37] have a sign off every year of that and

[45:40] who will be responsible for maintaining

[45:42] that documentation? Thank you.

[45:45] >> Thank you.

[45:48] >> Anybody else?

[45:58] Lori Gerald, 15 Wall Street. I could not

[46:02] let this evening go by uh without um

[46:06] congratulating

[46:08] uh Seth and Amber on their um successful

[46:12] and overwhelmingly

[46:15] um wellfought

[46:18] win for our um school board. I'm excited

[46:22] and looking forward to all of the great

[46:24] things that you will do to move us

[46:26] forward. And I also wanted to say to

[46:30] Robin,

[46:32] I'm going to miss you. You have been

[46:35] such an awesome awesome

[46:38] advocate, board clerk,

[46:42] awesome professional. You are amazing.

[46:46] And as a former board member, I

[46:50] know what a loss it will be to our

[46:52] district for you to go. and I'm so so so

[46:56] sorry to lose you to our district along

[46:59] with other wonderful um administrators

[47:02] that we've had and awesome leaders we've

[47:05] had in the district. So sad to see you

[47:08] go too,

[47:10] but I believe that uh we're going to uh

[47:13] get our district back on the track of

[47:16] making sure that we have stability uh

[47:19] with administrators and great people

[47:21] like Robin

[47:23] serving our district and most

[47:25] importantly our students.

[47:27] Congratulations again, Seth and Amber. I

[47:30] wish you all the best.

[47:35] Thank you. Anybody else for second

[47:38] recognition?

[47:41] » Nope. Okay, we will move on to board

[47:45] comments.

[47:46] >> So, I just want to wait till the end

[47:49] because I knew it was going to be a long

[47:50] beginning. Um, but I'll keep it short.

[47:52] Uh, thanks to the community. It was an

[47:54] amazing turnout that we had yesterday.

[47:57] Uh, record-breaking almost 1,400 uh

[48:00] voters. Um, I want to congratulate Amber

[48:04] Casses and and Seth Mirren. I look

[48:06] forward to collaborating with you guys

[48:09] uh and doing some amazing things for our

[48:10] district. And uh I wanted to thank uh

[48:15] Faith Botta, Ben uh for the amazing work

[48:19] that you guys have did uh on the budget

[48:21] uh and the finance committee. Anyone

[48:23] who's on the finance committee was a lot

[48:24] of work. uh scrutinized everything, but

[48:28] uh Ben's walking a little lighter these

[48:30] days, right?

[48:32] So, uh thank you for that. Um I also

[48:35] want to uh thank uh Pete for your

[48:39] service,

[48:40] >> long long-standing service and the time

[48:42] we spent on facilities committee prior

[48:44] to becoming a board member.

[48:46] >> So, thank you for that.

[48:47] >> Thank you. Thank you.

[48:47] >> And now you get to relax a little bit,

[48:49] right? And uh to uh Mr. Go get

[48:54] appreciate your your last three years of hard work. You certainly rolled up

[48:58] your sleeves and and went to work for

[49:00] the kids, for the community. So, thank

[49:02] you for that. And to spend the summer in

[49:04] Montalk,

[49:05] >> right?

[49:08] » And to uh Julie Srausa, who had the

[49:11] nerve to put her neck out there and do

[49:13] what she did. Uh like Allison said, it's

[49:15] very difficult to run for the board of

[49:17] ed. It takes a lot of time, energy, and

[49:20] a lot of grit. So,

[49:22] Thank you guys and congratulations to uh

[49:25] our new board members. Thank you.

[49:29] >> Anybody else?

[49:30] >> I'll just I was remissed before I didn't

[49:33] mention I c congratulated Amber and

[49:35] Seth, but I didn't acknowledge the other

[49:37] candidates. As everyone has said, it is

[49:39] a lot to put yourself out there. Um and

[49:42] it's a lot of work. So, I definitely

[49:44] want to acknowledge Scott and Julie for for running and for putting all the

[49:47] effort in and for again putting yourself

[49:50] out there and and and trying to serve

[49:52] and trying to uh do what's right for our

[49:54] community. So, I wanted to acknowledge

[49:56] them as well, all all four for doing

[49:58] what you're doing. It is it is really

[50:00] hard. Um and uh we need folks to do

[50:03] that. So, thank you all. Thank you all

[50:05] four of you.

[50:07] >> Oh, one other thing. Sorry. I before the

[50:10] meeting, I stopped in at the art show.

[50:12] The work is amazing. I encourage

[50:13] everybody to go. It's going to be up

[50:15] until Friday.

[50:16] >> Is that right?

[50:17] >> Later this week.

[50:17] Yeah. I encourage you

[50:19] to go.

[50:20] >> Some nice uh nice work. Beautiful work.

[50:23] >> It is. You're right. That's great.

[50:25] >> Um so I I did not say anything about

[50:30] Pete and Scott. I mean their service

[50:32] because they're technically not till

[50:33] June 30th. We still have another at

[50:35] least one more meeting. So you're not

[50:38] off the hook yet.

[50:40] >> Um either one of you. Um, so I, you

[50:43] know, it wasn't that I was, um,

[50:46] forgetting to say anything. I purposely

[50:47] was not saying anything. Um, and, um,

[50:51] you know, but yes, absolutely. You know,

[50:54] thank you for the service that you have

[50:56] put in. Um, but you're not done. Um,

[51:00] second is, um, congratulations to Seth

[51:03] and Amber. Um, it was, um, hard fought

[51:07] and difficult for you. I know um as I

[51:10] said earlier, hard for anybody running

[51:12] um and again I will um look forward to

[51:16] working with you come July 1st. So

[51:19] that's all that I have to say. Comments

[51:22] from the superintendent.

[51:23] >> Great. So um I just want to respond a

[51:25] little bit to Miss Sylvester's comments

[51:27] about trainings. That is an important

[51:28] piece and it is something that uh we are

[51:31] taking very seriously. One of the

[51:32] recommended policies is to really ensure

[51:34] that we do annual trainings for every

[51:36] staff member. uh we do have different

[51:38] levels of it. We have uh general

[51:40] information and policies and training

[51:41] and then we're also going to have

[51:43] certain staff members that are trained

[51:44] with more specific responses of how to

[51:46] appropriately handle students that are

[51:48] in an escalated state or need

[51:50] appropriate care. Um those things will

[51:52] be maintained by the personnel office.

[51:55] Um each each year we have required

[51:57] trainings for sexual harassment in the

[51:59] workplace, DASA trainings. So this will

[52:01] be part of the ongoing piece that we do

[52:03] uh in addition to other trainings that

[52:05] the special education office needs to

[52:06] monitor as well that are maybe more

[52:08] specific to um individual classrooms for

[52:11] there. So those are something that we're

[52:12] systematizing as an organization keeping

[52:14] track of and as well as there's a

[52:15] process for reertification for certain

[52:17] trainings. Um that doesn't go for every

[52:20] employee but ones that are that are

[52:21] called to respond to certain situations

[52:23] to put them in the best uh situation for

[52:25] our students. So that will be an ongoing

[52:27] piece, but again making it formalized in

[52:28] our district um through the personnel

[52:31] office and on an annual basis as all

[52:33] training should be, you know, for that.

[52:34] And I think some of the update of of our

[52:36] policy is something as a board goal this

[52:38] year that we're doing uh looking at all

[52:39] of our policies, making sure that we're

[52:41] up to date in every area and in

[52:42] compliance. And we're doing a full

[52:44] policy review uh which will entail a lot

[52:46] of the trainings and procedures uh

[52:48] throughout the district and many areas.

[52:49] So, more to come on policy updates and I

[52:51] think those will be ongoing discussions

[52:53] that we have uh with the board and with

[52:54] the community of of areas that we

[52:56] continue to improve and focus on for

[52:58] that. Additionally, I wanted to also

[53:00] just kind of comment um I didn't

[53:03] highlight the the amount of work that

[53:04] Miss Sparks does on the budget a lot of

[53:06] hours. Um she eats, drinks, and sleeps

[53:09] it from December all the way through

[53:11] till it passes and now it's executing

[53:12] it. So, it's never really finished. It's

[53:14] an ongoing cycle. uh and here at Tuco

[53:17] and in many districts but particularly

[53:19] here it's a very collaborative effort

[53:20] bringing in the administrators the

[53:21] teachers working with the guidance

[53:23] departments uh getting recommendations

[53:25] of what are our needs and it really

[53:26] starts early in the year you start

[53:28] budgeting and planning for the next year

[53:30] right when you're turning the corner

[53:32] after Thanksgiving um you know to kind

[53:34] of set ourselves up for success and and

[53:36] get all the quotes and really uh price

[53:38] things out and and identify what student

[53:39] needs are. So, it's been a great process

[53:41] uh learning and and working with the

[53:42] administrative team, our teachers, uh

[53:44] different staff members and for me also

[53:46] doing the strategic uh strategic plan,

[53:49] listening to our school community,

[53:50] looking at the priorities that our uh

[53:52] school community, our teachers, our

[53:54] parents have all identified and really

[53:55] aligning things in our budget this year

[53:57] to enhance programs and opportunities

[53:59] for students. So, that's um on the

[54:01] horizon. So, we talk about board work to

[54:03] come. That's still on the the forefront

[54:05] of what we're doing. We've got a

[54:06] strategic team meeting tomorrow. We're

[54:07] final finalizing and refining our

[54:10] current plan projections and then we'll

[54:11] be providing a draft to the board

[54:13] probably around June 1st and then

[54:14] hopefully public presentation around

[54:16] June 15th. So towards our last meeting

[54:18] at the timeline and goals and I really

[54:20] look forward to engaging not only myself

[54:22] presenting it but our entire strategic

[54:23] team inviting them to talk about the

[54:25] work that we did and uh the work that we

[54:27] did with our community. So that's that's

[54:28] exciting important work and I know that

[54:30] um this board is really invested in that

[54:32] as well as all the other board

[54:33] communities committees that are whether

[54:35] it's finance safety our board takes a

[54:37] very active role which I greatly

[54:38] appreciate in the in the work of our

[54:40] district. So kudos to to all of you. Uh

[54:42] and again thank you for the support for

[54:44] our community. 1400 voters is

[54:46] tremendous. Uh any way you look at it we

[54:48] have a very passionate engaged community

[54:50] and it's it's capitalizing upon that

[54:52] which is very exciting. uh bringing

[54:54] people to the table for those

[54:55] discussions and how we can improve our

[54:57] schools and and do better for our

[54:58] students and engaging all of our

[55:00] families in that conversation. So, very

[55:02] exciting things to come and I look

[55:03] forward to working uh collaboratively

[55:05] with our our new trustees coming on to

[55:07] the board and continuing great

[55:08] partnerships with our trustees and and

[55:10] their expertise and knowledge um and

[55:12] their continued leadership which I know

[55:13] will take place. So, that's uh very

[55:16] exciting for me as as a first year

[55:17] superintendent and I look forward to the

[55:19] future work that we're going to engage

[55:20] in.

[55:21] >> Great. Thank you.

[55:24] Okay. Um motion to adjourn the meeting.

[55:30] Joel second Pete. All in favor?

[55:34] Thank you very much. Thanks for coming.

[55:36] Have a good night.

Tuckahoe Board of Education Meeting-May 20, 2026

Transcript