Oct 24, 2024 October 23, 2024 - Business Meeting

[2. Public Session - 7:30 p.m.]

[00:00:08]

HELLO AND WELCOME TO THE BOARD OF EDUCATION MEETING OF OCTOBER 23RD, 2024. PLEASE RISE FOR THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE.

NATALIE, COULD YOU PLEASE REITERATE THE EXECUTIVE SESSION.

MOTION? YES, WE MET TO DISCUSS THE EMPLOYMENT HISTORY OF PARTICULAR PERSONS.

OKAY. OKAY.

THANK YOU ALL FOR BEING HERE TONIGHT.

I'LL KEEP MY REMARKS BRIEF SO WE CAN GET STARTED.

TONIGHT WE HAVE CAPITAL MARKETS ADVISORS WITH US TO DISCUSS FUNDING OPTIONS FOR THE FACILITIES UPDATES WE ARE CONSIDERING.

THEIR FOCUS WILL BE ON PROVIDING OPTIONS THAT MAXIMIZE FINANCING TERMS AND AID, WHILE ALSO MANAGING THE IMPACT ON OUR TAXES.

A REMINDER ON NEXT STEPS WITH FACILITIES UPDATES, THE ARCHITECTS WILL FURTHER REFINE THE PROJECTS THAT THEY PROPOSE.

THE BOARD WILL THEN PRIORITIZE THROUGH A TRANSPARENT PROCESS AND WE WILL SEEK PUBLIC FEEDBACK ON THAT PRIORITIZATION.

ALSO, BELIEVE IT OR NOT, WE WILL KICK OFF THE 2025-2026 BUDGET SEASON TONIGHT.

JIM WILL REVIEW THE TIMELINE WITH US AND THE BOARD CAN TALK ABOUT SOME OF THE EXPECTATIONS WE HAVE FOR THIS UPCOMING BUDGET CYCLE.

AND NOW I JUST LIKE TO BRIEFLY TOUCH ON THE STORMWATER PROJECT AT JULIAN'S PLAYGROUND AND GIVE THE BOARD A CHANCE TO COMMENT IF THEY'D LIKE.

WE'VE DETERMINED THAT IT'S BEST TO MOVE AWAY FROM APPEALING THE EMINENT DOMAIN AND FOCUS ON THE NEXT STEP, THE VALUATION PROCESS.

THE SCHOOL DISTRICT STILL BELIEVES THE VILLAGE SHOULD OWN THE BLACKTOP AND TENNIS COURTS.

HOWEVER, THE VILLAGE IS FIRM IN ITS POSITION TO TAKE EASEMENTS FOR THOSE AREAS AND TO ONLY PURCHASE THE PROPERTY THAT INCLUDES THE PUMPS, RESTROOM AND HOUSING STRUCTURE.

WHILE WE COULD HAVE PURSUED AN APPEAL AND MAY HAVE BEEN SUCCESSFUL IN SOME REGARD, IT WOULD NOT CHANGE THE ULTIMATE OUTCOME OF THE VILLAGE TAKING EASEMENTS INSTEAD OF FULLY OWNING THE LAND FOR THE PROJECT OR PERHAPS THE PARK IN ITS ENTIRETY.

THIS DECISION AIMS TO LIMIT LEGAL COSTS, FOCUS OUR RESOURCES ON EDUCATION WHERE THEY BELONG, AND PRIORITIZE THE NEXT STEP THE VALUATION PROCESS.

SO WHAT HAPPENS NOW? THE VILLAGE OF PELHAM WILL FILE WITH THE STATE SUPREME COURT TO TAKE OWNERSHIP OF THE LAND FOR THE PUMP HOUSE AND BATHROOM, AS WELL AS TAKE SUBTERRANEAN EASEMENTS FOR THE BLACKTOP AND TENNIS COURT, AND AN ABOVE GROUND ACCESS EASEMENT.

THE VILLAGE WILL BE REQUIRED TO PAY JUST AND FAIR COMPENSATION BASED ON THE HIGHEST AND BEST USE OF THE PROPERTY UNDER PERMISSIBLE ZONING.

IF THE DISTRICT DOES NOT AGREE WITH THE PAYMENT OFFERED, IT MAY SEEK ADDITIONAL COMPENSATION THROUGH THE STATE SUPREME COURT.

I ALSO WANT TO POINT OUT THAT BECAUSE THE SCHOOL DISTRICT WILL OWN THE PROPERTY THAT THE PROJECT IS ON, AT LEAST PART OF IT, IT WILL REQUIRE PERMITTING, PERMITTING FROM THE STATE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT.

WE HAVE WE HAVE CONFIRMED THIS TWICE WITH THE STATE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT.

FINALLY, I WISH THE VILLAGE MUCH SUCCESS IN ADDRESSING THE FLOODING ISSUES AND ALLEVIATING THE SUFFERING IT CAUSES.

ALONG WITH THAT, I'LL STATE IT'S IMPORTANT FOR US TO BEGIN A PARTNERSHIP BUILT ON MUTUAL RESPECT, COLLABORATION AND ACCOUNTABILITY.

I REMAIN HOPEFUL THAT WE CAN AT LEAST START TO BUILD A MORE COOPERATIVE RELATIONSHIP DURING THE EVALUATION PHASE OF THIS LEGAL PROCEEDING.

OKAY. ANYBODY? I'LL SAY SOMETHING. OKAY.

JACKIE, YOU WERE VERY DIPLOMATIC, AS ALWAYS.

I MAY BE A LITTLE BIT MORE DIRECT.

SO I RECEIVED A FEW EMAILS IN THE LAST COUPLE OF DAYS FROM PEOPLE EITHER THANKING ME OR SCOLDING ME FOR THE BOARD OF EDS REVERSAL IN OUR POSITION ON THIS ISSUE.

AND I JUST WANT TO BE VERY CLEAR ABOUT THIS.

WE DIDN'T REVERSE OUR POSITION.

RATHER, OUR LEGAL COUNSEL ADVISED US THAT PURSUING AN APPEAL IN COURT WOULD BE COMPLETELY FUTILE, AND WE HAVE NO INTENTION OF SQUANDERING TAXPAYER DOLLARS ON A COSTLY LEGAL BATTLE THAT WE'RE ALMOST CERTAINLY GOING TO LOSE.

[00:05:03]

BUT IF YOU DISAGREE, PLEASE, PLEASE DO SO THAT THE VILLAGE SHOULD OWN THE LAND UNDER WHICH THEY ARE PLACING THIS MASSIVE INFRASTRUCTURE, WHICH IS GOING TO BE THERE FOREVER.

BUT THEY DON'T WANT TO OWN THE LAND BECAUSE ONE, THEY DON'T WANT TO PAY FOR IT UP FRONT AND TWO, I IMAGINE THEY DON'T WANT TO MANAGE IT EITHER.

OWNING LAND COMES WITH COSTS, MAINTENANCE, GENERAL UPKEEP, LIABILITY WHICH THE VILLAGE IS AVOIDING BY USING LAND FOR THEIR PROJECT THAT THEY DON'T OWN. AND THE VILLAGE MAYOR MULLIN MULLEN WOULD PREFER TO COMPLETE THE PROJECT ON LAND THAT REMAINS THE SCHOOL DISTRICT'S RESPONSIBILITY, REGARDLESS OF THE IMPACT, THE LONG TERM IMPACT ON US.

SO I'M SORRY TO SAY THIS, BUT YOU KNOW, THE CLAIM THAT WE ARE FROM THE VILLAGE, THAT WE ARE ONE COMMUNITY.

I FIND THAT A LITTLE BIT UNCONVINCING WHEN THE APPROACH IS SOLELY FOCUSED ON MINIMIZING THE COST OF THE VILLAGE, EVEN AT THE DISTRICT'S EXPENSE.

SO I TOO WISH THE VILLAGE EVERY SUCCESS WITH THE PROJECT.

I HOPE IT'S A SUCCESS, BUT I FIRMLY BELIEVE THEY SHOULD OWN AND MANAGE THE LAND UNDER WHICH THESE TANKS ARE BEING INSTALLED.

THANK YOU. MINE SHORT AND IT'S TO SAY I AGREE WITH EVERYTHING THAT YOU JUST SAID WILL, THANK YOU.

I MAYBE I'M LIVING IN A CLOUD.

I PROBABLY STILL HAVE HOPE THAT THE VILLAGE WILL DO THE RIGHT THING AND OWN THE LAND THAT THEY WANT TO BUILD THIS PROJECT ON, I THINK IS FAIR.

THEY DID SOMETHING THAT I FEEL WAS NOT NICE TO A COMMUNITY MEMBER, WHICH IS THE SCHOOL DISTRICT, WHICH IS THE DISTRICT THAT TAKES CARE OF ALL THE CHILDREN IN THIS COMMUNITY, REGARDLESS OF WHETHER YOU LIVE ON ONE SIDE OF THE VILLAGE OR ANOTHER, WE ARE ALL IMPACTED.

THEY ARE ALL OUR CHILDREN.

THEY DID SOMETHING THAT THEY HAD THE LEGAL RIGHT TO DO, BUT IT'S JUST BECAUSE IT'S LEGALLY PERMISSIBLE DOESN'T MAKE IT RIGHT.

I DID SEE THIS WEEK THAT THE MAYOR, CHANCE MULLEN, DID SAY THAT HE IS WILLING TO PAY JUST MONEY FOR THE LAND THAT HE WANTS TO OWN.

I HOPE THAT IS TRUE, BECAUSE THROUGHOUT THIS LAST YEAR, THE SCHOOL BOARD HAS DONE EVERYTHING POSSIBLE TO MAKE THIS PROJECT HAPPEN FOR THEM. WE'VE PROPOSED MANY TIMES HOW THEY COULD OWN THIS LAND, AND THEY HAVE TURNED ALL THAT DOWN.

AND INSTEAD OF CONTINUING TO NEGOTIATE WITH US, HE DECIDED OR THEY DECIDED TO JUST GO THROUGH THE EMINENT DOMAIN PROCESS.

UNFORTUNATELY, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE WE WILL OWN THAT LAND, WE WILL HAVE TO GO THROUGH STATE APPROVAL, WHICH I ONLY THINK DOESN'T BENEFIT THEM.

SO I DO WISH THAT HE WOULD STILL RECONSIDER AND FIGURE OUT A WAY TO OWN THE LAND.

YOU KNOW, MAYBE IT GOES THROUGH THE EMINENT DOMAIN PROCESS, AND AT THAT POINT, HE'LL DECIDE.

THEY'LL DECIDE THAT, HEY, IT'S JUST BETTER IF WE JUST TAKE ALL THE LAND VERSUS AN EASEMENT AND I DO THINK THAT IS THE BEST INTEREST OF FOR THEM.

IT IS THE BEST INTEREST FOR THE TOWN, FOR THE VILLAGE, FOR EVERYONE INVOLVED, FOR US.

I REALLY DO THINK THAT'S THE BEST WAY.

SO I STILL FEEL THAT, YOU KNOW, THEM.

OWNING THE LAND IS THE BEST WAY FOR THIS PROJECT TO GO FORWARD.

BUT IN THE INTEREST OF TIME AND MONEY, WE DO HAVE A LOT TO ACCOMPLISH THIS YEAR.

WE HAVE A NEW STRATEGIC PLAN.

WE HAVE A LOT TO DO WITH OUR FACILITIES AND AS A SCHOOL BOARD, WE HAVE TO PRIORITIZE WHAT WE HAVE TO ACCOMPLISH THIS YEAR, SO.

WE'RE GOOD. OH, I DON'T THINK I HAVE ANYTHING TO ADD RIGHT NOW.

I'VE TALKED ABOUT THE SED ISSUE BEFORE, AND THEY'RE GOING TO HAVE TO PAY FAIR VALUE, WHICH I THINK IS GOING TO BE BASICALLY THE SAME, WHETHER IT'S AN EASEMENT OR A TAKING IN FEE AT THIS POINT SO.

I MEAN, I GUESS I'LL JUST ADD THAT I'M GLAD THAT WE ARE ABLE TO MOVE FORWARD AND WE CAN FOCUS ON GETTING A FAIR VALUE, GETTING FAIR VALUE FOR THE LAND, AND THEN REFOCUS OUR EFFORTS ON THE SCHOOL DISTRICT AND THE KIDS AND WHAT WE NEED TO DO FOR THE COMING YEAR, THE UPCOMING YEAR, AND NEXT FOR PLANNING.

THANK YOU. OKAY.

THANK YOU. WE CAN MOVE ON TO SECTION THREE.

[3. Approval of Minutes]

A MOTION TO APPROVE MINUTES FOR TWO BOARD MEETINGS SEPTEMBER 11TH AND SEPTEMBER 25TH.

SO MOVED. SECOND.

OKAY. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. ANY OPPOSED?

[00:10:01]

[4.1 Capital Markets Advisors Presentation]

ALL RIGHT. YES.

AND WHILE RICK JOINS US, I JUST WANT TO THANK JIM FOR AND JACKIE VIGIL FOR WORKING WITH RICK AND HAVING WE'VE HAD SEVERAL FINANCE COMMITTEE MEETINGS IN RECENT THE RECENT DAYS, RECENT WEEKS IN PREPARATION FOR TONIGHT.

AND I'VE BEEN SHARING AS I'VE BEEN VISITING OUR PTA'S ABOUT THE WORK OF THE BOARD THIS YEAR, THE GOALS THE BOARD'S FOCUSED ON FACILITIES AND FINANCE. SEPTEMBER 18TH, AS THE BOARD KNOWS, WE HAD OUR WORK SESSION ON FACILITIES, AND WE SAID AT THAT TIME THE NEXT STEP WOULD BE TO BRING IN OUR CAPITAL MARKETS FINANCIAL ADVISORS TO HELP US UNDERSTAND SOME FINANCIAL STRATEGIES FOR ADDRESSING OUR FACILITIES NEEDS.

SO WE'RE EXCITED TO COME TO TONIGHT.

AND I JUST APPRECIATE THE PREPARATION WORK THAT JIM AND JACKIE HAVE DONE, WORKING WITH RICK GANCI.

JIM, IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE YOU WANTED TO ADD TO TEE RICK UP FOR HIS PRESENTATION TONIGHT? JUST A LITTLE BACKGROUND I THINK WOULD BE HELPFUL FOR THE BOARD AND THE COMMUNITY.

SO RICK IS EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT AND PRINCIPAL OF CAPITAL MARKET ADVISORS.

THEY'VE BEEN THE DISTRICT'S FINANCIAL ADVISORS SINCE PRIOR TO MY ARRIVAL OVER EIGHT YEARS, JUST ABOUT PLUS EIGHT YEARS AGO RIGHT NOW.

WHEN WE WORKED THROUGH THE 2017 AND THE EVENTUAL 2018 BOND, WE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY FOR RICK TO DO SOMETHING VERY SIMILAR TO WHAT WE EXPECT HIM TO DO HERE THIS EVENING, WHICH IS TO REALLY SHARE SOME INFORMATION WITH THE BOARD AND TO EDUCATE THE BOARD IN THE COMMUNITY ON THE BONDING PROCESS TO KIND OF DESCRIBE A LITTLE BIT ABOUT SCHOOL AID AND HOW THIS ENTIRE PROCESS WORKS.

WE'VE BEEN FORTUNATE. WE'VE HAD TWO PRIOR MEETINGS WITH RICK, WITH THE FINANCE COMMITTEE OVER THE LAST FEW WEEKS.

SO FOR THOSE COMMITTEE MEMBERS, IT MAY BE A LITTLE BIT LIKE GROUNDHOG DAY.

WE'RE GOING TO HEAR A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE SAME THINGS.

HOWEVER, I THINK IN THOSE CONVERSATIONS, WE'VE ALSO HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO GAIN A DEEPER UNDERSTANDING OF THE PROJECTS AND KIND OF THE SCHOOL FINANCING AND THE SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION PROCESS.

AGAIN, THIS IS JUST ONE PART OF OUR PROCESS.

WE ALSO WE MET WITH OUR ARCHITECT A FEW WEEKS AGO, AND WE EXPECT TO MEET WITH OUR ARCHITECT THIS WEEK AS WELL AS WE AS WE MOVE THROUGH THIS PROCESS, WHICH WILL ALSO BE AN INCLUSIVE PROCESS WHICH WILL INVOLVE OUR COMMITTEES AND EVENTUALLY, EVENTUALLY, I'M SURE THERE'LL BE OUTREACH TO OUR COMMUNITY AS WELL AS PRIOR TO ANY FINAL DECISIONS TO HELP THE BOARD MAKE FINAL DETERMINATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR A VOTE.

SO I GUESS WITH THAT, I'LL STOP TALKING.

AND IF I CAN, I'LL LOOK AT THE SCREEN AND HOPEFULLY RICK CAN MAKE HIMSELF AVAILABLE.

RICK, THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE THIS EVENING.

AND I'LL STOP.

THANK YOU.

CAN WE SHARE THE PRESENTATION, JIM, OR WOULD THAT BE.

ARE YOU ABLE TO PUT IT UP, RICK? YEAH. LET ME PULL IT UP HERE.

TERRIFIC. CAN YOU SEE THAT ON YOUR SCREEN? WE CAN, WE CAN.

THANK YOU. GREAT.

THANK YOU. YEP. THANKS FOR HAVING ME AGAIN.

IT'S GOOD TO BE BACK TO SEE THE BOARD AGAIN.

YOU KNOW, IT'S BEEN SOME TIME, OBVIOUSLY, SINCE THE LAST CAPITAL PROJECT.

YOU KNOW, SOME OF THE BOARD MEMBERS MIGHT BE FAMILIAR WITH THE 2018 PROJECT, WHICH WAS WILDLY SUCCESSFUL.

YOU NEVER REALLY HAVE, LIKE, PROJECTS THAT YOU KNOW, BECOME SO OBVIOUSLY SUCCESSFUL.

LET ME HOLD ON ONE SECOND.

CHRIS, CAN THE CAN YOU THE VOLUME GO ANY HIGHER? YEAH. OKAY.

THANKS.

RICK, CAN YOU HEAR US? YES, I CAN HEAR YOU.

SORRY. WE'RE NOT HEARING YOU RIGHT NOW.

HE'S ALSO NOT TALKING.

OKAY. CAN YOU HEAR ME? NO. YES. YES.

TRYING TO BRING THE PRESENTATION UP.

ONE SECOND.

ARE YOU HAVING CHAMPAGNE BACK THERE? WE'RE POPPING A BOTTLE OF CHAMPAGNE FOR THE.

AND IF IT'S OKAY, WE HAVE RICK'S PRESENTATION AS WELL.

WE'RE GOING TO PUSH THAT UP INTO RICK.

IT'S CHRIS. YOU HAD IT CORRECT THE FIRST TIME YOU HAD IT UP THERE.

WE WERE ABLE TO. YEAH.

SORRY. ONE SECOND. WE'RE GOING TO PUSH IT INTO BOARD DOCS UNDER THE ITEM NUMBER TWO.

SO FOR THOSE WHO WANT TO BRING IT UP ON THEIR ON THEIR COMPUTER THEY'LL BE ABLE TO DO THAT.

[00:15:05]

YES. YES WE CAN.

OKAY. GREAT. SORRY ABOUT THAT.

YEAH. I DON'T KNOW WHAT HAPPENED THERE.

ANYWAY, SO THE 2018 PROJECT WAS VERY SUCCESSFUL.

YOU KNOW, WE DID THE ISSUE WITH THE VERY ACTUALLY THE HISTORICALLY LOW INTEREST RATES THE NEW HUTCH SCHOOL OBVIOUSLY WAS YOU KNOW, VERY IMPORTANT PROJECT FOR THE DISTRICT.

SO, YOU KNOW, NOW WE'RE ON THE HEELS OF CLOSING OUT THAT 2018 PROJECT AND DISTRICTS.

YOU KNOW, ACROSS THE STATE, OBVIOUSLY YOU KNOW, EVERY FIVE YEARS OR SO WE THINK ABOUT YOU KNOW, NEW PROJECTS.

SO WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT HERE IS NOT NOTHING THAT'S UNUSUAL WITH RESPECT TO OTHER DISTRICTS, ESPECIALLY YOUR PEER DISTRICTS IN WESTCHESTER COUNTY.

I KNOW YOU RECALL YOU KNOW, I THINK CLARKSON, OSSINING WHITE PLAINS ARE SOME, LIKE, RECENT DISTRICTS THAT KATONAH CROTON-HARMON DISTRICTS THAT HAVE, YOU KNOW, CURRENTLY THINKING ABOUT CAPITAL PROJECTS THEY'RE TAKING ADVANTAGE OF A DROP OFF IN WHAT'S CALLED THE LOCAL SHARE.

SO, SO WE'RE TRYING TO FRAME THE DISCUSSION NOW IN THE SENSE THAT WE HAVE LOCAL SHERIFF FALLING OFF IN THE SENSE THAT OLDER PROJECTS ARE ROLLING OFF AND THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY TO PUT ON NEW PROJECTS AS THE OLDER PROJECTS ROLL OFF.

SO EVERY FIVE YEARS, DISTRICTS DO WHAT'S CALLED A BUILDING CONDITION SURVEY.

SO EVERY FIVE YEARS, THE DISTRICTS ARCHITECTS, ALONG WITH THE DISTRICTS, WILL PUT TOGETHER A MASTER PLAN OF WHAT THE NEEDS ARE OF THE DISTRICT.

AND THEN WE'LL YOU KNOW, DECIPHER WHETHER OR NOT YOU KNOW WHAT'S NEEDED AS FAR AS GOING FORWARD.

SO WHAT WE'VE KIND OF TALKED ABOUT WITH THE FINANCE COMMITTEE AND JIM AND HIS STAFF ARE A COUPLE OF CONCEPTS, RIGHT.

SO WHEN WE THINK ABOUT STATE BUILDING AID THE STATE OF NEW YORK PAYS SCHOOL DISTRICTS THROUGH BUILDING AID YOU KNOW, ANNUALLY FOR CAPITAL PROJECTS.

SO WITH RESPECT TO YOUR, YOUR DISTRICT.

THE LOWEST YOU COULD GET IN BUILDING AID IS 10% AND THE HIGHEST IS 98%.

SO YOU'RE AT 49.4%, WHICH WHAT THAT MEANS IS EVERY $0.49 ON THE DOLLAR OF ELIGIBLE EXPENSES FOR THE PROJECT IS PAID FOR BY STATE AID.

SO THAT'S VERY CRITICAL WITH RESPECT TO YOUR PROJECT BECAUSE YOU'RE ABLE TO LEVERAGE THAT AID TO PAY FOR SOME OF THE LOCAL SHARE THAT OTHERWISE WOULD BE PAID BY LOCAL TAXPAYERS.

SO WHEN WE TALK ABOUT A CONCEPT OF MAXIMUM COST ALLOWANCE, WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT ELIGIBLE EXPENSES THAT THE DISTRICT WOULD OTHERWISE YOU KNOW, PAY OR THE STATE WOULD OTHERWISE PAY MAXIMUM COST ALLOWANCE MEANS THAT THE STATE HAS A CAP ON WHAT WOULD OTHERWISE, YOU KNOW, WHAT WOULD IS GOING TO BE PAID BY THE STATE OF NEW YORK.

SO THEY HAVE EACH BUILDING THAT IS YOU KNOW, PAID FOR BY THE STATE HAS A CAP ON WHAT THEY OTHERWISE WOULD PAY SO THAT THAT'S ALL OF YOUR BUILDINGS HAS HAVE A COST ALLOWANCE BY WHICH THEY WOULD PAY THE MAXIMUM ALLOWED FOR EACH PROJECT.

SO A QUICK KIND OF TALK ABOUT WHERE WE ARE AS FAR AS LOCAL SHARE.

SO THE DISTRICT WITH THE, YOU KNOW, REALLY STRONG CREDIT RATING.

IT'S FORTUNATE IN THE SENSE THAT THEY HAVE LOCAL SHARE CURRENTLY LOCAL SHARE, MEANING STATE BUILDING AID THAT COMES IN DEBT SERVICE THAT GOES OUT.

AND, AND THAT WOULD BE THE TERM OF LOCAL SHARE, THAT WOULD BE YOU KNOW, FOR THE LOCAL TAXPAYERS.

SO WITH RESPECT TO THE LOCAL SHARE, THE DISTRICT HAS A LOCAL SHARE DROPPING OFF IN 26 AND 27 OF ABOUT $330,000.

IN 2020, 30 AND 31.

WE HAVE A LOCAL SHARE DROPPING OFF OF ROUGHLY 2.3 MILLION.

SO WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? WHAT THAT MEANS IS THAT THE DISTRICT HAS A GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO THINK ABOUT LONG RANGE PLANNING, IN THE SENSE THAT THEY HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO PUT ON NEW CAPITAL PROJECTS OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL YEARS WITHOUT POTENTIALLY

[00:20:02]

AND THE REASON THAT IS, IS BECAUSE OF THAT LOCAL SHARE DROP OFF.

DISTRICTS TRY TO MAINTAIN A LOCAL SHARE TO BE RATHER LEVEL.

BECAUSE OF THE YOU KNOW, CAPITAL TAX EXCLUSION THAT ALLOWS FOR YOU KNOW, DISTRICTS TO EXCLUDE THE TAXES BY WAY OF LOCAL SHARE.

SO IT'S IMPORTANT TO POINT OUT THAT THE LOCAL SHARE EXCLUSION BECOMES IMPORTANT AND THAT THIS ANALYSIS, IN THE SENSE THAT THE DISTRICT COULD POTENTIALLY PUT ON ANOTHER $10 MILLION OF CAPITAL PROJECT VOTE AS SOON AS 2025, AS WELL AS ANOTHER POTENTIAL VOTE DOWN IN 2028 OF POTENTIALLY $55 MILLION TO LEVERAGE THAT DROP OFF IN LOCAL SHARE.

SO THE QUESTION REALLY TONIGHT IS WHETHER OR NOT THE DISTRICT WOULD THINK ABOUT, YOU KNOW, TWO PROPOSITIONS, YOU KNOW, $10 MILLION AND $55 MILLION OR, YOU KNOW, ONE PREPOSITION ALL AT ONCE IN THE NEXT YEAR OR SO.

AND THEN THE QUESTION, I GUESS IS, YOU KNOW, RENOVATIONS VERSUS ADDITIONS AND THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN RENOVATIONS AND ADDITIONS IS IMPORTANT IN THE SENSE THAT WITH RESPECT TO RENOVATIONS, THERE'S A DISTINCTION OF MAXIMUM COST ALLOWANCE BY AID FOR THE STATE.

BUT WHEN YOU GET INTO THE TERRITORY OF ADDITIONS, IT'S A COMPLETELY SEPARATE CALCULATION THAT THE STATE NEEDS TO APPROVE UPON AN ADDITION OR NEW BUILDING.

BECAUSE IT, IT FALLS UNDER A DIFFERENT REGULATION OF THE STATE.

SO WITH RESPECT TO THE $10 MILLION IN A 2025 VOTE IF THE DISTRICT DECIDES, YOU KNOW, 2025, MAYBE TOO SOON, THE DISTRICT DOES HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO YOU KNOW, ALLOCATE WITHIN THE BUDGET PROCESS, YOU KNOW, $300,000 EACH YEAR TO PAY FOR CAPITAL PROJECTS ON AN ONGOING BASIS.

UNTIL THE VOTE COMES ON, THE LOCAL SHARE CAN BE YOU KNOW, CAN BE APPROVED.

SO I'LL PAUSE THERE FOR ANY QUESTIONS THAT MIGHT COME UP.

I ACTUALLY HAVE A QUESTION.

YOU MENTIONED THE MATH.

FOR AN ADDITION, THERE'S A MAX COST ALLOWANCE.

IS THERE SOME FOR RENOVATIONS? WHAT'S THAT? FOR ADDITIONS, THERE'S A MAX COST ALLOWANCE.

HOW ABOUT FOR RENOVATIONS? YEAH. SO RENOVATIONS IS ALREADY SET.

THERE'S ALREADY A MAXIMUM COST ALLOWANCE FOR RENOVATIONS FOR EACH OF YOUR DISTRICT BUILDINGS.

THE QUESTION ON ADDITIONS IS THERE'S NO EXISTING COST ALLOWANCE FOR ADDITIONS AT ANY OF THE BUILDINGS.

SO WHEN WE YOU RECALL WHEN WE DID THE HUTCH NEW BUILDING THE DISTRICT HAD TO APPLY TO THE STATE OF NEW YORK CITY TO HAVE BUILDING AID UNITS ASSIGNED TO THOSE TO THAT BUILDING.

AS OF NOW, WE HAVE RENOVATION COST ALLOWANCES FOR EACH BUILDING, BUT NO ADDITIONS OR NEW BUILDINGS, BECAUSE THAT WOULD BE A SEPARATE APPLICATION.

SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I WOULD SAY, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE TALKED ABOUT THIS MORNING, AND CERTAINLY JIM AND RICK WOULD FILL IN TO OR ANY OF THE FOLKS WHO WERE THERE THIS MORNING.

THE AS WE GET FURTHER DOWN THE ROAD WITH SOME OF THESE PROJECTS, I THINK THAT'S WHERE LOOKING AT THE BUILDING AID UNITS AND THE ALLOWABLE MAXIMUMS WILL REALLY COME INTO PLAY.

AS WE START TO CONSIDER THE SCALE OF SOME OF THE OPTIONS THAT MIGHT HELP US TO WEIGH HOW MUCH YOU KNOW, WHERE ARE WE GOING TO MAXIMIZE, HOW ARE WE GOING TO BE ABLE TO MAXIMIZE THOSE? AND I KNOW IF WE WERE TO CONSIDER EVEN A NEW BUILDING, WE HAD THAT CONVERSATION THIS MORNING, AS WELL AS FROM A FINANCING PERSPECTIVE, NOT TO, YOU KNOW, GET IN FRONT OF ANYTHING HERE. BUT THAT THAT THERE WOULD BE A SEPARATE APPROVAL PROCESS FROM THE STATE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT BECAUSE A NEW BUILDING DOES NOT HAVE ANY BUILDING AID UNITS ASSIGNED TO IT. SO WE'D HAVE TO GO THROUGH AN EXTRA STEP THERE BASED ON OUR CONVERSATIONS WITH RICK AND OUR PRIOR EXPERIENCE.

YEAH. YOU KNOW, I WILL SAY WITH RESPECT TO THE APPLICATION TO THE STATE OF NEW YORK TO GET NEW BUILDING AID UNITS ASSIGNED.

WE'VE WORKED WITH A COUPLE DISTRICTS, YOU KNOW, LOCALLY IN YOUR IN WESTCHESTER COUNTY.

AND QUITE FRANKLY, THE PROCESS TO GET BUILDING AID UNITS ASSIGNED FOR NEW BUILDINGS OR ADDITIONS

[00:25:09]

SO IF WE'RE THINKING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, A PROJECT TO BE VOTED ON, YOU KNOW, IN 2025 IT'S GOING TO BE VERY DIFFICULT, IF NOT IMPOSSIBLE TO GET AN APPLICATION TO THE STATE FOR BUILDING EIGHT UNITS FOR AN ADDITION OR A NEW BUILDING PRIOR TO THE VOTE.

YOU KNOW, IF IN 25.

YEAH. AND, RICK, I THINK WHEN WE WERE TALKING THIS MORNING, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT YOU MENTIONED THAT WASN'T IN YOUR PRESENTATION NOW, BUT IS RELEVANT TO THIS, I THINK IS THE DIFFERENT TIME PERIODS OVER WHICH BUILDING AID GETS PAID OUT AND BONDING WOULD HAPPEN FOR RENOVATIONS.

I THINK IT'S 15 YEARS ADDITIONS, 20 YEARS AND A NEW BUILDING 30 YEARS, IS THAT RIGHT? EXACTLY. YEAH. SO RENOVATIONS.

SO WHEN WE DID THE LAST CAPITAL PROJECT IN, YOU KNOW, 18 THE, THE NEW HUTCH BUILDING WAS AIDED OVER A 30 YEAR PERIOD, WHICH WOULD ALSO THE BOND ISSUE WAS ALSO OVER 30 YEARS.

WHEREAS THE RENOVATIONS AT PROSPECT HILL AND, AND THE HIGH SCHOOL, MIDDLE SCHOOL WERE OVER A 15 YEAR PERIOD.

SO THOSE OBVIOUSLY YOU MATCH UP THE STATE BUILDING AID WITH THE DEBT SERVICE.

SO WITH RESPECT TO THE IF THERE WAS A NEW BUILDING CONTEMPLATED, THERE IS AN OPPORTUNITY TO STRETCH OUT THAT PAYMENT OVER 30 YEARS WHICH COULD OBVIOUSLY CHANGE, YOU KNOW, THE MATH, BETWEEN THE $10 MILLION AND THE $55 MILLION ANALYSIS. NOW, WITH RESPECT TO THE DROP OFF, THOSE ASSUMPTIONS ARE BASED ON A 15 YEAR PAYBACK OF EIGHT IN DEBT SERVICE.

THANK YOU. AND I THINK THAT'S A VERY GOOD POINT TO MAKE, RICK.

AND REALLY, WHAT WE'RE SEEING HERE IS KIND OF WHAT WE ASK YOU TO DO, WHICH WAS GIVE US AN UNDERSTANDING OF KIND OF WHAT THE WHAT THE RANGE OF A PROJECT COULD LOOK LIKE WITH THE RENOVATION SIZE PROJECT.

AND BECAUSE WE HAVE TO START SOMEWHERE, WE DON'T KNOW IF IT'S GOING TO BE A RENOVATION AND ADDITION OR SOMETHING ELSE.

BUT THEN BASED ON WHERE OUR WORK TAKES US, THE OTHER PART OF OUR WORK THEN IS WORKING WITH RICK.

RICK'S GOT OTHER SPREADSHEETS THAT HE SHARED WITH OUR FINANCE COMMITTEE, WHERE HE CAN WORK OUT THE WHAT THAT NET SHARE WILL BE FOR. FOR THESE, THE EXPECTED NET SHARE FOR THE DISTRICT WILL BE BASED ON THESE PROJECTS.

AGAIN, WITH THOSE UPDATED ASSUMPTIONS, WE WERE ABLE TO DO SOME OF THAT WITH SOME SUCCESS IN THE IN THE 18 BOND, WHICH WAS HELPFUL.

BUT AGAIN, JUST AS WE'VE ALL TALKED ABOUT, WE HAVE TO START SOMEWHERE, HAVE TO MAKE SOME ASSUMPTIONS.

SO REALLY THIS ASSUMPTION AND STARTING POINT BRINGS US TO THAT THAT 15 YEAR AMORTIZATION LEVEL AND KIND OF USING YOU KNOW, STANDARD RATES THAT, THAT WE'RE SEEING OUT THERE AT THE STATE LEVEL RIGHT NOW, WHETHER WE'VE GOT WE'VE GOT SOME BETTER CREDIT THAN THAT.

SO THAN THE AVERAGE STATE LEVEL.

YEAH. I THINK YOU'RE, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE ONE OF THE VERY FEW DISTRICTS STATEWIDE THAT HAVE A TRIPLE-A CREDIT RATING.

SO IT'S SOMETHING CERTAINLY TO BE PROUD OF.

AND THAT WAS REFLECTED IN, YOU KNOW, THE BOND ISSUE THAT WAS DONE BACK IN THE 2018 VOTE.

YOU KNOW, THERE'S NOT MANY DISTRICTS THAT COULD SAY THAT THEY HAVE A TRIPLE-A CREDIT RATING FROM S&P.

SO CERTAINLY SOMETHING TO BE PROUD OF AND CERTAINLY SOMETHING THAT YOU KNOW, WORTH TO MAINTAIN OVER, OVER TIME.

RICK, CAN I JUST ASK YOU TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT KIND OF WHAT YOU SEE ACROSS THE BOARD? YOU KNOW, YOU MENTIONED EARLIER ABOUT THE IDEA OF USING THESE OPPORTUNITIES WHERE DEBT IS DROPPING OFF TO BORROW WITHOUT IT BEING AN INCREMENTAL ADD TO THE TAXPAYER.

SO I KNOW WHAT WE'VE TALKED ABOUT IS A LITTLE BIT OF ALMOST.

I DON'T KNOW IF WE'VE SAID THE WORD TONIGHT, BUT WE KIND OF INFORMALLY CALL IT LIKE KEY HOLING YOU KNOW, INTO THOSE OPPORTUNITIES.

WHAT DO YOU SEE OTHER DISTRICTS DOING AT TIMES LIKE THAT WITH THOSE OPPORTUNITIES? YEAH. SO YOU KNOW, THIS IS NOT UNCOMMON WITH DISTRICTS THROUGHOUT THE STATE, I THINK IT'S ACTUALLY QUITE COMMON THAT DISTRICTS LOOK, YOU KNOW, LONG RANGE, NOT JUST IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF YEARS, BUT FIVE, TEN, 15 YEARS OUT.

I THINK IT'S VERY CRITICAL THAT DISTRICTS LOOK AT THAT BECAUSE IF YOU HAVE A SIGNIFICANT DROP OFF LIKE YOU DO IN THE NEXT, YOU KNOW, FIVE OR SO YEARS IT'S IMPORTANT THAT YOU LOOK TO MAINTAIN THAT LOCAL SHARE AND BRING ON NEW PROJECTS BECAUSE DISTRICTS

[00:30:02]

SO IT'S, RATHER SIGNIFICANT THAT YOU LOOK AT, YOU KNOW, WHERE THE DROP OFFS ARE AND YOU KNOW, PLAN ACCORDINGLY.

AND THAT'S HOW WE KIND OF APPROACH, YOU KNOW, ALL DISTRICTS, YOU KNOW, THAT WE WORK WITH.

JUST TO KNOW, LIKE, WHAT THE DROP OFF IS AND THEN LOOK TO PLAN PROJECTS ACCORDINGLY.

I WILL POINT OUT, YOU KNOW, WITH RESPECT TO TIMING, RIGHT.

SO ONE MAY SAY, JEEZ, THERE'S A DROP OFF IN 26, 27, 30, 31.

WHY ARE WE TALKING ABOUT IT NOW? ONE OF THE KEY POINTS IS THAT BY THE TIME YOU VOTE ON A PROJECT, IT TAKES TIME, OBVIOUSLY, TO GET TO THE VOTERS.

ONCE IT'S VOTED ON, IT'S ANOTHER YEAR OR SO BETWEEN PLANS AND SPECS WITH THE ARCHITECT.

AND THEN THE REVIEW TIME ON PROJECTS IS CURRENTLY SIX MONTHS.

SO YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, A TWO YEAR LEAD TIME BETWEEN YOU KNOW, NOW AND WHEN THE LOCAL SHARE WOULD COME ON.

SO I THINK THAT'S WHY WE'RE TALKING ABOUT IT NOW, IS THAT YOU TALK ABOUT BRINGING ON A PROJECT, YOU KNOW, FOR $65 MILLION NOW OR 10 MILLION NOW, AND THEN THINK ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WHAT THE NEXT PROJECT MIGHT LOOK LIKE A COUPLE OF YEARS DOWN THE ROAD.

SO JUST IF WE TAKE THE 10 MILLION DEBT THAT'S ROLLING OFF $330,000 ANNUALLY, THAT'S ROLLING OFF IN IN 26, 27.

THE ONLY REASON NOT TO KIND OF RE-UP THAT DEBT WOULD, I GUESS, BE BECAUSE YOU WANTED TO REDUCE THE TAX BURDEN ON THE ON THE TAXPAYER, BUT YOU'RE GOING TO NEED THAT MONEY EVENTUALLY.

IS IT FAIR TO SAY WE'RE GOING TO NEED THAT MONEY EVENTUALLY, UNLESS WE'RE NOT INTERESTED IN KIND OF LONG RANGE FACILITIES, PLANS AND ALL YOU'RE DOING, ALL YOU WOULD BE DOING BY NOT RE-UPPING THAT DEBT IS LIKE KICKING THE CAN DOWN THE ROAD AND JUST HAVING A MORE DRAMATIC INCREASE IN TAXES WHEN YOU NEED THAT MONEY, RATHER THAN KIND OF SMOOTHING IT OUT AND ROLLING IT IN, IF THAT MAKES SENSE.

I THINK THAT'S A GOOD WAY TO DESCRIBE IT.

CERTAINLY THE BOARD HAS THE STEWARDSHIP TO LOOK AFTER THE BUILDINGS, AND THE GUIDANCE DOCUMENTS ARE KIND OF THAT BUILDING CONDITION SURVEY. SO YOU HAVE AN UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT OUR CONDITIONS OF OUR BUILDINGS ARE.

AND THEN WITH THAT AND LOOKING AT THE FINANCIAL CONDITIONS, IT'S THAT YOU CAN THEN MAKE THOSE DECISIONS TO ADDRESS THE NEEDS OF THE BUILDING AND ADDRESS THOSE ITEMS THAT HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED AS PART OF THAT BUILDING CONDITION SURVEY.

YEAH. AND RICK, YOU WERE SAYING YOU JUST WENT THROUGH HOW IT'S COMMON PRACTICE TO DO IT THIS WAY.

AND THIS MORNING YOU SAID IT WAS A BEST PRACTICE.

RIGHT. THIS IS HOW THIS IS THE ONE OF ONE OF THE BEST WAYS TO DEAL WITH, YOU KNOW, TO DEAL WITH THE FUTURE FACILITIES NEEDS AND PROVIDE, PROVIDE FINANCING FOR IT.

YEAH, I THINK I THINK IT'S BEST PRACTICE IN THE SENSE THAT, YOU KNOW, ACCORDING TO THE STATE OF NEW YORK, YOU KNOW, THIS IS THIS IS GUIDELINES FOR THE STATE THAT EVERY FIVE YEARS THE DISTRICTS NEED TO SUBMIT A BUILDING CONDITION SURVEY.

THAT'S STATE LAW.

YES. SO EVERY DISTRICT OBVIOUSLY HAS TO GET IN THAT CYCLE OF, YOU KNOW, PUTTING TOGETHER A PLAN OF, YOU KNOW, WHAT THE NEEDS ASSESSMENT ARE OF THE DISTRICT.

SO THAT SORT OF IS YOUR GUIDING FACTOR TO SAY, ALL RIGHT, THIS IS WHAT THE NEEDS OF THE DISTRICT ARE.

YEAH, WE HAVE WORK TO DO.

YES. THE FINANCIAL PIECE OF IT IS HOW MUCH CAN WE SUPPORT? RIGHT. SO HOW MUCH CAN WE AFFORD AS THE DISTRICT TO DO GOING FORWARD BY WAY OF LOCAL SHARE.

WHAT'S ROLLING OFF? HOW MUCH ARE TAXPAYERS COULD SUPPORT? YOU'RE ON AN INCREDIBLY GREAT POSITION IN THE SENSE THAT YOU HAVE A GOOD AMOUNT OF LOCAL SHARE FALLING OFF.

SO YOU COULD DO A GOOD AMOUNT OF WORK WITH NO INCREMENTAL TAX TO THE TAXPAYERS, WHICH IS AN IMPORTANT DISTINCTION.

THANK YOU. AND RICK, I'M GLAD YOU BROUGHT UP THE POINT INCREMENTAL TAX INCREASE BECAUSE CERTAINLY THERE'S STILL THERE'S STILL TAXES THAT PEOPLE HAVE TO PAY.

YES. BUT AGAIN I THINK THE GOAL HERE IS AND THE DISCUSSION HERE IS WITH WHAT RICK DID, IS TO TRY TO COME UP WITH A PLAN THAT TAKES INTO ACCOUNT ANY INCREMENTAL IMPACT TO TAXES FOR, FOR THE, FOR THE CAPITAL PORTION.

SO SOMEBODY DID RAISE A POINT A SHORT TIME AGO AND, YOU KNOW, A DECREASE IN THE TAXES.

YOU KNOW, IF WE DID, IF THE DISTRICT DID NOTHING AND JUST SAID, ALL RIGHT, WE'RE GOING TO LET THIS ROLL OFF AND TAXES ARE, IN THEORY, WOULD GO DOWN BECAUSE OF

[00:35:10]

LET'S FACE IT, EVERY DISTRICT FACILITY IN THE WHOLE STATE, YOU KNOW, HAS NEEDS.

RIGHT. THERE'S BOILERS, THERE'S ROOFS, THERE'S WINDOWS THAT NEED TO GET REPAIRED, JUST AS OUR OWN HOMES DO.

SO IF YOU LET THINGS LIKE THAT GO, THERE COULD BE A POSITION WHERE, YOU KNOW, 7 OR 8 YEARS FROM NOW, THERE COULD BE, YOU KNOW, $200 MILLION WORTH OF WORK IN THE IN THE DISTRICT THAT WOULD CAUSE A SHARP INCREASE IN TAXES FOR THAT PARTICULAR YEAR, BECAUSE YOU HAVE TO BRING ON SO MUCH ONE PARTICULAR TIME.

I THINK THE STRATEGY HERE IS, YOU KNOW, BRING IT IN SLOWLY OVER TIME AND, YOU KNOW, HAVE A PLANNED APPROACH TO BRINGING IN, WHETHER IT'S THINGS FALLING OFF AND YOU CAN MITIGATE ANY TAX INCREASE AND STILL MAINTAIN YOUR FOOTPRINT OF THE BUILDINGS.

SO I GUESS I WOULD JUST MAYBE SUMMARIZE A LITTLE BIT AND JUST ASK ANOTHER QUESTION WITH IT TOO.

SO, YOU KNOW, I THINK MY TAKEAWAY FROM, FROM OUR CONVERSATION CERTAINLY IS LOOKING AT BEST PRACTICES, TYPICAL STRATEGIES THAT DISTRICTS ARE USING NOW, ESPECIALLY IN A TAX CAP ENVIRONMENT. WE'VE GOT A COUPLE OF OPPORTUNITIES COMING UP THAT WE CAN STRATEGICALLY USE TO ADDRESS SIGNIFICANT NEEDS IN THE DISTRICT.

WE CERTAINLY ARE NOT GOING TO BE MAKING ANY DECISIONS TONIGHT ON OUR PRIORITIZATION, BUT WE KNOW ONE OF OUR NEXT STEPS AS WE GET FURTHER INTO THE BOND FEASIBILITY PROCESS, IS TO HEAR BACK FROM THE ARCHITECTS ON SOME POTENTIAL DEEPER DIVE INTO THE FACILITIES, POTENTIAL STRATEGIES THAT MIGHT ACTUALLY PAIR WITH SOME OF THESE OPPORTUNITIES.

SO THE BOARD WOULD HAVE I'M GOING TO START TO STEAL ONE OF CLAIRE'S PHRASES.

SOME PLANS THAT ARE GOOD ENOUGH TO CRITICIZE.

SO MAYBE SOME STARTING POINT PROPOSALS TO HELP US PRIORITIZE.

AND CERTAINLY, AS JACKIE SAID, A TRANSPARENT PROCESS FOR DISCUSSING THOSE.

JIM, JUST AS ONE OTHER POINT OF INFORMATION, ESPECIALLY THINKING ABOUT THE STATE AID ASPECT.

WE KNOW THAT THIS IS NOT THE ONE AND ONLY WAY TO ADDRESS FACILITIES.

AND THERE COULD BE SOME OTHER SMALLER OPPORTUNITIES FOR US TO ALSO START CHIPPING AWAY AT SOME OF THESE FACILITIES NEEDS.

COULD YOU JUST TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT SOME THOUGHTS THERE AND HOW THAT WOULD QUALIFY AS WELL FOR STATE AID? ABSOLUTELY. AND YOU YOU MAKE UP A VERY, VERY GOOD POINT.

AND RICK TOUCHED ON IT A LITTLE BIT, BUT WE CAN EXPAND ON IT.

LET'S SAY, FOR INSTANCE, THAT AT THIS POINT IN TIME WHEN THE YEAR COMES AND OUR AND OUR THAT $300,000 IS FALLING.

FALLING OFF.

IF THE DISTRICT CHOOSES, WE COULD CREATE A CAPITAL PROJECT SAVE FOR THAT SAME AMOUNT, $300,000, WHETHER IT'S A WINDOWS PROJECT OR A POINTING PROJECT OR SOMETHING OF THAT SIZE.

AND WE WOULD BE ABLE TO GET WORK DONE AT THAT POINT IN TIME AND KIND OF PAY FOR THAT PROJECT WITH CASH, IF YOU WILL, INSTEAD OF WITH BORROWED MONIES.

THAT PROJECT WOULD STILL GO TO STATE AID, WOULD STILL GET AIDED, SO WE'D STILL BE ABLE TO RECEIVE AID FOR THAT OVER AN AMORTIZED TIME PERIOD, BUT YOU'D STILL BE ABLE TO GET SOME WORK DONE.

YOU WOULDN'T SEE ANY INCREMENTAL CHANGE IN THAT PORTION OF PEOPLE'S TAXES RELATED TO THE CAPITAL EXCLUSION.

AND THEN WHEN THE BOARD AND THE COMMUNITY WAS READY TO BORROW THAT MONEY, THEN YOU COULD ALSO NOT DO THAT PROJECT THE FOLLOWING YEAR.

AND THEN WHEN YOU BORROW THAT, WHEN YOU EVENTUALLY BORROW THAT MONEY, THAT $300,000 COULD BE USED TO SERVICE DEBT FOR A LATER BORROWED PROJECT, SO IT COULD BE A WAY TO.

IF WE'RE NOT READY RIGHT NOW, OR IF WE'RE IF WE FIND OURSELVES WITH AN OPPORTUNITY.

IT COULD BE A WAY TO LET US BRIDGE A YEAR OR SO AND STILL GET SOME WORK DONE, AND THEN NOT HAVE THE FLUCTUATIONS, THE UP AND DOWN FLUCTUATIONS OF THAT OF THAT LOCAL SHARE FOR DEBT SERVICE.

IS THAT ABOUT ACCURATE, RICK? YEAH. NO, IT'S ACTUALLY VERY CORRECT.

YOU KNOW, THERE'S THAT STRATEGY, OBVIOUSLY, WITH RESPECT TO IF THE TIME ISN'T RIGHT IN 25 TO VOTE ON A PROJECT, YOU KNOW, GIVEN THE LEAD TIME ON BRINGING ON LOCAL SHARE, CERTAINLY AN ANNUAL BUDGETARY APPROPRIATION OF CAPITAL IS CERTAINLY SOMETHING THAT'S USED, YOU KNOW, THROUGHOUT THE STATE.

YOU KNOW, THE OTHER SIDE OF IT IS OBVIOUSLY, IF YOU'RE NOT READY FOR A $65 MILLION PROJECT BY THEN, WHICH PROBABLY I WOULD THINK WOULD BE TOO SOON TO DO THAT.

YOU KNOW, A $10 MILLION PROJECT WITH YOUR HEALTH AND SAFETY AND SOME CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE THINGS THAT MIGHT BE, YOU KNOW, HAVING TO GET DONE SOONER THAN LATER COULD BE A, YOU KNOW, STRATEGY TO DO IT THAT WAY, OR YOU JUST DELAY THE PROCESS IN TOTAL AND DO $65 MILLION WITH THE TOTAL PACKAGE OR WHATEVER IT MAY BE, YOU KNOW, AT SOME LATER DATE.

[00:40:06]

I JUST HAVE A QUESTION.

SPEAKING OF STATE AID OR OTHER AIDS, LIKE ARE THERE ANY OTHER PROGRAMS OR ALTERNATIVES AROUND? YOU KNOW, WE TALKED ABOUT SUSTAINABLE OPTIONS OR OTHER TYPES OF ECO FRIENDLY, YOU KNOW, THINGS THAT WE WANT TO DO.

ARE THERE ANY OTHER ALTERNATIVE WAYS TO YOUR POINT, RICK, TO START OTHER MAYBE OTHER PROGRAMS OR DIFFERENT TYPE OF CAPITAL OPTIONS? AS FAR AS LIKE ENERGY, YOU THINK YOU'RE.

YES. YEAH. SO THE ONLY OTHER OPTION REALLY IS ENERGY, WHAT'S CALLED ENERGY PERFORMANCE CONTRACT.

BUT THAT'S SORT OF A SEPARATE SORT OF YOU KNOW, PROGRAM THAT DOESN'T REQUIRE VOTER AUTHORIZATION.

BUT IT'S SOMETHING CERTAINLY TO CONSIDER.

BUT I DON'T KNOW IF THE DISTRICTS EVER, YOU KNOW, THOUGHT THROUGH THAT PROCESS OF YOU KNOW, ENERGY.

IT'S CALLED AN ENERGY PERFORMANCE CONTRACT.

THAT'S SOMETHING CERTAINLY THAT SOME DISTRICTS DO THROUGHOUT THE STATE.

JIM, DO YOU WANT TO I KNOW WE'RE JUST FINISHING UP.

WE'RE ON THE TAIL END OF AN ENERGY PERFORMANCE CONTRACT FROM LONG TIME AGO.

THAT'S RIGHT. I JUST WANT TO GET SOME FAMILIARITY WITH IT.

THE BOARD DID THAT ABOUT 12, 10 OR 12 YEARS AGO.

REALLY, IT WAS AT THAT POINT IN TIME, A LARGE PART OF IT WAS USED FOR LIGHTING RETROFITS.

COINCIDENTALLY ENOUGH, IT WAS REALLY RIGHT BEFORE LED LIGHTS BECAME MORE POPULAR.

SO A LOT OF IT ENDED UP BEING THE FLUORESCENT TUBES, BUT MORE EFFICIENT ONES.

THE BASIC PREMISE IS, IS THAT YOU ESTABLISH ENOUGH OF PROJECTS THAT PROVIDE SAVINGS TO SERVICE OTHER EFFICIENCY PROJECTS.

SO, SO MUCH IN LIGHTS WOULD THEN PRODUCE ENOUGH TO SAVE ENOUGH, SAVE ENOUGH MONEY TO PAY FOR A NEW BOILER.

LET ME JUST THAT'S A SIMPLE EXAMPLE.

WHEN YOU DO THAT, YOU HAVE TO GO THROUGH SPECIFIC VENDORS.

YOU HAVE TO PROVE IT TO THE STATE THAT THERE'S A SAVINGS AND THERE'S A THERE'S A FINANCING COST TO IT.

AND MY, MY BELIEF RIGHT NOW IS THAT IF WE WANT TO DO THOSE PROJECTS, WE COULD PROBABLY BORROW OR FINANCE BETTER THAN THE EPCS ALLOW US TO.

BUT AT THIS POINT IN TIME, IF THAT'S THE BELIEF THAT YOU REALLY WANT TO DO AN ENERGY PERFORMANCE TYPE OF A PROJECT.

I DON'T KNOW, RICK, IF THAT'S WHAT YOUR THOUGHTS ARE ON WHAT YOU SEE ABOUT THE RATES STATEMENT.

YEAH. THERE SOME DISTRICTS LOVE THEM.

SOME DISTRICTS DO NOT LIKE THEM.

THERE'S A LITTLE BIT MORE LIKE NUANCES WITH THOSE PROGRAMS, BUT I MEAN, THEY SERVE A PURPOSE, BUT I THINK WHERE YOU'RE AT NOW IS JUST TO DO, YOU KNOW, STRAIGHT, YOU KNOW PROJECT THAT IS IN THE BEST, YOU KNOW, NEEDS OF THE DISTRICT AS FAR AS YOU KNOW.

WINDOWS, BOILERS, ROOFS YOU KNOW, WITHOUT POTENTIALLY NEEDING TO GO THROUGH.

A LEASE TRANSACTION WITH AN ENERGY COMPANY.

BUT THEY, THEY'RE THEY SERVE A FUNCTION IN SOME PARTS OF SCHOOLS.

SOME SCHOOL DISTRICTS HAVE VERY DIFFICULT TIMES PASSING BONDS OR, OR OR JUST KIND OF FORMING ONE UP.

AND THIS THIS ALLOWS SOME WORK TO BE ABLE TO GET DONE.

I THINK THE IDEAL WITH THOSE IS THAT THEY PAY FOR THEMSELVES, BUT THE IDEAL DOES NOT ALWAYS DOES NOT ALWAYS COME TO BE.

AND THERE'S A TAIL TO IT. YOU HAVE THERE'S A THERE'S A PERFORMANCE TIME PERIOD.

SO YOU HAVE TO HAVE A RECORD OF THAT PERFORMANCE TIME PERIOD.

BECAUSE IF YOU DON'T MEET THE PERFORMANCE STANDARDS, THAT COMPANY IS SUPPOSED TO MAKE YOU WHOLE.

VERY RARELY DOES THAT HAPPEN? BUT AGAIN, WITH THOSE PERFORMANCE STANDARDS AND YOU HAVE TO DO THAT UNTIL THE END OF THE CONTRACT.

SO AGAIN, WE'RE IN A PERFORMANCE PERIOD RIGHT NOW.

AND ONCE WE STOP DOING THAT, OBVIOUSLY WE WON'T HAVE TO ENGAGE.

IN THIS CASE IT'S HONEYWELL.

AND THEY GIVE US THAT PERFORMANCE INFORMATION EVERY YEAR.

OKAY JIM, ONE THING WE DIDN'T TALK ABOUT IS A POTENTIAL CAPITAL RESERVE FUND.

DO YOU WANT TO MAYBE TOUCH ON THAT? WELL, WE DON'T HAVE ANY CAPITAL RESERVES JUST FOR FIELDS RIGHT NOW.

SO IF WE HAD ONE, ONE OF THE THINGS DISTRICTS ARE ALSO ABLE TO DO IS THEY'LL LEVERAGE CAPITAL RESERVES WITH BORROWINGS AND KIND OF USE TWO DIFFERENT SOURCES OF FUNDING GAP.

CAPITAL RESERVES ARE LIKE YOUR FUND BALANCE.

THEY'RE JUST DEDICATED TO A SPECIFIC PURPOSE.

SO THAT'S JUST ANOTHER OPTION THAT'S OUT THERE.

AND, YOU KNOW, SOME DISTRICTS, WHEN THEY HAVE THOSE CAPITAL RESERVES, THEY CAN LEVERAGE A LITTLE BIT OF THAT.

AND RICK, IF YOU COULD JUST TALK A LITTLE BIT TO AGAIN, WE HAVE BONDS AND BANDS.

SO WE'LL HAVE DIFFERENT TERMS LIKE A BAND IS A ONE YEAR BORROWING AND A BOND IS A MULTI YEAR.

YEAH. SO THE ANALYSIS THAT WE, WE CAME UP WITH, WITH RESPECT TO THE 10,000,055 ASSUMED A 15 YEAR BOND RIGHT OUT OF THE GATE, YOU KNOW, TO FINANCE A PROJECT TO MATCH UP WITH THE 15 YEARS WORTH OF AID.

WHAT WE DID AND WHAT'S, YOU KNOW, COMMON WITH SCHOOL DISTRICTS THROUGHOUT THE STATE IS NEW YORK STATE LAW PROVIDES FOR THE ABILITY TO DO WHAT'S

[00:45:10]

WHAT IT ALLOWS FOR IS DISTRICTS AND MUNICIPALITIES TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF LOWER INTEREST RATES FOR, YOU KNOW, ONE YEAR NOTE VERSUS A LONG TERM BOND FOR AT LEAST THE TIME VERSUS DURING CONSTRUCTION, AND THEN CONVERT IT TO BONDS, YOU KNOW, FIVE YEARS LATER.

THAT WORKED OUT REALLY WELL WITH THE LAST PROJECT, BECAUSE INTEREST RATES IN THE SHORT TERM WERE AT THE LOWEST RATES THEY'VE BEEN IN HISTORY.

NOT SO MUCH IN THIS MARKET.

BUT IT'S CERTAINLY SOMETHING THAT WE COULD CERTAINLY, YOU KNOW, LOOK TO DO, YOU KNOW, FOR THIS PROJECT, AS WE LOOK TO, TOWARDS FINANCING FOR THIS AND SEE WHERE RATES ARE.

YOU KNOW, RATES STARTED TO DECLINE, YOU KNOW, ONCE THE FED OR ACTUALLY BEFORE THE FED DECREASED RATES THE LAST TIME.

BUT WE WERE IN A BIT OF A CHALLENGING TREASURY AND MUNICIPAL BOND MARKET AS OF LATE.

HAS HAVE RATES OBVIOUSLY BEEN FOLLOWING THE MARKET.

IF RATES HAVE INCREASED QUITE A BIT OVER THE LAST WEEK OR SO.

SO WE'RE HOPEFUL THAT POST-ELECTION AND THE FED DECREASING RATES, THAT WE'LL BE BACK INTO WHAT'S CALLED A NORMAL ENVIRONMENT THAT WE HAD BACK, YOU KNOW, A FEW YEARS BACK.

BUT I THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, THE TAKEAWAYS OBVIOUSLY TODAY YOU KNOW, WE'LL TALK ABOUT YOU KNOW, WHAT THE NEXT STEPS ARE. SO YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE A REPORT FROM THE ARCHITECT YOU KNOW, HOPEFULLY SOON.

I THINK THAT CREATES A STARTING POINT FOR THE BOARD TO DECIDE.

ALL RIGHT, HERE'S WHAT THE NEEDS ARE.

YOU KNOW, WHATEVER THE NUMBER IS WE KNOW WHAT WE HAVE THE ABILITY TO ISSUE AS FAR AS TAX NEUTRAL PROJECT, YOU KNOW, $10 MILLION VOTE OVER THE NEXT YEAR, A COUPLE YEARS DOWN THE ROAD, ANOTHER $55 MILLION VOTE.

IT PROVIDES FOR THE DISTRICT A STRATEGY OF, YOU KNOW, WHAT OUR NEEDS ARE AND WHAT WE CAN AFFORD.

AND THEN THE ANALYSIS BECOMES, DO WE NEED ADDITIONS, NEW BUILDINGS, STRICT RENOVATIONS.

AND THAT WOULD THEN FURTHER FINE TUNE THE ANALYSIS TO SAY IF WE WANT A NEW BUILDING WHAT CAN WE AFFORD IF WE HAVE A NEW BUILDING AS WELL AS RENOVATIONS AND THAT I THINK THAT'S WHERE THE BOARD OF EDUCATION YOU KNOW, AT A FURTHER MEETING, WE COULD FINE TUNE THE ANALYSIS TO SAY THIS IS WHAT THE DISTRICT WANTS.

YOU KNOW WHAT IT'S GOING TO COST FROM THERE.

OKAY, GREAT. THANK YOU RICK.

AND I DON'T KNOW IF OTHER MEMBERS OF THE BOARD HAD ANY OTHER INPUT OR QUESTIONS.

AND IF YOU THINK OF THEM LATER ON, PLEASE LET ME KNOW.

AND I'M HAPPY TO SHARE THEM WITH RICK AND GET AN ANSWER FOR THE MEMBERS.

SO THIS IS JUST TO KIND OF SET THE TABLE FOR GETTING A BIT MORE SPECIFIC AND COMING AND COMING WEEKS.

OKAY. EXCUSE ME. NO DECISIONS NEED TO BE MADE TONIGHT, RIGHT? CORRECT. YEAH. RIGHT.

RICK, THANK YOU SO MUCH.

I REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR TIME WITH THE FINANCE COMMITTEE AND YOUR TIME WITH THE BOARD TONIGHT.

WE REALLY APPRECIATE IT. I THINK WE STARTED AND ENDED THE DAY GOOD 12 HOURS APART WITH RICK.

THANK YOU. YEAH. FROM BUFFALO.

SO WE REALLY APPRECIATE YOU YOUR TIME VERY MUCH.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. THANKS SO MUCH.

APPRECIATE IT. THANK YOU.

TAKE CARE. THANK YOU.

OKAY. OKAY.

NEXT WE HAVE THE SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT.

[4.3 Board of Education Committee Reports]

THAT'S WHAT I WAS GOING TO ASK IF WE.

OH, YEAH. DID WE WANT TO DO IT NOW.

WELL CERTAINLY. YEAH.

I THINK WE COULD EITHER DO IT NOW OR WE COULD DO IT THROUGH JIM'S REPORT.

IT'S SIX ONE HALF DOZEN IN THE OTHER.

WELL, SINCE WE BROUGHT IT UP, LET'S DO IT NOW.

YEAH. SO JUST TO FILL ANYONE IN TO WHO MIGHT NOT KNOW WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT.

WE ALSO, AT THIS TIME OF YEAR, WE STARTED LAST YEAR WITH THIS, AND IT WAS VERY HELPFUL TO US AS WE HEAD INTO THE BUDGET DEVELOPMENT PROCESS.

I'M JUST TO HEAR FROM THE BOARD SOME HIGH LEVEL, YOU KNOW, THOUGHTS ON WHAT YOU'RE HOPING TO ACHIEVE THROUGH THE BUDGET PROCESS THIS YEAR.

SO THINGS YOU WANT US TO KEEP IN MIND.

I KNOW THAT WE'VE ALREADY, EVEN AS THIS YEAR IS, STILL FEELS LIKE IT'S EARLY ON.

WE'VE ALREADY HIT ON A COUPLE POTENTIAL PRIORITIES THAT YOU MIGHT WANT US TO CONSIDER AS WE START TO BUILD OUT THE BUDGET OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF MONTHS.

SO CERTAINLY WOULD OPEN IT UP TO, YOU KNOW, TO ASK FOR YOUR THOUGHTS AND GUIDANCE AS WE START TO PUT THINGS TOGETHER, ESPECIALLY IN LIGHT OF THIS.

I THINK THIS CERTAINLY IS AN ADDED LAYER OF CONTEXT THAT, YOU KNOW, EVEN THOUGH, YOU KNOW, WE MAY NOT BE TACKLING BUILDING PROJECT EXPENSES

[00:50:05]

SO FOR ME, RIGHT IS KEEPING THE PROGRAMING THAT WE HAVE TODAY.

I WOULD LIKE TO MAINTAIN THAT AS IT IS.

I DO KNOW WE HAVE PROBABLY SOME NOT CHALLENGES, BUT DIFFERENT THINGS THAT ARE HAPPENING WITH THE SCIENCE CURRICULUM AND THINGS THAT WE HAVE TO LOOK AT FOR THE UPCOMING YEAR.

YOU KNOW, AND I'M NOT SURE IF THAT'S GOING TO REQUIRE NEW OR ADDITIONAL HEADCOUNT, BUT ALL OF WHAT WILL COME, YOU KNOW, WITH THAT.

SO DEFINITELY KEEPING OUR PROGRAMING BECAUSE I THINK THAT'S VERY IMPORTANT.

BUT ALSO WE HAVE I'M GOING TO SAY IT AGAIN FACILITIES AND THERE ARE SOME SHORT TERM NEEDS IN THE FACILITIES WE HAVE TO ADDRESS IMMEDIATELY VERSUS OUR LONG TERM PLANS.

SOME OF THAT IS DRIVEN BY US AND THINGS THAT NEED TO HAPPEN.

GOD FORBID ONE OF THOSE BOILERS GOES DOWN.

AND OTHER MAYBE BECAUSE THERE IS LAWS THAT ARE COMING DOWN THE PIKE IN ALBANY THAT ARE GOING TO HAVE US FACE THESE THINGS, AND WE REALLY CAN'T WAIT TO DO THEM LONG TERM.

SO WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO, I FEEL LIKE, PUT SOMETHING ASIDE RIGHT NOW ON THIS BUDGET TO TRY TO ADDRESS THOSE NEEDS.

OKAY. SO SIMILAR.

SO LAST YEAR.

RIGHT. THE GUIDANCE WAS YOU KNOW LET'S BE MINDFUL.

RIGHT. OF YOU KNOW, MAJOR EXPANSION AND HEADCOUNT OR PROGRAMING.

GIVEN THAT WE WERE HEADED INTO THE STRATEGIC PLAN AND THE FACILITIES PLANNING.

I THINK I THINK WE WANT TO TAKE A SIMILAR APPROACH THIS YEAR BECAUSE WE BECAUSE WE ARE HEADING INTO UNDERSTANDING WHAT THE COSTS FOR THE FACILITIES UPGRADES WILL BE.

AND ALSO, I COMPLETELY AGREE WITH NATALIE.

WE WANT TO MAINTAIN PROGRAMING.

AND WE WANT TO BE SUPPORTIVE OF THE STRATEGIC PLAN MOVING FORWARD.

BUT MY UNDERSTANDING AT THIS POINT, THE STRATEGIC PLAN ITEMS HAPPENING ARE KIND OF DIVING DEEPER INTO WHAT WE'RE, YOU KNOW, INTO WHAT WE'RE ALREADY DOING AND MIGHT NOT NECESSARILY REQUIRE A LARGE EXPANSION OF HEADCOUNT.

SO JUST BEING MINDFUL AGAIN OF THAT.

THAT DOESN'T MEAN THE BUDGET WON'T INCREASE.

I MEAN, WE SAW, YOU KNOW, WE SAW THIS LAST YEAR, EVEN IF YOU MAINTAIN THINGS THAT EXPENSES WENT UP IN MANY, YOU KNOW, IN MANY WAYS AND THAT WE HAVE TO EXPECT THAT THERE'S SORT OF HEADWINDS THAT WILL CONTINUE ON THE BUDGET.

MAYBE WE COULD TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THOSE.

AND THEN TO I THINK WE WANT TO WE WANT TO TAKE A LOOK AT WHAT IT WOULD COST OR THE ADDITIONAL RESOURCES FOR MAKING OUR RESIDENT THE RESIDENCY, THE REGISTRATION PROCESS FULLY ELECTRONIC.

WHICH WOULD BE HELPFUL TO THE DISTRICT TO BE ABLE TO, YOU KNOW, LOOK AT LOOK AT THINGS IN A MORE SYSTEMATIC WAY.

SO THOSE ARE A FEW THINGS I HAVE.

JACKIE ACTUALLY MENTIONED SOMETHING THAT I WAS I HAD ON MY LIST.

BUT REGARDING THE STRATEGIC PLAN AND I, I REMEMBER AS WE WERE PUTTING IT TOGETHER, LOOKING AT THIS MASSIVE, MASSIVE, MASSIVE WONDERFUL PLAN AND THINKING THERE'S GOT TO BE SOME INCREASED COSTS THAT ARE ASSOCIATED WITH THIS PLAN.

YES. SO WHAT YOU SAID WAS HELPFUL TO HEAR THAT SOME OF THE CHANGES OR SOME OF THE THINGS TO BE IMPLEMENTED MAY NOT NECESSARILY INCREASE COST OR ARE PART OF WHAT WE'RE DOING ALREADY.

BUT I'D LOVE TO SEE US.

AS THE BUDGET IS BEING DEVELOPED AND WORK IS BEING DONE ON THE STRATEGIC PLAN INFORMATION COME TO THE BOARD COMING TO THE BOARD THAT SHOWS HOW THINGS ARE BEING PRIORITIZED SO THAT WE KNOW JUST THAT THOUGHT PROCESS OF WHY WE MIGHT BE PURSUING ONE THING VERSUS ANOTHER RELATED TO THE STRATEGIC PLAN.

ANOTHER THING IS I WAS THINKING ABOUT TRACY'S REPORT ON SPECIAL EDUCATION, AND IT CONCERNS ME WITH ALL THE NEEDS THAT WE'RE, YOU KNOW, HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED AND CONTINUE TO BE IDENTIFIED.

SO HOW ARE WE GOING TO ADDRESS THAT? AND THEN SOMETHING THAT I ALWAYS WANT TO BRING UP AND SOMETIMES I FEEL LIKE IT MIGHT GET LOST IN THE SHUFFLE A LITTLE BIT IS THE ARTS PROGRAM IS AMAZING IN, IN PELHAM.

[00:55:02]

I KNOW A LOT OF I'LL GET A LOT OF FEEDBACK FROM PARENTS WHO WANT TO SEE IT GROW, JUST LIKE WE SEE SOME OF THE OTHER PROGRAMS GROW.

SO THAT WOULD BE THOSE WOULD BE A FEW OF THE THINGS THAT I HAVE IN MIND AND A MUSIC PROGRAM.

THAT'S WHAT I MEAN BY ARTS.

SORRY. MUSIC AND ARTS, PERFORMING ARTS, PERFORMING ARTS.

YEAH. ONE OF THE THINGS I WILL SAY TO THAT TO HELP ALLEVIATE SOME OF YOUR CONCERN WE DID HAVE SOME FURTHER CONVERSATIONS ABOUT THE SPECIAL EDUCATION, AND CERTAINLY SPACE IS AN ISSUE. YEAH. THE ONE GOOD THING AS OF RIGHT NOW, AND I KNOW TRACY WILL GO MUCH MORE INTO THIS ONCE WE GET TO THOSE LINE BY LINE AND STAFFING DISCUSSIONS.

BUT THE WAY THAT WE'RE FORECASTING SOME OF THE PROGRAMMATIC NEEDS, IF WE WERE IN TRACY, CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG IN THIS, IF WE WERE TO NEED TO OPEN AN ADDITIONAL SECTION OF THE SELF-CONTAINED CLASS, WE LIKELY WILL BE ABLE TO REPURPOSE CURRENT STAFF FOR THAT PROGRAM, WHICH IS GREAT BECAUSE I IT'S A IT'S A BIG, IT'S A BIG EXPENSE. AND WE INVEST A LOT IN THOSE PROGRAMS AND WE WANT TO DO THAT.

BUT IT IS NICE WHEN WE CAN TAKE EXISTING STAFF TO HELP WHERE WE MAYBE ARE CONTRACTING PROGRAM HERE TO HELP OFFSET THE GROWTH IN PROGRAM THERE.

SO HOPEFULLY THAT WILL HELP TO MITIGATE SOME OF THOSE ADDITIONAL COSTS.

BUT YOU KNOW, THERE'S LOTS.

SHE'S GOT HER CRYSTAL BALL.

SHE'S POLISHING IT OFF AND SHE ALWAYS DOES A GREAT JOB WITH THAT.

BUT YEAH. SO DEFINITELY I THINK WE'RE ALSO VERY ATTUNED TO THOSE CONCERNS.

YEAH. YEAH. JUST HEARING ABOUT THE THE NUMBER OF STUDENTS THAT NEED THE SUPPORT OF THE SPECIAL EDUCATION PROGRAM AND HOW THAT CONTINUES TO GROW.

YEAH. EQUATES TO RESOURCES BEING NEEDED TO SUPPORT THEM.

SO HOW ARE WE GOING TO DO THAT? AND, YOU KNOW, AND EVERYTHING ELSE THAT WE WANT TO DO AND MAINTAIN.

SO I THINK DARRA HAD SOMETHING SHE WANTED TO ADD.

YOU'RE MUTED. YOU'RE MUTED.

OH HI. HI.

THREE. YEAH.

THREE THINGS THAT COME UP TO I THINK ARE JUST REITERATING, ADVANCING THE STRATEGIC PLAN.

LIKE WHAT ARE THOSE ITEMS THAT WE, YOU KNOW, LIKE, REALLY WANT TO FOCUS ON THE PRIORITIES AROUND THAT SPECIAL EDUCATION THAT'S BEEN ON MY MIND AROUND, YOU KNOW, KIND OF THE CAPACITY AND THEN THE OTHER THING IS IT A LOT OF THESE THINGS WILL INCREASE COSTS, BUT REALLY LOOKING AT EFFICIENCIES, MAYBE THERE ARE THINGS, YOU KNOW, LIKE THAT THAT WILL ALSO HELP OFFSET IF THERE ARE OPPORTUNITIES TO JUST EXPLORE OR LOOK AT WHAT ARE EFFICIENCIES THAT CAN HELP IN A NEW WAY. SO THOSE WERE THE THREE ITEMS FOR ME, AND I WAS THINKING ABOUT THE INCREASE IN TRANSPORTATION EXPENSE RIGHT. IF I DON'T KNOW IF THERE I MEAN, I THINK WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THIS ENOUGH THAT THERE MIGHT NOT BE MANY OPTIONS.

BUT IF WE LOOK AT OPTIONS THAT JUST TO YOUR POINT, DARRA IS THERE IS THERE A WAY TO DO TRANSPORTATION MORE EFFICIENTLY? WE GET ASKED THIS A LOT.

SO EITHER WAY WE NEED TO, YOU KNOW, JUST TALK ABOUT TALK ABOUT THAT.

YEAH. IN THE BUDGET RELATED TO THAT.

YEAH. AND I WANTED TO ADD A COUPLE OTHER PIECES.

TWO THOUGHTS ON THE STRATEGIC PLAN.

ONE ON THE STRATEGIC PLAN AND ONE ON THE EFFICIENCY PIECE AND I KNOW WE TALK A BIT ABOUT THIS THIS MORNING AT THE FINANCE COMMITTEE AS WELL.

EVERY TIME THAT WHEN WE BUDGET, WE BUILD THE BUDGET, WE USUALLY ESTIMATE POTENTIAL RETIREMENTS SUCH AS JUST KIND OF STANDARD, JUST WE HAVE TO START THE BUDGETING PROCESS WITH SOME ASSUMPTIONS.

SO JIM AND JACKIE AGAIN DO A GREAT JOB OF THAT.

EVERY TIME WE DO HAVE RETIREMENTS FROM THE DISTRICT, WE ALWAYS USE THAT AS AN OPPORTUNITY TO SCRUTINIZE OUR CLASS SIZES, OUR PROGRAMMATIC NEEDS, THE NUMBERS OF SECTIONS, ETC. SO THAT IS A PROCESS WE ALWAYS DO LOOK AT.

AND WE'VE DONE THAT IN PRIOR YEARS WHERE WE BASICALLY ARE ABLE TO REDUCE STAFFING THROUGH ATTRITION IS WHAT WE CALL IT, THE POSITIONS VACATED.

WE DO AN ANALYSIS AND DETERMINE IF IT'S NEEDED.

IF IT IS NEEDED, WE FILL IT.

IF WE THINK THAT WE CAN STILL CONTINUE TO KEEP THE PROGRAM, THE ROBUST PROGRAM AT THE SAME LEVEL AND STILL PROVIDE SERVICES TO STUDENTS, BUT MAYBE NOT NEED AS MUCH STAFF.

THAT GIVES THAT THIS THE OPPORTUNITY TO CONTRACT A LITTLE BIT, BUT WITHOUT NEGATIVELY IMPACTING STUDENTS OR PROGRAMS. SO THAT IS PART OF OUR PROCESS.

THE OTHER THING THAT I WOULD ADD, YOU KNOW, WITH THE PROGRAM, LIKE WE SAID, WE ARE REALLY THIS YEAR IT'S BEEN REALLY ABOUT PLANNING AND PUTTING STRUCTURES AND SYSTEMS IN PLACE TO DEEPEN THE WORK, AS YOU SAID.

SO THAT'S BEEN WE HAVEN'T REALLY HAD TO LOOK AT ADS.

AS WE GET FURTHER DOWN THE ROAD, WE MAY IDENTIFY AREAS WHERE WE MAY COME TO YOU TO ASK FOR SOME ADDITIONAL RESOURCES.

RIGHT. AND WE WOULD CERTAINLY MAKE THOSE CONNECTIONS TO THE PLAN.

I THINK ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'VE ALL BEEN FEELING A LITTLE BIT IS WE'VE BUILT A LOT OF PROGRAM OVER THE LAST 5 TO 10 YEARS, AND OUR MONEY HAS BEEN RIGHTLY SO, INVESTED INTO THE CLASSROOMS. BUT WE'RE I THINK, A LOT STRUGGLING WITH AROUND THE DISTRICT IS OFTEN SUPPORT STAFF, NOT NECESSARILY HAVING, YOU KNOW, WHETHER IT'S CLERICAL SUPPORT STAFF,

[01:00:01]

THOSE ARE SOME AREAS I THINK WE'RE STARTING TO FEEL SOME NEEDS.

SO WE MAY BE LOOKING IN THOSE AREAS.

AND ANOTHER PROGRAMMATIC AD THAT I KNOW WE'VE TALKED ABOUT AND THAT I'VE ASKED CLAIRE TO BE FOCUSED ON THIS YEAR IS LOOKING AT THE POTENTIAL FOR UNIVERSAL PRE-K.

WE DO GET FUNDING FOR THAT EVERY YEAR.

WE DON'T HAVE THE SPACE FOR IT.

SO I WANT TO BE CLEAR ON THAT.

WE DO NOT HAVE THE SPACE FOR IT, NOR IS IT ENOUGH TO REALLY FUND A SELF-SUSTAINING PROGRAM.

BUT ARE THERE OPPORTUNITIES TO WORK WITH THIRD PARTY PARTNERS THAT COULD THAT THE FUNDS THAT WE DO HAVE COULD COVER COSTS, OR IT COULD BE A MINIMAL ADD TO THE DISTRICT THAT COULD ACHIEVE A REALLY IMPORTANT PROGRAM FOR STUDENTS AND FOR OUR COMMUNITY.

SO JUST KNOW THAT SHE IS WORKING ON THAT.

AND AS WE AGAIN, AS WE APPROACH THE BUDGET SEASON, I'VE ASKED HER TO COME WITH KIND OF A CONCEPTUAL COST OF WHAT THAT MAY LOOK LIKE, AS WELL AS THE REGISTRATION, ACCELERATING THAT, THAT PROCESS, SO SHE'S ALREADY STARTING TO TAKE A LOOK AT THOSE ITEMS. THAT'S GREAT.

ALL RIGHT.

SO ANY OTHER PIECES YOU'D LIKE US TO KEEP IN MIND? WE DO WALK INTO THIS CONVERSATION ASSUMING THAT WE'RE STAYING WITHIN THE TAX CAP.

SO WE'LL BE CLEAR ABOUT THAT.

THAT IS OUR GOAL. WE KNOW THAT ALL DISTRICTS AT SOME POINT IN TIME ARE WITH THE TAX CAP ARE GOING TO FACE SOME CHALLENGES AROUND THAT.

SO JUST WANT TO BE TRANSPARENT ABOUT THAT.

BUT THAT IS AN ASSUMPTION THAT JUST TO ADD MY $0.02 I THINK SO, YEAH.

AS YOU SAID THAT THE GUIDANCE FROM LAST YEAR WAS PUMP THE BRAKES ON HIRING.

IF YOU LOOKED AT THE KIND OF THE INCREASES IN OPERATING COSTS OVER THE LAST FIVE YEARS, THEY JUST WEREN'T SUSTAINABLE.

AND SO I THINK WE DID A GOOD JOB AT KIND OF REINING THOSE IN.

AND SADLY, IN MY OPINION WE, WE, WE, WE NEED TO SORT OF CONTINUE TO BE VERY JUDICIOUS ABOUT HEADCOUNT ADDITIONS. AND THE REASON WHY I SAY THAT IS BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, THE STORM CLOUDS ARE GATHERING IN TERMS OF HEADWINDS THAT I THINK ARE INEVITABLE, WHICH INCLUDE BUT ARE CERTAINLY NOT LIMITED TO, INTEREST RATES ARE GOING DOWN.

SO THAT WE'VE BEEN THE BENEFICIARIES OF A KIND OF INTEREST RATE REVENUE WINDFALL ON OUR DEPOSITS.

AND THAT'S SORT OF LARGELY BUT MAYBE NOT ENTIRELY GO AWAY, BUT THAT, THAT'S RUNNING OUT OF STEAM.

HEALTH CARE JUST SEEMS TO GET INCREASINGLY EXPENSIVE.

AND EVEN IF YOU JUST PLUG A 10% INCREASE INTO OUR PLAN BASED OFF LAST YEAR, THAT'S JUST LIKE A MILLION BUCKS JUST ON HEALTHCARE, POTENTIALLY.

STATE AID IS ALSO UNKNOWN.

AGAIN, WE WERE THE, WE ENJOYED THE BOUNTIES OF OF A STATE AID CATCH UP.

THAT'S UNLIKELY, HIGHLY UNLIKELY TO HAPPEN AGAIN.

SO YOU SHOULDN'T EXPECT AN INCREASE IN REVENUES OR A MATERIAL INCREASE IN REVENUES FROM STATE AID.

THERE'S SOME BUILDING AID DROP OFF, I BELIEVE WHICH IS JUST LIKE A SORT OF TECHNICAL TIMING THING AS SOME AID FROM PRIOR YEARS BEGINS TO DROP OFF.

AND, YOU KNOW, WE NEED TO FILL THAT GAP.

SO THERE ARE EVEN IF WE KEPT OUR HEADCOUNT COMPLETELY THE SAME, I STILL THINK THERE'S GOING TO BE A MATERIAL, LIKE A REAL INCREASE IN THE BUDGET FROM THINGS THAT WE JUST DON'T CONTROL, RIGHT? AND SO I THINK WE NEED TO BE PRETTY, LIKE I SAY, JUST VERY JUDICIOUS ABOUT THE THINGS WE DO CONTROL, AS OTHER PEOPLE SAID, ANOTHER COST THAT JUST SEEMS QUALITATIVELY TO FEEL LIKE IT'S INCREASING EXPONENTIALLY IS SPECIAL ED AND I SUPPORT THAT.

I SUPPORT THOSE INCREASE IN EXPENSES.

SO, I JUST THINK THAT THE, THE GUIDANCE FROM LAST YEAR, WHICH IS TO BE VERY CAUTIOUS ABOUT HEADCOUNT ADDITIONS FOR ME.

SHOULD BE SHOULD BE KIND OF MAINTAINED.

AND AS FAR AS THE STRATEGIC PLAN GOES, YOU KNOW, I THINK WE SPENT A GOOD, A GOOD PERIOD OF THIS EVENING TALKING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, THE FRUITS OF THE STRATEGIC PLAN, WHICH IS HOW ARE WE GOING TO FUND AND CAPITALIZE, YOU KNOW, EXCELLENT LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS FOR OUR STUDENTS.

SO THAT IS THAT'S MY THAT'S MY OPINION.

OKAY. WELL, AND I, I THINK A LOT OF YOU COVERED LIKE THE THINGS THAT I HAD IN MY MIND ABOUT LIKE WHEN I THINK ABOUT LIKE BUDGET PLANNING FOR, FOR NEXT YEAR ESPECIALLY WHEN IT COMES TO LIKE HOW WE, HOW WE CAN, YOU KNOW, PRIORITIZE ALL OF THE THINGS THAT WE HAVE IN THIS, LIKE AMAZING STRATEGIC PLAN.

BUT ALSO THE THING ABOUT HIRING THAT I WANTED TO TOUCH ON COMING BACK TO WHAT YOU HAD SAID, DOCTOR CHAMP, IS THAT, YOU KNOW, WE DO NEED TO PLAN AND TRUST IS GOING TO BE BUSY WITH, LIKE ALL THE UPCOMING RETIREMENTS AND THINGS AND PLANNING FOR THAT.

AND SO PLANNING AND BUDGETING FOR RECRUITMENT, BUT ALSO ANY PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT BECAUSE WITH NEW TEACHERS.

[01:05:02]

THAT'S PROBABLY NOT THE RIGHT WAY TO SAY IT.

BUT WE JUST WOULDN'T WANT TO FEEL IT, YOU KNOW, IN OUR STUDENTS OR IN THE AMAZING PROGRAMS THAT WE'VE SPENT SO MANY TIMES BUILDING OR THE SPECIAL EDUCATION, YOU KNOW, FOR ALL OF OUR KIDS, YOU KNOW, SO MAKING SURE WE HAVE ENOUGH SUPPORT FOR OUR TEACHERS COMING IN.

YEAH, THAT'S AN EXCELLENT POINT.

AND IF WE'RE SIGNALING THINGS TO PEOPLE LISTENING AT HOME, AND THIS IS A VERY NON NONSCIENTIFIC SIGNAL BUT IT'S A BAD SIGNAL. THE I JUST LOOKED AT THE.

I WISH I HAD A SPECIAL BUTTON.

THE I LOOKED AT THE AVERAGE TAX INCREASES OVER THE LAST FIVE YEARS HAVE AVERAGED A TINY BIT BELOW TWO, 2.5%.

THAT'S WHAT WE'VE BEEN ABLE THROUGH KIND OF FINANCIAL STEWARDSHIP AND JUDICIOUS USE OF OUR RESERVES AND ALL THAT KIND OF STUFF.

AND ALL THOSE MEASURES, WE'VE MANAGED TO KEEP THE AVERAGE INCREASE OVER THE LAST FIVE YEARS AT 2.5%.

AND AS WE ALL KNOW, THE WORLD HAS BECOME A LOT MORE EXPENSIVE.

YOU KNOW, A LOT MORE THAN 2.5% MORE EXPENSIVE.

AND SO I THINK, YOU KNOW, WE WILL DO EVERYTHING WE CAN TO MINIMIZE THE IMPACT ON THE TAXPAYER.

BUT I THINK IT WOULD BE NAIVE TO ASSUME THAT WE CAN JUST KEEP CHUGGING ALONG AT AN AVERAGE 2.5% INDEFINITELY.

YEAH. AND I'LL ADD TO THAT, IF IT CAN'T STAY AT 2.5%, YOU KNOW, SOMETHING ABOVE THAT MIGHT SOMETHING MILDLY ABOVE THAT MIGHT STAVE OFF HAVING TO TAKE SOMETHING BIGGER, YOU KNOW, BIGGER LATER.

SO THERE WILL BE SOME WE WANT TO THINK ABOUT SORT OF STABILITY IN, IN THE TAX INCREASES OVER TIME.

YEAH. YEAH.

I DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE IN THE SHORT TERM, BUT I THINK THE LONG TERM VIEW HAS TO BE LIKE, WE TALK ABOUT THIS ALL THE TIME WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THE BUDGETS, MORE THAN THREE QUARTERS OF THE BUDGET IS PEOPLE.

AND IF YOU'RE GOING TO KEEP A QUALITY TEACHING PROGRAM, YOU KNOW, THAT STAFF ISN'T IN THE LONG TERM.

YOU'RE NOT GOING TO BE ABLE TO KEEP THEM AT A 2% INCREASE YEAR OVER YEAR, BECAUSE IT'S JUST NOT KEEPING UP WITH COSTS AND SO OR THE COST OF LIVING.

SO AT SOME POINT THERE'S THE BUDGET IS GOING TO GET SQUEEZED.

HOPEFULLY WE CAN CONTINUE TO DO THE GOOD WORK TO DEFER THAT DAY.

BUT AT SOME POINT THAT DAY IS GOING TO COME.

YEAH. ALL RIGHT.

THANK YOU. I WAS GOING TO ASK JIM IF HE HAD ANY OTHER FINANCIAL CONTACTS, BUT I THINK YOU'VE HIT ON.

YEAH, WE'VE HAD SOME VERY GOOD DISCUSSIONS AT OUR FINANCE COMMITTEE MEETING.

AND I LIKE THE USE OF JUDICIOUS, JUDICIOUSLY LOOKING TO SPEND THE DISTRICT'S RESOURCES.

AGAIN, WE'VE GOT WE'RE AT THE FRONT END OF THE BUDGET DEVELOPMENT PROCESS, AND IT'S IT FEELS LIKE WE'RE ALWAYS TALKING ABOUT BUDGETS.

ABOUT NINE, NINE MONTHS OUT OF THE YEAR.

WE PRETTY MUCH ARE.

AND THE REST OF IT'S THE AUDIT AND THE REST OF IT'S THE AUDIT.

EXACTLY. BUT THIS IS THE FRONT END OF IT.

AND I THINK THIS, THIS GUIDANCE AND THIS DIRECTIONALLY IS HELPFUL FOR US.

AND THE COMMITTEE WILL CONTINUE TO MEET THE MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE OF THE BOARD WILL CONTINUE TO MEET AND CERTAINLY ANY BOARD MEMBERS THAT EVER HAVE ANY QUESTIONS.

WE'LL MAKE OURSELVES AVAILABLE AND EXPLAIN ANYTHING.

AND YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND IT.

WE'LL EXPLAIN IT AGAIN AND EXPLAIN IT AGAIN BECAUSE IT'S IMPORTANT.

AND YOU'RE GOING TO GET STOPPED IN THE GROCERY STORE TO BE COMFORTABLE WITH BEING ABLE TO EXPLAIN IT AS WELL.

IT'S IMPORTANT. SO THANK YOU.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR THOUGHTS AND YOUR COMMENTS.

AND JIM, THANK YOU FOR THAT.

AND JUST A REMINDER, AND I'M SURE HE'LL SAY IT AS WE HEAD INTO THE BUDGET SEASON.

IF ANYONE REALLY JUST TAPPING INTO THAT, I THINK ESPECIALLY DARRA AND KATHRYN, I THINK EVERY NEW BOARD MEMBER JUST ABOUT HAS TAKEN THEM UP ON THEIR OFFER.

JIM AND JACKIE ARE HAPPY TO SIT DOWN AND WALK YOU, WALK YOU THROUGH EVERYTHING RELATED TO SCHOOL FINANCE.

IT'S VERY DIFFERENT THAN FINANCE IN OTHER REALMS, AND THEY HAVE A GREAT WAY OF EXPLAINING THAT TO THE LAYPERSON.

SO PLEASE TAKE THEM UP ON THOSE OFFERS WHEN THE TIME COMES.

SINCERELY. YEAH.

YOU'RE GOING TO BE GETTING A NOTE FROM ME.

I'LL TAKE YOU UP ON IT.

THANK YOU. YEAH, I'M GOING TO WRITE YOU THAT EMAIL NOW TO SCHEDULE THAT MEETING.

I KNOW IT'S KATHRYN.

I'LL JUST COPY YOU AND YOU'LL BE GETTING A BIG BINDER FOR THE OTHER BINDER COMING YOUR WAY.

I MEAN, THIS MIGHT BE THE BIGGEST ONE.

YES, AND IT SHOULD BE IN THE BINDER BUSINESS.

YES I AM. AND THE TAX CAP IS LIKE A WHOLE NOTHER LEVEL OF FUN.

OH, WAS THAT A SEPARATE.

YES, A SEPARATE ONE ON ONE MEETING.

YOUR TURN IS UP, SO IT TAKES ABOUT THREE YEARS.

[01:10:03]

SO WE DO START THE PROCESS NOW.

AND JUST AGAIN FOR OUR NEW FOLKS YOU WILL GET A BINDER AFTER FEBRUARY BREAK.

YEAH, THAT'S GENERALLY OUR ASSEMBLY TIME.

THE BUSINESS OFFICE IS ASSEMBLY TIME IS.

PUT THAT TOGETHER IN PREPARATION FOR THE LINE BY LINE BUDGET, WHICH IS STARTS LAUNCHES IN MAY OR MARCH.

MARCH? EXCUSE ME. MARCH.

SORRY. AND I KNOW THERE'S A LOT OF WORK THAT GOES INTO THAT BINDER.

SO THANK EVERYONE IN ADVANCE FOR THANK YOU FOR WORKING ON THE BUDGET.

PUBLIC COMMENT I'M SORRY.

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BRING UP? OH, SURE.

WE'LL GET TO YOU.

WE CAN MOVE UP.

IS SOMEONE HERE TO MAKE PUBLIC COMMENT?

[5. Communications and Comments from the Public]

OKAY. YEAH.

YES. SEEING NONE.

WELCOME, AMY.

DO YOU WANT TO SAY ANYTHING? JUST HERE FOR THE FUN.

BUT WHY DON'T YOU PHRASE YOUR QUESTION AS A COMMENT? WE MAY OR MAY NOT BE JEOPARDY IN REVERSE.

MY QUESTION, IF I'M PERMITTED, IS ARE YOU SPEAKING TONIGHT AS IT RELATES TO THE EASEMENT FOR JULIANNE'S PLAYGROUND? YOU MENTIONED THAT IT STILL NEEDS TO GET APPROVAL THROUGH THE NEW YORK STATE.

AND I'M WONDERING IF THE EASEMENT PROCESS IS THE SAME PROCESS THAT WE WOULD GO THROUGH FOR ANY OTHER BUILDING PROJECT IN OUR DISTRICT.

IS IT A LONG LEAD TIME? I WOULD SAY WE'RE NOT 100% SURE ON THAT.

OUR ASSUMPTION IS YES, IT'S THE SAME PROCESS.

ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU.

THANK YOU. AND YES, IT'S A LONG TIME.

AND YES, IT IS A LONG. YEAH, I KNOW RICK MENTIONED IN HIS PRESENTATION PROJECTS ARE TAKEN AT LEAST SIX MONTHS AT THIS POINT IN TIME FOR APPROVAL.

AND, AND MOST OF THAT LEAD TIME IS WAITING FOR YOUR NUMBER TO COME UP.

SO YOU CAN'T REALLY DO ANYTHING TO EXPEDITE IT.

YES. LIKE I SAID, I THINK BEFORE JUST THE WEEK BEFORE OUR LAST MEETING, WE JUST GOT THE HVAC UNITS APPROVED THAT WERE PASSED BY THE VOTERS TWO VOTES TWO YEARS AGO.

SO AND THE AND THE FITNESS ROOM RENOVATION TOOK LIKE EIGHT MONTHS TO GET APPROVED.

YEAH. YES. THAT CAME LIKE TWO WEEKS AGO, TOO.

YEAH. YEAH. YEAH.

YOU'RE WELCOME. THANK YOU.

AND I THINK ALSO JUST I THINK IT'S ACCURATE, FACTUALLY ACCURATE TO SAY THE, THE ONLY ENTITY THAT CAN APPLY FOR A PERMIT IS THE SCHOOL DISTRICT.

RIGHT. YES.

THAT'S CORRECT. THAT IS THE GUIDANCE THAT WE HAVE BEEN PROVIDED BY OUR ATTORNEY.

AND I HAVE TO SAY, IT IS IMPORTANT FOR THE SCHOOL TO APPLY FOR THE PERMITS BECAUSE IF WE DON'T, WE COULD POTENTIALLY JEOPARDIZE OUR STATE AID.

SO, IT IS SOMETHING WE TAKE VERY SERIOUSLY.

AND IT ALSO INCREASES LIABILITY, YOU KNOW, LIABILITY FOR THE DISTRICT IF WE DON'T DO THAT.

RIGHT. YEAH.

WITHOUT A WITHOUT STATED APPROVAL, WE WON'T HAVE A WORK PERMIT.

IF I'M NOT GETTING MY TERMINOLOGY OF WORK PERMIT, WHICH WOULD THEN MAKE ANY WORK DONE ON THE PROPERTY, THAT WOULD INCREASE THE LIABILITY BY ANY WORK BEING DONE ON THE PROPERTY WITHOUT PROPER AUTHORIZATION WOULD BE A PROBLEM.

YES. YEAH.

OKAY. OKAY.

THANK YOU, THANK YOU.

SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT 3.2.

[4.2 Superintendent's Report]

DEFINITELY GOING TO KEEP THINGS BRIEF TONIGHT.

AND I KNOW THE CABINET AS WELL.

I'VE ASKED THEM TO KEEP THEIRS BRIEF TOO.

AS THE BOARD KNOWS, WE DID OUR QUARTERLY REPORT.

THAT WAS A LITTLE PAST THE QUARTER.

I APPRECIATE YOUR PATIENCE ON THAT.

BUT A LOT OF WORK WENT INTO THAT, AND CERTAINLY WE'VE HAD A LOT OF GREAT DISCUSSION TONIGHT.

SO FOR MY REPORT TONIGHT, I'M JUST REALLY KIND OF I PICKED ONE THEME.

I ALWAYS GO HOME, AND MY HUSBAND ASKED ME, WHAT DO YOU DO? AND I JUST SAY, I DON'T KNOW.

I HAVE MEETINGS. SO NICE OF HIM.

MEETINGS, TALK TO PEOPLE.

BUT THIS JUST WHAT I WANTED TO REPORT ON IS SOME OF THE WHAT I DO RECENTLY THAT ACTUALLY WAS JUST VERY MUCH OF A THEME THAT I JUST THINK IS REALLY IMPORTANT IN LIGHT OF EVERYTHING IN OUR STRATEGIC PLAN AND ALL OF THE THINGS THAT ARE ON OUR PLATE.

I HAD YESTERDAY WAS REALLY AN AWESOME DAY IN MY MEETINGS SORT OF WAY.

I GOT TO START THE DAY WITH ANNE MARIE AND LAURA CARUSO AND SEVERAL OTHER FOLKS FROM PELHAM AT THE WESTCHESTER CHILDREN'S ASSOCIATION ADVOCACY BREAKFAST.

IT WAS SOMETHING THAT WE WERE ALL INVITED TO THEM THROUGH THEIR PELHAM TOGETHER, WORK ME AS A SUPERINTENDENT.

WE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO HEAR FROM MAC STOSSEL.

HE'S A SPEAKER, A GENTLEMAN WHO USED TO BE IN THE TECH FIELD, BUT WHO CAME OUT OF THE TECH FIELD TO START AN ORGANIZATION CALLED SOCIAL AWAKENING TO TRY TO BRING HUMANITY BACK INTO TECHNOLOGY AND WHAT IT WAS AS A TECH, AS SOMEONE WHO WORKED IN THE TECH FIELD, HE GOT TO SEE FROM THE INSIDE A LOT OF THE THE DESIGN, THE BUSINESS APPROACHES, THE ALGORITHMIC APPROACHES AND IS SEEING THE WAYS THAT TECHNOLOGY IN ITS DESIGN HAS NEGATIVE IMPACTS ON US AS HUMAN

[01:15:02]

SO IT WAS A REALLY ENGAGING CONVERSATION OR OUR KEYNOTE SPEECH TO THIS GROUP OF FOLKS WHO ARE HERE TO SUPPORT YOUTH ACROSS THE REGION.

SO FOLKS LIKE PELHAM TOGETHER AND OTHER AGENCIES THAT WORK TO SUPPORT FAMILIES AND YOUTH.

SO IT WAS IT WAS JUST REALLY CHALLENGING.

AND A LOT OF THE HE WAS BRINGING FORWARD A LOT OF RESEARCH, A LOT OF EXPERIENCE FROM TECHNOLOGY, REALLY A LOT OF AWARENESS ABOUT THE GAMING TECHNOLOGY THAT IS BUILT INTO TO SOCIAL MEDIA IN PARTICULAR, AND SOME OF THE FEATURES ON A LOT OF THE TECHNOLOGY THAT WE WORK WITH.

AND ANNE-MARIE CAN CERTAINLY CHIME IN ON THIS TOO.

THAT, THAT ARE IMPACTING OUR YOUTH.

AND WHAT DO WE DO ABOUT IT, AND WHAT IS THE DATA STARTING TO SHOW? A LOT OF WHAT HE SHARED WAS ALSO SOME OF THE EMERGING RESEARCH THAT IS IN THIS BOOK THAT IS ON THE BOARDS, DESKS.

SO I JUST WANT TO POINT THAT OUT.

SO COINCIDENTALLY, WE HAD I, WE, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF FOLKS AROUND ARE READING THIS BOOK.

IT'S CERTAINLY NOT ONE OF THE IT'S NOT THE ONLY BOOK OUT THERE.

THERE'S A LOT OF DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES TO BE CONSIDERED.

BUT I READ THIS OVER THE SUMMER, AND OUR ADMINISTRATIVE TEAM IS JUST STARTING A BOOK STUDY ON THIS, AND I WANTED TO SHARE A COPY WITH THE BOARD.

IT'S THE ANXIOUS GENERATION FOR ANYONE WHO'S WATCHING ON TV BY JONATHAN HAIDT.

HOW ALARMING IS IT ON A SCALE OF 1 TO 10, HOW DEPRESSED DID IT MAKE YOU FEEL? IT MAKES YOU PRETTY ANXIOUS. IT REALLY MAKES YOU THINK ABOUT A LOT OF THINGS.

AND I THINK THAT'S REALLY WHAT WE SAW.

AND AGAIN, IT'S NOT THE ONLY PERSPECTIVE OUT THERE, BUT I THINK IT'S HARD TO IT'S HARD TO SEE THE RESEARCH THAT'S PRESENTED AND NOT STOP AND THINK DEEPLY ABOUT WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR US? YOU KNOW, IT TALKS ABOUT THE THING I LIKED ABOUT THE BOOK IS IT TALKS ABOUT WHAT SHOULD SCHOOLS BE DOING, BUT NOT JUST WHAT SCHOOLS SHOULD BE DOING, BECAUSE WE CAN'T FIX EVERYTHING OURSELVES.

WHAT SHOULD PARENTS BE THINKING ABOUT? WHAT SHOULD LEGISLATORS BE THINKING ABOUT? WHAT SHOULD WE GLOBALLY BE THINKING ABOUT? WHAT SHOULD TECH COMPANIES BE THINKING ABOUT AND DOING? BECAUSE IT'S A VERY COMPLEX ISSUE, AND IT'S NOT ONE THAT ANY ONE OF US CAN SOLVE ON OUR OWN.

BUT IT DOES PRESENT YOU WITH SOME CHALLENGING QUESTIONS.

SO WE'RE STARTING TO DO A BOOK STUDY ON THIS.

WE'VE GOT A COPY FOR THE BOARD AND CERTAINLY WANTED TO OFFER IF WE DECIDED WE ALL WANTED TO COMMIT TO READING IT, MAYBE PICK A MEETING OR TWO WHERE WE WANT TO DEDICATE SOME TIME TO HAVING A CONVERSATION AROUND THE BOARD TABLE ABOUT, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THE THE IDEAS THAT ARE HERE.

SO THE SPEAKER YESTERDAY QUOTED FROM A LOT OF THE RESEARCH IN HERE AS WELL.

AND THEN I WILL ALSO ADD PAIRED WITH THIS.

MR. LLEWELLYN IS JUST ASSEMBLING RIGHT NOW A COMMITTEE AT THE HIGH SCHOOL TO START LOOKING AT THE DIGITAL DEVICE QUESTION.

AND I'VE OFFERED TO GIVE TO BUY COPIES OF THE BOOK FOR THE COMMITTEE.

SO WE'LL BE HE WAS GOING TO TAKE ME UP ON THAT OFFER.

SO THEY'LL ALSO BE USING THAT.

AND THAT'S A SHARED STAKEHOLDER GROUP WITH STUDENTS, PARENTS AND STAFF TO LOOK AT, AGAIN, THOSE SAME TOUGH QUESTIONS.

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR US IN OUR PRACTICE? HE'S ALSO STARTING A COMMITTEE ON ACADEMIC INTEGRITY.

AND THAT'S THE BROAD ISSUE AND BROAD LENS THROUGH WHICH WE THINK IT'S THE RIGHT APPROACH TO BE THINKING ABOUT AI, DIGITAL TOOLS AND ALL THAT.

SO WE'RE JUST TRYING TO TAKE A REALLY THOUGHTFUL LOOK WITH THE STAFF.

SO WE STARTED OUR DAY WITH THE WESTCHESTER CHILDREN'S ASSOCIATION.

THIS IS A BOOK AGAIN, THAT WE'RE ALL LOOKING TO ENGAGE IN AND COLLECTIVELY AS AN ORGANIZATION THAT I THINK IS GOING TO BRING SOME FRUITFUL CONVERSATIONS.

AND THEN WE GOT TO END OUR DAY TOGETHER, AND I THINK MOST OF THE BOARD WAS ABLE TO BE THERE JUST AS COMMUNITY MEMBERS ATTENDING.

LAST NIGHT'S GREAT EVENT HOSTED BY PELHAM, TOGETHER WITH THE YOUTH COUNCIL, PRESENTED THE WORK THAT THEY'VE BEEN DOING.

IT WAS WONDERFUL TO HEAR FROM OUR STUDENTS, HIGH SCHOOLERS AND MIDDLE SCHOOLERS ABOUT THE STUDENT LED INITIATIVES AND HOW THEY'VE TAKEN THEIR IDEAS AND BROUGHT THEM TO FRUITION, AS WELL AS THE PARTNERSHIP THAT WE NOW HAVE WITH PELHAM TOGETHER, WHERE THEIR SOCIAL WORK INTERNS ARE WORKING WITH OUR STUDENTS, PROVIDING SOME COUNSELING GROUPS THAT WE WERE NOT, THAT INCREASED OUR CAPACITY TO MEET THE NEEDS OF STUDENTS, AS WELL, AS THEY'VE BEEN A GREAT RESOURCE FOR US TO BE ABLE TO RECOMMEND STUDENTS AND FAMILIES THAT NEED THAT SUPPORT IN A LOW OR NO COST ENVIRONMENT RIGHT HERE IN THE COMMUNITY.

SO JUST TO BE ABLE TO SEE THE SEAMLESS PARTNERSHIP NOW THAT'S GROWING AS A RESULT OF THE COMMITMENT AND THE FOCUS OF PELHAM, TOGETHER WITH THE WORK IN THE SCHOOL, IT WAS JUST A WHOLE TWO DAYS, LESS 48 HOURS, I THINK OF MY LIFE HAVE BEEN REALLY ANCHORED AROUND THIS, AND JUST THE JOINT CONCERNS THAT WE ALL HAVE ABOUT OUR STUDENTS MENTAL HEALTH AND WELLNESS, AND WHAT CAN WE AS A SYSTEM DO? WHAT PIECE TO EACH OF US PLAY, AND WHAT MIGHT WE BE DOING TO MOVE THE DIAL TO REALLY HELP OUR KIDS? SO APPRECIATIVE FOR ALL THE WORK THAT FOLKS HAVE BEEN DOING PELHAM TOGETHER, KEEP LOOKING AT ANNE MARIE.

I MEAN, IT'S JUST IT'S INCREDIBLE THE THINGS THAT THEY'RE DOING.

THEY TAKE IT AND THEY RUN, THEY ARE JUST LIKE SUCH.

YOU KNOW, THEY GET THEY TAKE THE BALL AND RUN WITH IT AND JUST BRING THINGS TO FROM IDEAS INTO FRUITION SO QUICKLY AND A LOT MORE EASILY THAN WE CAN DO SOMETIMES.

BUT JUST TO BE THAT SUPPLEMENTAL PARTNER.

SO AND THEY'RE JUST FINISHING A SERIES OF PARENT WORKSHOPS AND WE HAD STUDENT ASSEMBLY.

[01:20:02]

AND I JUST THINK THIS IS REALLY IT IS A TOP OF MIND TOPIC FOR EACH OF US.

AND I'LL EVEN ADD ONE MORE PIECE.

I MET WITH SOME OF OUR FAITH LEADERS FROM THE COMMUNITY, WHICH I TRY TO DO EVERY YEAR OR TWO, AND WE HAD A GREAT DISCUSSION AROUND THIS AS WELL, BECAUSE OF COURSE, WHAT WE SEE HERE, THEY SEE IN THEIR CONGREGATIONS.

AND SO TO BE WORKING ON HOW DO WE SUPPORT FAMILIES, HOW DO WE SUPPORT OUR CHILDREN? HOW DO WE PROVIDE SAFE, HEALTHY, BALANCED EXPERIENCES INSIDE OF SCHOOL? OUTSIDE OF SCHOOL? IT'S GREAT TO HAVE SUCH, SUCH WONDERFUL COMMUNITY PARTNERS TO WORK WITH.

SO I WANT TO SHARE THAT.

SO THAT'S WHAT I'VE BEEN DOING. THAT'S WHAT I DO IS TALK TO PEOPLE AND GO IN MEETINGS.

AND IT JUST HAPPENED TO BE A WONDERFULLY MEANINGFUL SERIES OF CONNECTED OPPORTUNITIES THAT I WANTED TO SHARE.

AND THEN FINALLY, JUST A COUPLE OF OTHER THINGS.

I HAVE BEEN MAKING THE ROUNDS TO ALL THE PTAS.

IT WAS THE FIRST PTA MEETINGS FOR A LOT OF THEM, SO IT'S GREAT TO SEE OUR PARENTS APPRECIATE THEIR CONTINUED ENGAGEMENT WITH THEIR SCHOOLS.

AND I'VE BEEN SHARING OUR WORK ON FACILITIES AS WELL, SO GETTING A LOT OF GOOD FEEDBACK THERE, SOME REALLY CREATIVE IDEAS COMING OUT ALREADY.

SO I WAS PLEASED FOR THAT.

AND THEN I THINK, AS THE BOARD KNOWS, WE'RE ALSO GETTING ALL OF OUR DISTRICT COMMITTEES FINALLY UP AND RUNNING.

SO WE'VE GOT ALL OF OUR MEMBERSHIP IN PLACE NOW, AND THOSE FIRST ROUNDS OF MEETINGS ARE UP AND RUNNING.

SO LOOKING FORWARD TO THAT WORK REALLY GETTING UP AND OFF THE GROUND FOR THIS YEAR.

YEAH. AND WE ALSO HAD OUR SECOND BOARD COFFEE LAST WEEK.

THAT'S RIGHT. SO YEAH.

AND GREAT CONVERSATION AROUND FACILITIES THERE.

AND AGAIN SOME REALLY IMPORTANT IDEAS CAME FROM THAT TOO.

SO WE ARE I THINK THE IDEA OF HAVING THEMES HAS BEEN HELPFUL.

SO I THINK I THINK THIS NEXT ONE IS PROBABLY GOING TO BE A CURRICULUM THEME NEXT MONTH.

SO WE'RE EXCITED JUST TO HAVE SO MANY PEOPLE COMING OUT.

DID I MISS ANYTHING? NO, THAT WAS GREAT. YEAH.

IT WAS, IT WAS GREAT TO SEE YOU THERE AT THE AT THE MEETING YESTERDAY.

WAS IT YESTERDAY MORNING? IT FEELS LIKE IT WAS A LONG TIME AGO.

YES. I'LL SAY THAT THE SPEAKER, MAX STOSSEL, HE'S FEATURED IN THE SOCIAL DILEMMA.

IF ANYONE'S SEEN THAT NETFLIX DOCUMENTARY, WHICH IS VERY EYE OPENING.

I'D LOVE TO SEE HIM COME AND BE A SPEAKER HERE AT THE SCHOOL.

HOWEVER, YOU KNOW, WE CAN MAKE THAT HAPPEN BECAUSE HE WAS, WELL, ONE, HE WAS A GREAT SPEAKER.

HE TALKS TO KIDS ALL OVER THE COUNTRY AND WAS SHARING A LOT OF INFORMATION THAT I THINK WE ALL KNOW, BUT WE SAW SOME.

HE GAVE US EXAMPLES OF THINGS THAT THE TECHNOLOGY COMPANIES HAVE SET UP WITH SOCIAL MEDIA THAT REALLY WORK AND WORK AGAINST US.

AND TALKED A LOT ABOUT HOW SCHOOLS ARE BANNING CELL PHONES.

AND, YOU KNOW, WE HAD A CHANCE I HAD A CHANCE TO TALK TO HIM ABOUT, YOU KNOW, THE BEST WAY TO GO ABOUT DOING THAT SO THAT IT'S SUCCESSFUL.

SO, YOU KNOW, I'M, I ACTUALLY HAVE THE AUDIO VERSION OF THE BOOK, WHICH I HAVE NOT YET STARTED, AND NOW I HAVE THE.

WE'RE BOTH CHEATING ON THAT.

YEAH. THE BOOK COMPLETELY VIABLE.

YEAH, YEAH. OH, YEAH.

I LOVE MY AUDIOBOOKS.

SO I'M, I WANT TO SAY I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO READING IT.

I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO READING IT, BUT I'M ALSO A LITTLE ANXIOUS ABOUT READING IT.

IT'S CHALLENGING. YEAH.

SO BUT YEAH AND THE SPEAKING FOR PELHAM TOGETHER.

THE PARTNERSHIP HAS BEEN WONDERFUL.

SO IT'S BEEN, IT'S BEEN GREAT.

THANK YOU. THANKS.

OKAY. OKAY.

THAT'S IT FOR ME. OKAY.

EXCELLENT. NEXT IS 4.3 BOARD OF EDUCATION COMMITTEE REPORTS.

THANK YOU. WE HAVE FINANCE COMMITTEE THIS MORNING.

WE COVERED EVERYTHING. YES, WE HAD A COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND BELONGING MEETING LAST FRIDAY.

IT WAS OUR FIRST MEETING, SO WE WELCOMED THE NEW MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE.

SOME NEW BOARD MEMBERS THAT ARE JOINING ME THIS YEAR ON THAT COMMITTEE.

A LOT OF OUR FOCUS WAS ON THE AGENDA FOR THE YEAR, WHICH IS SHOULD NOT BE A SURPRISE.

IT'S PROBABLY GOING TO BE GEARED AND AROUND FACILITIES AND WHAT WE'RE DOING IN TERMS OF, YOU KNOW, ENGAGING THE COMMUNITY IN THAT CONVERSATION.

AND WE ALSO DISCUSSED SOME OF THE RELEVANT I GUESS, THINGS THAT MAY BE HAPPENING IN ALBANY WHEN IT COMES TO ADVOCACY AND THINGS THAT MAY BE IMPACT OR MAY IMPACT US FOUNDATION AID.

YOU KNOW, HOW DO WE GET FULLY FUNDED ON PRESCHOOL? WHAT DOES THAT MEAN IN OTHER AREAS THAT WE COULD ADVOCATE FOR THAT COMES LATER IN THE YEAR OR NEXT YEAR.

SO IT COMES AROUND JANUARY, FEBRUARY, MARCH WHEN WE START WRITING OUR LETTERS.

THEY ARE SUCCESSFUL.

SO I KNOW IT'S LIKE, YOU KNOW, WRITING LETTERS, BUT THEY DO WORK.

SO, WE ALSO ENGAGE OUR A LOCAL I DON'T KNOW WHAT THEY CALL THEIR LIKE A LOCAL POLITICIANS FROM WESTCHESTER OR ARE THEY SENATORS, STATE ELECTED OFFICIALS OR STATE ELECTED OFFICIALS? YEAH. SO WE DO ENGAGE THEM IN ORDER TO ADVOCATE ON OUR BEHALF FOR PELHAM AS WELL.

[01:25:04]

BUT AGAIN, A LOT OF I THINK OUR FOCUS WILL PROBABLY BE ON HOW DO WE ENGAGE THE COMMUNITY ON OUR FACILITIES CONVERSATION.

I. I PERSONALLY WANT TO SEE ANOTHER WORLD CAFE WHEN WE BRING THE COMMUNITY TOGETHER, BECAUSE I JUST THINK FOR THE LAST TWO YEARS WE'VE DONE THEM AND THEY'VE BEEN VERY SUCCESSFUL AT BRINGING PEOPLE OUT, AS WELL AS OUR BOARD COFFEES THAT HAVE BEEN VERY SUCCESSFULLY ATTENDED IN THE LAST TWO OF THEM.

AND OUR NEXT ONE IS GOING TO BE A NIGHTTIME EVENT.

SO PLEASE JOIN US FOR THOSE WORKING PARENTS THAT CAN COME OUT DURING THE DAY.

SO WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING MORE PEOPLE.

THANK YOU. WE HAD OUR PERSONAL GROWTH AND ACHIEVEMENT COMMITTEE MEETING ON THE 17TH, AND IT WAS A GREAT FIRST MEETING.

WHAT FIRST THING WE DID WAS WE REVIEWED OUR MISSION TO ENSURE THAT WE'RE FURTHERING THE GOALS OF THE STRATEGIC PLANS, PRIORITY OF PERSONAL GROWTH AND ACHIEVEMENT.

SO WE TALKED THROUGH THAT.

WE HEARD FROM DOCTOR CALLAHAN AND SUZANNE SHORT ABOUT THE WORK THAT THEY'RE DOING THIS YEAR.

AND THEN A PORTION OF THE MEETING WAS DEDICATED TO TALKING ABOUT THE POTENTIAL CHANGES TO THE SCIENCE CURRICULUM IN LIGHT OF THE CHANGES TO THE NEXT GEN SCIENCE STANDARDS.

BUT MORE INFO ABOUT THAT IS GOING TO COME IN AN UPDATE ON NOVEMBER 6TH AT A PUBLIC MEETING.

HEAR, HEAR RIGHT.

CLAIRE AND DOCTOR CALLAHAN WILL TALK TO THAT.

OKAY. THANK YOU.

I THINK THAT MIGHT BE IT FOR COMMITTEES.

RIGHT. AND WE'VE GOT.

I THINK OUR OTHER COMMITTEES ARE ON THE BOOKS.

WE'VE GOT POLICY SCHEDULED FOR NEXT WEEK.

WELLNESS, THE SCHOOL CULTURE AND BELONGING.

YES. YOU GOT IT.

YEAH. WE'VE UPDATED ALL OF OUR COMMITTEE NAMES TO MATCH THE STRATEGIC PLAN.

SO WE'RE ALL STILL SHIFTING OUR LEXICON, SO.

BUT YEAH, THAT'S UPCOMING AS WELL.

WELLNESS I KNOW IS UPCOMING AND I THINK TUESDAY OF NEXT WEEK.

GREAT. SO AND WE'LL SCHEDULE FACILITIES SOON.

YES. OH YES. WE WERE WAITING FOR TONIGHT.

YEAH. SCHEDULE. YEAH. WE WERE WAITING FOR TONIGHT.

WE'RE GOING TO BE MEETING WITH OUR ARCHITECTS TOMORROW.

NOW THAT WE'VE GOT A LITTLE BIT MORE FEEDBACK FROM TONIGHT'S CONVERSATION.

SO AFTER THAT MEETING THAT WILL PRECIPITATE OUR NEXT FACILITIES.

BLESS YOU. GREAT.

OKAY. THANK YOU.

OKAY. OKAY.

NEXT WE HAVE 4.4 ASSISTANT SUPERINTENDENTS UPDATE ON PERSONAL GROWTH AND ACHIEVEMENT.

[4.4 Assistant Superintendent's Update on Personal Growth and Achievement]

SO TODAY MARKED OUR SECOND PROFESSIONAL LEARNING COMMUNITY OR PLC DAY OF THE SCHOOL YEAR.

WE ARE EXTREMELY GRATEFUL TO THE BOARD OF EDUCATION AND TO THE COMMUNITY FOR SUPPORTING THESE EARLY RELEASE DAYS THROUGHOUT THE YEAR.

RESEARCH SHOWS THAT THE STRUCTURE OF THE PLC PROMOTES COLLABORATIVE, DATA DRIVEN AND GROWTH ORIENTED TEACHING CULTURE IN WHICH EVERYONE IS FOCUSED ON COMING TOGETHER TO THINK ABOUT AND IMPROVE STUDENT LEARNING.

IN CASE ANYONE'S CURIOUS ABOUT SOME OF THE THINGS THAT TEACHERS ARE ENGAGING IN, I WANTED TO KIND OF SHED SOME LIGHT ON THAT.

THE AFTERNOON IS STRUCTURED TO CREATE TIME FOR BUILDING DEPARTMENT OR GRADE LEVEL MEETINGS AND THEN PROFESSIONAL LEARNING COMMUNITY MEETINGS IN WHICH TEACHERS OF SAME SUBJECTS OR GRADE LEVELS COME TOGETHER AND DISCUSS.

THEY SHARE IDEAS AND STRATEGIES AND RESOURCES.

THEY ENGAGE IN VERY TARGETED PROFESSIONAL LEARNING ORGANIZED BY THE DIRECTORS OR THEIR BUILDING PRINCIPALS OR THE DISTRICT.

THEY COME TOGETHER TO ANALYZE STUDENT LEARNING DATA TO IDENTIFY TRENDS, GAPS, SUCCESSES AND NEEDS FOR SUPPORT SO THAT THEY CAN CONTINUOUSLY WORK TOGETHER TO MAKE DATA INFORMED INSTRUCTIONAL DECISIONS.

AND THEY ALSO WORK TO DEVELOP A SHARED UNDERSTANDING OF BEST PRACTICES.

AND THEN WHAT EFFECTIVE INSTRUCTION LOOKS LIKE.

THIS CREATES A CULTURE OF SUPPORT IN WHICH EVERYONE IS WORKING TOGETHER TOWARDS A COMMON GOAL.

AND THEN ALSO IDENTIFYING CLEAR AND MEASURABLE GOALS AND CONTINUOUSLY CHECKING IN AND HOW THEY HOW THEY'RE DOING IN REACHING THOSE.

THOSE GOALS AND ALL IN SUPPORT OF STUDENT LEARNING AND STUDENT SUCCESS.

AND THEN FINALLY IN TONIGHT'S SHORT.

I JUST HOPE EVERYONE HAS HAD A CHANCE TO TAKE A STROLL DOWN WOLFE'S LANE AND SEE THE STOREFRONTS THAT THE THAT OUR ART STUDENTS DECORATED FOR HALLOWEEN.

REALLY AMAZING WORK IN A SPACE THEME.

SO IF YOU HAVEN'T YET, PLEASE DO GET DOWN THERE AND CHECK IT OUT.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

THANK YOU.

AND I DID SEE THE WONDERFUL ARTWORK.

NEXT IS 4.5 ASSISTANT SUPERINTENDENTS UPDATE ON BELONGING AND WELLNESS.

[4.5 Assistant Superintendent's Update on Belonging and Wellness]

SO AS I REPORTED LAST YEAR, PELHAM JUST STARTED LAST YEAR.

[01:30:03]

MYSELF, DOCTOR TSOI AND DOCTOR HERGENROTHER ALL ARE PART OF THE DISTRICT'S REGIONAL CRISIS RESPONSE TEAM.

AND I JUST WANT TO YOU KNOW, AFTER THE TRAGIC EVENT THAT OCCURRED IN EASTCHESTER SCHOOL DISTRICT LAST WEEK WITH THE LOSS OF ONE OF THEIR TEACHERS.

I DID SPEAK TO MY COLLEAGUE THERE WHO REACHED OUT AND ASKED FOR HELP.

SO I WANT TO THANK DOCTOR DESSOYE AND DOCTOR HERGENROTHER, WHO DID GO AND SPEND THE DAY IN EASTCHESTER SCHOOL DISTRICT IN THE HIGH SCHOOL LAST WEEK.

SUPPORTING STUDENTS AND STAFF AS THEY WORK THROUGH THE LOSS THAT THEY'VE EXPERIENCED AS A SCHOOL COMMUNITY.

SO I JUST WANTED TO PUBLICLY THANK THEM.

THEY BOTH HAVE FULL CASELOADS, BUT THEY WERE ABLE TO ADJUST DURING THAT DAY TO BE AVAILABLE.

AND, YOU KNOW, IT EXEMPLIFIES THE MEANING OF COMMUNITY AND TEAMWORK AND BEING THERE FOR OTHERS WHEN IT'S MOST NEEDED.

SO I WANTED TO MAKE SURE WE THANK THEM.

IN THE QUARTERLY REPORT, I SHARED WHERE WE ARE WITH OUR WORK WITH THE [INAUDIBLE] GRANT, WE ACTUALLY MET HAD OUR FIRST CONSULTATION MEETING WITH THE BOCES TEAM ON MONDAY, DOCTOR CHAM, MISS COMERFORD AND MYSELF MET WITH THEM, AND WE TALKED ABOUT HOW WE'RE GOING TO FRAME THEIR SUPPORT FOR US IN TERMS OF WHAT WE NEED TO GET DONE IN TERMS OF THIS GRANT AND HOW THEY CAN SUPPORT US, AND HOW THE GRANT ACTUALLY LEANS INTO OUR STRATEGIC PLAN AND OUR WORK AROUND SEL AND MTS. SO THAT'S EXCITING WORK.

LAST WEEK I PARTICIPATED IN A MEETING WITH THE COMMISSIONER FROM DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY MENTAL HEALTH, MICHAEL ORTH.

ON THE TOPIC OF BUILDING COMPREHENSIVE MENTAL HEALTH SYSTEMS IN OUR SCHOOL.

SO I ALWAYS LIKE TO STAY CLOSELY CONNECTED TO THE COMMISSIONER.

SO PELHAM IS ON HIS REPERTOIRE OF WHAT HE'S THINKING ABOUT WHEN HE'S THINKING ABOUT RESOURCES AND INCLUDING US IN CONVERSATIONS AT THE TABLE.

AND WE WERE ABLE JUST TO HEAR AN UPDATE ON THE COUNTY'S SUPPORTS FOR COMMUNITIES AND SCHOOLS IN TERMS OF MENTAL HEALTH.

AND LASTLY, I DID WANT TO MENTION, AS PART OF OUR NEW CONTRACTUAL PARTNERSHIP WITH PELHAM TOGETHER, IN WHICH THEY HELP US FIND SPEAKERS ON TOPICS THAT WE TALK ABOUT TOGETHER, WHICH ARE IN WE HAVE A PELHAM ADVISORY TOGETHER COMMITTEE NOW.

SO WE MEET AND WE TALK ABOUT WHAT ARE THE TOPICS THAT ARE ON THE FOREFRONT THAT WE SEE BOOTS ON THE GROUND.

SO NEXT MONDAY, OCTOBER 28TH IN THEIR SERIES, IT'S THE LAST OF THIS SERIES WHICH IS GOING TO BE HOSTED IN PERSON 7 P.M.

IN ALUMNI HALL.

AND IT WAS A SERIES OF PARENT WORKSHOPS ON DIGITAL LITERACY THAT WAS SPEARHEADED BY SARAH TROMBLEY, AND THE TOPIC WILL BE ON FRIENDSHIP AND TEXTING.

AND INTERESTINGLY ENOUGH, SARAH HAD REACHED OUT TO ME OVER THE SUMMER TO TALK ABOUT WANTING TO DO THESE TALKS.

AND I SAID, WELL, WE'RE LEANING INTO THIS PARTNERSHIP WITH PELHAM TOGETHER.

LET'S STREAMLINE THIS.

AND ACTUALLY, MAX [INAUDIBLE] WAS A SPEAKER.

SHE WAS THE FIRST PERSON THAT SHE WANTED TO BRING IN.

BUT MAYBE THROUGH OUR COLLABORATION WE CAN WORK ON FUNDING THAT.

SO THAT'S IT FOR ME.

THANK YOU.

SARAH WAS AT THE BREAKFAST WITH US YESTERDAY.

YEAH. WAS SHE HAVING, LIKE, SPEAKER ENVY BECAUSE WE COULDN'T GET THEM? YEAH. OKAY.

NEXT WE HAVE 4.6 EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S UPDATE ON HUMAN RESOURCES AND LEADERSHIP.

[4.6 Executive Director's Update on Human Resources and Leadership]

THE FIRST THING I JUST WANT TO DRAW YOUR ATTENTION TO IS LATER IN THE AGENDA.

WE HAVE THE APPROVAL OF THE SALARY CLASSIFICATIONS.

SO THIS IS REALLY A GREAT TIME TO CELEBRATE THE COMMITMENT SEVERAL OF OUR STAFF MEMBERS HAVE SHOWN TO LIFELONG LEARNING, AND THERE'S A LOT STILL IN THE PIPELINE WORKING ON THAT.

BUT THESE FOLKS HAVE GONE THROUGH AND MET THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THIS FOR THIS TERM.

WE WILL HAVE ANOTHER RECLASSIFICATION PERIOD IN FEBRUARY, SO STAY TUNED FOR MORE OF THAT.

AND THEN THE OTHER THING I DO WANT TO MENTION IS A HUGE THANK YOU TO DOCTOR CALLAHAN.

SO HE IS, HE'S WORKING WITH ME TO HELP EXPAND OUR PARTNERSHIP WITH IONA, SPECIFICALLY IN TERMS OF STUDENT TEACHERS AND SUBSTITUTES IN THE SHORT TERM.

AND THEN IN THE LONG TERM, HOW DO WE BUILD THIS PIPELINE OF GROWING STEM TEACHERS SO THAT THEY COME TO PELHAM AND THEIR STEM TEACHERS? SO WE'VE HAD A GREAT CONVERSATION WITH DOCTOR HARDEGREE AND DOCTOR KRISTEN.

WE ARE STARTING WITH OUR SHORT TERM GOAL OF BUILDING OUR CAPACITY OF SUBSTITUTE TEACHING.

SO DOCTOR CALLAHAN AND I WILL BE GOING OVER TIONA ON NOVEMBER 13TH, AND WE'RE GOING TO BE RUNNING A SUBSTITUTE TEACHING 101 PANEL TO SORT OF DEMYSTIFY WHAT SUBSTITUTE TEACHING IS LIKE, ANSWER QUESTIONS AND REALLY GET THE APPLICATION AND HIRING PROCESS GOING.

[01:35:07]

AND THEN NEXT WEEK, I ALSO HAVE A MEETING IN THE BOOKS WITH DOCTOR ABRAMS TO TALK ABOUT EXPANDING OUR STUDENT TEACHERS HERE IN PELHAM AS WELL. SO THOSE TWO THINGS ARE UNDERWAY, AND THEN WE'RE CONTINUING TO TALK ABOUT HOW DO WE BUILD THIS PIPELINE.

SO WHAT'S INTERESTING IS WHEN WE TALK TO MR. FARRELL, OUR DIRECTOR OF COUNSELING, HE WAS NOTING THAT ONE OF THE TOP SCHOOLS OUR SCHOOLS APPLY TO GET INTO AND GO TO IS ACTUALLY IONA.

SO IS THERE A WAY TO CAPITALIZE ON THAT IN THAT PARTNERSHIP? THINGS SUCH AS, YOU KNOW, IS IT POSSIBLE IF WE WANT TO DO A PRESENTATION THAT THEY HAVE THE RIGHT SCIENTIFIC MACHINERY OVER THERE THAT WE COULD USE? DO THEY HAVE SPEAKERS COMING IN THAT OUR STUDENTS OR OUR STAFF COULD GO AND SEE.

SO WE'RE EXPLORING A LOT OF DIFFERENT AVENUES, BUT WE'RE REALLY EXCITED ABOUT THIS PARTNERSHIP.

THEY HAVE SEVERAL GRANTS IN THE PROCESS.

THEY HAVE A LOT OF PROGRAMS IN PROCESS.

AND SO BEING ABLE TO PARTNER WITH THEM AND ACTUALLY START TO BUILD THIS PIPELINE OF BRINGING IN REALLY EXCITING, DEDICATED CONTENT KNOWLEDGE EDUCATORS THROUGH THEIR PROGRAM IS EXCITING.

SO BUT THAT WOULD NOT HAVE STARTED WITHOUT DOCTOR CALLAHAN REALLY GETTING IN THERE AND PUSHING THROUGH THE PEOPLE HE KNOWS.

SO A BIG THANK YOU TO HIM.

YEAH. SO WERE WE I'M JUST CURIOUS, WERE WE AWARE OF THE PROGRAM AND JUST DIDN'T HAVE SORT OF THE CAPACITY, DO YOU KNOW, DIDN'T HAVE THE CAPACITY TO GO AND TRACK IT DOWN OR IS THIS A NEW.

SO IT'S A LITTLE BIT OF BOTH I THINK.

SO SOME OF IT THEY'VE HAD SOME ADMINISTRATIVE CHANGES AS WE HAVE.

YES. AND THEN THEY'VE ALSO LIKE THEY HAVE A GRANT IN PARTICULAR THAT THEY WORK WITH TITLE ONE SCHOOLS, AND THEY DIDN'T REALIZE PELHAM HAD TITLE ONE SCHOOLS.

SO JUST BEING ABLE TO GET IN THERE AND START THE CONVERSATIONS, HE HAS SOME SEVERAL CONTACTS THERE.

I DO AS WELL.

AND SO JUST BRINGING PEOPLE TOGETHER AND EXPANDING THAT CONVERSATION HAS REALLY BEEN HELPING TO PUT THINGS IN MOTION QUICKER.

YEAH. THAT'S EXCELLENT.

YEAH. I WANT TO THANK YOU BECAUSE YOU'RE TAKING SUCH A PROACTIVE APPROACH TO, YOU KNOW, THE PIPELINE, THE INTERNSHIP, THE STUDENT TEACHERS, ALL THE THINGS THAT WE NEED IN ORDER TO BENEFIT OUR TEACHERS AND GIVE THEM THAT EXTRA SUPPORT THAT THEY MAY NEED, ESPECIALLY AT THE LOWER LEVEL GRADES.

SO THANK YOU.

OH YOU'RE WELCOME. AND I THINK SOME OF IT'S REALLY INTERESTING BECAUSE WE'RE RETHINKING THE WAY WE DO THINGS RIGHT.

SO WE USED TO SAY OH INTERNSHIPS YOU DO DURING YOUR FALL SEMESTER.

YOU DO DURING YOUR SPRING SEMESTER.

AND SOMETIMES STUDENTS ARE JUST TOO BUSY TO FIT IT IN.

BUT EVERY NOW AND THEN THEY HAVE THIS BLOCK OF TIME IN JANUARY IN BETWEEN SEMESTERS.

THAT WOULD BE A GREAT TIME TO CAPTURE THEM, TO COME IN, EVEN JUST TO OBSERVE IN SOME OF OUR STEM CLASSROOMS TO SEE THE AMAZING THINGS OUR TEACHERS DO.

COULD REALLY HOOK SOME PEOPLE INTO SAYING, ACTUALLY, I DO WANT TO GO INTO STEM TEACHING.

THANK YOU.

YES, YES.

THANK YOU. NEXT IS JIM, 4.7.

[4.7 Assistant Superintendent's Update on Facilities and Sustainable Learning Environments]

THANK YOU. AND I WAS HAPPY HOPEFULLY THAT THE PRESENTATION EARLIER WITH RICK YANCEY WAS HELPFUL TO THE TO THE BOARD AND TO THE COMMUNITY AND CERTAINLY HAPPY TO ANSWER QUESTIONS LATER ON.

A COUPLE ITEMS ON THE AGENDA THIS EVENING.

WE'RE ASKING THE BOARD TO APPROVE AN AS7 REPORT, WHICH IS A REPORT FROM BOCES, WHICH IS REALLY A SUMMARY OF ALL SERVICES RECEIVED LAST FISCAL YEAR FROM BOCES.

SO THIS IS ONE OF THOSE TIMING ISSUES THAT THAT COMES AT YEAR END.

ALL THESE ALL THIS INFORMATION HAS ALREADY BEEN CONTEMPLATED INTO THE INTO THE BOOKS.

BUT IF YOU LOOK AT IT, YOU'LL SEE IT'S JUST THAT SUMMARY OF EVERYTHING THAT'S HAPPENED.

THERE'S ALSO A REPORT THAT WE PREPARE EVERY YEAR OF ALL OF OUR STUDENTS.

THE TUITION STUDENTS FROM THE DISTRICT GENERALLY MADE UP OF FOUR PRIMARY BUCKETS.

TUITION STUDENTS WHO ARE CHILDREN OF STAFF MEMBERS, TEACHERS, CUSTODIANS, CLERICAL WORKERS.

STUDENTS WHO RESIDE IN THE PROPER NEW YORK CITY.

THE GUIDELINE, THE BORDERS OF NEW YORK CITY BUT HAVE HISTORICALLY ATTENDED THE DISTRICT, AND THEIR TUITION IS PAID FOR BY NEW YORK CITY.

SOME TUITION STUDENTS FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION THAT WE HAVE WHEN WE HAVE SPACE AVAILABLE, WE'RE ABLE TO MAKE THAT SPACE AVAILABLE TO OTHER DISTRICTS.

AND THEN WE HAVE A VERY SMALL NUMBER OF OTHER STUDENTS WHO ARE STILL WHO ATTEND.

THEY MAY HAVE ATTENDED SCHOOL, MOVED, HAD SPECIFIC CIRCUMSTANCES, AND THAT'S WHY YOU MAY SEE THEM THERE.

OR THEY HAD A CONTRACT TO BUY THE HOUSE, BUT THEY HAD NOT QUITE BEEN IN DISTRICT WHEN THE SCHOOL YEAR OPENED AND THEY WERE COUNTED AS TUITION STUDENTS AT YEAR WHEN THE YEAR STARTED. AND WHEN THAT HAPPENS, WE HAVE FOLKS.

THEY PAY THE TUITION.

WHEN THEY MOVE IN, THEY GIVE US THAT DOCUMENTATION, AND THEN WE REBATE THEM A PRO RATA SHARE OF THEIR TUITION AT THAT POINT IN TIME PER BOARD POLICY.

[01:40:01]

WE HAVE SOME TREASURER REPORTS KIND OF DOVETAILING A LITTLE BIT OF WHAT WE TALKED TODAY.

AS YOU LOOK AT THOSE REPORTS, YOU'LL SEE OUR INTEREST INCOME BACK IN JULY.

WE WOULD GET 5.2% ON OUR OVERNIGHT DEPOSITS.

IT'S DOWN ABOUT 18 BASIS POINTS AT THE CONCLUSION OF OUR SEPTEMBER REPORT, SO TO 5.2%.

SO TWO YEARS AGO, I NEVER WOULD HAVE IMAGINED 5%.

SO THAT'S STILL A NICE NUMBER.

BUT WE SEE THAT TREND THERE.

AND WE SEE WE SEE DIRECTIONALLY WHERE THAT'S GONE.

AND THAT SPEAKS TO A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT WE TALKED ABOUT EARLIER.

AND THEN AGAIN, WE OBVIOUSLY WE SPOKE A LOT ABOUT THE OTHER THINGS.

SO I'M GOING TO I'M JUST GOING TO BACK OUT OF THE CONVERSATION RIGHT NOW AND LEAVE IT TO THE REST.

I'LL JUST POINT OUT ONE MORE THING ON THE TUITION PAGE.

YOU CAN CERTAINLY SEE.

I KNOW YOU DON'T HAVE THE PRIOR YEARS HERE, BUT THE PRIVATE PAY FAMILY NUMBER HAS REDUCED SIGNIFICANTLY SINCE WE STARTED IN THE DISTRICT.

SO WE'VE KIND OF BEEN PHASING THAT OUT OVER TIME, EXCEPT FOR A COUPLE SPECIFIC SITUATIONS.

THERE WERE TIMES IN THE PAST THAT WE DID THE DISTRICT DID USE THAT AS A REVENUE RIGHT TO HELP, YOU KNOW, ADDRESS SOME BUDGET ISSUES.

BUT GIVEN OUR CURRENT ENROLLMENT AND SPACE ISSUES AND PROJECTED GROWTH, THAT'S I THINK CONTINUING TO TO PHASE THAT OUT IS I THINK THE MORE SENSIBLE APPROACH. AND I WILL SAY FOR THOSE WHO MAY NOT BE LOOKING AT THIS DOCUMENT, IT'S ONLY FIVE STUDENTS TOTAL AND THE PRIVATE PAY SITUATION RIGHT NOW.

AND SOME MORE OF THOSE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR THINGS.

SO RIGHT A COUPLE WHERE THE BEGINNINGS NOW THEY MAY HAVE BEEN PRIVATE TUITION THAT STARTED HERE AND GET THE CREDIT FOR.

YEAH WHEN THEY BECOME RESIDENTS.

OKAY. OKAY.

WE'VE DONE NO COMMUNICATIONS AND COMMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC.

I THINK WE COULD TAKE 6.1 TO 6.8 AS A CONSENT AGENDA.

[6.1 Motion to Accept Treasurer's Report for the Period Ended July 31, 2024, August 31, 2024 and September 30, 2024]

[6.2 Motion to Accept BOCES Final Form AS-7 Contract for 2023-2024 Expenditures]

[6.3 Motion to Accept Report of Non-Resident Tuition Students]

[6.4 Motion to Authorize Personnel Designation]

[6.5 Motion to Approve Varsity Girls Ice Hockey Merger for the 2024-2025 School Year]

[6.6 Motion to Approve Pelham Memorial High School Travel Study Trip to Montreal, Canada, November 7, 2024 to November 10, 2024]

[6.7 Motion to Enter into an Agreement with Authentic Communications Co.]

[6.8 Motion to Approve an Independent Contractor Services Agreement]

OKAY. ANY COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS? I DO WANT TO. I'LL TOUCH QUICKLY.

I WANT TO HEAR ABOUT THE TRIP TO MONTREAL.

YEAH. JUST SUPER QUICKLY ON THESE.

THE ONES THAT HAVEN'T ALREADY BEEN TOUCHED ON.

YEAH. PERSONNEL AUTHORIZATION, JUST UPDATING TO MAKE SURE THAT ALL OF OUR DASA COORDINATORS ARE PROPERLY DESIGNATED AT THE DISTRICT AND BUILDING LEVEL.

GIRLS ICE HOCKEY, THAT'S JUST, WE NEED TO VOTE EACH YEAR TO AUTHORIZE THE MERGE TEAM.

WE'VE I THINK WE TEND TO BE A BIG PORTION OF THIS GIRLS ICE HOCKEY TEAM REGIONALLY.

WE'RE HAPPY TO CONTINUE TO SUPPORT THEM FOR THAT.

THE TRIP TO MONTREAL, THIS IS ACTUALLY MODEL UN.

I THINK THEY WERE SUPPOSED TO GO LAST YEAR.

YES. AND IT GOT POSTPONED OR CANCELED.

SO THIS IS JUST A REAUTHORIZATION OF A TRIP THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN LAST YEAR.

SO. YEAH, IT'S MODEL UN TRAVELING TO MONTREAL.

SO VERY EXCITED.

IT'S A GREAT CITY. GREAT PROGRAM.

THEY'RE EXCITED TO BE GOING.

AND ANY TIME STUDENTS TRAVEL OUTSIDE OF THE COUNTRY, WE ASK THE BOARD TO AUTHORIZE THAT.

AND THEN THE AGREEMENT WITH AUTHENTIC COMMUNICATIONS OR CONNECTIONS? CONNECTIONS. I THINK THAT'S SUPPOSED TO BE THE TITLE.

THAT IS OUR THE STUDENT RESILIENCE SURVEY THAT WE'VE BEEN GIVING EVERY OTHER YEAR FOR THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS.

TRACY'S MENTIONED THAT IN THE PAST, HISTORICAL DATA TO WORK WITH PELHAM TOGETHER IN DISTRICT PROGRAMING.

SO THAT WILL BE GIVEN TO THE STUDENTS THIS SPRING.

STUDENTS IN EIGHTH, 10TH AND 12TH GRADE, WE GIVE THAT EVERY TWO YEARS TO THOSE SAME COHORTS SO THAT WE GET LONGITUDINAL DATA ON THOSE PARTICULAR COHORTS.

IT'S ANONYMIZED.

SO IT'S NOT MEANT TO BE STUDENT SPECIFIC, BUT IT DOES GIVE US TRENDS AND PATTERNS FOR PROGRAMMATIC PLANNING PURPOSES.

THAT WILL BE CERTAINLY A LETTER WILL GO OUT IN ADVANCE OF THAT SURVEY TO FAMILIES.

PARENTS WILL HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO THEY'D HAVE TO COME IN BECAUSE IT'S PROPRIETARY INFORMATION, BUT THEY WOULD BE AVAILABLE FOR THEM TO COME AND PREVIEW TO MAKE AN INFORMED DECISION ABOUT WHETHER TO ALLOW THEIR CHILD TO TAKE THEM.

BUT AGAIN, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'VE BEEN DOING FOR SEVERAL YEARS NOW.

AND THEN THE INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR SERVICES AGREEMENT, THAT'S A CONTINUE.

YOU MAY REMEMBER FROM A PRIOR APPOINTMENT OVER THE SUMMER, WE HAD BROUGHT ON WARFORD WESTERFIELD TO ASSIST WITH OUR TITLE GRANTS TITLES ONE, TWO, THREE, AND FOUR. WE'RE ASKING TO APPROVE HER FOR A CONTINUED COACHING SERVICES AS MISS COMERFORD CONTINUES TO TRANSITION INTO THE ROLE.

WHILE THIS WILL HELP HER, WARFORD TO COMPLETE THE FULL YEAR TRAINING CYCLE ON THAT SO THAT FROM THAT POINT ON, AFTER THIS CLAIRE WILL BE ABLE TO TAKE THAT PROCESS FULLY OVER IN FUTURE YEARS AND HAS DONE A GREAT JOB OF MAKING SURE OUR PROCEDURES AND PROTOCOLS ARE BY THE BOOK.

AND IT'S BEEN A GREAT RESOURCE.

OKAY. ANY COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS? OKAY. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. ANY OPPOSED? ANY ABSTENTIONS? MOTION CARRIES.

WE CAN DO 6.9.

[6.9 Motion to Accept a Donation]

[01:45:02]

SO MOVED. SECOND.

OKAY. WE WANT TO THANK PELHAM CIVICS FOR THEIR SUPPORT OF THE ACADEMY PROGRAM AT THE MIDDLE SCHOOL.

ALSO, I'LL READ THAT ONE.

RESOLVED THAT UPON THE RECOMMENDATION OF THE SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS, THE BOARD OF EDUCATION OF THE PELHAM UNION FREE SCHOOL DISTRICT DOES HEREBY ACCEPT THE MONETARY DONATION OF $25,000 FOR THE PELHAM MIDDLE SCHOOL EXTENDED ACADEMY AFTER SCHOOL PROGRAM, AND THAT GRATITUDE BE BESTOWED UPON ITS DONOR, THE PELHAM CIVIC ASSOCIATION, SO THANK YOU.

THE SECOND DONATION IS THANKS TO THE WANT TO GIVE THANKS TO THE SIWANOY SCHOOL COMMUNITY FOR THEIR SUPPORT OF THE BIRTHDAY BOOK CLUB.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT UPON THE RECOMMENDATION OF THE SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS, THE BOARD OF EDUCATION, THE BOARD OF EDUCATION OF THE PELHAM UNION FREE SCHOOL DISTRICT DOES HEREBY ACCEPT THE DONATION OF $3,020 TO BE USED TO PURCHASE BOOKS FOR THE SIWANOY SCHOOL BIRTHDAY BOOK CLUB, WHICH CELEBRATES THE STUDENTS BIRTHDAYS BY GIFTING BOOKS IN THEIR NAMES AND THAT GRATITUDE BE BESTOWED UPON THEIR DONOR.

THE SIWANOY SCHOOL COMMUNITY AND THE BOARD.

WE WILL ALSO AUTHORIZE THE SUPERINTENDENT TO ACCEPT FUTURE DONATIONS FOR THIS PURPOSE DURING THE 2024 2025 SCHOOL YEAR.

OKAY. SO THANK YOU.

YEAH, I JUST WANTED TO SAY THANK YOU TO THE CIVICS.

THERE ARE LIKE THE PELHAM EDUCATION FOUNDATION, VERY GOOD PARTNERS TO THE BOARD, TO THE DISTRICT.

SO I WOULD LIKE TO, YOU KNOW, THANK THEM FOR THEIR DONATION.

I KNOW MANY OF US ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO THE GALA ON FRIDAY TOO.

SO YEAH, SOMETHING TO BREAK UP THE WEEK HOPEFULLY.

THAT'S RIGHT. VERY MUCH APPRECIATE THEIR CONTINUED FAITHFUL SUPPORT OF OUR STUDENTS.

YES. THANK YOU.

ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. ANY OPPOSED? ANY ABSTENTIONS? OKAY.

MOTION CARRIES.

WE CAN TAKE 7.1 TO 7.5 AS A CONSENT AGENDA.

[7. Superintendent's Personnel Recommendations]

OKAY. DO WE HAVE ANY COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS? I'LL JUST SAY DOCTOR FITZGERALD HIGHLIGHTED, I THINK THE SALARY RECLASSIFICATION THE ONE I WOULD HIGHLIGHT IN INSTRUCTIONAL.

I'VE IS WE ALL HAVE INTERNS AT DIFFERENT TIMES, AND I JUST WANT TO WELCOME MISS DAISY CONCEPCION, WHO'S HERE TONIGHT SERVING AS DOING A LITTLE BIT OF AN INTERNSHIP IN A DOCTORAL PROGRAM.

UNDER LEARNING FROM US.

SO JUST WELCOME HER TO BE WITH US, AND WE'RE.

HER APPROVAL IS ON THE AGENDA TONIGHT.

OKAY. OKAY.

ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. ANY OPPOSE? ANY ABSTENTIONS? OKAY. WELL, 8.1.

[8. Pupil Personnel Services]

SECOND. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. DO WE HAVE NEW BUSINESS? 9.1? NO.

OKAY. I'LL TAKE A MOTION TO ADJOURN.

SO MOVED.

SECOND. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. OKAY.

ALL RIGHT. HAVE A GOOD EVENING.

THANK YOU. THANK YOU.

* This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.