PTO Back to School Canrival, Friday September 30 3-6pm!

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Final Board of Education Election Results (posted 5/19/22)

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Board of Education Meeting May 18, 2022

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Preliminary Results - 2022 TUFSD Budget Vote and Board of Education Election (posted 5/17/22)

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Agenda for BOE Meeting May 18, 2022

Click here to view the agenda 

LiveStream Link - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3E6xKXTXId4

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2022 TUFSD Budget Vote and Board of Educaltion Election (Updated 5/15/22)

The 2022 School Board election and budget vote will take place on Tuesday, May 17.  This year, five candidates are vying for three open spots on the Board of Education: incumbents Dan Castricone and Lucy Scully as well as Kimberly Breiland, Salvatore Saetta and Heather Kidde.
The make-up of the school board is extremely important as it has a direct impact on the future of the School District as well as every one’s taxes. In addition to the annual budget, the Board of education is responisble for developing and adopting the policies and curriculum that drive the District as well as providing oversight of any facility-based issues.  Therefore, understanding these candidates, their areas of expertise and their levels of experience is crucial in making an informed decision. 
In an effort to inform the community, TPFYI presented each candidate with a basic questionnaire, designed to focus on their biographical information as well as their levels of experience and reasons for running.  What follows are the resposes received, unedited and in the order that we received them.

Kimberly Breiland
Name: Kimberly Breiland
Education/Degrees: Pratt Institute/BFA
Vocation/Employer: Creative Director/22 Graphics
Years of residency in Tuxedo: 6 years
Volunteer Work in the Town of Tuxedo:
• St. Mary’s Church: Sit on the Vestry, created logo, help with Sunday School
• Tuxedo Garden Club: Have volunteered for events
• Tuxedo UFSD: Created logo for school district, designed billboard art, designed ads and flyers for the school, and led an acting “after-school” class for the high school students
• Tuxedo Community Activity Council: Volunteered to help with events
• Tuxedo Trail Committee: Created trail map
• Tuxedo Chamber of Commerce: Created business map for train station kiosk
• Tuxedo Recreation Department: Created graphics for Tshirts provided at events
Briefly, why are you running for The Board of Education?
I ran for this seat last year. I have just reviewed my response from one year ago and I stated:
“?The District is turning the corner with the introduction of a COVID Response Summer Program, Facility Improvements, Curriculum + Library + Textbook + Software Upgrades, a Transportation Program that reduces costs, and most importantly a more Transparent Accounting System. I have been a part of all this. And I would like to continue to work hard to ensure our District remains on a forward path.”
It is obvious that the path that was set was not taken this year.
• Monroe Woodbury is having a Summer Bridge program to help their students, our district is not.
• Our facilities are finally getting work done because of emergency situations.
• Curriculum is lacking and an overabundance of study halls is unacceptable.
• Budget is not looking to be in good health.
If I am elected my focus will be on Academics, Arithmetic, and Accountability.
What are the most important issues currently facing the School District and if elected how would you propose to address them?
• Academics need to be enhanced in the lower school and upper school
• Eyes on the budget must be a monthly task
I have been keeping track of Board meetings and actions this past year. If you want to learn more on what has been happening within our district visit KBfortheBOE.com

Salvatore L Saetta
Name: Salvatore L Saetta
Education/Degrees: Advanced BA
Vocation/Employer: Portfolio Manager / Wells Fargo Financial Network
Years of residency in Tuxedo: 2.5
Volunteer Work in the Town of Tuxedo: N/A
Briefly, why are you running for The Board of Education?
Our town has a unique opportunity to attract new families while preserving and growing our property values. Neither of these goals can happen without a strong school system. I’ve seen internal conflicts appear between BOE members, lack of accountability and no measurable goals or improvements for our kids and our property owners. We’re looking at tax increases for this year and have nothing to show for it. Buildings need repairs and enhancements, so where and how were our tax dollars spent? We as residents should be tired of the lack of leadership and having no way of holding the leaders accountable for the headwinds our school faces. Our children are not getting the school social life that is so cherished for high school aged children and they are not being shown how to compete properly once out of school. Living in the NY metro area is one of the most competitive areas in the world and the competition is both relentless and on an international scale. It starts with our schools to get our youth ready. The years of revolving staff, absent leadership have led to a culture of getting nothing accomplished with no action on holding them accountable. This should matter to all of us, as Tuxedo has some of the oldest demographics in the state and cannot attract the young families we need. Our property values should be far more stable and higher to be in line with our immediate surrounding areas and they cannot get there due to the schools. The schools need to be addressed and they should have been addressed in a concise and organized manner years ago.
What are the most important issues currently facing the School District and if elected how would you propose to address them?
- Have stated and measurable goals year over year with assessments on achieving them.
- Accountability for all involved on not meeting their goals (Staff, administration and BOE members).
- Consider all options with the best interest of property owners and students in mind first.
- Spending tax payer dollars efficiently.

Dan Castricone
Name: Dan Castricone
Education/Degrees: Bachelors University of Buffalo in Economics, Juris Doctor Pace University School of Law
Vocation/Employer: Solo Attorney and Risk Management Officer for Orange County NY
Years of residency in Tuxedo: 27 year resident with three children who graduated from GFB High School.
Volunteer Work in the Town of Tuxedo:
President, Tuxedo UFSD Board of Education
President Tuxedo Sons of Italy, member Scholarship Committee
Ramapo Valley Rotary, member Scholarship Committee
Founding Board Member Tuxedo Little League
Eagle Scout Coordinator Tuxedo Boy Scouts
Tuxedo Zoning Board, Tuxedo Town Board, Orange County Legislature, Advisor for United Monroe.
Briefly, why are you running for The Board of Education?
The survival of the school is the most important factor in the future of the Town of Tuxedo. We are on the cusp of Tuxedo Farms finally adding the children we need to add vibrancy to the school. My running mate, Lucy Cerezo Scully and I have accomplished so much as Board President and Vice President including adding an elementary school literacy teacher, adding a numeracy teacher (to be hired for 2022/23), and reinstating the elementary STEM teacher.
We’ve hired the new administrative team, settled the collective bargaining contracts and overhauled the high school schedule for 2022/23 that extends teacher contact time to 47 minutes and eliminates study halls. We’ve enhanced technology, cyber security, and disaster recovery and implemented effective professional development for our staff. We even added new colleges to our “College in the High School” program.
         Fiscally we’ve kept residents’ taxes low and stable. (Over our three years on the board, tax increases have been 0%, 0% and this year’s proposed less than 1%)
We’ve implemented a zero-based budget process for the first time, a huge improvement over prior years’ roll-over incremental budgets.
We are also taking care of our buildings. We instituted an energy performance agreement with Honeywell where the district will get 1.4 million dollars in building improvements, paid for in energy savings guaranteed by Honeywell. We moved 2 million dollars out of our bloated unassigned fund balance into a Capital Reserve fund so we can improve our buildings without adding debt to the backs of taxpayers. We even made the most of our recent flood to make improvements and upgrades wherever they could.
  We’re on a path to making our schools among the best small schools in the state with a goal of being in the top 100 nationwide. Working with a cooperative and intelligent board and administration that puts the children and district before everything else, this goal is achievable. Simply, we’re running because we’re proud of what we’ve accomplished but there is so much more to do. We need to expand our programs in the High School. We need to increase test scores. We need to see our kids being accepted to the best colleges. We need fix the lunch program and sports and extracurriculars.
 What are the most important issues currently facing the School District and if elected how would you propose to address them?
We need to ensure that the School District is treated fairly by the Related Companies and the Town when it comes to the Tuxedo Farms project. I have been around and involved long enough to know what the school was promised, what is possible, and what deals can be made to protect the school and get us a good project. Continued, stable leadership at this time may be more important than ever before.
We need to add children to the district and stop the defection from the district into local private schools. The steps we’ve taken so far will help us here. The College in the High School program allows our children to graduate with an entire year of college credits under their belts. The literacy teacher in the elementary school is already affecting test scores. Next year the numeracy teacher will do the same. Our pre-school program gives families a taste of the quality education they can expect here. As the program continues to improve, so will our student retention and recruitment.  Look for improved marketing programs soon to make sure the world knows about our amazing schools. 
We must continue to improve the districts financial controls and ensure that we provide low, stable taxes to our community. We underspent last year’s budget by $220,000 because of careful controls instituted by our board and administration. Every payroll run was certified.  Waste was eliminated. Auditors were hired. Continuing to provide low, stable taxes improve our property values and protects our seniors ability to stay here and thrive.

Heather Kidde
Name: Heather Kidde
Education/Degrees: Colgate University, BA Economics & Psychology Chartered Financial Analyst designation
Vocation/Employer: Portfolio Manager, Northern Trust Wealth Management
Years of residency in Tuxedo:
12 years in Tuxedo/2 years in TUFSD
Volunteer Work in the Town of Tuxedo:
Sloatsburg Food Pantry Board Member & volunteer: 2020 - present
GGM Fifth Grade co-class parent: 2021 - present Girl Scouts Leader (Tuxedo Park School): 2018-2020
Briefly, why are you running for The Board of Education? Our family moved into the Tuxedo Union Free School District to send our kids to George Grant Mason Elementary School. We love the small class size and the wonderful community.
I am running for the Board of Education because I want to be part of the future of the school district. As we emerge from the pandemic, it is more important than ever to make sure our schools and teachers have all of the tools to keep our kids on track. My focus is on supporting our students, teachers, and administration toward a common goal of providing a top tier education.
What are the most important issues currently facing the School District and if elected how would you propose to address them?
The most important issues currently facing the School District include enrollment, infrastructure, and programming. We cannot accomplish all that needs to be done without strong financial oversight to make sure we are spending our tax dollars appropriately and not wasting valuable time and money.
Declining enrollment is not an issue unique to TUFSD. We can attract students to tuition into our school with an excellent curriculum and class sizes that make our public school feel like a private school. In addition to making sure our students are well prepared in academics, it is important to provide extracurricular opportunities to attract and retain students and families.
We need to include building improvements in our budget to make sure these historic buildings are safe and have the amenities needed for the future of education.

Lucy Cerezo Scully
Name: Lucy Cerezo Scully
Education/Degrees: Alfred University School Counseling Program, MSed College of St. Rose/CITE School Building Leader Touro College MS Linguistics/TESOL
Fordham University: Cum Laude BA Theater, New York University: Educational Theater, Certifications: School Counseling, NYS School Building Leader (SBL) NYS Theater K-12
Vocation/Employer: The City of New York, Department of Education
Years of residency in Tuxedo: 5 years permanent residence
Purchased my home in 2010 resided part time until 2017 when I moved permanently
One child in the district attending GFB
Volunteer Work in the Town of Tuxedo:
Vice President, Tuxedo UFSD Board of Education
Parent Volunteer for school musicals
Board of Education Policy Committee
Board of Education Advocacy and Community Outreach Committee
Briefly, why are you running for The Board of Education?
I am the only candidate who is a professional educator. I have thirty years of experience in education and bring quite a bit of insight to the Board of Education. This was my First year as Vice President of the Board.
Those who have participated in the monthly board meetings or are otherwise aware of what is going on in the District know of all the progress we made this year and would be impressed with the gains the schools have made in 2021/22.
The first factor in student success in the classroom is an effective teacher. This year we hired approximately 1/3 of the teaching staff to fill the vacancies of retirees. These new hires are all highly experienced and competent teachers who complement our existing staff.
The second factor in student success in the classroom is a competent, effective, and stable administration. This year we hired a new superintendent and administration; all of whom are highly experienced and accomplished professionals.
Our new budget keeps low stable taxes for our community and supports education. We have charged our administration with making Tuxedo a Top 100 school district and we are on our way to achieving that goal.
After two years of interrupted education due to COVID-19 it is more vital than ever that we support our students with a literacy teacher (who has already been hired) and a new numeracy specialist to be hired for the 2022-2023 school year. These supports are invaluable for students to fill the gaps caused by the recent pandemic.
During my time on the Board we also created a new academic schedule that extended each period to 47 minutes, expanded college in the classroom, added pre-school to the school, and are addressing critical facility infrastructure issues. All union contracts have been settled fairly.
I am running for reelection to continue this progress and forward momentum. After a decade of turn-over we need stability.
What are the most important issues currently facing the School District and if elected how would you propose to address them?
In addition to my desire to continue the great work we accomplished this year, we must also foster a partnership with the Town and Related Properties to ensure the building at Tuxedo Farms. These new homes will expand our enrollment and increase the assessment rolls both of which will have a great impact on the District. We must also make sure that Related Properties stands by their pledge of $2.5 million and 40 acres of land to the school district. We also need to develop a long-range plan to effectively incorporate all of this change into our schools.
I would also like to see better retention of our students. Marketing all of our programs and progress will help in that regard and we are developing plans to improve communication and our school brand. We need to ensure our program offerings and opportunities continue to expand in the high school. Ensuring that our educators continue getting effective professional development will also help us to continue to raise our student performance.
Finally, we must continue to provide an excellent education for our students in the district while maintaining financial controls to ensure that we provide low, stable taxes to our community. Please come out on May 17th to vote on the budget and Castricone for the Board of Education.

Important Voter Information:

**The public hearing for the 2022/2023 budget will take place on Wednesday, May 4 at 7pm.
Copies of the budget presentations can be found on the school website or by clicking here

**The budget vote and election will take place on Tuesday, May 17 from 2-9pm in the multipurpose room at GGM.

**Absentee Ballots 
If you are going to be out of town for work or studies, will be having a medical procedure, or are confined to your home due to illness or physical disability you can fill out an absentee ballot application to vote for the proposed 2022/23 school budget and Board of Education members. The application must be received by the District Clerk at George F. Baker High School, 1 Tornado Drive, Tuxedo Park, NY 10987 at least seven days before the election if the ballot is to be mailed to the voter, or the day before the election, if the ballot will be picked up personally by the voter. Absentee ballots can only be picked up by the voter named on the application. The absentee ballot must be received by the Office of the District Clerk no later than 5:00 p.m. on the day of the election.
Click here to download the application for an absentee ballot.

UPDATE 5/15/22:

On Saturday, May 14 the Tuxedo PTO posted the following candidate Q&A on YouTube

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TUFSD High School Drama Proudly Presents "Drink Water Respect Women” May 24, 2022

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Special BOE Meeting and Budget Hearing May 4, 2022

The Board of education met for a special meeting and budget hearing on May 4, 2022 at 7pm.

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BOE Meeting April 21, 2022

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Agenda for BOE Meeting April 21, 2022

Click here to view the agenda 

LiveStream Link - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODxsNG66sKw

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BOE Budget Work Session April 6, 2022

At last night’s BOE Budget Workshop meeting District Superintendent Jeff White presented the Board with 4 options for the 2022/2023 budget.  The option supported by the administration calls for a 2.06% increase in the budget ($281,000), which equates to a 1.22% increase in the tax rate.  This plan would allow for a small contingency as well as limited program enhancements and building improvements while leaving the District with a severely diminished fund balance.  BOE President Dan Castricone recommended reducing the District’s reserve funds (in particular workman’s comp) in order to build up the contingency, but the idea was not embraced by the Superintendent and other members of the Board.  President CastriconePresident Castricone also voiced his strong support for the employment of a numeracy teacher in the elementary school, but it is unclear as to whether or not any of the plans as proposed will support this.  

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BOE Budget Work Session March 31, 2022

The Board of Education held the first in a series of public budget workshops this past Thursday evening.  “At the direction of the Board President we have prepared an expenditure budget that has a 0% spending increase” Superintendent Jeff White announced.  He went on to explain that this budget would not allow for any new teachers or expanded elective offerings in the High School nor did it include any of the improvements they had been discussing over the past few months, which he believes will be necessary on the District’s road to the top 100.  He suggested these improvements would have to made in future years.  He further cautioned that the budget as presented did not have any contingencies built in to cover unforeseen emergencies or Special Education placements and that while it does encompass the raises as agreed to in the recently ratified Union Contracts for the upcoming year, it does not cover them for the following year.  

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TUFSD Finalizes Teacher Union Contract

On September 15, 2021 the Board of Education voted 5-2 in favor of signing a new agreement with the TTA.  For undisclosed reasons, the contract was not actually signed until March 8, 2022.  A copy of the signed contract can be viewed here.

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Agenda for BOE Budget Work Session March 31, 2022

Click here to view the agenda 

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Spirit Wear Sale in the TUFSD 

The Tuxedo PTO is selling Spirit Wear including certain items from premier brands such as Nike and Under Armour!  Please use the accompanying link to shop online. 

https://teamlocker.squadlocker.com/#/organizations/tuxedo

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TUFSD Budget Calendar 

Click here to view larger 

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Board of Education Meeting March 16, 2022

A portion of this meeting was dedicated to a Scheduling Presentation by consultant Steven Kussin.  That presentation can be viewed here.

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Agenda for Board of Education Meeting March 16, 2022

Click here to view the agenda

Join the meeting virtually : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7LbWgKEYr8

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PreK and Kindergarten Registration in the TUFSD

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TUFSD Goes Fully Mask Optional Beginning March 7

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Board of Education Meeting February 16, 2022

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Agenda for Board of Education Meeting February 16, 2022

Click here to view the agenda

Join the meeting virtually by following this link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_xOCrOMZpJQ

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Burst Pipes at George F. Baker Force Students into Remote Learning until February 28 (Posted 2/10/22)

Students at George F. Baker High school will be learning remotely through February 18 due to a pipe burst in the early morning hours on February 9.  The subsequent flooding has led to extensive damage and according to District Superintendent Jeffrey White, the insurance adjuster, property restoration company and  commercial plumbing contractor have all advised that the best and safest course of action is for the District  to keep the building closed to students, faculty, and staff until after February Break. "The building is solidly constructed; however, the plumbing is showing its age, “ White assured parents in an email on Wednesday afternoon.  "Much of the piping is encased in cement. We will address these issues in our capital plan."

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Undisclosed Threat Puts TUFSD in Lockdown (Posted 2/2/22)

An arrest has been made following an undisclosed email threat, which sent the TUFSD into a lockdown on Wednesday afternoon. 

Here are some other articles from local news outlets concerning the incident:

Juvenile Faces Felony Charges After Threatening HV School: NYSP

Juvenile Charged After Threat Causes Lockdown at School District in Area

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Board of Education Meeting January 19, 2022

The Board of education met on Wednesday, January 19, 2022 via google-meet.  All Board members were present.

Meeting Opening:
Board President Dan Castricone welcomed everyone and roll call was taken.  The agenda was unanimously approved.

Public Comment on Agenda Items:
There were none.

Administrator’ Reports:
GGM  Principal Dolores Terlecky reported that things were going well in GGM.  Earlier that day students participated in a program called Project Hope, which addresses mental health issues, particularly those brought on by Covid-19.  Additionally, there was a 90 minute after-school program designed for staff focusing on mental health for staff wellness as well as learning how to identify indicators of stress and anxiety in students. 
Scheduling Consultant Dr. Steve Kussin provided the Board with an update/progress report on the new master schedule, on which he has been working with the District since November.  The presentation focused primarily on the process and did contain much content relating to the schedule itself.  Likening the scheduling process to an I LOVE LUCY episode, he laid out a 10-step process for developing and implementing the new schedule as follows, detailing each step:          

• Plan it
• Package It
• Market It
• Count Em Up
• Spot Trouble
• Build It
• Test It
• Load It
• Adjust It
• Refine It

Dr. Kusin has met with the scheduling committee twice thus far and GFB Principal Roy Reese has begun meeting with staff to discuss course offerings, all part of the “plan it” step.  Following the November meeting, Dr. Kussin has heard directly from 3 members of the community, all of whom expressed a desire to see more course offerings and electives and concern over the abundance of study halls in the high school.  Members of the school community who have thoughts or concerns about course offerings and/or the schedule, are encouraged to  reach out to him directly via e-mail at sk3015@aol.com  As the group continues to progress with the process over the coming months, they will update the Board on a regular basis.
Superintendent Jeff White began his report by noting that although the District had been forced to start off the new year contending with Omicron, he was very pleased with the way his team had come together to respond to the situation.  Remote instruction was necessary initially due to a dearth of essential employees to open the schools. He expressed his gratitude to the health office as well as the District Physician and the Covid-19 Committee also highlighting the efforts of their partners at Pathline Laboratories for their work in diligently turning around test results for staff and students. 
GFB Principal Roy Reese has had “a little setback,” but Superintendent White reported that he was doing well and recovering nicely.  He is expected to return to work in the coming week.
The District is making good progress in their work with Orange County in their efforts to get staff appropriately aligned with Civil Service classifications. 
The Charter for the Strategic Planning Committee was placed on the agenda for approval.  “Now all the committees are formed and well positioned to move the District forward,” the Superintendent stated. 
The Board can expect a presentation from Mrs. Trelecky on RTI (Response to Intervention) at their February meeting.
Lastly, the Superintendents’ Goals have been placed on the agenda for approval.

Consent Agenda:
Items 4.3, 4.4, 4.7 and 4.8 were removed for discussion.
The Board voted unanimously to approve the remaining items on the consent agenda.
Item 4.3 – Personnel Non-Instructional Appointments – The Board voted in favor of approving item 4.3. with Board President Dan Castricone abstaining. 
Item 4.4 – Personnel Promotional Appointments - The Board voted in favor of approving item 4.4 with Board President Dan Castricone abstaining. 

plan will be submitted to the State and posted, along with the financial statements, on the district website.  All corrective action will be completed by June 30.  The Board voted unanimously in favor of approving the plan. 
Item 4.7 – Business Office Report – Mr. Rickard noted that the appropriations reported showed that the District would have an excess of over $3,000,000 by June 30.  “Is this correct?  Is it possible?  If it’s true, what implications will it have for the District,” he inquired.
“I wish it were true and that we would have 3 million dollars in excess funds,” responded the Superintendent,” but it’s not.  As I mentioned in a previous meeting, there are a number of items in there which are unencumbered.  We are working on improving the process to make this a more helpful document.  We will be encumbering things much more effectively in the future.  So you will see that number going down as the year goes through.”
Mr. Rickard encouraged the Superintendent and his team to really “hone in” on the numbers, especially as they head into budget season.  The Board voted unanimously in favor of approving item 4.7. 

Items for Discussion:
Donation – the District is in receipt of a generous donation from SUNY Cordland of 21 projectors for classroom and/or theater use.  It amounts to roughly $40-50,000 worth of equipment. 
Budget Calendar – Superintendent White provided a brief overview of the budget calendar.  The budget vote will take place the 3rd Tuesday in May and the calendar includes dates for submission to State for final review as well as submittal to the BOE, committee meetings for detailed review, and presentation to the public. 
Superintendent Goals – Goals focused on developing a strategic plan, pupil & personnel services, operations and maintenance, curriculum instruction, human resources & staffing, technology and finance were presented to the Board only.  The goals map out strategic directions for each of the goals themselves, detailing the means, the benefits and the strategic outcomes.  They have also been formatted to fit the Superintendent Evaluation tool.  “I’m hoping that everybody is on board with these.  I think that they are pretty solid goals.  I think it’s going to get us where we need to be in the first year.  A number of them we are well on our way to achieving.  I think they are all very achievable,” commented Superintendent White.
Board Members Joe Rickard and Alyssa Horneff praised the goals.  “I think this is tight,” stated Mr. Rickard “if you can achieve these within the time frame, by June 30, we’ve got some really big things here!  Especially the scheduling…I love that.” 
“I agree,” commented Mrs. Horneff.  “I love that we have these goals and that are mapped out and outlined.  I think they will be huge for the District.”   She went on to inquire about the timeline, wondering whether there would be periodic progress to the BOE.
Superintendent White explained that one of the benefits to the Superintendent Evaluation tool was that it allowed them to upload deliverables into the system as they progressed. 
The Board voted unanimously in favor of approving the goals.
Strategic Planning Committee – Superintendent White explained that the Strategic Planning process was very extensive.  “It may take us a little bit of time.  We may be inclined to get some outside assistance,” he noted, further commenting that he had been in contact with 4 POINTS SOLUTIONS, who provided an independent evaluation of the High School back in 2017/18.  He has also collected the names of some other firms that do this type of work.  “It’s going to take some time to develop this the right way.  Once we do have a strategic plan developed, it will be for five years, and then every year we’ll just keep updating it.  It will be a live document moving forward.”
Mr. Rickard wondered whether the committee members understood that this commitment would be a long term (more than one year) and labor intensive effort.  Mr. White concurred that this was true.  Mr. Rickard wondered whether Mr. White had any idea as to how long it would take to develop a comprehensive, draft plan.  Mr. White responded that this would depend on whether or not they chose to do the work themselves inhouse or to work with an external outfit.  “If we brought in an outside and got some assistance, we could probably have a decent plan by the end of the summer.  If we do it internally, with all the things we have going on with our limited resources and our limited staff, it could take a lot longer than that.”
President Castricone noted that a Strategic Planning Committee had been formed back in the spring of 2018 and that this group had put together and submitted a plan.  “I am not sure if that has been pulled out and looked out and updated.  I would sure like for us to start with that.  I don’t want to pay somebody thousands of dollars to come in and tell us that we are a small school district and we are unique.  I really want to get into the meat here.  We know where we are.  It’s where we want to be…and we want to be thriving and growing and we want to be responsible to the taxpayers.  I look forward to working with you on it, but I want to be real sharp on who we are paying as a consultant to make sure that they understand that I don’t somebody to tell us that we are a small, unique school district again.”
In terms of growth, Mr. White reported that the Developers of Tuxedo Farms had recently partnered with Lennar Homebuilders, who is the largest homebuilder in the United States.  “It looks like this thing is really going to be moving forward, so we are really excited about that…and I do think we will be growing,” further explaining that they would bring in a number of potential consultants to present to the Board before deciding whether or not to  move forward with one and at that time they could make it very clear what the expectations are. 

Public Comments:
Addressing Mr. Kussin and Mr. White, Meg Vaught inquired about the master schedule and more specifically the course offerings, wondering whether the newly developed list would include classes that the District actually offered to students on a consistent, reliable basis or whether it would be strongly fleshed out by classes that could be offered under certain circumstances or were only offered on a rotating basis based on enrollment numbers as has been the case in the past.  She further wondered what the timeline would be for amassing the list of courses and presenting it to the public, as outlined in the “packaging” phase of Mr. Kussins’ presentation. 
Mr. White responded that corrections had been made to the course guide, which had been inclusive of all the courses that had been approved by the Board, regardless of whether they were being offered.  The guide has been restructured so as to feature those courses that are currently being offered first and those that have Board approval but are not currently being offered towards the bottom of the document.
Dr. Kussin added that all schools will offer their courses up like a menu and decide which ones to offer based on what their community wants.  “Hopefully the schedule will be able to entertain more of them, but we are never going to be able to run all of them,” he added. 
Changing topics, Mrs. Vaught noted that back in November Superintendent White had recommended to the Board that the District hire a PR firm.  She wondered whether there were any plans to follow through with this recommendation.
Mr. White responded that he had identified five different organizations and the Community Outreach & Advocacy committee would be interviewing them.  This work will commence next week.    

Executive Session:
The Board moved into an executive session for the purpose of discussion a litigation matter as well as a personnel matter.
Following the session the Board announced that they would be interviewing firms and seeking proposals for the auditing of District payroll and benefits.

Click here to listen to a recording of this meeting

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Agenda for Board of Education Meeting January 19, 2022

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Tuxedo UFSD To Open With Remote Instruction January 3&4 (posted 12/31/21)

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Board of Education Meeting December 21, 2021

Click here to listen to a recording of this meeting

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Agenda for Board of Education Meeting December 21, 2021

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Special Board of Education Meeting December 15, 2021

Click here to listen to a recording of this meeting

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Notice of Special Board of Education Meeting December 15, 2021

Click here to view the notice

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Tuxedo George F. Baker Seniors Paint Parking Spots

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Special Board of Education Meeting November 22, 2021

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Notice of Special Board of Education Meeting November 22, 2021

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Board of Education Meeting November 17, 2021

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Agenda for Board of Education Meeting November 17, 2021

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Notice of Special Board of Education Meeting November 4, 2021

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Tuxedo School Board Weighs Misconduct Complaint Against Member

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Board of Education Meeting October 20, 2021

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Agenda for Board of Education Meeting October 20, 2021

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Special Board of Education Meeting October 15, 2021

The Board of Education held a special meeting on Friday, September 15 at 9am in the Community Room at the high school.  The three item agenda was as follows:

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Notice of Special Board of Education Meeting October 15, 2021

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TUFSD Back to School Carnival October 15, 2021

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Notice of Special Board of Education Meeting October 7, 2021

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Special Board of Education Meeting September 24, 2021

The Board of Education held a Special Meeting on Friday, September 24 at 7pm via Google Meet.  All members were present.

OT/Speech Approval: The Board voted unanimously in favor of approving occupational therapy/Speech services for one student. 

Executive Session – The Board then entered into a lengthy executive session for the purpose of considering potential proceeding regarding a school district officer.  When they returned, BOE President Dan Castricone read the following motion:

“Be it resolved that the Board hereby appoints Carol M Hoffman Esq. to conduct a hearing pursuant to District policy #1315 and education law 1709, section 18 regarding two charges of official misconduct against a School District Officer #092421 as presented to the Board at this meeting and be it further resolved that the hearing officer shall arrange for a transcript of said proceedings and be paid the hourly rate of $250 for her hours of service as a hearing officer.”

The Motion was passed 5-2, with Board members Joe Rickard and Dorothy Ziegelbauer voting against. 

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Board of Education Meeting September 15, 2021

The Board of Education met on Wednesday, September 15 at 7pm.  All members were present.

The consent agenda was unanimously approved by the Board.

Public Comment:
Christina Clarke noted that the District had recently hired two new administrators, one in the high school and one in the elementary school.  Further noting that these had both been interim hires, she inquired as to what their objectives would be and whether these would be long-term or short-term objectives.
Board president Dan Castricone responded that the hiring season for teachers usually begins in at the end of the school year and runs through the summer.  With the new Superintendent coming on board in July, the District has not had the time necessary to hire permanent people.  “Maybe the best people that we could find wouldn’t be looking right now.  They would be looking more in the regular hiring season,” he concluded.  With that said he further commented that they had been lucky to find two very experienced individuals who had been willing to come in and help the District out.
Board member Joe Rickard prodded President Castricone to answer the question Mrs. Clarke had actually asked, which pertained specifically to objectives for the new hires.  He suggested that Superintendent White might be able to provide the answer.
Superintendent White responded that the District was actively working to build “an outstanding team.”  Currently High School Principal Roy Reese’s contract runs through November 30 and this would be reviewed again prior to expiration.  “They are acting as though they are going to be here lengthy periods of time.  They are going to be reviewing our curriculum.  They are meeting with all of our teachers.  We are trying to move the District forward.  The Board of Ed and the community said to me when I was hired that they want to be a top 100 school District,” he stated further commenting that this was the goal they were working towards with everyone they hired.  “We are going to be developing a strategic road map.  We are working very closely with the teachers.  We are building relationships and their goal right now is to help us move the curriculum along, open the schools and get off to a great new year.”
Mrs. Clarke replied that while she appreciated the comments, she still did not feel her question had been answered satisfactorily.  “I’m looking for specific objectives,” she stated. “There must be some kind of short-range goals or objectives that are being discussed as opposed to long-term goals.”
Superintendent White suggested that the short-range goals had been to open the schools smoothly and that moving forward they would be developing committees and relationships with the teachers so that they could in turn develop the curriculum.  “Improving student scores and success is the long-term goal.”
Mrs. Clarke noted that she would be attending meetings and following up.  She then inquired about Student/Teacher connections and time, wondering whether the District was meeting the State Mandated student/teacher time requirements. 
Superintendent White responded that they were. 
Mrs. Clarke noted that she lived in the Woodlands and had contact with parents there.  One of the things she had heard from a parent was that in the year prior, a student had 24 study halls inside of one week. 
“We are going to move on,” stated President Castricone.  Before doing so however, he commented that one thing that was “exciting” about Tuxedo was that many of the District 8th graders were taking 9th grade classes because of the integration between the middle and high schools and that often times this lead to a pattern of advanced learning which resulted in seniors who had finished all of their requirements.  “When we are accelerating the kids in the beginning, sometimes at the end of the trail the kids have taken everything that they want to have taken.  They have fulfilled their requirements and they don’t need to take anything else.” He further explained that in the past, the District had offered these students the opportunity to take classes through RCC.  His daughter was able to take advantage of this and leave high school with 20 college credits.  This opportunity no longer exists however they are excited to announce that they plan to begin offering college courses again and this should help to alleviate the study hall situation. 

Administrators’ Reports:
Superintendent Report – Superintendent White reported that the school year had gotten off to a smooth start and that both the Superintendent conference days and opening days for students had gone well.  He added that the atmosphere in the buildings seemed to be very positive and that students had provided them with some good feedback for improvements which they are looking into.  They plan to do a survey related to the food service in the near future. 
Each fall the Advanced Placement program recognized students who demonstrated outstanding college level achievement for their performance on multiple AP exams.  Superintendent congratulated Seniors Marisa Leo and Theodore Heavner on their outstanding achievement. 
The District has recently hired a new, interim elementary school principal, Dolores Terlecky.  Mrs. Terlecky is a highly experienced, highly successful administrator from the Monroe Woodbury school District.  She retired from that District as the principal of Central Valley Elementary.  Prior to that she was the assistant principal at North Main Elementary as well as an adjunct professor at both Marist and Empire State Colleges and a teacher with multiple New York State certifications.  “I am quite sure that the students, staff and community will be very excited when they meet and have a chance to work with Mrs. Terlecky,” stated the Superintendent.  Mrs. Terlecky originally comes from the west coast Spain and is bilingual.  She is succeeding Paul Brown and Superintendent White thanked Mr. Brown for his service to Tuxedo, wishing him well in his decision to accept a new position in another District.
Next Mr. White reported that later in the agenda the Board would be voting on an MOA for the teachers’ contract.  The teachers have overwhelmingly approved the MOA and he is excited to put it before the Board.
Another item on agenda is MOAs for both St. Thomas Aquinas (STAC) and Lincoln Tech.  Superintendent White asked Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum Instruction, Roy Reese, to provide more information about these items.  Mr. Reese noted that he had only been in district for 2 weeks and that therefore he had not had complete participation in putting together either MOA.  He went on to say that STAC and Lincoln Tech represented two very different kinds of college studies with one being more technical in nature than the other (Lincoln Tech). He is also working on SUPER, which is a program through Syracuse University that offers courses for students.  He is also working with SUNY Orange.  “I’ve heard since I have been here about study halls.  I have heard about too much time for seniors and things like that,” he commented noting that they were working hard to broaden the scope and that he believed that they would have more than 4 and as many as 6 college courses that they could offer by the start of the spring semester.  “This will help fill some of the students time.  It will also enable them to earn college credit and get a leg up.  We have the staff that can teach these courses.  We should use them and that will benefit our kids.” He further noted that he had extensive experience with musical theater as a scenic lighting designer.  He has worked stages from Broadway all through the Hudson Valley and into the Adirondacks.  He is looking to try and bring a theater program into the District that would not only benefit the kids but carry  accreditation for college.
Superintendent White has been working with Orange/Ulster Boces to schedule a Board of Ed retreat.  Several dates were provided and the BOE was asked to respond ASAP with their availability.
Lastly, the Superintendent thanked Christine Olivia and Marco Margotta for updating the Program of Studies to reflect the current course offerings for the 2021/22 school year.  

Consent Agenda:
Board member Joe Rickard requested that several items be removed from the consent agenda for discussion including Personnel Non-Instructional Appointments, the MOA Teachers Contract.  The rest of consent agenda was unanimously approved. 
Personnel Non-Instructional Appointments – Board member Dorothy Ziegelbauer noted that prior to hiring Superintendent White, the District had employed a Superintendent, HS Principal and Elementary School Principal.  After the previous Superintendent resigned, the HS Principal took over as Interim Superintendent.  Now, Mrs. Terlecky has been hired to replace Mr. Brown as elementary school principal, Mr. Reese has been hired as Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum Instruction/Secondary Principal, Ms. Scariano is Director of Student Services/Assistant Secondary Principal. Now there are two administrators in the high school although the Board has never discussed the need for both a Principal and an assistant principal in that building.    She wondered why this was so.  Superintendent White responded that he would look into it and they could discuss in executive session.
MOA Teachers’ Contract – Mr. Rickard noted that the Board had not had the opportunity to discuss this in executive session and he felt it was important that they do a separate vote.  President Castricone stated that he was very happy that the teachers had agreed to what they feel is a fair contract and he believes that what has been proposed is fair to the District and the taxpayers and he recommended that it be adopted.  The Board then voted 5-2 in favor of adopting the contract with Board members Joe Rickard and Dorothy Ziegelbauer voting against.
Business Report – Mr. Rickard inquired as to why the business manager was not present at the Board meetings.  Superintendent White replied that the Business manager had signed up for classes, scheduling them so she could attend BOE meetings on Thursday nights, which is the way they have been scheduled for years.  Unfortunately, moving the meetings to Wednesday created a conflict for her with the classes and she is unable to attend the BOE meetings as a result.
Mr. Rickard noted that in the past the District had experienced problems with getting grants and complying with State requirements.  There is more money available in the form of Covid relief and many schools are making applications for these Covid recovery funds. He wondered whether the District was up to date on all the available moneys and the federal government.
Superintendent White responded that they had put in submissions on time and that it was his intent to do a deeper dive into the federal covid relief monies. 
Next Mr. Rickard had a question pertaining to a particular payment, which Superintendent White assured him he would follow up on with the Business Administrator.
Lastly, Mr. Rickard commented that the District had created a budget only a couple of months prior but already they were showing some big adjustments on some of the line items.  For example operations/plant is showing an adjustment of $80,000.  He wondered why there were such big movements in dollars so soon after the budget had been finalized. 
Superintendent White responded that there were two types of things shown in the adjustment columns.  Some are budget transfers while others are carry over encumbrances from the prior year.  The Superintendent will get clarity and share the information with the BOE as soon as possible.
There followed a conversation about budget transfers and the idea of switching over to a zero-based budgeting process, which is much more precise than the incremental budgeting that the District has been using. It will likely take a few years to transfer the entire budget over to this method.  Superintendent White also announced that he would be bringing forward an energy performance contract as there was a lot of outdated equipment that need repair and/or replacement. 
CSE/CPSE Recommendations and Updated Sub-Committee Members for 2021/22 – Dorothy Ziegelbauer stated that the Board had named the committee members back at their reorg meeting in July and that she was unclear as to why this was being done again so soon.  The Superintendent responded that this report had come to them from student services and that there were several issues with it.  They will take a closer look at it and clean things up. 

The Board then voted unanimously in favor of approving the remaining three items.  

Before moving on. President Castricone acknowledged that as part of the consent agenda the District had accepted donations of STEM and Art  equipment from a couple of families and he thanked them directly for these kind gifts.

Items for Discussion:
Committees – President Castricone indicated that he and Superintendent White had put together the committees and their members.  Mrs. Ziegelbauer noted that in the past Board members had not been assigned to committees, but rather had volunteered for them.  Alyssa Horneff stated that she would love to see a Marketing and Growth committee and wondered whether this had been “bucketed” under strategic planning.  The answer was yes.  Superintendent White explained that there were two types of committees: standing and Ad-Hoc.  Standing committees are those that are required by law and as such the Superintendent has charters for them which he will be sharing with the Board.  The Ad-Hoc committees that have been proposed are: Advocacy and Community Outreach, Policy, and Strategic Planning.  These committees will have charges rather than charters.  President Castricone added that in the past when Board members had been asked to volunteer for committees, nobody had spoken up (himself included) which is why he felt it better to present Board assignments instead of asking for volunteers. 
Proposed Health Insurance Buy Back – President Castricone stated that he wanted to propose that the Superintendent have the authority to match buy backs that he is presented with from other employee health plans.  Currently married, employed couples with one spouse working for the District typically have the choice as to which spouse’s insurance plan they want to accept.   The school spends roughly $30,000 for each family plan “so anytime we can convince a family to use the other spouse’s health insurance, the school district would save the difference,” he commented.  Currently the District offers a $1,500 buy out.  Other employers throughout the County, such as President Castricone’s employer for example, offer a $4,000 buy out.  “So it behooves my family to take the buy out from my job and use my wife’s health insurance.  If that were reversed, the school district would be saving $25,000.  We would be in the same position.  We both have good health insurance.”  He continued that he had asked the attorney to opine on whether or not it was possible to give the Superintendent the authority to match other insurance buy outs, but he had not yet heard back, so he does not know if it would be possible or not.  He thinks that there might have to be a Memorandum of Understanding with the Union.  In theory, for every employee they could convince to take their spouses’ insurance, the District could save $25,000.   
Mr. Rickard suggested that there needed to be staff work done on what was being proposed.  There were potential positives and negatives in terms of both HR and contractual concerns. “The other problem that I have Dan,” he commented ‘is that you would be benefited if we did this.”
“Are you being deliberately obtuse?” demanded President Castricone.  “ I would not be benefitted at all!  I would be in exactly the same position if my wife and I elected to take this.”
“If your wife decided to take your health plan she would get $4,000 which she doesn’t get now,” replied Mr. Rickard.
“And I would get $4,000 less, which I do get now…so the Castricone family is in exactly the same position as it was before,” retorted President Castricone.
“We don’t know what the payout would be,” replied Mr. Rickard.
“You are being deliberate on this,” accused President Castricone.
“I am being deliberate,” confessed Mr. Rickard, “but I just want to make a point. People who have done this who are in leadership positions….there are HR and there contractual issues.  There’s potential insurance-related issues on both sides as well.  If you want to pursue this then I would say that we go to the Superintendent.  You are the only one who could potentially benefit from this, so you would be excluded.”
“I am the only person married to somebody who works in the school,” replied President Castricone.  “but every person who is married In the school could potentially benefit from this.”
“I’m talking about the Board,” asserted Mr. Rickard.  “The only person who would stand to gain”
“and again,” interrupted President Castricone “you are using the word gain.  The only person who gains is the School District who saves $25,000.  That’s who gains.”
‘Dan, I don’t even know if you have health insurance where you work,” stated Mr. Rickard.  “I don’t know the details.”
“So then you accuse me of doing this for gain and you don’t even know what I have.  You are just being deliberately abstruse and obstructive.  That is what you are.  You are grandstanding,” accused President Castricone. 
“We have a million problems in this school.  We have real enrollment issues.  You are bringing  up something which in the scheme of things is very minor.  So what we should do, if the Board thinks this is something we should pursue, we exclude you (because you are directly affected) and then Jeff and his team should take a look at it.  There may be some other opportunities to get some cost savings, and we should look at those as well. I am not accusing you of doing something for your own self benefit so that you would get,”
“Yes you did,” President Castricone interrupted again. 
“Well I guess I did.  I’m sorry.  You could get a better insurance plan.  Maybe we decide it’s not $4,000…maybe it’s $5,000.” 
“I accept your apology,” quipped President Castricone.
Mr. Rickard further asserted that they did not need to involve the lawyer in this.  Rather, if it was something they wanted to consider,  they should ask Superintendent White to look into it and make a presentation to the Board.
“Well, I decided to go the other way and ask the lawyer if it was possible,” responded President Castricone. 
“Of course it’s possible,” responded Mr. Rickard.  “We could do this if we wanted to do it.” 
Dorothy Ziegelbauer interjected and suggested that they were going nowhere fast.
Mr. Rickard agreed, but added “I think that this is silly and really it’s an issue that the Superintendent should be focused on.”
“I think that the vast majority of our employees are married and many of their spouses have health insurance other places and any one of them that we could incentivize  to take health insurance someplace else, especially ones with family plans, is a significant savings to the District.  I am trying to think out of the box here!  We’re doing exciting stuff!  We’ve opened with the college in the high school tonight….we’ve got the Union Contracts…”
“You are grandstanding.  Stick to the topic at hand,” responded Mr. Rickard.
Mrs. Ziegelbauer commented that on principal she didn’t think it was a bad idea but to Mr. Rickard’s point, they would need the administrators to do some work to determine what the impact might be on the budget.  “Technically speaking, I don’t think we can grant Superintendent White the right to match something for an unknown amount by resolution,” she noted, further suggesting they would have to do research to determine how many employees would be eligible, what the total payout might be and what the total budget impact might be before they could approve it.
There followed some squabbling as to whether the attorneys’ involvement was necessary.
Lucy Scully suggested that they should begin by taking a poll to determine how many individuals might be affected. 
Superintendent White indicated that he would put this on the “to-do” list, commenting that it likely would not be looked at prior to the next meeting but that it would be examined sometime in the future.  He confirmed that an MOA with the Unions would be necessary if they decided to move ahead with it. 
Bill Givens commented that if they were to revisit it, he felt it would be helpful to get stats on the uptake of the $1,500 offer.  “My only concern is that we have a bunch of people taking $1,500…and now we are offering them $4,000.  Other than that, health benefits are expensive and if we can save money here we should pursue it.”
“We are talking about potential savings of hundreds of thousands of dollars potentially,” stated Gary Heavner.  “I am for that.” 
Speed Zone – President Castricone brought up the idea of instituting a speed zone in front of the school.  This is not something that the Town can do.  It’s a request that must be made by the District.  President Castricone had the opportunity a couple of weeks back to discuss this possibility with State Senator Mike Martucci, who said that if the District was interested in pursuing it that he would bring it to the DOT and then to the legislature and felt certain that he could get it passed.  Safety wise, President Castricone feels that it would be a great thing for the school and further would also benefit the Town and the entire community.  He reminded the room that there had been a child hit crossing the road there in the early 2000s.  Mrs. Ziegelbauer  added that there had also been a number car accidents associated with people running the stop light on Route 17 as well. 
Mrs. Horneff inquired as to the process and the timeline.  Would a survey need to be completed?  Are there any associated costs involved?
President Castricone responded that there would be no cost to the District.  Rather it would come through as a request by the Senator, who would bring it to the DOT.  He did not know the timeline.
Mrs. Horneff suggested that they could petition it, but the bigger question was how the Town would choose to support it. Signage is one thing but would the police traffic it and ensure that drivers were in fact slowing down?  They should make sure that the Town is on board. 
Mrs. Ziegelbauer commented that she did not think anyone would be opposed, however she cautioned that it would be nice if President Castricone would discuss things like this with the Board before unilaterally reaching out to third parties. 

Possible Items for New Business:
Referencing a conversation the Board had at their previous meeting pertaining to the technology plan, Mrs. Ziegelbauer noted that they had been presented with recommendations from the IT department and wondered whether or not Superintendent White had had an opportunity to look at them yet.
The Superintendent responded that he had not.  The first thing the District is addressing is the equipment replacements that have been recommended.  A presentation is being assembled currently.  The Technology plan is another thing.  Superintendent White needs to spend more time with the Business Administrator in order to re-engineer the budget and so that he can better understand where all the dollars and cents are.
Mr. Rickard noted that the Board would also need an update/presentation on the condition of the buildings.
The Superintendent responded that moving the money out of the reserves so that it can be spent on the buildings is something that must be approved by the voters.  This will be a part of the 2022/23 budget vote.  He is also looking to put together an energy performance contract. 
Mr. Rickard noted that the Board had put $600,000 into a maintenance fund and work was supposed to be done over the summer. Identifying the work that had been done and as well as that which remains should be part of any future presentation to the Board. 
Superintendent White agreed, further commenting that following the audit he would be making a recommendation to the Board regarding a reserve plan.