The North Syracuse Central School District Board of Education voted twice during its April 6 meeting to amend Superintendent Terry Ward's decisions in two separate parental appeals, both times by eight yes votes after reviewing the matters in executive session. The board first moved into executive session to review two parental appeals with action to follow and one personnel matter with no action to follow, on a motion from Board President Michael Mirizio, seconded by Vice President Paul Farfaglia and carried with eight yes votes. After reconvening into open session on a motion from Joshua Ludden, the board voted to amend the Superintendent's decision on the first appeal, with Mirizio making the motion, Cheryl McDonald seconding, and the motion carried with eight yes votes. The board then returned to executive session, on a motion from Farfaglia, to review the second parental appeal. After reconvening again, Mirizio made a second motion to amend the Superintendent's decision, seconded by Farfaglia, and it too carried with eight yes votes. The minutes do not describe the subject matter of either appeal or specify what the Superintendent's original decisions were. The personnel matter reviewed in the first executive session required no action. Separately, the board approved a leadership transition in the district's central administration. Michael Baroody, Ed.D., currently Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources, was appointed Deputy Superintendent effective July 1, 2026, at an annual salary of $183,859, with a probationary period running from July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2029. He replaces Christopher R. Leahey, Ed.D., who resigned the Deputy Superintendent post effective June 30, 2026. Baroody's move also creates a vacancy in his current post, as he resigns as Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources effective the same date. In his comments, Superintendent Ward acknowledged Leahey's resignation, saying he will be greatly missed, and said the district is fortunate to have Baroody assuming the Deputy Superintendent role, calling him a strong addition. The board also approved hiring Miranda Magley as Associate Principal at North Syracuse Junior High School, at an annual salary of $97,108.42 effective July 1, 2026, replacing Charles Yonko; her probationary period was listed as TBD. Superintendent Ward also gave a testing update, citing reporting on Syracuse.com, stating that ELA performance at Lakeshore Road Elementary School increased by 23 percentage points and that the district's other elementary schools showed increases as well, with five elementary schools now above the state average. Ward also thanked Jason Clark, Director of Technology, for coordinating a Micron event held the previous week. Earlier in the meeting, Nickolas Scholz, Director of STEM, and Jason Clark, Director of Technology, had provided an update on the district's STEAM and Micron initiatives; no further detail on that update is recorded. The board created one new instructional position, a 1.0 FTE Teaching Assistant at CNS, effective April 7, 2026, on a motion from Mark Thorne, seconded by Ludden and carried with eight yes votes. It also acknowledged and approved the 2026-2027 payroll schedule on a motion from Amanda Sugrue, seconded by McDonald, carried with eight yes votes, and approved the classification and school placement of disabled and preschool disabled students certified by the district's special education committees, carried with eight yes votes. Mirizio acknowledged the retirements of two school bus drivers, Kevin Ferris and Thomas Page, each with 20 years of service, thanking them and wishing them well. The board also proclaimed April 22, 2026 as Office Personnel Appreciation Day in the district, on a motion from Farfaglia seconded by Sugrue, carried with eight yes votes. In other business, Farfaglia said he had distributed flyers for the upcoming Dollars for Scholars golf tournament and asked that the board sponsor a hole, as it has in previous years. The board approved minutes of its March 23, 2026 regular meeting, with seven yes votes and one board member abstaining. It also approved routine personnel actions under Personnel A (instructional), Personnel B (support staff) and Personnel C (administrative), covering new hires, substitutes, leaves of absence, returns from leave, resignations, retirements and prior-minute amendments, each carried with eight yes votes. Mirizio opened the meeting with a moment of silence for two district graduates, Nancy Jenkinson and Catherine Alexander. There were no comments from the audience, no committee reports and no student board member comments. The meeting adjourned at 7:30 p.m. on a motion carried with seven yes votes.