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Boquet Valley Central School District at Elizabethtown-Lewis-Westport board meeting, Aug 13, 2026

1 h 28 min

Enrollment ▶ 21:02

This board doesn’t post agenda times. Click a board member to jump to where they first speak; we list only members whose voice our check named. Video length 1 h 28 min.

  1. Who spoke · first speaks at
  3. Jason WelchPresident
What happened

What happened at this meeting

Boquet Valley board approves $8,909,005 tax levy, hears capital project cost scenarios 7:33

  • A presenter outlined three scenarios for a capital project at the Mountain View campus that would add elementary classrooms, with the lowest-cost scenario at about $31.4 million and a local share of about $8.5 million. 1:45
  • Darlene Hooper asked whether a room and space utilization study had been done, and a staff member said projected kindergarten enrollment of 28 was well above current enrollment. 17:27
  • The board approved a proposed tax levy totaling $8,909,005 and a library levy of $55,000. 1:14:11
  • The board also approved the district-wide school safety plan. 1:23:05
Item by item (15)
  1. Opening and roll call 0:02
    • Jason Welch called the meeting to order, led the Pledge of Allegiance and read the district vision. 0:02
  2. Capital project update 1:23
    • A presenter said all three scenarios at the Mountain View campus focused on bringing the elementary program there, which would require additional classrooms. 3:32
    • The presenter said Scenario 1 would cost about $31.4 million with aid of $22.9 million and a local share of about $8.5 million, Scenario 2 would add about $5 million to the local share, and Scenario 3 would add another $10 million. 10:29
    • The presenter said bidding could take place in the spring of 2028, followed by a construction project of about 2.5 years. 39:34
  3. Capital project communication strategy 50:12
    • A staff member presented slides on how CVES could support the district through website management, social media posts, video testimonials, press releases and newsletters. 50:26
    • A speaker suggested placing postcards at businesses, banks, coffee shops and town halls. 51:35
    • A speaker said there should be information on hand, such as the cost for $100,000 of assessed value, because someone would ask. 58:03
  4. Adding a third law firm 58:40
    • A speaker asked how people felt about putting out another RFP for legal services, noting an earlier discussion about adding a third. 59:22
    • A staff member said how board members contact attorneys was a topic for the board retreat. 1:05:43
    • A speaker said they thought there was agreement to wait until after the retreat and get more information from current district counsel. 1:07:25
  5. Rural Schools Association conference 1:07:36
    • A staff member said the conference would be held in Saratoga on December 3rd and 4th and board members interested in attending could let district staff know. 1:08:16
    • The staff member said registration opens September 9th and attendance would require board action. 1:08:54
  6. First public comment 1:09:47
    • A speaker at public comment said the second and third building options might be more expensive, but money saved would end up being needed in the future to fix things, and the money would also give students a better education. 1:10:25
  7. Executive session 1:11:18
    • Jason Welch said the board anticipated entering executive session for reasons number 6 and number 8 for approximately 30 minutes. 1:11:27
    • Jason Welch asked for a motion to return to regular session at 7:57. 1:12:25
  8. Approval of agenda and minutes 1:12:43
    • Jason Welch presented the current agenda and the minutes from the July 1st, 2026 reorg for approval. 1:12:43
    • A speaker moved that item 15F be removed from the August agenda for further consideration by the Board of Education. 1:13:14
    • The motion to remove item 15F carried, and the agenda was approved without 15F. 1:13:39
  9. Tax levy 1:14:11
    • Jason Welch presented a proposed tax levy totaling $8,909,005 and a library levy of $55,000. 1:14:11
    • The motion carried. ~1:14:50
  10. Financial reports and committee recommendations 1:14:53
    • Jason Welch presented the financial reports listed in the agenda for approval. 1:14:53
    • Jason Welch presented the Committee on Preschool Special Education, Committee on Special Education and Committee on 504 Plan recommendations for approval. 1:15:19
    • The motion on the financial reports was accepted, and the motion on the committee recommendations carried. 1:15:16
  11. Consent agenda action items 1:16:10
    • Jason Welch said the consent agenda included the school year handbooks and the Essex County Tax Collection Agreement. 1:16:10
    • A staff member said changes to the new teacher mentoring program piloted last year were solidified in the handbook document. 1:16:56
    • The motion carried. ~1:17:46
  12. Personnel consent agenda 1:17:51
    • Jason Welch said the personnel consent agenda no longer included item F and included addendum items. 1:17:51
    • A speaker asked whether volunteer assistant soccer coaches would receive a stipend, and a staff member said a clarification would be added. 1:18:27
    • The motion carried. ~1:19:12
  13. Policy recommendations 1:19:17
    • Jason Welch said the policy service made 3 recommendations. 1:19:17
    • A staff member said the motor vehicle policy was revised to address electric scooters and bicycles with electric assist, the data policy was aligned with the NIST Cybersecurity Framework version 2.0, and a new toileting policy responded to amended commissioner's regulations. 1:20:08
    • The motion was accepted. ~1:21:34
  14. Superintendent update and safety plan 1:21:34
    • The superintendent said the district was finalizing its title grants, the IDEA application had been approved, and the district was awarded the Extended School Day grant but was awaiting the final funding award. 1:21:42
    • The superintendent said the district safety plan had no substantive changes, with formatting adjustments and area codes added to phone numbers. 1:22:31
    • The motion to approve the district-wide school safety plan was accepted. 1:23:05
  15. Second public comment 1:23:26
    • A speaker at public comment raised concerns about oversight from an administrator who may also serve as a principal on an as-needed basis, and a staff member said a letter to staff would be revised to address it. 1:24:17
    • Jason Welch said the next meeting would be a board retreat on Monday the 17th and the next regular meeting would be Thursday, September 10th at 6:00 PM at the Mountain View campus. 1:26:22
    • A motion to enter executive session was rejected, and the motion to adjourn carried. 1:27:24

Written by software from the meeting's transcript and checked sentence by sentence against it.

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Video: posted by the district as “August 13, 2026 Board of Education meeting”