BOARD OF EDUCATION
Open Public Session
February 5, 2008
|
MEMBERS PRESENT: |
Mrs. Bowles, Mr. Casey, Mr. DiLallo, Mrs. Grey, Mr. Huff, Mr. Mincher, Mrs. Wiggins |
|
OTHERS PRESENT: |
Dr. Dutkowsky, Mr. Melia, Dr. Robinson, Dr. Snyder |
Mr. Casey called the meeting of the Board of Education to order at 6:30 p.m.
MOTION BY Mrs. Bowles, seconded by Mrs. Grey, to convene to Executive Session at 6:30 p.m. to discuss personnel and legal matters.
Unanimously approved. Motion carried.
Also present at Executive Session were Dr. Robinson, Dr. Dutkowsky, Dr. Snyder, Mr. Smith, and Ms. Wetmore. The newly appointed Tesago Principal, Mr. Gregory Pace, also met briefly with the Board of Education for introductions.
MOTION BY Mrs. Wiggins, seconded by Mr. Huff, to convene to Open Public Session at 7 p.m.
Unanimously approved, motion carried.
Mr. Casey called the study session of the Board of Education to order at 7:05 p.m.
Mr. Casey led those present in the Pledge of Allegiance.
Announcements
Mr. Casey pointed out the exits from the meeting room.
Mr. Casey announced that an Executive Session was held prior to the regular Board meeting at 6:30 p.m. to discuss matters of litigation and personnel matters.
Mr. Casey noted that a Superintendent’s Conversation is scheduled to be held at the Shatekon Library this Saturday, February 9. This is a great opportunity for people to raise issues and hear about the good things happening in the District.
1. ADOPT AN AGENDA
MOTION BY Mr. DiLallo, seconded by Mrs. Wiggins, to accept the agenda as presented.
Mr. Casey noted that although this meeting is a scheduled Study Session, there are two business items on the agenda.
Unanimously approved, motion carried.
a.
Appointment
of Tesago Principal
Dr. Dutkowsky presented the following staffing recommendation to the Board of Education:
MOTION BY Mrs. Grey, seconded by Mrs. Bowles, to accept the staffing recommendation as presented by Dr. Dutkowsky.
1) Certified Staff
a) Name: Gregory M. Pace
Position: Elementary Principal
Status: 3-year probationary
Commencing: March 7, 2008
Salary: $98,500/yr. pro rated
Unanimously approved, motion carried.
b. Authorization of
Special Education Case
MOTION BY Mrs. Bowles, seconded by Mr. DiLallo, to accept the following resolution:
IT IS HEREBY RESOLVED THAT THE Superintendent of Schools be and hereby
is authorized to executive the agreement to settle the claim concerning a
student with a disability as discussed in executive session.
AYES = 7 NAYES
= 0
3. SUPERINTENDENT’S COMMUNICATION
Dr. Robinson announced the new Heard it Through the Grapevine blog recently developed by the District. There have been over a 100 hits in two days. The purpose of the blog is to enhance communication. So far the questions have been very legitimate and have been good for the district. So far it has been received as a positive move.
Dr. Robinson announced that the District has established an after-hours phone number (371-4004). Parents have requested this in the past. However, this is not a substitute for 911 and not intended to respond to questions such as, “I don’t know where my child is.” The phone call would go the beeper of one of our Security personnel who would in turn send the call where it should go. Users must “unblock” their phone numbers. This is another opportunity for the District to communicate with the community.
Dr. Robinson explained that the Budget Study Session this evening is intended to present information to the Board. There will be many opportunities in the future to answer questions and learn a lot more detail. The purpose of the presentation this evening is to start providing information to start the process.
Dr. Robinson announced that Mrs. Grey, Mr. Casey, and Mr. DiLallo will be meeting with Senator Bruno on February 13. On February 7, there will also be a meeting with Assemblyman Reilly. The executive budget will be a topic of conversation which may include such things as the deployment of NYS Troopers for SROs, a property tax cap, reduction in BOCES aid, Universal Pre-K funding, pre-school special education costs, and twelve weeks paid leave for employees.
STUDY SESSION
Mid-year Financial Overview and Review of Governor’s Proposal
Ms. Wetmore provided information to the Board of Education entitled an Analysis of State Aid Based on Executive Budget Proposal. Board members expressed concerns regarding the BOCES reduction, free and reduced lunch, mandates that could impact budgets for schools, Pre-K costs, the acquisition of specialized grants, and catch-up aid from the past.
As far as specialized grants, Dr. Robinson explained that this is strictly the State budget proposal. Grants are in the special aid fund and do not impact the budget at all. Dr. Robinson suggested that a presentation should be made to the Board showing how grants impact the budget process. Shenendehowa does apply for a lot of local one-shot grants. We need to explain how these projects converge on the District.
Mr. Casey was concerned as to mistakes being made in the original drafts and how are they corrected. Ms. Wetmore explained that we review our State aid projections and verify the preliminary State aid projections for accuracy.
Dr. Robinson noted the following dates in the budget process:
February 26 – Budget/Business Session
March 4 – Expenditures
March 11 – BOCES Budget
March 18 – Revenues
March 25 – Entire Budget Proposal
April 1 – Adopt Budget
Dr. Robinson added that we are making every effort to send information to Board members in advance. We are making sure that information is correct. He invited Board members to call Ms. Wetmore with any questions they may have ahead of time. Mr. Huff asked if there would be a session for questions from the public. Dr. Robinson responded that the March 25 meeting will provide that opportunity.
At this point, Ms. Wetmore presented the Mid-year Report which provided a detailed analysis of the District’s financial status. Ms. Wetmore noted that we are about seven months into the budget and the District is fiscally healthy. Dr. Robinson emphasized that our entire process is based upon the belief that we must do what is right for the students. (Both the Analysis of State Aid Based on Executive Budget Proposal and the Mid-year Financial Overview documents are on file in the official minutes folder.)
Mr. Casey ended the presentation by noting that we should keep a checklist of risks, we need something that charts our debt by year, we need something that shows a picture of where we are with debt. He commented that our financial advisors have been very helpful with this.
4. ADJOURNMENT
MOTION BY Mrs. Wiggins, seconded by Mr. DiLallo to adjourn the meeting at 8:10 p.m.
Unanimously approved, motion carried.
Respectfully submitted,
Approved by: _____________________
Kathleen A. Wetmore
Clerk
of the Board