The evening of 2026-02-24 was a meeting of the Honeoye Falls-Lima Board of Education (BoE).
Full disclosure: I sit on the PBAC, so some of these Observations aren’t exactly from the Audience.
During the Monthly Treasurer’s Report it was mentioned the District currently has a balance of ~$43 million. Which fits, as most of the schools income comes once a year (when property taxes are paid). Then gets spent down over the rest of the year.
~66k more schools meals were provided, compared to last year. It was pointed out that yes, that’s ~66,000. Primary reason for the increase appears to be that meals are now ‘free’. Understandable. The cost went down, so the consumption would be expected to go up. But as the meals are not in fact free, it will be interesting to see where this goes long term. What concerns me most here isn’t the actual costs of the meals. It might not have been their money paying for it before, but having to go through the process of paying served as a reminder. Nothing is free, someone always pays. But now students are being taught that food has no cost. Which will be a very dangerous concept when they get older.
There was an amusing procedural bit where agenda item 5 (Student Board Representative Report) happened twice. One of the reps was late to arrive, so they want back so he could share. Completely understandable and reasonable. But what amused me was how tightly they stuck to procedure, having a motion and everything. Is the little things in life…
Gene (Superintendent) was not sick tonight, which was good to see. Although he had an amusing story about recovering from his fever from last meeting. Besides that, he raised some interesting questions about the eventual universal pre-kindergarten roll out. Not an immediate issue, as it’s not required yet. But it will be in a few years. And there are issues that will have to be addressed by then.
Colin (Business) gave an update on the budget situation. And how, this year, the cap is expected to be 3.22%. Because of the formula. One part of which is ‘2% or inflation, whichever is lower’. Which is where the idea the cap is 2% comes from. But more importantly, it means the school has challenges whenever inflation is over 2%. In a perfect world, where inflation rarely exceeded 2% (and never exceeded 3%) this wouldn’t be much of an issue. But that’s not what the past few years have been like. Combined that with expense categories that match (or exceed) inflation… I think this will break schools, financially, given sufficient time. Hopefully I’m wrong, but math is hard to argue with.
The Middle Schools ~4 minute video had a road trip theme. Which I thought was both simple and well done. Probably a connection there, as complex can distract if not done just right. Also the first year with this principal. As there has been turn over the past few years, I hope she manages to stick around for a while. As always, time will tell.
They are exploring the idea of ‘recess’ as part of lunch. Which amuses me, as that was what we did when I was a student there. Eat lunch, go play in the gym (or outside, weather permitting). Funny how ideas come around again. And by the sounds of it, the library has the same furniture it did when I was there too. Which was… enough years ago. We certainly got our money’s worth there.
The High School’s ~5 minute video went a bit meta with their theme, where they actually mocked making videos. Then had a video recording overlay for the rest of the video. A bit silly, but it worked. And as one of the Board members point out, allowed seeing students in action.
The CNC router came back up, from last year. As it didn’t make it then, the request was back. Which got a few peoples attention, as they had advocated for it then. But that’s just how it goes sometimes. Infinite wants, finite resources.
The High School is looking to add another councilor, focusing this one on the college/career preparation side of things. An important enough task. What I’m wondering, is do we need 4 people to make this work? Or could it work with 3?
And it was amusing to hear how electronic hall passes are being done away with. Primary reason was it not being used by enough of the staff, but the phone ban on students appears to have been a factor too. There is something to be said about going with simple. Physical passes worked when I was a student, they should still work now. And allows for some unique passes, making it obvious what class you are out of. Perhaps being made using the CNC router?
As usual, after the presentations, the PBAC separated to discuss. And by the time we finished, the BoE had finished the public portion of their meeting. But thanks to the wonders of modern technology, I can watch the recordings afterwards. And having done that…
In the BoE’s discussion on the budget presentation, there were a few comments about current students having less homework now. In comparison to a decade (or further) in the past. No judgment was offered, merely an observation on the change.
The college/career councilor idea was liked. But there was mixed opinions on if we need a new body to fulfill this function.
And those are my Observations From Audience Land for the February 24, 2026 meeting of the Honeoye Falls-Lima Board of Education.
Agenda’s and similar information can be found at HFL’s BoardDocs page. While a recording is also available.