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Click below for videos of meetings
June 2023 Meeting
Budget Hearing & Regular Board of Education Meeting - May 9, 2023 - General Session
BOCES Special Meeting - April 18, 2023
Regular Board of Education Meeting - April 4, 2023 - General Session
Agendas for the Meetings below:
Next Board Meeting will be July 13, 2023 at 9:00 A.m. It is a reorganization meeting.
Agenda for the Meeting below:
Video for the Meeting Below:
Here are some highlights:
Tenure
Congratulations to Principle Hillary Bromberg (CAMP) and teachers- Amanda Hocevar, Lauren Kotler, Kaitlyn Meagher, Marcy Rodriguez, Jason Smith, Patricia Valenza and Lisa Lobell for earning tenure.
Well deserved and the district is lucky to have all of you !!!
DISTRICT FINALLY APPROVES EID HOLIDAY.
Next year the Holiday will fall on the evening of April 21, 2023. We are pleased that this has finally happened. A big nod to all residents who tirelessly campaigned district for past two years to get EID added as a holiday. Residents we do make a difference, we just need to speak up continue to stay our course. Remember, residents lobbied district to start livestreaming videos. Live streaming started in 2019. Our voices and efforts to do matter and with the right amount of persistence, changes are effectuated.
Clarification of who is responsible for the format at Meet the Candidates Night
During the May 10, 2022 Board Meeting CRONM addressed the format concerns relating to question censorship, residents being unable to address candidates directly and not livestreaming event, with the Board. CRONM asked if there was anything that could be done, perhaps a dialogue started between board and pta about changing format. We were advised that PTA has nothing to do with the choosing, administering or enforcing the format. Per Meg Ryan, the League creates and enforces format. Also "before the MTC began, the moderator approached all candidates and informed them that if they did not agree to the format, the no videotaping, the event would be canceled." Candidates were not given choice on the issue of videotaping as the moderator improperly represented.
CRONM and we know a lot of our residents, were deeply concerned that the league moderator misrepresented their role in the event and then stood silent when we addressed our frustration with the Fayette President. The Board advised that they will see if they can reach out to the League and determine whether this format can be change for next years event. CRONM will also be addressing this with the League and reporting on status.
MARY KEENE ADDRESSED BOARD ABOUT CHANGING SINGLE ACCESS ENTRY AT OLD MILL ROAD
During new business portion of the meeting, Mary Keene informed the Board that she received concerns from residents about difficulty in accessing the playground at Old Mill after hours and during weekends. As background, due to the vandalism and recommendation from Nassau PD, the school has closed off all gates to ground after 4 pm, leaving one single access point entry at each of the schools. That entry is under surveillance and has aided in reducing instances of vandalism. Mary Keene asked if the Board could consider leaving an additional access point open at Old Mill so parents are not forced to have to walk with their young kids around block. The Board is going to ask the building’ s security to investigate impact on security about creating an additional point of access at Old Mill vs leaving all gates open on weekend days.
Board Election is May 17, 2022. Don’t forget to vote!! Remember, election is at large and every vote counts and matters. Don’t rely on your neighbors to vote for your candidate. GET OUT AND VOTE!
Agenda can be viewed below:
Video of General Session and Special Education Section Below:
Next Meeting May 10, 2022.
Link to video of the live streamed Board Meeting can be found below
Board Agenda is below
The meeting started at a little after 7:00 p.m. and lasted until 8:45 p.m. A lot of new faces. Please continue to come to Board Meetings to stay informed. When this mask issue will go away, and it will one way or the other soon, don’t stop paying attention to what is going on in the school district and how our Board is representing and advocating for us and our kids. Continue to stay informed and most importantly, VOTE at the upcoming May 17, 2022.
The issue of masking our children continued to dominate the agenda of the meeting. The Trustees explained why each voted for or against joining the other school districts who filed amicus briefs opposing Hochul’s appeal of the order which found her mask mandate unconstitutional. Mary Keene, Rob Crowley and Steve Enella all voted to join lawsuit. All three of them reiterated their disagreement with Hochul’s mandate and wanted to unmask our kids. They felt there was no harm in joining suit, especially since there was no cost to district as the law firm was not charging the districts to submit appeal. Meg Ryan, Ed Corona, Tracy Miller and Kathy Moran all voted against joining lawsuit. Their reasoning was that they did not feel comfortable rushing to join a lawsuit with a firm that they did not know, was not vetted and without first confirming that this is what majority of the residents wanted.
Rob Crowley than asked Seniak as to whether the District had a plan in place if the indoor school mask mandate was going to expire on 2/21/2022 and then asked Board to consider filing a lawsuit should Hochul choose to extend the mask mandate beyond 2/21/22. We anticipate this being discussed during an executive session. We will follow up on this question.
Mary Keene asked that district to consider starting early for the March 2, 2022 budget meeting to give residents more time to digest the presentation and ask questions because today’s meeting felt rushed. Mary Keene also moved to bring back two portions of public comments. Before today’s meeting, there used to be a public comments section to address questions residents had on agenda items and a second public comments section at the end of the meeting for more general comments. For today, initially, the Board removed the first public comments portion, but then added it back to permit residents to ask questions on Agenda items only. There was a motion made to bring back 2 portions of public comments which was unanimously passed. We will continue to have 2 public comment portions at meetings.
Mr. McDaid confirmed that district was not in fiscal distress as was reported by News 12 earlier in week.
Dr. Seniak confirmed that to address the overcrowding of the third grade classes at Fayette, they are adding a fourth class so there will be 4 fourth grade classes for 2022-2023 at Fayette. We are going to know more at the March 2, 2022 Budget presentation.
Board attorney reiterated ramifications to district if they chose to ignore the law and make mask optional. He said that district could lose funding. Per Mcdaid, 9.5 million in state funding. However, the logistics of whether the State could or could not withhold funding was not addressed or discussed.
Universal Pre-K is here. 51 seats won via lottery. Not all seats are in our schools. Some seats will be in outside daycares (we think). Will get more information and post.
The remainder of the meeting focused on residents addressing the Board on the mask mandate.
Hochul’s mandate for schools is set to expire on February 21, 2022. The stay of the order invaliding the law in the appellate court is set to expire on March 2, 2022 (unless State perfects/files their appeal). The issue of the whether the Appellate Court was correct in granting stay has been appealed to the Court of Appeals. The shelf-life of this stay and mask mandate is getting shorter and shorter. We anticipate a decision on the mandate in next week.
The district approved a new CSCE contract, which requires Board’s approval before taking affect. We will post on any changes once we confirm and get copies of the new addendum.
The old contract can be viewed below. It is on district website as well.
Continue to stay informed and most importantly, VOTE at the upcoming May 17, 2022 election.
Next Board meeting is March 8, 2022.
We were glad to see some new faces. Please continue to come or livestream the meetings!!! Stay informed about what is happening in your schools!
Link to meeting can be found here:
Link to September, October, November, and December’s meetings can be found by clicking here:
As expected, better of part public comments focused on residents’ concerns about masks in school and the current mask mandate. Residents came up and spoke for and against the masks. Board’s attorney addressed Board and residents advising that the Mask mandate law passed by Gov. Hochul is legal and enforceable. The attorney referenced the lawsuit filed by Massapequa and Locust Valley School Districts challenging Hochul’s authority, which was dismissed by the State Court ruling that the law was not illegal and School Districts and Boards, as arms of the State and have to follow this law. As for the County Executive mandate issued last week, while may be viewed very favorably by the residents, does not trump state law. Blakeman does not have authority to over rule Gov. Hochul.
The attorney also discussed the threat received from the Commissioner of Education in response to Blakeman’s mandate reaffirming that state has control over the school districts and if districts choose not to follow the State Law , the Districts could face the following repercussions:
1. Loss of state funding, which state has authority to withhold
2. Fines
3. Commissioner of Education as ability to take action to remove school board members to disobey lawful order
Bottom line, Blakeman’s order does not have jurisdiction over schools and the schools have to follow the law of the land, which unfortunately or fortunately (depending on everyone’s opinions) requires masks in schools for now.
During the public comment portion there was a resident addressing confusing information from an email received from Interim Principal Talbot about quarantine and return to school. Dr. Seniuk noted that the email may have contained an error and that a clarifying email on the topic would be sent to those parents.
For those familiar, Yellow Cards were implemented three years ago. They were not received warmly by the residents. Most of residents hated the cards. Feel free to search past summaries of board meetings for why the cards were hated and summaries of debates during Board meetings on our website and facebook page. In 2019, Meg Ryan moved to remove the cards citing resident dislike for the cards and was outvoted. Today, Mary Keene moved to remove the yellow cards again citing resident dislike for the cards and also discussing the potential to spread germs with people passing cards ect… The motion was seconded and the Board discussed the cards. Meg Ryan discussed fact that while the cards initially were used in a way that made it harder for residents’ voices and concerns be heard, since she became President, there is more transparency and residents can ask more than one question when at the mike.
For those not aware, only North Merrick residents and non-residents who have permission of the Board President can speak to the Board during meetings. There was discussion that the old way required the resident to state their address when coming to mike and since the videos are being livestreamed, could be an invasion of privacy. Before comment cards, residents who spoke at the mike had their name and address taken down by Joanne and put in the meeting minutes which were then filed and made public on the district website. Anyone looking on line would have access to addresses. Currently, resident fill out yellow comment cards with their name and address and indicate the topic they want to address with Board. Their name is called and they come up to the mike and discuss their issue.
Joanne Long made a compelling case for keeping the cards because it made it easier for her to keep track of resident name spelling and this way she just had to focus on taking notes on the questions at the mike.
The motion failed and yellow cards will continue.
FOIL REQUESTS
During one residents time at mike the topic of being able see and view Board documents came up, with resident demanding to see certain documents. Residents are permitted access to all non privileged documents generated and kept by the Board as well as District. All you have to do is fill out a FOIL request and submit it to Mr Mcdaid. You can access the FOIL doc by going to Districts website or click here.
If you have questions, please email Anna Higgins ahiggins@cronm.com.
Remember February starts Budget Month. CRONM will attend budget meetings and report back.
Please stay safe and healthy!
Next Board Meeting February 8, 2022.
Thank you North Merrick residents for GETTING OUOT THE VOTE!
Mary Keene and Kathy Moran have won the board trustee seats. They will serve from 2021 to 2024.
Out of 12,000 registered voters, 1020 voted. Below is breakdown:
Mary Keene - 529 votes
Kathy Moran - 491 votes
Michelle Gordon -391 votes
Budget Passed
NM budget 631 YES 321 NO
BMCHSD budget 620 YES 320 NO
Proposition #2 passed—567 YES 376 NO
This was the first in person meeting we have had all year. It was great to see everyone. President Ryan kept everyone on track and the meeting proceeded in an organized and efficient manner.
The Board decided to adjourn the budget presentation.
Happy to hear the classroom barriers and barriers around the desks will come down in June!!!!
Not clear on whether next year masks will be required. District needs to wait to receive guidance from State and Cuomo on what restrictions will remain over summer and next year
District is receiving $2.1 million in additional aid from the Corona Virus relief fund. This money is not reflected in next years’ budget because it is not reoccurring figure. Per Dr. Seniuk, the State provides specific guidelines on what District can spend this money. However, if an extra 2.1 million is being provided, this means that there should and would be money left over next year. To be continued…..
Tara Sumberac, Denise Kaufman and Amy Deniels were granted tenure
Mary Keene, Kathy Moran and Michele Gordon are running for the two Board Seats for the 2021-2022 year.
THE TRUSTEE AND BUDGET VOTE IS MAY 18, 2021 AT THE NORTH MERRICK PUBLIC LIBRARY. EVERY VOTE MATTERS. REMEMBER STEVE ENELLA LOST HIS SEAT 3 YEARS AGO BY 12 VOTES. PLEASE GET OUT AND VOTE!!!!
This past year, the Board of Ed meetings have been virtual with exception of meetings in April and May.
To catch up on meetings, please click on below:
To view all Meeting Minutes please click on below:
Board of Ed Election May 18, 2021
Video of the Board Meeting can be accessed below:
Agendas of the Re Org and General Board Meeting can be accessed below
Meg Ryan and Michelle Gordon were unanimously re elected as President and Vice-President of the Board
Tracey Miller and Ed Corona were re elected to the HS Board 5-2
Miller, Corona, Lentini, Ryan and Gordon voted for Miller and Corona
Enella and Crowley voted for Enella
Ed Corona re volunteered to serve on the Teacher Center and Community Relations/PTA committees
Steve Enella and Robert Crowley re volunteered to serve on buildings and grounds
Joanne Long was appointed as District Clerk
Neil Block remains Board Counsel
Board was served with a Petition last Friday, it was given to their counsel. There was no further elaboration on the basis for the Petition
Next Board meeting will be live and is scheduled for August 11, 2020
Have a great 4th of July!
Election Results
Proposition 1: North Merrick School UFSD Budget passed - 1611 yes, 1099 no.
Incumbent trustees Tracey Miller (1346 votes) and Ed Corona (1321 votes) were reelected. Lisa Katz had 1175 votes and Hali Herman had 1018 votes.
Proposition 2: Central High School District Budget passed - 1648 yes, 1115 no.
Proposition 3: North Merrick UFSD Capital Improvement Projects (from fund established 2016) passed - 2064 yes, 686 no.
Proposition 4: North Merrick Public Library Budget passed -1786 yes, 916 no,
Karen Brown was elected to the library board (1257 votes).
Congratulations to Ed Corona and Tracy Miller for being re elected to the Board.
video of the board meeting can be found below
Click to access the Agenda
Next meeting is July 1, 2020, it is a re organization meeting where they will elect the President and Vice President of the Board it is slated to start at 6:00 p.m with the general board meeting will start immediately after.
A big thank you to the Camp Avenue PTA for organizing a Q&A with Mr. McDaid and District to go over the proposed budget and permit the parents to ask questions via Zoom. We understand that HDF and OMR PTAS are also doing the same. A big thank you to Mr. McDaid for his informative presentation. If any resident has any questions on budget, please reach out to Mr. McDaid via email tmcdaid@nmerrick.org. CRONM does not envy Mr. McDaid’s herculean job for next year!
To view the Budget Presentation posted on the BOE website click below
To view the proposed final budget please click below
2020-2021 Final Proposed Budget
Residents asked really good questions. Here are important takeaways:
Budget is coming in under the tax cap. This means that the tax cap for 2020-2021 year will not be pierced if current budget is approved.
Total estimated revenue from our taxes for last years budget was $33,107,869. This year it is $34,178,656. That is a 3.23% increase from last year or $1,070,787.
Of the $34,178,656 figure, $25,186,919 is being spent on Programs. This the component that includes teacher salaries, instructional classes, music, art, wings, parent university, textbooks, special ed, supplies, art supplies, equipment, computers, science supplies ect.. This figure is up $1,225,292 or 5.11% from last year. This million dollar increase will not be used to create new programs but to cover rising healthcare, insurance and cover salaries.
None of the $1,070,787 increase in revenue is going to add new programs. Some of the increase is going to the capital improvements for the three schools. See proposed budget. Each school is going to get a capital improvement such as air conditioning, new windows, exterior upgrades, should budget pass. Remainder of the revenue increase will go to cover administrative and insurance costs.
We are a 3 school district with generally flat enrollment. CRONM continues to question why a three elementary school district requires 13% of our budget to be spent on Administrative Costs.
There will be no change in classroom size for any school for 2020-2021 School Year under the current proposed budget
Budget is being proposed and will pass with the issue of whether school aid will be cut still unanswered. Assuming that Cuomo does cut school aid, this will likely affect the 2021-2022 budget
A lot of residents asked how much money the district was saving with school being out all these months regarding, school trips, events, ect.. Per Dr. Seniak, despite schools being closed, the District was still required by law to pay all salaries. While there are anticipated savings, the figure had not yet been calculated. Apparently the lawyers for the school are trying to re negotiate paying the bus companies for April to present day. The million dollar question was assuming that there was some savings, will District consider using those savings to add new programs for the students? Per Mr. McDaid, any savings will be placed into reserves and there was no plan to add new programs for the 2020-2021 school year.
There was a question asked about District attempting to renegotiate trade and employment contracts in light of the current economic climate and an effort to avoid cutting programs or raising taxes for next year. Unfortunately, there was no clear cut answer to this question from Dr. Seniak. But the question does present a valid point. With the unemployment rate in NY reaching 1.4 million people and many of our resident affected by COVID-19 financially, why not consider renegotiating any previously entered trade or employment agreements as a proactive measure to save $$ for next year?
The lack of in person Board Election will NOT SAVE us any money. Per Dr. Seniak, last year the costs for the election was $23,000.00. This year, with the cost of printing and postage for the ballots, its $36,000.00. But this figure may be lower because this year we get to split the costs of the mailings with the North Merrick library and H.S. District. No one understood what this meant, despite Dr. Seniak explaining. We will revisit the actual cost for the Board election and report back
With the programs portion being almost 74% of the budget, what is the plan for the next 3-5 years in terms adding new program? Per Dr. Seniak, the plan is to adhere to the state mandates i.e. continue to provide gym. Art and Music are extras and are not part of the state mandate. Dr. Seniak does not want to see gym, art and music cut.
We are using $855,000 of our Savings, Reserves for this budget. Per Mr. McDaid, each year District does put back some of the monies it took out of reserves the year before. This year, District put back approximately $500,000.00. However that still leaves a $300,000 deficit.
District is spending $40,000 (down from $80,000 last year) on a PR Firm.
There are no planned retirements this year, but the State might consider providing incentives
If budget is not passed, one of the first things to be affected are the programs and our children; such as class size, WINGS, Class trips, Parent University ect.. The District, because of contractual obligations, will still need to pay all employment (teacher, administrative and CSCA) contracts entered into over the last couple of years. Capital projects will also be impacted.
There will be a district wide Budget Meeting on June 2, 2020. Be on look out for more information. Please plan on attending and staying informed!
Agenda and Video can be viewed below. We will post minutes meeting when they become available.
SUMMARY OF MAY 12, 2020 VIRTUAL BOARD MEETING
APPARENTLY THERE ARE TWO MEETING AGENDAS. (NOT SURE IF ACCURATE). MORE THAN ONCE COMMENT ON DIFFERENT MEETING AGENDAS. WILL ASK JOANNE FOR BOTH. WILL POST THEM AS WE RECEIVE THEM.
Meeting called to Order by President Megan Ryan at 8:01. Pledge waived.
President Ryan began by by wishing all of North Merrick families and their children well, thanking our Teachers, Administration, Staff, Community for the support and patience. She then asked Joanne Long, district clerk to provide information on upcoming Board Election.
Joanne Long spoke about candidates who submitted applications to run for trustees for election: She received 4 petitions to run; Ed Corona, Tracey Miller, Hali Myron Herman and Lisa Katz.
Discussed ballots. (See what CRONM posted on website and FB page). No voting in person. All voting in absentee ballot. All ballots mailed must be received by Joanne by June 9, 2020 by 5 pm. BALLOTS MUST BE MAILED IN THE ENVELOPE RECEIVED. THEY CANNOT BE HAND DELIVERED TO DISTRICT. JOANNE WILL NOT ACCEPT HAND DELIVERED BALLOTS.
To tally: don't know how long it will take time to tally absentee ballots. Joanne and clerks will start a 5 pm night off; June 9. Once results are in, they will provide information to public.
Rob Crowley asked question: how does someone get ballot if they do not get in mail? If you have kids in college, they can vote via absentee but need to get ballots?
Joanne-- they can call her and she will assist
Question about checking to see if you are registered to vote: Joanne said that they can check district website, there is link to see if you are registered to vote or call 516-571-2411 this is number for Nassau County, or you can call Joanne.
Meeting Started: Megan Ryan:
"The Board of Education approves the following: WHEREAS, the State of New York, along with the entire nation and world, is in the midst of the COVID-19 (AKA the novel coronavirus) pandemic, a public health emergency unprecedented in modern times; WHEREAS, on March 16, 2020, Governor Cuomo issued Executive Order 202.4 which suspended the requirements of the Open Meetings Law concerning board of education meetings; and WHEREAS, as permitted by Executive Order 202.1, the Board of Education’s meeting tonight will be conducted via www.youtube.com with no public participation. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Board of Education hereby suspends all policies pertaining to the format for this meeting, including Policy 1120 which provides for public participation and comment at Board of Education meetings."
2. ROUTINE APPROVALS
A. Approval of Minutes - April 7 and BOCES Vote April 21, 2020
B. Approval of Warrants, Wires and Budget Transfers
C. Approval of Treasurer's Report
The above all approved unanimously by Board
PUBLIC COMMENTS-- Joanne received emails, per Meg Ryan, will go on through later on in agenda--public comments-Joanne was concerned that we bypassed this, but Meg Ryan indicated we would save this to end.
Footnote CRONM sent email to board to discuss Business items C-G before voting. Board did not discuss items C-G before doing consent vote.
4. BUSINESS
A. The Board of Education adopts the proposed budget for the 2020-21 school year in the amount of $34,178,656.
NOT ALL TRUSTEES VOTED TO APPROVE BUDGET!
Crowley and Enella were nays and Ryan, Corona, Miller, Gordon and Lentini yays. Budget passed. Crowley and rest of trustees did note that Mr. McDaid did a phenomenal job in presenting budget and crunching numbers.
Sadly no discussion as to why there was opposition. Only references to discussion was that Crowley and Enella apparently been voicing objections for last 2 months. Discussions about objections to budget obviously done in Executive Session because there was nothing discussed during the open meetings for last two months.
B. The Board of Education adopts the 2020-21 Property Tax Report Card for the North Merrick Union Free School District.
Some discussion:
There was a question as to whether the report was mailed: card not being mailed, filed with state department. All in favor of mailing report card to state---
THIS WAS UNANIMOUSLY APPROVED
C. The Board of Education authorizes the Superintendent of Schools to submit the online Letter of Intent for the 2020/21 school year for services provided by BOCES in an amount not to exceed $2.2 million.
THIS WAS UNANIMOUSLY APPROVED
D. The Board of Education authorizes the budget transfer as follows: Account To: 2250.400.04; Contract Services; $150,000. Account From: A9060.801.04; Health Insurance; $150,000. Reason: Additional costs for transportation of special education students.
THIS WAS UNANIMOUSLY APPROVED
E. The Board of Education approves the agreement with Textbook Central for the 2020-21 school year to purchase textbooks for North Merrick students attending non-public schools.
THIS WAS UNANIMOUSLY APPROVED
F. The Board of Education approves the legal notice for the 2020-21 budget/trustee vote, as attached.
THIS WAS UNANIMOUSLY APPROVED
G. The Board of Education approves the process of receiving bids electronically pursuant to Governor Cuomo's Executive Order during the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Crisis, as detailed in the mailing.
THIS WAS UNANIMOUSLY APPROVED
5. PERSONNEL ACTIONS REPORT
A. The Board of Education approves the Personnel Actions Report, as detailed in the mailing.
THIS WAS UNANIMOUSLY APPROVED
6. SPECIAL SERVICES
A. The Board of Education approves the (64) sixty-four IEPs which were developed by the committee on Special Education,as detailed in the mailing.
THIS WAS UNANIMOUSLY APPROVED
B. The Board of Education approves the (22) twenty-two IEPs which were developed by the Committee on Preschool Special Education.
THIS WAS UNANIMOUSLY APPROVED
7. REPORT OF COMMITTEES
A. High School -- Corona spoke to fast!! sorry could not catch. Micheal Hughes named Assistant Principal for Calhoun. Central HS settled with BOCES, $600,000.00--selling of land and rent.
3 H.S. Had parade. Teachers went to schools and Seniors drove through parking lot with names of their where they are going to school in fall
B. School Community Relations/PTA Council-- Senaik gave update indicating and praising support from PTA Presidents
C. Buildings & Grounds 8.
COMMUNICATIONS THIS IS WHERE PRESIDENT READ AN ADDRESSED SOME OF THE QUESTIONS:
First email from: Natalie Katini (sic) sorry for misspelling
Very upset and objected to Gates and Cuomo having input into education and guidelines. Sorry, Meg Ryan read email too fast and we got every 5th word. Board dully noted objection.
SECOND EMAIL: From Fiori(sic) Family
This is Camp Avenue family writing to tell Dr. Seniak praising their children's teachers. Greves and (sorry again, it was muffled and we could not get the name, please email CRONM your email and we will post) and Dr. Bromberg. Teachers are going above and beyond for daughters, showing love and support for camp avenue, making distance learning easy, teachers called and emailed and sent birthday wishes, continue to go above and beyond, shout out Mrs Talbot to technology, to Dr. Bromberg, "our school is place of love and comfort thank you for our teachers at camp avenue!!!"
THIRD EMAIL FROM "Jim" 2 kids in first grade at OMR, any plans for next year if we have to continue with long distance learning? President, differed to Dr. Seniak for response. Seniak: Awaiting for guidance from Cuomo. Cant do or plan anything until they get guidance. "At this time, planning for unknown, no solid plans for next year until we get guidance from gov"
FOURTH EMAIL FROM "Mike"
Will district continue to provide the online resources such as XL Math, RAZ kids and happy numbers for summer time? Seniak, Yes. Will have more information on this at end of June. (Residents please follow up with district on this!)
Will district remove certain restrictions and unlock school grounds for exercise and activities? Seniak- "waiting for clarification from Cuomo as to whether we can." If allowed, will re open.
FIFTH EMAIL: SORRY COULD NOT CATCH INFORMATION, THERE WAS STATIC ON LINE. Email was objection and complaint as to Gates Foundation having any input on school education curriculum
SIXTH EMAIL-- MARY KEENE. SO HAPPY BOARD ANSWERED ALL QUESTIONS!
Budget:
How has our current budget been impacted since the schools closed Monday, March 16th?
No major impact. We have had savings on security costs, transportation, costs for extra curricular activities and professional development, utilities. No further elaboration. No figure provided as to savings.
What has been the cost of implementing long distance learning?
No cost to district at all. Many of the companies providing services to district at no cost or minimal cost.
Where were any new budget items needed (as a result of NY state closing) and please be specific as to the cost of each budget item?
No no budget items were needed.
Have we saved any money from the 2019/2020 budget with the schools closing? Please provide specifics.
Yes. District saved $$ on security, extra curricula activities, professional development. No specific number provided.
When will the finalized budget for 2020-2021 be presented to voters?
"Working on It" Budget approved by Board. No answer
BOE Election:
When will the ballots be mailed to the residents?
Per Seniak and Joanne, working on getting them sent out by May 25th. At printers now.
When residents mail their ballots to the school district, how will the ballots be kept secured?
there is a metal ballot box under lock and key. ballot secured there. Dont know where box is kept. Seniak did not elaborate on how the ballots are kept secured.
2020-2021 School Year
Is the district coming up with a long term plan for next year in case the state is closed again?
Per Seniak, yes. Working on it. Need guidance from Cuomo. Surveys have been sent to residents and teachers and based upon answers, will use to assist on creating plan.
If the schools are closed again next year, will students get a math lesson daily? A reading lesson daily? A daily writing lesson? Science? Social studies? Specials?
Cannot give definitive answer regarding next year without answers to above and guidance from Cuomo.
Board Read email from Anna Higgins.
1. In light of the impact of COVID on all government operations, including the post office and their mail delivery, do you think that mailing out the ballots 6 day before June 9, 2020 or on June 2, 2020 will give residents enough time to return the ballot by the June 9 deadline? Mail typically takes between 2-3 days to be delivered, assuming it is sent on June 2, residents may and could receive it by June 5 or 6 th latest and the ballot may not reach the district in time by June 9, if residents chose to mail the ballot.
Per Senaik-- Ballots are at printers as we speak. Goal is to mail them out by May 25, 2020. That is less than 2 weeks before the election. Hopefully Board can get them out sooner.
2. Why are you giving residents such a short period of time to use and send out the absentee ballots?
See response above.
3. Will you post the ballots on website for easy access like most districts have already done?
Per Joanne, she wants to follow the law and district guidelines. While the ballot is generic, in order for it to count, it NEEDS TO BE SENT IN THE ENVELOPE THAT IT COMES IN AND RESIDENT NEEDS TO SIGN THE ENVELOPE AND MAIL IT IN. IF THE BALLOT IS NOT MAILED IN THE ENVELOPE IT IS INVALID AND WILL NOT COUNT.
Rob Crowley asked whether the ballots were personalized and inquired why they could not be posted on website just to assist those residents who may not receive ballots in time?
Per Joanne, if you dont' receive ballot, please call or email her. She wants to avoid issues. Ballot has to be sent an old affidavit and returned in you cannot bring in the ballot very specific envelope have to sign outside of envelope, could not accept walk ins.
4. How are ballots going to be counted?
This was not elaborated. Understood that Joanne and "clerks" will be counting. How it was counted, either by hand or put into machine, we dont know.
5. What steps has the Board and district taken or adopted to ensure that every vote is counted, no ballot is not lost or there are no shenanigans with the counting or casting the votes? What security measures has the Board adopted to protect people's votes and make sure that there is no voter fraud?
Per Seniak, they take this "very seriously" "Joanne knows what she is doing" . They have counsel available to assist with process. Election inspectors were mentioned. Other than that, no specific steps and rest of question was not answered. There were no details given as to who these election inspectors are, how they are chosen, what qualifications they have. ----We know that these are unprecedented times and this is not slight to Joanne, who is amazing!, but we hope that Board does come up with plan, just in case there are well, shenanigans.... We encourage all residents to follow up with Dr. Seniak, Joanne Long and Board.
6. Please elaborate on board agenda items c-g and have a discussion before voting. Specifically,
C. The Board of Education authorizes the Superintendent of Schools to submit the online Letter of Intent for the 2020/21 school year for services provided by BOCES in an amount not to exceed $2.2 million. What does the letter of intent say? Will you post and make the letter available to the residents to see what the 2.2 million of their tax money is being spent on?
Unfortunately, they did not elaborate or discuss before doing a consent agenda. Other than indicating that this letter is available through "Foil" there was no further elaboration on the content of letter of intent, what the 2.2 million of our tax payer money is being spent. So basically, this question was not answered. Per Dr. Seniak, we were encouraged to FOIL for this information. Other districts such as Rockvile Center, post all backing, mailings, letters of intent and back up supporting all tax payer funded activities and actions.
D. The Board of Education authorizes the budget transfer as follows: Account To: 2250.400.04; Contract Services; $150,000. Account From: A9060.801.04; Health Insurance; $150,000. Reason: Additional costs for transportation of special education students. What are these budget transfers regarding and why are they being made now, during time that schools are closed?
Per Seniak, these are transfers made on prior approved transactions and are being made now because the prior approved transactions were for amounts that were too low and did not cover the expenditures. So apparently, Seniak previously represented to Board that these transactions required one amount, that amount was approved by Board and now those figures were to low. Guess we should FOIL for these as well.
E. The Board of Education approves the agreement with Textbook Central for the 2020-21 school year to purchase textbooks for North Merrick students attending non-public schools. Why is district buying textbooks for non public schools?
Per Seniak, these are required by law, without further elaboration.
F. The Board of Education approves the legal notice for the 2020-21 budget/trustee vote, as attached. What is legal notice? can it be provided to residents?
This appears to be referring to notice that CRONM posted earlier on their page.
G. The Board of Education approves the process of receiving bids electronically pursuant to Govenor Cuomo's Executive Order during the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Crisis, as detailed in the mailing
what bids are being considered and how will this process work?
Per Senaik, no bids. She just wanted to be proactive and have option available in the even this was necessary.
9. UNFINISHED BUSINESS
None.
10. NEW BUSINESS
Lentini indicating how proud he was of our north merrick community and being NM Resident.
11. ADJOURNMENT
We encourage all Residents to email Board and Seniak any questions they have.
Next meeting June 2, 2020. 6:00 p.m VIP Meeting.
If you would like to become a member or volunteer, please contact Anna Higgins at ahiggins@cronm.com