Superintendent search enters home stretch, budget process continues
Athletics, facilities and technology were on the Feb. 12 agenda
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BY EMILE MENASCHÉ
Editor
Mahopac Central School District’s search for a permanent replacement for interim Superintendent Frank Miele is entering the home stretch. At the Feb. 12 school board meeting, School Board President Michael Mongon said the district was scheduled to interview candidates on March 3 and later told Mahopac News the process was “ahead of schedule.”
Miele has been serving since last summer, when he replaced Christine Tona on an interim basis after Tona elected to retire — according to sources under pressure from the board.
Toward the end of the Feb. 12 meeting — which mostly focused on the 2026-27 budget process — trustee Ben DiLullo asked Mongon for an update on the process. After Mongon noted that candidates were scheduled to be interviewed on March 3, DiLullo asked if the interview process would include input from a committee of teachers, faculty and residents, which was the case when Tona was hired.
“If so, how do people join?” DiLullo asked. “I’ve had a couple of inquiries in terms of volunteering.”
Mongon said the community surveys and the input from BOCES were sufficient.
“Just last week we had the BOCES personnel give us the update,” Mongon said. “They had sent out the surveys to our community and reported back at that meeting what the surveys — what the consensus of the surveys was — and presented it to the candidates.”
Noting that there was community involvement last time, DiLullo asked what he characterized as a “process question.”
“The process was laid out and we’re having interviews on March 3,” Mongon said.
“I don’t feel this is transparent,” DiLullo said. “The community has asked for transparency even when we announced that we were doing this several months ago — so I hope this is transparent and I think the community, including faculty and other staff, should be involved in their review process.”
Mongon later told Mahopac News that, based on advice from BOCES, the district opted to use information gathered from the survey the district conducted from Nov. 19–26 during the recruitment and evaluation process rather than invite community members to take part in the interviews.
“BOCES advised that due to the confidentiality of candidates, they conduct surveys instead,” Mongon said Monday. “This went out and was open through Nov. 26.”
“I think you’ll see we are doing great,” Mongon said. “I have the utmost respect for and confidence in them and their search process, which is why they were hired.”
Mongon added that Miele “has done a truly incredible job” as interim superintendent and praised him for “diving into the details and implementing different ways of looking at things.”
“He is ‘old school,’ very much like myself,” Mongon added. “He is creating a true learning experience for our students and a supportive, exciting and cooperative environment for our school staff. It’s been quite a turnaround in a short amount of time — an environment where students and staff look forward to coming each and every day.”
Mongon declined to say how many candidates are still in the running.
The school board is next set to meet on March 10, starting with a 5:30 p.m. work session followed by a 7 p.m. regular meeting at the Falls School on Myrtle Ave.
Budget discussion
Earlier in the meeting, Assistant Superintendent for Finance & Operations Alyssa Murray updated the board on the 2026-27 budget.
Athletic director Steve Luciana outlined the district's needs across a range of sports programs, which include 32 varsity teams, about 840 high school athletes and more than 300 middle school participants.He noted that 20 seniors signed to play college sports last year.
Academically, he program continues to stand out. The district was named a School of Distinction for 2024-25 — its second straight year earning the honor — meaning 100 percent of varsity teams qualified as scholar-athlete teams. The district was one of seven Section 1 schools to receive the recognition this year. “It shows that our student athletes are also excelling in the classroom,” Luciana said.
Luciana told the board the district continues to expand opportunities, pointing to unified sports and flag football as key additions in recent years. Unified, which began with basketball six years ago, now includes bowling and flag football, with the state considering adding tennis and soccer.
“That’s probably the thing I’m most proud of,” he said, calling the opportunities for special education students “amazing.” He also proposed adding a JV girls flag football team next year after 40 to 50 girls tried out this season.
On the facilities and operations side, Luciana cited equipment and storage needs as programs grow, noting aging outdoor storage containers and the continued investment in larger items such as track and field equipment. He also outlined rising costs tied to rental facilities for gymnastics, bowling, hockey, swimming and skiing, along with tournament entry fees, officials, travel and state competition expenses. As more athletes qualify for postseason and state events, coaches travel with them, adding to costs.
Luciana said salaries remain tied to the MTA contract and stipends, and while some lines increased due to growth and outside rental fees, he said he worked to keep the overall athletic budget “as neutral as possible,” thanking the board for its continued support.
Here's a rundown of the proposed athletic budget:
Salaries – Coaching 2025-26 Budget: $445,000 2026-27 Budget: $453,900 Notes/Comments: As per MTA CBA
Total 2025-26 Budget: $968,222 2026-27 Budget: $995,600 Increase of $27,378
Facilities
Director of Facilities Adam Rubin presented a 2026-27 facilities budget focused on continued capital maintenance, infrastructure upgrades and campus improvements across the district.
Priorities include a high school chemical room rennovation ($100,000).
"It's really important because we don't meet state requirements when it comes to the storing chemicals," Rubin said. "The price tag includes a lot of plumbing work. We do not have an eyewash station in there. We do not have a shower [or] drainage."
A new floor will be required.
According to the Feb 12 budget documents, facilities items included:
High School – $250,000 • Chemical storage room renovation — $100,000 • Roof replacement repairs over gym area — $150,000
Middle School – $166,000 • Exterior door replacement — $60,000 • Insulation of chiller piping and heating pipes (2nd floor and basement) — $60,000 • Orchestra room re-flooring — $25,000 • Painting of staircases — $21,000
Austin Road Elementary – $125,000 • Exterior door replacement — $40,000 • Unit ventilator repairs — $85,000
Lakeview Elementary – $200,000 • Repainting and repointing of main entrance (side) — $85,000 • Repainting of old main entrance — $115,000
Total Proposed Facilities Work: $971,000
Technology
Director of Technology Ben August,'s presentaiton showed a reduction in the costs for the 2026-27 school year, with a proposed budget of $4,144,759 down $197,000 (4.53 percent) from $4,341,759 in 2025-26. The decrease is largely driven by a $229,672 reduction in BOCES CAI services, which drops from $3,161,400 to $2,931,728.
That reduction offsets several targeted increases, including a $21,841 rise in state-aided computer hardware for a high school computer lab upgrade ($88,942 to $110,783), a $10,410 increase in BOCES library services ($110,013 to $120,423), an $8,750 increase in BOCES public information services tied to HR software and web services ($180,825 to $189,575) and a $7,533 increase in BOCES data processing ($228,890 to $236,423). State-aided student learning software rises by $3,033 to $196,367.
Materials and supplies decrease by $17,165 to $63,350 due to centralized tech purchasing, and contractual cybersecurity and data services dip slightly by $1,850 to $283,000.
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