Board Meeting Brief - October 22, 2025

The BCSD Board Meeting Brief is designed to be a quick, high-level rundown of Bedford Central School District’s Board of Education meetings. While the full information is always available to the public on BoardDocs, we know you’re busy and we want to deliver an easily digestible overview of each of our meetings.

• Special Presentations
  • National Merit Scholarship Program: Acknowledgement of the Semi-Finalist and Commended Students - Dr. Jennifer Amos, Principal FLHS
    • Congratulations to semifinalists David Matz and Nora Dooley
    • Congratulations to commended students Rachel Agnello, Anushka Arvind Sriram, Maxwell Bly, Eliana Chiariello, Morgan Clinton, Olivia Eckert, Grace Fortune, Jacob Green, Gabrielle Shifrin, Felix Suiu and Emma Xiong

• District Presentations
  • Transportation 101: Mark Connolly, Transportation Supervisor
    • Discussion
      • The district contracts its busing services with a third-party company, Town Bus.
      • The contract costs approximately $9.5 million and is one of the top three largest items in the district's budget.
      • The current contract, which began in 2019, ends after the 2025 school year. It can be extended on a yearly basis if both the district and the contractor agree.
      • The annual cost per bus ranges from $105,000 to $123,000, depending on size.
      • Bus capacity varies by student age, with a 72-passenger bus rated for 72 elementary students (three per seat) or 44 older students (two per seat).
      • Ridership utilization averages around 60%, with some secondary school routes as low as 44% or 57%.
      • Factors contributing to low ridership include parents choosing to drive their children and high school seniors with driving privileges not using the bus.
      • Strategies to improve efficiency are being explored.
      • The district has already reduced its fleet by seven buses by consolidating routes and analyzing ridership data post-COVID.
      • Several factors complicate route optimization including:
        • The district's geography includes roads that cannot accommodate large buses.
        • A short window between secondary and elementary school dismissal times in the afternoon limits route flexibility.
        • Lengthening routes to increase efficiency is a trade-off that could impact pickup times and schedule adherence.
      • Fleet Electrification Mandate and Associated Risks
        • A state mandate requires all new bus purchases to be electric starting in 2027, with a goal for the entire fleet to be electric by 2035.
        • The district is working with consultants (INF) and BOCES to leverage purchasing power and access grants from NYSERDA and federal entities.
        • The state allows for two separate two-year extensions if a district faces hurdles with power supply or vehicle acquisition. However, these extensions do not push back the final 2035 deadline.
        • It is unclear what financial penalties, if any, the district will face for not meeting the 2035 fleet electrification deadline.
        • There is a potential risk that the manufacturing industry and power infrastructure will not be able to support the demand for electric buses by the state's deadlines.
        • The district needs to develop a clear strategy for navigating the convergence of the bus contract's expiration and the 2027 electrification mandate.
• Student Announcements
  • Next week is Red Ribbon Spirit Week. Students are encouraged to pledge to be drug-free. A special thank you to Mrs. Alvarado and the Youth 2 Youth club for all their hard work to promote mental and physical health for our students!
  • The Polar Plunge is on November 8 at Rye Playland Beach at 10am. Students can sign up to join the Fox Lane High School team. The goal is to raise at least $25 for the Special Olympics. Students who participate get 10 hours of community service!
• Board Announcements
  • Prasad Krishnan updated the Board on the first Budget Advisory Committee meeting

• Superintendent Announcements
  • Northwell Clinic
    • The recent vote to participate in the behavioral health clinic did not pass, but the administration and board remain committed to student well-being and mental health.
    • Discussions on this topic have been transparent and are part of the public record from last spring and this fall.
    • Two primary unresolved issues led to the vote's failure:
      • Liability and Indemnification: A significant risk remains as the district cannot be specifically indemnified or insured under the current proposal. Legal counsel advised that while a disclaimer could create a "low risk" situation, the district cannot secure insurance for this; Dr. Glass clarified a previous misstatement, confirming counsel's assessment was "low risk," not "very low risk."
      • Lack of Service Detail: The agreement does not sufficiently detail the services being purchased with taxpayer funds or distinguish between the proposed clinic and the existing outpatient clinic on the same site.
    • The administration remains in open discussion with Northwell to see if the agreement can be modified to address these concerns, which might allow the board to reconsider; The district can opt into the program at any time on a year-to-year basis and is not obligated for more than one year at a time.
  • Later School Start Time Committee
    • The committee's first meeting was a successful two-hour session.
    • The next meeting is scheduled for November 4, 2025.
    • Future agenda items include:
      • Discussing the intersection of transportation and athletics.
      • Exploring cost mitigation strategies, such as changing bus ridership percentages and adjusting route strategies, in the December 2025 meeting.
  • Principals' Appreciation
    • Dr. Glass noted that October is Principals' Appreciation month and praised the district's principals as amazing educational leaders.
  • Curriculum Maps
    • The district has launched new, detailed curriculum maps online, fulfilling a request from the board.
    • The maps allow parents to see content for their child's grade level and subject.
    • Dr. Glass thanked Ms. Fishkin and her team for all the hard work that went into the new site
    • The maps are embedded as a Google Doc on the website to ensure they are fully translatable for all families.
• Policy Updates
  • 3272 Advertising in the Schools
  • 7422 Alternative Physical Education/Athletic Option
    • The Board continued their discussion on this policy; Dr. Glass responded to the board regarding the inclusion of 10th graders who are varsity athletes; Dr. Glass noted that the recommendation of the Administration to open up the option to more students was not recommended.

To view the Consent Agenda, as well as the meeting minutes, visit BoardDocs