District leaders outline consolidated facilities, technology and security upgrades

Assistant Superintendent for Business Carlos Leao and directors for technology, facilities and security described a consolidated-services effort that the district said aims to improve safety, efficiency and instructional support across buildings.

"I will be short, so that we can get to the magic of tonight, which is these three amazing folks," said Carlos Leao as he introduced the technology, facilities and security presentations.

Technology staff described the district’s 1:1 Chromebook program, deployment of more than 250 interactive SMART Boards in the last two years, digitized registration and support for computer-based testing (PSAT, SAT, ACT and some AP exams). The technology team also cited cybersecurity insurance, 57 digital forms in use across departments and ongoing operational support for events, onboarding and summer learning.

Facilities director Keith Watkins summarized the department’s staffing and recent projects. He said the district employs 109 full-time and 38 part-time facilities staff and highlighted in-house work such as adding five special-education classrooms and ongoing preventive maintenance. Watkins described an award of approximately $540,000 in NYSERDA (New York State Energy Research and Development Authority) grants for energy audits and said the district now funds a year-long on-site energy manager to analyze consumption and identify projects eligible for further grants.

Security director Lisa Marie Newkirk described districtwide lockdown training with the New Rochelle Police and Fire departments, partnerships on mental-health and de-escalation training, Narcan training for staff and expansion of the district’s emergency planning team. She told the board that New York State will change terminology and, effective July 1, 2025, the district will adopt "secure lockout" in its emergency protocols to reduce confusion between lockouts and lockdowns.

"We went district wide to each school building and perform lockdown training…we were able to test the functionality of the lockdown system," Lisa Marie Newkirk said. "We are excited that we have the whole kit and caboodle that we can review and go through with our district wide safety teams."

Watkins and Leao also discussed internships and career-pathway programs: a certified-pathway internship in architecture, engineering and facilities management that included high-school students who later enrolled in college and a "foundations" high-school program that places students in paid or part-time positions. Two recent student interns addressed the board and described how the internship clarified their college and career choices.

Board members asked for a brief update about the district’s $106 million capital bond; Watkins said the board is in closeout and required documentation is being finalized, and that the district expects to receive about 48% state building aid for completed phases.

The business office presented a Phase 1 construction timeline for current capital work and said secure vestibules will be returned to use before the end of the school year. Directors emphasized that many planned upgrades are intentionally high level in public materials because specific security details are protected for safety reasons.

Trustees thanked staff for the cross-department collaboration and for work to support teaching and learning behind the scenes.