Board approves field trip, scoreboard lease, capital roof waiver and fellowships in unanimous consent votes

The Chappaqua Central School District Board of Education on Feb. 12 approved a series of routine and capital items by voice vote, including an overnight field trip for two students to a national science research competition, a district lease-to-own agreement for a portable scoreboard, a waiver of an environmental testing process tied to a roof replacement project, and midyear stipend payments for three fellowship programs.

Board President Ryan opened the meeting at 6:03 p.m. and the board approved minutes from the Jan. 28 meeting and several personnel motions before considering the consent agenda. The board used the consent agenda to adopt items 5.1–5.8, which the administration said included the scoreboard purchase plan, the overnight trip and capital/roof work.

Overnight field trip: Adam, a district staff member presenting the item, said the trip is to Virginia for two Horace Greeley students who qualified for a national science research competition. Student expenses are covered; the district proposed sending two faculty chaperones and would cover the chaperones' airfare and meals and a small chaperoning fee under the CCT contract, Adam said. The board approved the field trip as part of the consent agenda.

Scoreboard lease-to-own: Josh, a district staff member, described a 16-by-9-foot portable LED display the district would acquire via a five-year lease with an estimated payment of about $20,000 per year plus nominal interest; ownership transfers to the district at lease-end. Josh said the district received a $50,000 grant that will be used toward the display, and noted that renting similar large displays cost about $29,000 in 2023–24 and roughly $22,000 so far this year. The unit includes a full sound system, five years of on-site warranty, compatibility with the district's ScoreVision scoreboard technology and indoor storage in the pole barn. Josh said the display could be used across fields and at elementary schools for outdoor events. The board approved the item in consent.

Capital project waiver for roof: The administration described a transfer to capital for the 2024–25 budget for the "replacement of the 7 bridges library and commons roof" and said that to receive state aid the district needs to file paperwork, including a waiver of an environmental testing/process (referred to in the packet as a SECRA waiver). The board moved and approved a resolution to waive the need for that environmental testing as presented so the project can proceed and state aid can be pursued.

Fellowships and stipends: Adam and administration staff explained that three district fellowships — the district equity team fellows, the science of reading fellows and the strategic planning fellows — were created by board resolution earlier in the year. The positions are stipended and the board approved midyear payment of half the annual stipend for members who began work in September so those payments can be issued now.

Other routine financial items: The board acknowledged receipt of the claims auditor's report for January 2025, the treasurer's report for January 2025, the appropriation status report for January 2025 and the revenue status report for January 2025 (items 8.1–8.4) by a single motion and voice vote.

Votes and procedure: Most motions were presented as committee or administration recommendations and were adopted by voice vote with board members responding "Aye." The transcript records the voice approval but does not list individual roll-call tallies. The meeting adjourned at approximately 7:06 p.m.

No item before the board failed; there were no recorded abstentions or recusals noted in the transcript.