School Board notes

The City School District of the City of Niagara Falls, New York (NFCSD), held its regular monthly review meeting on Thursday, September 11, 2025.

Superintendent Mark Laurrie provided a report on the first days of the 2025–2026 school year. The secured vestibules and other district safety measures received high marks at all of the district’s buildings. School open houses and orientations were all well-attended. All district schools are well-staffed and all necessary learning materials were in place by day one. There are a record 45 students in the Niagara Falls High School (NFHS) Trades program. Student attendance has been strong. Laurrie thanked parents for their patience for bus challenges due to a shortage of bus drivers. The Smart device (cellphones, etc.) ban has been going very well with and school staff setting an excellent example. Students and staff members at all schools are becoming familiar with the district’s nuisance alarms – alarms that are activated if any outside door is propped open. There are still students in the district who have not yet received mandated vaccinations which are required to attend school. Students who are not vaccinated will be unable to attend school after September 17, 2025.

Laurrie shared more information about the first school days of the Smart device/cellphone ban. He thanked the students, staff, and parents for a smooth start to the new rule. Board Member and Niagara Falls High School Senior Harjyot Kaur remarked that the noise level at the high school has increased because people are now talking to each other face-to-face, and that the ban has kept the school “calm and focused.”

District Transportation Coordinator Kasey Dixon gave an update on busing and the My Ride K–12 bus app. Due to a driver shortage, there have been some bus-related issues, but these are being steadily resolved. To download the My Ride app, parents and guardians need their child’s student ID number. Student IDs can be obtained by contacting the child’s school. Download instructions are available on the district’s website homepage. Real-time bus tracking using the app provides estimated arrival and departure times, as well as ridership alerts, including delays.

Laurrie reviewed the voting agenda for the September 25, 2025, Board of Education meeting. The board will vote to approve or disapprove 29 items, and eight short-term contracts, including agreements with:

• Lift Enrichment Program, LLC (Fall 2025) Student Wellness through Culinary – for workshops with visiting chefs at Abate/Hyde Park $20,000.00 Sept. – Dec., 2025
• Fight Night Boxing - Fundamentals of Boxing $20,000.00 (40 students are expected to participate)

• University at Buffalo Center for Assistive Technology- for assistive technology training for students and staff, Sept. 2025 – June 2026

New Business Items to be voted on at the September 25, 2025 meeting:

• Approval of a contract for professional services between the NFCSD and the Niagara Falls Boys & Girls Club for the 716 United Mentoring Program (September 26, 2020 – June 30, 2025)
• Approval of a contract for professional services between the NFCSD and Niagara University for Early College High School Programming (September 26, 2025– August 2026)
• Approval of a contract for consulting services between the NFCSD and Winning Because I Tried Enterprises, Inc. for student support services (September 26, 2025 – December 31, 2025)
• Approval of a contract for consulting services between the NFCSD and Native Language Services, LLC. for student support services (September 26, 2025 – December 31, 2025)
• Approval of a contract between Say Yes Buffalo and the NFCSD

Superintendent’s Report:

• Nine Class of 2025 August graduates will be honored at the next board meeting (September 25, 2025, 7:00 p.m.)
• Two students who received perfect scores on the New York State Tests will also be recognized at the September 25 meeting
• On September 24, 2025, the district will hold a news conference to announce a partnership with the organization Sleep in Heavenly Peace
• Thank you to the UB Dental School for donating toothbrushes and toothpaste
• Fall sports physicals ran smoothly this year. The district began accepting physicals from students’ own primary care physicians. Of 502 fall athletes, 481 visited their own doctors
• Additional speed bumps have been installed at Niagara Falls High School

The next meeting of the City of Niagara Falls School District Board of Education will be held on Thursday, September 25, 2025, at 5:30 PM.