VIDEO: Watch 15-Year-Old Give Passionate Speech at Sachem BOE Meeting

At last week's Board of Education meeting, held in the Samoset auditorium to accomodate the large crowd, a 15-year-old student at Sachem North High School got up during the public comments segment and stepped to the microphone.

Kyle Kilkenny had been thrust into the spotlight earlier in the evening when Doug Smith, a Sachem alum and representative from the office of Assemblyman Al Graf read Kilkenny's letter he'd written to Gov. Andrew Cuomo during Sachem's letter writing campaign.

The letter received a standing ovation from the audience. Kilkenny described his family hardships in the letter and expressed his desire to see more state aid to mitigate the cuts the school board may have to make in 2013-14. The letter is published on The Sachem Report if you wish to read it in full.

As Kilkenny stepped to the microphone, Sachem Patch started to roll on his remarks. We're glad we did, as you'll soon find out. Apologies for the dark picture. The house lights were kept dim during the meeting. Enjoy this rousing speech from a young member of the Sachem community.