Lucas Cascardo

The meeting included procedural actions such as calling the meeting to order and administering the Oath of Office to the Interim Superintendent of Schools. Discussion topics involved the Superintendent's Update on Capital Projects and Capital Project 2026 Propositions. Key actions included the approval of the First Amendment to the Interim Superintendent's Contract. Board policies underwent first and second readings, specifically Policy #1510 regarding Regular Board Meetings and Rules, and Policy #6410 concerning Technology Acceptable Use Policy (AUP). The Consent Agenda covered several items, including the adoption of the 2026-2027 School District Calendar, authorization for a medical examination of an employee, acceptance of a non-resident tuition student, approval of CSE and CPSE designations, acceptance of personnel resignations and appointments, certification of lead evaluators for classroom teachers, setting the non-resident tuition rate, approval of professional service agreements, acceptance of a donation, approval of a Health and Welfare Service Contract, and approval of the response to the Request for Proposal for Internal Auditing Services.

The work session included a call to order, followed by a discussion workshop regarding the 2026-2027 budget. The session concluded with a motion to adjourn.

The meeting commenced with a budget preview for 2026-2027 and the Superintendent's report, including an update on capital projects. Discussion items focused on Capital Project 2026 Propositions and Policy #1510 regarding Regular Board Meetings and Rules. Key actions taken included the first reading and subsequent approval of Policy #6410, the Technology Acceptable Use Policy (AUP). The consent agenda covered several items: acceptance of non-resident tuition students, approval of CSE and CPSE designations and placements, acceptance of personnel resignations and appointments, approval of out-of-district placements, approval of a revised settlement for a tax certiorari case, acceptance of a $5,000 donation for the Baseball Program, acceptance of the December 2025 Treasurer's Report, and approval of December 2025 budget transfers. The session concluded with an anticipated executive session to discuss contract negotiations.

The Superintendent's Report reviewed the district's response to a domestic event that required activating the district safety plan and delaying the start of classes on Wednesday. The review highlighted successful elements, such as the effective use of Parent Square for timely communication, close collaboration with the police department for rapid decision-making, and the staff's flexibility in adapting to a delayed schedule. Areas identified for improvement included updating contact information for Parent Square alerts to ensure delivery to cell phones instead of landlines. The report also noted that surprise events expose the challenge of student devices being uncharged at school. Furthermore, the Superintendent shared positive updates regarding various school activities, including computer science outreach at BRS, spirit week events, the Science Olympiad team's success, toy drives run by the student council and Echko group, and the choral groups' participation in the Radio City Christmas Spectacular performance. The report concluded with recognition of numerous holiday concerts occurring across the district.

The technology update covered infrastructure, funding, security, and communications. Key infrastructure discussions focused on replacing outdated network switches (IDF and MDF) that were out of support and posed security risks, with some replacements completed using remaining prior year funding. The presentation detailed the new 5-year cycle of E-Rate funding starting in 2026, amounting to a $320,000 pre-discount budget with a 40% reimbursement. Significant network upgrades included increasing the internet connection capacity tenfold (from 1 GB to 10 GB) and establishing redundancy by adding a backup data line to Rockland, in collaboration with the Lower Hudson Regional Information Center (LHRIC). Future plans involve replacing end-of-life classroom displays, retiring obsolete Windows 10 workstations, and migrating local servers to a cloud environment for enhanced security and reduced maintenance costs. Camera system management is slated for a transition to cloud infrastructure to improve functionality and redundancy. Regarding data privacy and security, efforts include implementing Checkpoint for enhanced email security (catching over 90% of phishing attacks) and deploying CrowdStrike for endpoint detection and remediation. The district is also working to enable Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) for all staff and participating in a state consortium to streamline vendor data privacy agreement compliance. Finally, updates on phone systems indicated a transition to a fully cloud-based VoIP system to increase resilience.