Carmel Central School District Board of Education Meeting October 13, 2026

At the Carmel Central School District Board of Education meeting on October 13, 2026, trustees discussed a potential school-bus GPS and routing system change. Staff reported that Unite GPS would cost $21,000 per year, including removal of existing equipment and installation of the new system, and could replace Traversa and Zonar, which currently cost $10,000 and $5,000 annually, respectively; the district also previously paid a one-time $30,000 fee for Traversa. The proposed system includes real-time bus tracking and parent notifications. No purchase was approved: trustees said they would continue reviewing safety, privacy, and Education Law 2-d compliance, with a possible transition after current agreements expire in spring and summer 2027. The board approved a memorandum of agreement settling a bus-driver matter; a public commenter questioned the arrangement and referred to $12 for a six-hour shift. Trustees also discussed approximately $38,000 in unused field-trip funding.

Legal spending was another focus: trustees cited about $360,000 in district legal costs for 2024–25, compared with figures of $176,030 for Brewster and $78,000 for Yorktown, and noted that administration had been asked to develop a 5% reduction proposal; some trustees advocated for a larger reduction or an expenditure limit. A trustee urged a zero-based approach and a 0% tax-levy increase for the 2027–28 budget, but no budget action was taken. The board approved a memorandum creating up to three elementary-school Best Buddies positions and approved other consent-agenda and personnel items; a data-privacy policy was presented for a first reading, with a future vote planned.