M-W school district faces calls to explain ICE protocols

The Monroe-Woodbury board of education listened to a public comment calling for transparency on the district’s procedures regarding Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at its Wednesday, March 18 meeting.

Monroe resident Carol Sotiropoulos, speaking on behalf of non-partisan group Hands Off Hudson Valley, requested the district to release a statement that explains its ICE protocols.

“We understand the school department has a general policy that covers all visitors to the schools,” Sotiropoulos said. “But unless I’m missing something... there’s none that are specific to ICE.”

Sotiropoulos called on the district to follow in the footsteps of Newburgh Enlarged City School District, who released a statement last month, clarifying its processes regarding the law enforcement agency. The statement detailed the district’s commitment to New York Attorney General Letitia James’ guidance, which prohibits federal immigration from entering on school property or buses without a judicial warrant, signed by a judge.

Personnel and benefits budget

During the meeting, Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources Christopher Berger and Assistant Superintendent for Business and Management Services Patrick Cahill presented the proposed budget for personnel and benefits for the 2026-2027 school year.

Berger said there is no increase or decrease in the number of districtwide employees, despite an increase of 13 positions. He explained that the changes in full-time equivalent (FTE) employees reflect the reallocation of existing staff, including six FTEs who were moved from grant funding into the general fund and temporary staff who are moved into probationary roles.

The total staff salaries for the 2026 school year totals $116,346,726, an increase of 3.24 percent, or $3,656,752. Berger noted that about 82 percent of the personnel budget is apportioned towards instructional staff.

In addition, the total amount budgeted for employee benefits amounts to $58,449,656, an increase of about six percent, or $3,271,148. Berger stated that about 57 percent of the benefits budget is spent on health insurance. Cahill explained that premiums are expected to increase by roughly seven percent, depending on the type of coverage that an employee receives.

District goals

Following the proposed budget presentation, administrators provided an update on their progress of this year’s district goals. Many of the goals set for this year include creating a District Strategic Plan to enhance student learning, executing the districtwide multi-year capital project, and enhancing school safety.

Since the last update, Superintendent Dr. Tracy Norman said the district completed its goals in collecting data from over 4,000 students, parents, and staff through surveys and community sessions. Dr. Norman added that the district is now moving to use the data to create goals in partnership with educational consulting firm Generation Ready.

As for the district’s capital project, Cahill said that the implementation of the project’s second phase is 50 percent complete. After completing the design work, bids and awards, construction for the second phase is now underway. Cahill added that work has started on the tennis courts outside the high school and construction at Pine Tree will begin over spring break.

In terms of school safety, Cahill said the district is currently in the testing stage of its implementation of Centegix’s remote panic alarm system. The system is designed to alert administrators and law enforcement of emergencies on school grounds. He added that the system will be operational by the end of the year.

Other business

Additionally, the board is seeking a member of the Class of 2027 to serve as the Student Representative for the next school year. Board President Kaytlin Simmons said that interested students should fill out an online application on the district’s website by Apr. 10. She added that a board committee will conduct interviews in May and the selected candidate will be chosen by the end of the school year.