[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.