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Saranac Lake Central School District board meeting, Aug 26, 2026

1 h 01 min · 0 public speakers

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 01 min.

  1. Who spoke · first speaks at
  3. Mark FarmerPresident
What happened

What happened at this meeting

Board approves tax warrant using $2.9 million of fund balance to reduce levy 17:09

  • A district staff member addressed a question from the last meeting about a budget transfer for football jerseys, and a speaker raised concern about a $10,000 bill that was not expected. 1:53
  • The board approved a resolution to confirm the tax rolls and authorize the tax levy. 16:21
  • A staff member said the tax warrant uses $2.9 million of fund balance to reduce the tax levy and that total taxes to be collected are $26,325,681, including the library. 17:33
  • The board also approved the 5405 Wellness Policy and heard a first reading of policy updates. 23:03

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Item by item (13)
  1. Opening, agenda and consent agenda 0:01
    • The meeting opened with the Pledge of Allegiance. 0:01
    • A speaker said item 2A was being pulled from the consent agenda. 1:15
    • Mark Farmer announced that the agenda and the amended consent agenda were approved. 0:43
  2. Budget transfers and football jerseys 1:33
    • A staff member said there were only 2 transfers, both related to trash removal, and said the football jerseys were the oldest in the district, purchased in 2018. 1:53
    • Mark Farmer asked how the need was not known a year ago and why it was not addressed when budgets were due in January, and asked for the PO on the jerseys. 5:24
    • A staff member said the jersey donations were fundraised by the students, and one board member said the district should not be spending 10 grand in August on jerseys for a fall sport. 7:20
  3. Audit update 12:14
    • A staff member said auditors were on site the first week of August, everything went well and the audit is on track to be completed on time. 12:14
  4. Tax rolls and tax levy 12:54
    • A staff member said equalization rates have changed and the tax resolutions use the same language as every year, updated with current dates and amounts. 12:54
    • A staff member said the district is not in charge of equalization rates, which come from New York State. 13:55
    • A speaker announced the resolution confirming the tax rolls and authorizing the tax levy was approved. 16:21
  5. Tax warrant 17:09
    • A staff member said the warrant uses $2.9 million of fund balance to reduce the tax levy and that total taxes to be collected are $26,325,681, including the library. 17:33
    • A speaker asked whether the enhanced STAR exemption for seniors applies to the library levy, and a staff member said they did not know how it is split. 18:22
    • Resolution 017⁠-⁠2026 passed in a roll call vote. 17:09
  6. Capital project updates 19:45
    • A staff member said the district will start looking into planning for the next capital project. 19:45
    • A staff member said backflow preventers are installed but still need testing, the walkway to the stands was painted, and the district has accepted the work on the project. 20:20
  7. District facility planning 21:44
    • A staff member said all rooms were available by Monday and the district is on time to open. 21:52
  8. Wellness policy adoption 23:03
    • The board took up adoption of the 5405 Wellness Policy. 23:03
    • Mark Farmer announced the resolution was approved. 23:24
  9. District emergency response plan 23:24
    • A staff member said a hearing on the plan will be held on the 16th at 5:15 and posted on the website. 23:55
  10. Board goals 24:11
    • Mark Farmer asked board members to review last year's goals and come to the next meeting ready to discuss goals for 26⁠-⁠27. 25:03
    • A speaker said the board had agreed to use Degree Path for setting superintendent goals, due before September 10th, and Mark Farmer said the board would be late and would check on a demo. 26:14
  11. Policy committee updates 29:12
    • A speaker said the listed policies were mandatory updates due by September 1st, including changes on information and data privacy and security and on students in temporary housing. 29:22
    • One board member asked how policy changes get communicated to staff, and another board member asked that changes be redlined. 31:51
    • A speaker said this was the first reading and the policies would be in place on the 16th if they go through. 39:37
  12. Administrator and board reports 40:25
    • The superintendent said Monday is the superintendent's last day. 40:25
    • A staff member invited board members to opening day on September 1st, 8:30, in the junior senior high school auditorium. 43:19
    • One board member reported meeting with the engineering firm that did the electric school bus study and said the next step may be talking to National Grid about pricing. 50:58
  13. Executive session 59:56
    • Mark Farmer asked for a motion to adjourn to executive session on collective negotiations under Article 14 of the Taylor Law and the employment history of a particular person. 1:00:16

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 “Agenda, Board of Education Meeting 8/26/2026”