Sachem Central School District board meeting, Sep 23, 2026
1 h 04 min · 1 public speaker
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What happened
What happened at this meeting
Sachem board hears updates on summer projects, common grading and busing 1:51
- The board heard staff presentations on summer capital projects, a common grading framework for secondary grades and a transportation update. 1:51
- The board approved the minutes of the September 9th meeting and a series of consent agenda items, with the chair announcing each motion carried. 32:27
- A staff member said the district fined the bus company $10,000, including $9,500 for latenesses and $500 for not reporting incidents. 48:47
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Item by item (13)
- Statement on football game incident 0:26
- A staff member said a troubling incident occurred at a Friday night football game, called it inappropriate and offensive, and extended an apology to the opposing school's community. 0:30
- The staff member said the district would continue to reinforce sportsmanship, mutual respect and personal responsibility across its schools and extracurricular programs. 0:30
- Summer capital projects presentation 1:27
- A facilities staff member said crews replaced or recovered roofing at Grundy and Winona, installed new LVT flooring in 40 classrooms across 5 elementary schools, renovated the Sachem East pool facility and overhauled piping, ceilings and lights at Sachem North. 2:46
- The staff member said an expanded Winona parking lot added approximately 50 new parking spaces and that all major projects were completed on time or ahead of schedule and within budget. 2:56
- Vincent Reynolds said the district still has a long list of projects, and Michael J. Isernia said the presentation should happen early every year so the community can see how the money is spent. 9:23
- Common grading framework for secondary grades 11:18
- The staff member said the minimum number of entries was usually about 5 to 6, the framework applies to grades 6 to 12 across all 5 buildings and was rolled out for September. 12:30
- The staff member said next steps include approaching the policy committee about a policy and later work at the elementary level, and Meredith Volpe said the parent portal will be updated on a regular basis. 12:30
- A staff member said departments chose weights within set ranges, such as 60 to 70% for math formative assessments, and that no single grade can count for 20% or more of the overall grade. 14:51
- State Regents exam change 28:22
- A staff member said New York State announced that the class of 2028 will no longer need Regents exams to graduate and that the district expects more information at a meeting at the beginning of October. 28:22
- The staff member said open questions include whether parents could opt out of any replacement test. 29:02
- Student reports 29:44
- Student speakers reported on senior class activities and upcoming homecoming events, including a homecoming dance on October 2nd at East and a homecoming on October 9th at North. 29:50
- Minutes and personnel consent agendas 32:23
- Contracts including UPK services 34:03
- A speaker said the UPK contract cost was $5,850 last year and $7,500 this year and asked whether that would limit services. 34:31
- A staff member said the district is receiving $10,000 per pupil this year and more students are attending UPK than ever before. 34:38
- The chair announced the motion carried. 35:43
- Field trips, budget and committee items 35:43
- Monthly and legislative reports 36:42
- A speaker said a legislative meeting is scheduled for the 28th, and another speaker said an Audit Committee meeting is set for the 29th. 37:15
- Paul Sapienza said a state senator seemed very supportive of getting the governor's signature on a school safety bill and that the governor has until December to sign. 38:32
- Public comment 39:43
- Transportation update 43:59
- A transportation staff member said large buses were running smoothly, earlier problems at Waverly Elementary and Chippewa were solved, and routes at Tamarac, Hiawatha, Nokomis and Grundy were still running late. 44:55
- Jessica Schreck said the district implemented an app, held the bus company accountable within its contract and held public hearings, and a company senior vice president described how spare drivers cover route changes. 52:17
- A staff member said GPS tracking instructions would go to parents at the end of this week or early next week, and another staff member said the transportation office would discuss how to tell parents not to stand in driveways. 56:36
- Future discussion items 1:01:35
- Executive session 1:04:03
- Meredith moved and Vinnie seconded a motion related to executive session, according to the chair. 1:04:03
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 “September 23, 2026 Board of Education Meeting”