SHERMAN – Sherman Central School Board of Education members conducted two public hearings at their board meeting on Aug. 11, one on the 2025-26 Code of Conduct and one on the District-Wide Safety Plan. Both policies were subsequently approved.

School Principal Leslie Melquist reviewed the Code of conduct for those present. She noted that there were few changes in the new code. “We cleaned it up a bit and removed some language from the document,” she said.

“Also, we put an appendix at the end with definitions of terms, rather than in the text. We noted that people tend to not read through the whole thing if they have to read the definitions,” she added.

Sherman Superintendent Carrie Yohe reviewed the District-Wide Safety Plan revisions. Some of the terms in the plan were changed to be aligned with the NYS Emergency Response Terms, she said. Some of the terms which were revised or changed are Shelter in Place/Shelter, Hold in Place/Hold, which refers to medical emergencies, Evacuate, Secure Lock-out and Lock-down.

“We took the state form and used it to revise our plan,” Yohe said. “We had more verbiage, and we took some out.” She noted that every teacher, staff member and bus driver have a copy of the plan, and the plan will be posted in every classroom.

In her report, Yohe talked about revisions to the Athletic Code of Conduct and the Possession of Alcohol, Firearms and Tobacco Code. The Athletic Code of Conduct was changed to the Extracurricular Code of Conduct, she said, so it will encompass all activities outside of the classroom.

The code will look at academic ability, Yohe said. Students who are found to be ineligible at the end of each five-week period will be suspended from their activity for one week and be required to go to a study group. At the end of a quarter, if a student is failing two courses, they will be suspended from their activity for two weeks and have to attend a study group, she added.

Yohe said that possession of vaping material has been added to the Alcohol, Firearms and Tobacco Code. After two infractions, a student will be out of the sport they are currently playing, she said. However, the suspension is per season. For example, a student who is suspended from playing football, can still play basketball the next season, she added.

Yohe also reviewed the Universal PreK Plan. She told board members that the district receives two grants for PreK. The allocation from the state is an annual fund and does not have to be renewed. However, the statewide, Universal PreK grant is competitive, and the plan has to be updated every year to qualify, she said.

Board President Teresa Guzman reported on a meeting of representatives from Clymer, Sherman and Panama Districts at BOCES to consider going forth with a feasibility study regarding merging the three districts. Those present agreed to begin the RFP (request for proposal) process, she said.

Melquist reported on the policy regarding use of Internet-Enabled Devices During the School Day. Students will be keeping such devices in their lockers during the day, she said. “I know it’s going to be hard for them, at first,” she said. “It’s important that the adults in the building model the behavior.”

In other business, the board approved an Inter-Municipal Agreement with Clymer Central School District for a shared transportation supervisor for the 2025-26 school year. In regard to this, they approved the resignation of David Maleski as Head Bus Driver, effective July 31, and subsequently approved the probationary appointment of Maleski to serve as Transportation Supervisor, effective August 1.

The board also approved the Inter-Municipal Agreement with Clymer and Panama School Districts for CSP sports in the coming school year.