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North Babylon Board of Education Meeting 4/21/26 — Transcript

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0:00for which it stands, one nation under
0:03God, indivisible, with liberty and
0:05justice for all.
0:11>> Erin, if you could do roll call.
0:14Mrs. Roland
0:14>> here, Mr. Luchetti
0:16>> here.
0:16>> Mr. Meyers
0:17>> here.
0:18>> Mrs. Rivers here.
0:19>> Mr. Shide here.
0:20>> Miss Mrs. Tedesco here.
0:23>> And Miss Carson is not with us tonight.
0:27correspondence
0:30to the board. You can take a look and
0:33see if your name is there. The district
0:35clerk had
0:37placed it on there. If you don't, please
0:39see Mrs. Aari after the meeting. A
0:42motion to approve the minutes from the
0:43board of education meeting held on March
0:4519th.
0:47>> Second.
0:48>> Second.
0:49>> All in favor?
0:50>> Any abstens? Any opposed? Any
0:52abstensions? Motion carries. Motion to
0:55approve the minutes from the board of
0:56education meeting held on April 14th,
0:592026.
1:00>> Motion.
1:01>> Second.
1:02>> All in favor?
1:04>> Any opposed? Any abstensions? Motion
1:07carries. Dr. Graham. Turning it over to
1:10you.
1:11>> Great. Thank you, Miss Roland. Uh, good
1:12evening everyone. I think we have two
1:14student representatives here this this
1:16evening from Robert Moses Middle School.
1:17Do I have Annayia Morales and Kyla
1:19Hunter here this evening? All right,
1:21guys. The microphone is yours. Take it
1:22away.
1:39Good evening board members,
1:40administrators, and community members.
1:43My name is Kyla Hunter and I am an
1:46eighth grade student at RMMS.
1:49I am also a member of the student equity
1:52team. I am here to share with you some
1:55events that we've enjoyed the past few
1:57weeks at RMMS.
2:00Eighth graders got to enjoy our annual
2:02career day. We heard from nurses, police
2:05officers, business owners, and we even
2:08got to meet a snake owner from a
2:10veterinary nurse tech. Another highlight
2:12was a presentation from our very own
2:15superintendent, Dr. Graham, who spoke
2:18about his experiences and role in
2:20education.
2:22We were able to learn and ask questions
2:24to a wide variety of professionals and
2:28think about what career path we may take
2:30in the future. Seventh graders got to
2:33experience their own special assembly.
2:36They heard from American parolympian
2:39wrestler and motivational speaker Rohan
2:42Murphy. Rohan shared a powerful message
2:46about pushing yourself from good to
2:48great and beyond. He opened up about his
2:52journey, the challenges he faced, and
2:54how he achieved his three goals, joining
2:57a sports team, attending and graduating
3:00college, and becoming an independent
3:02adult. He met with the wrestling team as
3:05well to speak about his experience. He
3:07shared a powerful message that inspired
3:10our students.
3:13Good evening. My name is Annayia Morales
3:15and I'm a sixth grade at Robert Moses
3:17Middle School and a member of the
3:19student equity team. Us sixth graders
3:22got to enjoy a special treat, a live
3:24author visit from Jen Konita, author of
3:27Lost Legend series and most recently
3:29Isisles of Never. During the assembly,
3:32Jen shared her inspiration for writing
3:35the approaches she takes to crafting her
3:38tales. After the assembly, a selected
3:41group of sixth grade students worked
3:43with Jen in a private writer's workshop
3:45in our library. She also gave out copies
3:48of her books for students to read and
3:50enjoy. We enjoyed a restful and
3:52well-deserved spring break and hope you
3:54did, too. When we returned from break,
3:56we celebrated Purple Up Day on
3:59Wednesday, April 15th as a part of the
4:02month of Military Child. Purple update
4:06honors the strength and sacrifices of
4:09middle military connected children.
4:13We wore purple to honor the students in
4:15our building whose parents have or are
4:19currently serving the in our military.
4:22I'd also like to share some important
4:24upcoming events.
4:26Report cards will be posted to the
4:28portal on Thursday. Also on Thursday is
4:31our Robert Moses Middle School family
4:35literacy night at middle. All middle
4:39school students and their families are
4:40invited to join us in the cafeteria from
4:436:00 to 8:00 p.m. for a night of reading
4:47and fun. There will be games, free book
4:49giveaways, and even raffle for a gift
4:51card to Babylon Bean. We hope to see
4:54many of you there.
4:57We hope you are just as excited about
4:59all our events as we are. We'll see you
5:02next month.
5:07Thank you. So, thank you so much,
5:09Annayia and Kyla. Um, we truly
5:11appreciate having the student voice in
5:13our meetings. Unfortunately, our student
5:14board member, Amaya, is not able to join
5:16us this evening. I think she's getting
5:18ready and resting up for uh pen relays
5:20this week. So, we wish her the very
5:22best. Uh, as a part of the
5:23superintendent report, I do want to just
5:26share that this week we celebrated the
5:27high school top 25 program, which was a
5:30a really nice event. Um each student uh
5:33who is within the top 25 of the class of
5:362026 selects a teacher to honor and they
5:40come to the auditorium here and then
5:42they speak on behalf of that teacher and
5:45talk about the impact that that teacher
5:47has had and it's really a nice event to
5:49see the top 25 students a culmination of
5:5113 years of schooling. Some of them
5:53choose to honor their 12th grade AP
5:56teacher, but some choose to honor their
5:58third grade teacher who made a a a great
6:00impact on them. And it was really a nice
6:02event um here at the high school. I just
6:04want to share that high school and
6:06middle school regions review classes are
6:08starting. And so for any parents out
6:10there, you can check at the high school
6:12um and middle school um dropdowns on the
6:15web page and you can see the schedule of
6:17those events for regents review. Our
6:20athletic teams are in full swing at this
6:22point with the spring season. I had a
6:24good uh opportunity to see some
6:25lacrosse, softball, baseball, flag
6:27football, track uh yesterday and today
6:30and uh it just didn't feel like spring
6:31quite yet, did it? Uh it was it was
6:33freezing out there. But our our teams,
6:35our student athletes are competing and
6:37uh and really I think going out there
6:40and giving it their all uh for North
6:42Babylon. We had a couple of events at
6:44our middle school uh commemorating the
6:47250th anniversary of the signing of the
6:49Declaration of Independence. We had a
6:50number of activities related to a spirit
6:53week associated with that signing uh
6:55that I think will continue through the
6:57rest of the week uh at Robert Moses. I
6:59wanted to share Miss O'Brien. I think
7:01I'm free to share at this point. Right.
7:03Hot off the presses that we were once
7:05again named a best community for music
7:07education. We just learned that today.
7:11Um, Miss O'Brien wasn't sure if it was
7:14um, 25 or 26 or it's certainly 20some
7:18years running at this point. And that's
7:20truly a testament to the commitment that
7:22this community has to music and music
7:24education. It's um, a great testament to
7:27our families for all the support that
7:29they give the students, to our students
7:30for all the rehearsal and practice time
7:32that they put in, and certainly to our
7:33staff uh, for their work with our
7:35students to help our students become
7:37better musicians. Uh the last thing
7:39that's part of the superintendent's
7:41report this evening is um I just want to
7:42address something that you may have seen
7:44in news day earlier this week. Um we
7:46were listed on the state's naughty list
7:49if you will um with respect to
7:51accountability. Um we were identified as
7:53a target district and a target district
7:56is the newest iteration of
7:58accountability words that the state has
8:00um which it's a function of having one
8:02or more schools identified as a targeted
8:05assistance school which is called a TSI
8:07school and both Woods and DUCA were
8:10identified as TSI schools for both last
8:12year and this year and the designation's
8:15based on um a certain amount of students
8:18in any particular subgroup not meeting
8:21the states accountability metric. Um,
8:24and once that occurs, the school is
8:26identified as a TSI school. And we
8:28believe that we've made some nice steps
8:31over the course of this year. We've had
8:33really a renewed focus on literacy
8:35instruction at all of our elementary
8:36schools. Um, we've had um
8:41educating parents and families at those
8:43two schools that have been identified.
8:44Both Mr. Fantusi and Miss Archer have
8:46been working with teams of educators and
8:49um reaching out to parents and families
8:51to involve them in some decision-making
8:53processes to help us get better and help
8:56us improve. We've also been focused on
8:59educating parents and families about the
9:00state assessments and the role that they
9:02play within uh a child's education. And
9:06we believe that, you know, ultimately
9:08improving uh participation will help us
9:12move off of those list because right now
9:14when we're looking at identification for
9:16a particular subgroup, we're looking at
9:18a really really small uh size of
9:21students in that subgroup. And by having
9:24more of our students take the exams,
9:25we'll be able to increase that size and
9:27therefore that would uh decrease the
9:30impact that any one student has on that
9:32data. um it helps spread it out and get
9:35give us really a truer picture of how
9:36students are doing. Um this year I'm I'm
9:39happy to report that for our 3 to five
9:42ELA we had 75% of our students
9:44participate whereas two years ago or
9:47three years ago I think it was in the
9:4840s. And so we're seeing a shift and I
9:50hope and I believe that the work that
9:52our building administrators, our
9:54curriculum people are doing with um our
9:57teachers and ultimately with our
9:59students and the classrooms, I think
10:01that we're going to see those
10:02improvements over time. Um it's not a
10:04place that we want to end up uh you know
10:07in that in that article in News Day, you
10:09know, on the like I said earlier, the
10:10the naughty list. I'm proud of the work
10:12that that our staff and uh are doing
10:14with our students. I think that we're
10:16going to see improvements. It's just
10:18going to take some time and we'll be
10:20reaching out to the community I think
10:21over the over the you know year two
10:24years really three years time and
10:26continuing to reach out and say hey how
10:29can we continue to make improvements as
10:31an educational community together. So I
10:33just want to make sure that we address
10:34that. My email's on the website, my
10:37phone number's on the website. if
10:38there's any questions or concerns or
10:41things that I can do to help um make
10:43some of that more clear because it
10:45doesn't always come out in a a five
10:46minute little talk about it and in a
10:48public board meeting. So, if you have
10:50questions, please don't hesitate to
10:51email or or give me a call to discuss it
10:53further. Um I did want to now go into
10:57our
10:59uh was there anything else? Oh, um the
11:01girls were mentioning the literacy the
11:03family literacy event at the middle
11:05school. There's a number of events
11:07happening on Thursday night. We also
11:08have a college fair here at the high
11:09school and um we also have um an honor
11:13society for art, music, and the thespian
11:17honor society. So there's a a ton
11:19occurring on Thursday. Again, check out
11:21our district calendar. There's always a
11:22lot going on. Um Miss Buati and I are
11:25going to move into the last portion of
11:26our budget adoption process right now
11:28for a brief presentation. So we're going
11:30to invite the board and those at the
11:32deis to move into the audience and we'll
11:34get started with that and that will then
11:36conclude the superintendent's report.
12:11All right, same voice, different mic,
12:12right? Uh so this evening
12:18uh really wraps up the process of budget
12:20development that we've been going
12:22through since October, November really
12:25um that we've been talking about
12:26publicly since January and moving
12:29through chunks of the budget. And as
12:31I've said um all along, I'll say this
12:33evening as well, if you're interested in
12:35learning more about the budget
12:36development process, all of the
12:38documents, all of the presentations,
12:39those are all archived on our website.
12:42Similarly, all of these public board
12:43presentations, these are recorded on our
12:45YouTube channel and you can go back and
12:47watch them uh if you're interested. So
12:50this evening we're going to talk about
12:51the budget adoption process because um
12:54our anticipation is is that this evening
12:56the board will adopt that budget
12:59and the budget process without going
13:01into every single uh you know granular
13:04item within there is that we we come up
13:07with that initial budget. We develop it.
13:09We ask our administration to share
13:11proposed expenditures with us. And when
13:13we took those proposed expenditures for
13:15the 2627 school year and we added them
13:18all up, we came up with an initial
13:20proposed budget of 160,245,37.
13:24And from the time of that initial
13:27proposal, we started doing some work on
13:29it. Uh and we had some reductions and
13:32we've reduced the budget uh as adopt as
13:34proposed by $512,000
13:37and now we have a proposed budget of
13:39$159,
13:41uh,733,147.
13:46And I'm going to pass the microphone and
13:48the clicker to Miss Batui who's going to
13:50talk through some of the numbers.
13:54>> Just throwing papers at
13:55>> Yeah.
13:59As Dr. Graham alluded to, I'll go back
14:02to the
14:04this slide.
14:06When we present the budget overview,
14:10that is not an end in itself.
14:14We constantly going back to the business
14:18office. I'm always sitting at
14:22some offices in the business office and
14:24dialoguing over and over again. The key
14:28piece there is where do you find savings
14:33and where do you generate additional
14:36revenues?
14:37In this particular instance, we looked
14:40at retirements and if you all know,
14:46we don't receive the notices
14:49around December or January. It trickles
14:53in. So, we look at all the retirements
14:56and see where we can generate savings
15:00because of the replacement. Typically
15:03the replacements come in at a lower cost
15:07than the um the position that is
15:10retiring. And then we also receive um
15:16the teachers retirement system give us
15:19an estimate around October. That is the
15:23pension cost and the pension cost is a
15:27number that we don't negotiate. They
15:32come and tell us initially they come up
15:34with a number. In this case they come up
15:36they came up with an estimate between
15:398.25%
15:41of payroll and 8.75%
15:458.75%
15:47of payroll then in January they bring it
15:50down. In this particular instance
15:54usually they are within that range. So
15:56we use something in between to project
16:00the cost of pensions. But in this
16:04particular instant they came down
16:07slightly below what they originally gave
16:10us. This year they came up with an
16:13estimate of 8.24
16:16slightly below their lower number and
16:19that gave us additional savings. So when
16:22we added that together with the
16:25retirement, we came up with the number
16:28that we are showing here, the $52,000
16:33in savings. This is after the January
16:36overview that we did.
16:41So where are we with the expenditure?
16:45Our expenditure, majority of the budget,
16:48as you can see, is of
16:52is B is instruction. This is general
16:55support, regular instruction, special
16:59education, that makes up about 62% of
17:02the budget. The next category is
17:07employee benefit. So when you look at
17:10the labor cost as well as employee
17:13benefit you are coming up with about 85%
17:18of the budget is all labor cost. The
17:23other pieces is transportation cost debt
17:27service and we need to do that to fix
17:30our building. This is the monies that we
17:33pay for all the bonds that we have taken
17:36in the past.
17:39So overall,
17:41we are looking, as Dr. Graham alluded
17:44to, we are looking at a budget of $159
17:48million.
17:49And this is a Sorry. Oh, sorry. Sorry,
17:53sorry, sorry.
17:56This is a 3.9%
17:58increase over last year's budget.
18:05You can see here that general support,
18:09the labor cost, as I alluded to, makes
18:12up about $98 million of the budget,
18:15followed by employee benefit, sorry
18:18again, employee, sorry, employee benefit
18:24and then transportation as well as debt
18:27service.
18:30So how do we fund the budget?
18:34That is the key. The budget is funded
18:39primarily through two true s two
18:42sources. Tax levy and state aid. The tax
18:48levy makes up about 49% of the budget
18:52and the state aid follows closely about
18:5847% of the budget. The remainder is
19:02local revenue pilots,
19:05interest income and other small income
19:10that we refunds that we get from some of
19:13the items that we purchase. efficiently.
19:18All those add up and that is the local
19:20revenue that you see over there. Then at
19:24the end of the year when we have monies
19:26left in the current budget, we plug it
19:30in as part of the revenue that is what
19:34you see there as appropriated and
19:37restricted reserves.
19:42This is how it looks like. Property
19:45taxes we are looking at 77 million and
19:48state aid $75 million.
19:56Now here is where the issue is coming
20:00in. If you recall last week we were
20:03scheduled to adopt the budget. However,
20:06we could not do it because the state has
20:10not adopted its budget yet. and that
20:14reflects on all school district in the
20:17state.
20:19The legislature was due to adopt the
20:22budget on April 1, but as of yesterday,
20:26they had extended it five times to meet
20:31their own peril and to meet essential
20:34services in the state.
20:37So what are we school districts supposed
20:40to do? We have to build our budget with
20:43all these uncertainties around us. So
20:48what we are planning to do and this is
20:51not just unique to North Babylon. What
20:53we are planning to do is to raise the
20:58amount of reserve that we plan to apply
21:02to next year's budget.
21:05If the state aid revenues come in higher
21:10than unprojected,
21:12the district will reduce the amount that
21:15is designated from the reserve because
21:19it is very dangerous to over appropriate
21:22amount monies from your reserves. So, we
21:25are all waiting for the state if things
21:28work out well, which we hope they are
21:31because they've been debating back and
21:33forth. The assembly and the senate want
21:37foundation aid to go up by about 2%.
21:41But the governor proposed a 1% increase.
21:44We are hoping that we'll get the 2%
21:47increase, which will help our bottom
21:50line here in North Babylon.
21:55So the next meeting that we're going to
21:58have is the budget hearing of May May
22:027th followed by the budget vote on May
22:0619th. So we're hoping that the state
22:09will come through before this time.
22:13Thank you.
22:15>> Any questions from the board?
22:30Hello. Um, thank you for explaining the
22:33contingency plan if the the state comes
22:36in higher. I have uh two questions from
22:40slide uh four
22:42and it's basically it would be yeah
22:48what's how do we account for the
22:51increase in transportation and debt
22:53service?
23:06We do we do get estimates from um
23:11contractors
23:13and this also includes
23:17bus purchases that we had mentioned
23:20previously. That's what caused the
23:23transportation budget to increase by
23:25that number. And then when it comes to
23:29the debt service, this is a schedule
23:31that we get they give us. When you go
23:34borrow, it's just like a mortgage. When
23:36you go borrow money, there's a schedule.
23:38So we follow that schedule and that is
23:41an exact number that we plug into the
23:44budget every year. We do not have
23:48control over that. It is a number that
23:51is given to us. In addition to that this
23:55year unlike any other year we had what
23:59is called interfund transfer. This is
24:01the monies that we are going to use for
24:04capital project including the seiwa
24:08connection a parliament place that is
24:11included in the number 7 6.71 that you
24:15see over there.
24:17Thank you.
24:25Good. I I think uh just to for clarity
24:28purposes for anybody who's joining us
24:29for the first time, the board has seen
24:32this now probably six or seven meetings
24:34in a row. So, this is really the the
24:36culmination of the process. So, I want
24:38to thank Miss Botsi and her entire staff
24:40and all of our district administration
24:41and people who've contributed to the
24:43budget at this time. Hopefully, we've
24:45made this clear. Um, if you still have
24:48questions, just as I said earlier, um,
24:50in this case, I'll be a little different
24:52in my response, if you still have
24:54questions, call Miss Batsi. Uh, and
24:56she'll be happy to go through the
24:57numbers, uh, with you related to the
25:00budget. So, thank you. And we can the
25:02board can return now.
25:18And that concludes the superintendent's
25:20report.
25:38public participation. This section gives
25:40the board of education the opportunity
25:42to recognize residents who wish to raise
25:44a question or make a brief statement on
25:46agenda items only. The time available
25:48will be limited to five minutes for each
25:50commenter's question. Um,
25:53>> hi
26:00Hi, I appreciate all the work that's
26:03always done done on the budget and shame
26:05on the state because they put you in an
26:06impossible situation. What if the aid
26:10we're anticipating and you might have
26:12covered this comes in less than we're
26:15anticipating because we're voting on the
26:18bottom line. What are we going to do?
26:20And and you might have covered this
26:22again. What do we do if the state aid
26:24comes in lower than we're anticipating?
26:28>> I mean, we're we're being assured by our
26:32representatives at the state level that
26:33that's not going to be the case. If it
26:35was the case, then we would have to
26:37reconvene and have, you know, some
26:39additional conversations.
26:40>> Well, my concern as a taxpayer is we
26:43vote on the bottom line. So if we vote
26:46before they decide anything, we've
26:49already voted on the bottom line and you
26:51could raise our taxes more than ant more
26:53than anticipated because we're counting
26:56on a certain amount. Has any thought
26:59been given to that or we're just going
27:00to wait and see?
27:03Well, I I don't I don't think that So, I
27:05think what you're talking about, Evelyn,
27:07is like if the if the state aid
27:10ultimately winds up coming in lower than
27:12even what we're using as our baseline
27:15right now.
27:16>> And as I mentioned previously, we're
27:18being reassured by our representatives
27:20that that's not going to be the case and
27:21that there's an acknowledgement that it
27:23should be more than what is in the
27:24initial proposals. I don't believe that
27:27we're going to be in a situation where
27:29where individuals in municipalities and
27:32school districts are going to be voting
27:33on a budget without a finalized state
27:35budget.
27:37>> With that being said, that would be
27:38something then that we would be working
27:40closely with our council on that we
27:42would be working and we would be in the
27:43same position as every other school
27:45district is. And so we I I can't see a
27:48situation where we're going out to the
27:50public to vote on the school budget
27:52without the state aid being finalized.
27:54>> Well, I hope not, but It's not just us.
27:56It's every district.
27:58>> We have to approve the budget that we're
28:00going to vote on.
28:01>> Yeah. So, I guess what I'm saying to you
28:02is I hear you.
28:04>> Okay.
28:04>> I don't have an answer for you. Like
28:06that's we would be we would be in
28:08unchartered waters and we would be
28:10tackling that situation and this I think
28:13this board and the district
28:14administration would be committed to
28:16figuring that out as we go and not
28:17wanting to put our public in a position
28:19of having to vote on anything without
28:21knowing all of those potential unknowns.
28:25meeting.
28:25>> To be honest though, your hands are
28:26going to be kind of tied because you
28:28have to vote on what you have to vote on
28:30the budget you're presenting to us any
28:32day. When is that day?
28:34>> Is it today?
28:35>> Today is the last.
28:36>> Oh, so do you see my concern? And it's
28:38not just us. It's like the state's a
28:40mess. Whatever. Okay. Um item B on the
28:43agenda, real estate fair market lease
28:46value appraisal service. What is that?
28:49>> That was for appraiser to do an
28:51appraisal of the lease value of Brennan.
28:54Oh, okay. Um, and item G, use of
28:56employee benefit acrewed liability
28:58reserve. What is that and what are we
29:01using it for?
29:03>> That's a one of the reserve funds that
29:05we have. And at the end of the year when
29:06we have people who separate from service
29:08for a variety of reasons associated with
29:10retirement typically that's an
29:12authorization to allow us to utilize
29:14those funds for some of those separation
29:16payments. Thank you.
29:29Glenn Edwards, one Clark Street. This
29:31two questions about the next year's
29:32budget.
29:34Is there is the presentation in the next
29:36meeting about contingency if it doesn't
29:38pass?
29:39Is that is that being set forth? So, we
29:41would know what would be the changes if
29:43the public doesn't approve the budget.
29:51that would not be in the presentation.
29:53The presentation for the budget uh
29:56hearing would be this budget and then it
29:58would be an opportunity for the public
30:00to ask any questions on that budget. Of
30:03course, we have to discuss if the budget
30:05were not to pass, we would have to
30:07discuss what those plans are as a
30:09district and as a board of education.
30:12>> And will that come out before the the
30:14public votes?
30:17I
30:18>> not
30:19>> it will be reflected in the six day
30:22notice that we send out.
30:24>> Yeah.
30:25>> The second question, this is also about
30:27the budget. So I noticed last week on
30:28the school district website that there
30:31were two positions that are anticipated
30:33for July 1st. There are special
30:36education instructional leaders. Are
30:38those um new positions? Is it based on
30:41the the budget being passed or are those
30:44within this budget? I just was con I was
30:46just I hadn't seen anything about that.
30:48I was just was wondering about that.
30:50>> So currently we have uh school
30:53psychologists conducting cse as cse
30:55chairs. Um and these two positions are
31:00going to be moving some of that work to
31:02a different unit. So it's two positions
31:04that exist currently in the district and
31:06it's just moving them into a different
31:08uh position. So it's not like a new
31:10position.
31:10>> They're not new positions. So it's a
31:12it's a net zero with those two and the
31:14two that currently exist.
31:15>> Okay. Thank you.
31:25>> Moving on to personnel actions. Motion
31:28to approve the personnel action report
31:30schedules A, B, and C dated April 21st,
31:332026.
31:35>> Motion.
31:36>> Second. All in favor?
31:39>> Any opposed? Any abstensions? Motion
31:41carries.
31:43>> So,
31:45what what some people are clapping uh
31:48for at this point is that the board just
31:50acted on the personnel action uh agenda,
31:52which is a a large, you know, document
31:56of many positions, but one of them that
31:58we are pleased to share this evening is
32:00that uh Mr. Dan Cassain, who is one of
32:02our current Robert Moses Middle School
32:05um assistant principles, is just was
32:08just appointed as the principal of
32:09Belmont Elementary School. Uh so let's
32:12invite Dan to stand up and we can
32:14congratulate him.
32:18And you know, so for those of you that
32:20don't know, this vacancy was created as
32:22a result of the retirement of Miss
32:24Jackson effective July uh June 30th. and
32:27we certainly thank Miss Jackson for
32:29everything that she's done for Belmont
32:30Elementary and the community and we wish
32:32her the very best in her retirement. I
32:34have a feeling we'll be seeing Valo.
32:37Um
32:39in in Mr. Cassain's role, he's
32:41demonstrated a deep commitment to the
32:43students, families, and staff of North
32:44Babylon. And the appointment follows a
32:46rigorous and comprehensive search
32:48process that attracted nearly 60
32:50applicants throughout the extensive
32:52interview process. Mr. Cassin's
32:54exceptional dedication to student
32:55development, collaborative leadership,
32:57and fostering strong community ties
32:59consistently came through. Uh our
33:01Belmont Elementary students and families
33:03will have some opportunities to meet Mr.
33:04Cassine over the next uh the last few
33:06months of the school. He's going to, you
33:08know, have to do some work over at
33:10Robert Moses and we're going to ask him
33:12to do a little bit of work over at
33:13Belmont as well during that transition.
33:15So, we welcome Mr. Cassin to the Belmont
33:17uh family. Congratulations, Dan.
33:29Public content. Motion to approve the
33:31amendment to the consultant agreement
33:33for the district grant writer.
33:35>> Motion.
33:36>> Second.
33:37>> Second.
33:37>> All in favor?
33:38>> I.
33:39>> Any opposed? Any abstensions? Motion
33:41carries. Motion to approve the omnibus
33:44motion items A through U.
33:48>> Motion.
33:54All in favor?
33:55>> I.
33:56>> Any opposed? Any abstensions? Motion
33:59carries.
34:05Motion to approve the appointment of an
34:07impartial hearing officer.
34:12>> Motion.
34:15>> All in favor or second?
34:17>> All in favor? Any opposed? Any
34:20abstensions? Motion carries. Motion to
34:23approve the engagement of the appraisal
34:25service companies as further described
34:27in the resolution listed below.
34:30>> Motion.
34:30>> Second.
34:31>> Second.
34:32>> All in favor?
34:33>> Any opposed? Any abstensions? Motion
34:36carries.
34:41>> Erin, this is roll call. Can I get a
34:44motion to adopt the Western Suffach
34:46Bosey's budget for the 2026 2027 school
34:49year?
34:50>> Motion.
34:52>> Everyone, can we get a roll call?
34:55>> Mrs. Roland?
34:56>> Yes. Mr. Luchetti?
34:58>> Yes.
34:58>> Mrs. Rivers?
34:59>> Yes.
35:00>> Mrs. Tedesco?
35:01>> Yes.
35:01>> Mr. Myers?
35:02>> Yes.
35:02>> And Mr. Shide?
35:03>> Yes.
35:06>> Motion to approve the Western Suffach
35:08Boseies candidates, Miss Santos and Mr.
35:10Shide.
35:11>> Motion.
35:12>> Second. Second.
35:13>> All in favor?
35:15>> Any opposed? Any abstensions? Motion
35:17carries.
35:19>> Congratulations, Bob.
35:25>> Motion to approve the multi-year
35:26technology lease purchase plan effective
35:29July 1st, 2026.
35:31>> Motion.
35:32>> Second.
35:33>> Second.
35:34>> All in favor? Any opposed? Any
35:37abstensions? Motion carries. Motion to
35:40approve the transfer of reserve funds.
35:45>> Second.
35:47>> Second.
35:48>> All in favor? Any opposed? Any
35:50abstensions? Motion carries. Motion to
35:53approve the use of employee benefit
35:55acred liability fund.
35:57>> Motion.
35:58>> Second. All in favor? Any opposed? Any
36:02abstensions? Motion carries. Motion to
36:05approve the property tax report card for
36:07the 2026 2027 and authorizes the
36:11submission to the New York State
36:12Education Department.
36:16>> Second.
36:16>> Second.
36:17>> All in favor? Any opposed? Any
36:20abstensions? Motion carries.
36:23Motion to approve the adoption of the
36:25budget to be voted on for the 2026 2020
36:282027 school year.
36:32>> Motion.
36:34Second.
36:35>> Second.
36:36>> Erin, can we get a roll call?
36:38>> Mrs. Roland,
36:39>> yes.
36:39>> Mr. Luchetti,
36:40>> yes.
36:41>> Mrs. Rivers,
36:41>> yes.
36:42>> Mrs. Tedesco,
36:43>> Mr. Meyers,
36:44>> and Mr. Shide,
36:45>> yes.
36:47>> Motion to approve the candidate
36:49petitions received by the district clerk
36:51and authorize their submission on the
36:54ballot for the May 19th, 2026 budget
36:57vote and election.
36:58>> Motion.
37:00>> All in favor?
37:02>> Any opposed? Any abstensions? Motion
37:05carries.
37:07Reports from the subcommittees. I'm not
37:08sure if anyone has met. No. Okay.
37:12Okay. Um I don't believe there's any
37:15board discussion topics. Nope. Okay.
37:18Public participation.
37:20According to the board policy 12:30,
37:22this section of the agenda gives the
37:23board of education an opportunity to
37:25recognize residents who wish to raise a
37:27question or to make a brief statement on
37:29matters including but not limited to
37:31agenda items. the time available. We've
37:33be limited to five minutes for each
37:35question or statement.
37:42Got it. Thank you. Karen Schmidt 159
37:46Wood here. I have four questions, so you
37:48want to hear them all. Okay, I'll go
37:50slow.
37:52Question one, um, how does working from
37:55home affect an employees job description
37:57and work expectations?
38:00Two, who oversees the work that is being
38:03done at home and who checks in to see
38:06that the employee is working from home
38:08and not an alternate location?
38:11Three, how does the position you posted
38:14and are currently hiring for the
38:16assistant superintendent for curriculum
38:19differ from the position of assistant
38:21superintendent of curriculum that is
38:24currently occupied with the occupant
38:26working from home until retirement which
38:28was board approved for June 2027,000
38:32June 2027
38:34with an annual earning of approximately
38:36$250,000.
38:38four. Last meeting or the meeting
38:41before, I believe you said there would
38:43be 100% transparency with the
38:46stipulation of settlement agreement that
38:47was board approved at the February 13th
38:49meeting. I foiled that stipulation of
38:52agreement and was told those charges
38:54were confidential. So, I'm confused as a
38:56discrepancy in information. Thank you.
39:04Karen, can you um sorry, can you just
39:07repeat the first question again?
39:08>> Of course. Of course. How does work
39:12how does working from home affect an
39:14employees job description and work
39:16expectations?
39:25>> How does working from home affect the
39:27job description and expectations? I
39:30mean, working from home for an
39:32individual who's assigned a home has a
39:34different set of working conditions when
39:36they're at home, uh, or anywhere else
39:39off-site for that matter. Um, who
39:42oversees that? That would be me. Um,
39:46whether or not that work is conducted at
39:48home is irrelevant. It's a remote
39:51assignment. um 100%
39:55with the stipulation of uh no assistant
39:58superintendent different for the other
39:59position that currently exists, right?
40:02>> Um the assistant superintendent for
40:04curriculum and instruction is going to
40:06be a new position as described in the
40:09job posting. Uh whereas the current I
40:12think you're referring to the deputy
40:13superintendent for instruction. Um that
40:16role will be predominantly composed of
40:20special projects as assigned by the
40:21superintendent over the next year and a
40:22half.
40:24>> You said you were going to
40:25>> answer the last question.
40:28>> Um Karen, as far as transparency, we um
40:34we were told by council
40:37that the charges would be foilable. We
40:40were giving wrong advice, legal advice.
40:45we have new counsel with us, but
40:47understand that this board entered into
40:50that stipulation
40:52because we wanted full transparency and
40:54that's what we were told.
40:59Um, so I want to apologize on behalf of
41:02my firm uh for the misunderstanding and
41:07incorrect advice that was apparently
41:09given. I wasn't present for that and I
41:11didn't give that advice. I'm a senior
41:13partner in the firm. Every lawyer who
41:15previously serviced this client has been
41:18removed and I am now in charge of this
41:21for the time being. We've represented
41:23this district for 35 years and I hope to
41:26continue that representation. I
41:28appreciate the frustration the community
41:32feels and the board feels in connection
41:34with this matter. personel matters are
41:38strictly held confidential for a number
41:40of legal reasons. Um there are all sorts
41:43of liabilities that can flow to the
41:45board of education if we begin to
41:47discuss personnel matters in public.
41:50Specifically, as it relates to
41:53disciplinary proceedings against
41:55certificated employees who have tenure
41:57rights under education law 302A, the
41:59case law requires that those
42:01disciplinary charges in that process
42:03remain confidential unless and until the
42:06individual who is the subject of a 302A
42:08proceeding waves their rights to a
42:11private proceeding and elects to have a
42:13public proceeding in which case these
42:15things can become fully transparent.
42:17Absent that it requires a full trial and
42:21determination of guilt on charges before
42:23anything can be released publicly and
42:26released in a through foil in an
42:28unredacted form. uh the matter was
42:31resolved and it was resolved without
42:33having to go through the process of a
42:36full hearing on the charges and
42:37therefore they remain uh unproven
42:41allegations and therefore they remain
42:43confidential to discuss any of those
42:45allegations and any degree of
42:47specificity could expose the board to
42:49liability and therefore on the advice of
42:51present counsel in order to protect and
42:53insulate this board um I've advised that
42:56they should remain confidential and not
42:58discuss that and I apologize for the
43:01frustration that this board feels in
43:03terms of what has transpired and played
43:05out and you have my sincere apologies
43:07too. Um, it's not about hiding anything.
43:11It's not about sweeping anything under
43:12the carpet. The stipulation which
43:15resolved it was released and I believe
43:18released in an almost unredacted format
43:20so that the community can see fully how
43:21these things are resolved and I think
43:24that's all I can say about this at the
43:25present moment. So nothing additional
43:27can be released even in a redacted
43:30format.
43:31>> Um it you know you could certainly give
43:34you the document the charges document
43:36but it would look like you know those
43:37CIA documents with UFOs on it. You know
43:40everything is all black.
43:41>> I'll take it
43:41>> blacked out and marked out. Then we can
43:43have a conversation with the district
43:44clerk in terms of releasing that format.
43:47>> That'd be great. Thank you.
43:49>> Thank you.
43:54>> Hi Evelyn Handel. When you say that they
43:56were released, do you mean they were
43:58foilable?
44:01>> Because I know I had to foil it.
44:03>> Yeah. No. So any document that the
44:05district is in possession of. The
44:06district just doesn't turn documents
44:08over to the public. The process is
44:10everyone has to submit a foil.
44:11>> Okay. So no, I understand. So it wasn't
44:13really released. We foiled it.
44:15>> We We had to ask for it. You didn't
44:17actually release it. You released it to
44:19certain people who asked for it.
44:21>> Correct. And and and the news the news
44:23media foil requested it as well. Um, do
44:25you work for the same firm?
44:26>> I do work for the same firm.
44:28>> I just was wondering um who's running
44:31because I see that you accepted
44:33petitions. Who's running for the board?
44:38Believe it's Kesha and Jeff. And we have
44:42Dan Carileo and Karen Schmidt who are in
44:44the audience
44:45>> for for two seats.
44:48>> It's there's three seats.
44:49>> Okay. We are filling the third seat. And
44:52is that being filled for the duration of
44:54that term? Okay. Um, are you considering
44:58selling Brennan or you just looking to
44:59see what it's worth to rent?
45:02>> That was just for uh lease values, not
45:04for selling.
45:05>> Okay. Just wondering. Thank you.
45:12>> Good evening.
45:15My name is Kim Ko. Thank you guys so
45:18much for allowing me to address the
45:19board.
45:21We are a multiport school and it's time
45:24that we start acting like one. No single
45:27sport should be prioritized over
45:29another.
45:31Whether that's in funding, attention to
45:34detail, or the maintenance of our
45:37facilities.
45:38Our baseball fields have been neglected
45:41for far too long. Since they were redone
45:44as part of the bond many years ago,
45:47funded by taxpayers, we've continued to
45:49deal with serious drainage issues. Yet,
45:52we've seen little to no return on that
45:55investment.
45:56Instead, our children are being bust 40
46:00minutes away for tryyouts. Games are
46:03repeatedly moved due to poor field
46:05conditions. And worse, players have been
46:08injured because of the state of our
46:10fields. At what point do we say enough
46:14is enough?
46:16In speaking with members of the
46:18district, I have been told that properly
46:21addressing these issues could take up to
46:23two years, not to mention the cost. By
46:28then, my children will have graduated.
46:30But I'm not here just for them. I'm here
46:33for every family whose children will
46:36come through the program in years ahead.
46:39The students of North Babylon deserve
46:41better. And deep down, you've known
46:44that. You've known this is an issue for
46:46a very long time. It's time to do
46:50something about it.
46:56Hi, my name is Kelly Walsh. I'm a
46:59longtime resident of North Babylon.
47:02My daughter graduated two years ago and
47:04I have twins who are currently seniors
47:06in high school. Um, I'm here as both of
47:08a parent and a member of the community
47:10to address the same conditions as Mrs.
47:13Cromo. The baseball and softball fields
47:16is an issue that goes beyond
47:17inconvenience and it's become a matter
47:19of student safety. Our athletes deserve
47:22a field that is safe, functional,
47:25properly maintained,
47:27and I do want to be clear that this is
47:29not a criticism of the individuals who
47:31work very hard to care for these fields.
47:34I recognize and I appreciate their
47:36efforts. However, despite these efforts,
47:38the current conditions of the fields is
47:41simply not meeting the needs of these
47:43athletes. Every time it rains, the
47:45baseball team has to practice at another
47:48facility 45 minutes out east. Home games
47:51have been moved to these fields in
47:53Center Reach.
47:55And as a parent and taxpayer, I just
47:57find this unacceptable. We're paying a
47:59bus to bring these players back and
48:02forth. We're paying to utilize these
48:04fields and we should be utili utilizing
48:07these funds to fix the current problem.
48:10We should be able to watch our children
48:11play at their home field.
48:14When they need to travel elsewhere, it's
48:16a huge disadvantage to the team and it's
48:19very time consuming, leaving very little
48:21time to complete homework and study for
48:23exams. The players and coaches work
48:25tirelessly and they deserve better.
48:28However, when we play at North Babylon,
48:31we have to worry about a ball taking a
48:33bad hop on an infield that's not
48:35maintained and breaking someone's nose,
48:38as it did my son's, or a sprained ankle,
48:41which it did to my other son in the
48:43outfield. The home bleaches are wobbly.
48:46The view is obstructed at every angle
48:49and the only way to see the entire game
48:53is from the top row of the opponent side
48:56bleachers on the football field.
49:00On opening day, my son was participating
49:04in the game. He was playing third base.
49:08The b the ball was hit towards him.
49:11He's played this position since he since
49:13he was a kid. It came up. It took a bad
49:16hop. It hit him in the face. Our
49:19trainer, who is wonderful,
49:23looked at him, he came, pulled me aside.
49:26He he said, "I think it's broken. You
49:28need to go to the hospital." We went, we
49:31sat there for many hours. At first, they
49:33thought his eye socket was broken and
49:35they prepared us for surgery as well as
49:39involving a plastic surgeon. Thankfully,
49:42that was not the case. It was just his
49:44nose.
49:46He did not require surgery.
49:49And I've been a sports parent for a very
49:51long time. I am not naive about the
49:54risks
49:56while you're playing sports. However, in
49:58my opinion, this incident reflects the
50:01unsafe playing conditions of the
50:03baseball field. And as a parent, there's
50:05nothing more difficult than watching
50:06your child get hurt, especially when
50:09it's preventable. and concerns have been
50:12addressed in the past. And this is not
50:14just about my son in one isolated
50:16incident. My children will never play on
50:18a new field. They're seniors, and I
50:21don't have any more coming up. But the
50:24field has ongoing issues. Uneven
50:26surfaces, poor drainage, and conditions
50:28that deteriorate quickly after poor
50:31weather. These factors create
50:33unpredictable and unsafe playing
50:35environments for these athletes. And
50:37prior to his injury, Jake played very
50:40confidently. But now he is fearful and
50:42hesitant when playing on his home field.
50:45And that's something that was never an
50:46issue before. Our students step on that
50:49field trusting that it's safe. As
50:51parents, we trust that the school
50:52district has taken the necessary steps
50:54to protect them. And after four years of
50:57playing on that field, that trust is not
50:58there and these kids deserve better. In
51:01an email to me from Dr. Graham, you had
51:03stated that within the 2026 2027 budget,
51:08there is approximately $200,000
51:11allocated to address the drainage issues
51:14of both fields. And I'm very pleased
51:15that it's finally being addressed.
51:17However, however, the fields require
51:19more than just drainage. The infield
51:22grass and dirt needs to be manicured and
51:24the outfield grass needs to be leveled.
51:26There are divots all over the outfields
51:28on both fields. So, I urge the board to
51:31take a serious look at the condition of
51:33the baseball and softball fields and to
51:35prioritize the improvements needed. This
51:38means better maintenance practices,
51:40leveling the outfield, turfing the
51:42infield, addressing drainage issues, and
51:44investing in long-term solutions, not
51:46just putting a band-aid on the current
51:48issue. The baseball and softball teams
51:50deserve to have the same level playing
51:53facility as every other JV and varsity
51:55sports team at North Babylon. So, this
51:59isn't just about the field. It's about
52:01the safety of our athletes. I do have
52:03some pictures of the field as well as
52:06the injuries caused to my son from
52:10the poor conditions of these fields. If
52:12you'd like, I could just share these
52:13with you. But thank you for your time.
52:32Uh, good evening everyone. Uh, my name
52:35is uh, Mrs. Janet Tobber Garcia and I am
52:38a parent of two students in this
52:39district. In May 2024, we formally
52:42requested that the baseball and softball
52:44fields be evaluated due to the ongoing
52:47maintenance and drainage issues. We
52:50submitted a petition to bring attention
52:52to these concerns. Yet little has
52:54changed. Since then, a student has been
52:57injured on our field. As you can see,
52:59you are looking at his pictures right
53:00now. At the same time, the district
53:02continues to spend money transporting
53:04our students to other facilities because
53:06our fields are unplayable,
53:09a situation that has gone on for years.
53:12As a parent and taxpayer, it's
53:13frustrating to see funds spent on
53:15temporary fixes instead of addressing
53:18the root of the problem. Our students
53:21deserve safe, functional facilities at
53:23both the high school and middle school
53:25levels because it's also the middle
53:28school fields that are not great. Right
53:31now, they do not have that. In addition,
53:33there are no bleachers for baseball
53:35families. and the area between the
53:37baseball and softball fields presents
53:39another clear safety risk.
53:44I am here today to formally ask that the
53:46issue be prioritized and addressed with
53:49a clear plan and timeline. Our students
53:53safety and experience should not be an
53:56afterthought.
53:57Thank you.
54:15Glenn Edwards, One Clerk Street.
54:19When a North Babylon School District
54:21student reports harassment to North
54:23Babylon school staff, what written
54:25procedures are North Babylon staff
54:27required to follow? Are those procedures
54:30standardized at the district level or
54:32determined by each school, specifically
54:34the high school? And can parents access
54:36those procedures either publicly or
54:38through a foil request?
54:50The procedures for reports of harassment
54:52are outlined in our policies. So those
54:54are all on our district website. Um
54:56those are accessible. Those don't need
54:58to be foiled. Are they standardized? I
55:00believe there's standardization in how
55:02we approach any report of discipline.
55:04However, that will vary based on student
55:06age and what's shared and who they're
55:08sharing it with at a particular
55:09building. Um, again, not something that
55:12needs to be uh foiled. That's something
55:14that would be made available. I'm sorry,
55:17Mr. Edwoods, what was the last part of
55:18the question? The last part was
55:21um
55:23and can parents access those procedures
55:25either publicly through a foil?
55:27>> Yeah, I don't think they I don't think
55:29those need to be foiled. Those are each
55:31of our schools has, you know, a
55:34studentfriendly section of the code of
55:36conduct that I would believe would
55:37address any reports of harassment
55:39included within our DASA policies as
55:41well. So, that's all within our
55:43policies. That's not something that any
55:45individual would need to to foil. And if
55:48a parent wanted to verify that proper
55:50procedures were followed in a specific
55:51case, what documentation would be
55:53available to them and how would they
55:55request it?
56:00>> Yeah.
56:02Uh the DASA policy is the primary policy
56:04that'll govern harassment of students
56:06and it has strict reporting requirements
56:08to the from the district to the parents
56:10as a complaint is investigated and
56:13proper followup is done. So parents of
56:16students file complaint will know
56:18whether those procedures have been
56:19followed and if not uh could
56:21theoretically file an appeal with
56:22commissioner of education.
56:24>> Thank you.
56:28>> And just I didn't want to you know not
56:31respond to the parents who spoke on part
56:33or of the baseball fields. It is
56:35something that we are looking at. Uh as
56:37I mentioned to you, Miss Walsh, in my
56:38response um to you, I I hope he's doing
56:41better. Uh first and second, um it is
56:44something that we've been well aware of
56:46and looking at um you know, to the point
56:48that we did include the expenditure
56:50within the 2627 proposed budget knowing
56:53that that would be an incremental step
56:54to making some longer term changes. I
56:57think it's something that the board is
56:59um you know interested in pursuing and
57:02looking at. It's something that we are
57:04currently working on a potential bond
57:06proposal for the future. Um, and we're
57:09exploring some options. There are some
57:11other needs that we have in the district
57:12with respect to infrastructure like
57:14roofs. So, there are some things, but
57:16when it comes down to looking at the
57:18full scope of any bond that would be
57:20proposed, the the baseball and softball
57:22field is something that are included in
57:24the discussions right now. So it's
57:25something where I don't have and I don't
57:28think the board has a prioritization
57:31uh a plan a roadmap that we can give you
57:33at this time. It is something that uh is
57:36being discussed at the board table.
57:45Seeing as no one else is coming up like
57:47to have a motion to adjourn the meeting.
57:50Motion
57:51>> second. All in favor? Motion carries.
57:56Thank you everyone for coming.

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