The Liverpool Board of Education voted down two proposals at its July 21 meeting, including a settlement in a tax dispute and a contract to study school bus routes, in outcomes that stood out from an otherwise routine slate of approvals. The board took up a proposed tax certiorari settlement involving Target #1475 in the Town of Clay by roll call vote. The motion, made by Kimberly Melnik and seconded by Jecenia Bresett, needed a majority of the eight members present to carry. It ended in a 4-4 tie -- Bresett, Melnik, Alexandra Gyder and Michelle Merlino voted in favor, while Nicholas Blaney, Matthew Jones, Dawn Curry-Clarry and Victoria Baratta voted against -- and the final resolution was recorded as Motion Failed. The minutes do not detail the board's discussion of the settlement terms or state what happens next in the underlying tax certiorari matter. Later in the meeting, the board also rejected a proposed cross contract with FEH BOCES for a Routing Efficiency Study, despite having heard a presentation on school bus routing earlier the same evening from Paul Overbaugh, FEH BOCES' Director of Pupil Transportation. The contract motion, made by Matthew Jones and seconded by Jecenia Bresett, drew only two votes in favor -- from Jones and Gyder -- against five opposed from Blaney, Bresett, Melnik, Curry-Clarry and Merlino, with Baratta abstaining. The motion was recorded as failed. As with the tax settlement, the minutes do not record the board's discussion of why the routing contract did not advance. The board approved several other items without dissent. It adopted a Technology Purchasing Lease with OCM BOCES as presented, 8-0. It approved a Memorandum of Agreement with the SEIU covering a sick day sell-back program, also 8-0. And it approved a revised Audit Committee Charter, again 8-0. A Memorandum of Agreement with the United Liverpool Faculty Association splitting coaching positions passed 6-2, with Bresett and Baratta opposed; the minutes do not elaborate on the coaching-position arrangement beyond the resolution language. The board also set its regular meeting calendar for the coming year, approving the Board of Education meeting schedule 8-0. Two upcoming meetings were announced for August 11 and August 25, both at 6 p.m. The board entered executive session, by an 8-0 vote, to discuss a labor grievance brought by the SEIU bargaining unit, to obtain legal advice on a threatened legal claim, to discuss the medical, financial, credit or employment history of an unspecified person or corporation, and to discuss personnel matters including possible appointment, discipline or dismissal. The board returned to public session after roughly two and a half hours and, in an 8-0 vote, approved the personnel actions that had been held over from earlier in the agenda. Following executive session, the board made two appointments tied to district purchasing. It voted 8-0 to appoint Timothy Manning as School Purchasing Agent. It then voted 5-3 to appoint Assistant Superintendent Kimberly Vile as Deputy School Purchasing Agent, with Bresett, Melnik and Baratta opposed. The board additionally directed the superintendent or his designee to solicit Requests for Proposals from qualified financial firms for two district roles for the 2026-2027 school year: Treasurer services and Claims Auditor services. Both directives passed 8-0. The minutes do not state why the district is seeking new proposals for these roles. The meeting, which began at 6 p.m., adjourned at 9:32 p.m.