Regular Board Meeting
December 11, 2007
|
Members Present: |
Ms. Bowles, Mr. Casey, Mr. DiLallo, Mrs. Grey, Mr. Huff, |
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Also Present: |
Dr. Dutkowsky, Mrs. Longhurst, Mr.
Melia, Mr. Smith, |
The Board of Education meeting was called to order at 6:30 p.m.
MOTION BY Mrs. Grey, seconded by Mrs. Bowles, to move into Executive Session at 6:30 p.m. to discuss STA negotiations and personnel issues.
Unanimously approved, motion carried.
Also present in the Executive Session was Dr. Dutkowsky.
MOTION BY Mrs. Wiggins, seconded by Mrs. Grey, to move into Public Session at 7 p.m.
Unanimously approved, motion carried.
Mr. Casey called the Public Meeting of the Board of Education to order at 7:08 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 a vote is currently being held in the gymnasium regarding a referendum proposed to deal with trails, fields and the track.
1. ADOPT AN AGENDA
MOTION BY Mrs. Grey, seconded by Mr. DiLallo, to accept this evening’s agenda as presented.
Unanimously approved, motion carried.
2. BOARD OF EDUCATION COMMENTS/REPORTS
Mrs. Wiggins commented that she has served three years on the Board of Education and she has enjoyed that time with everyone and spending another holiday season together. She wished everyone a “Merry Christmas” and provided gifts to the Board of Education.
Mr. DiLallo noted that he, Mr. Mincher, and Mrs. Wiggins attended the joint meeting of the Saratoga County School Boards Association and the Adirondack School Boards Association. Mr. Tom Roberts gave a presentation concerning graduation rates and the needs of the labor force. Mr. DiLallo had concerns about the focus of using the computer as the primary source of information for decision-making. Without a good solid educational background, a person is not in a good position to sort through the information and make decisions.
Mrs. Grey reported that she and Mrs. Wiggins are part of the Instructional Technology Committee. She feels it is probably one of the most exciting committees in which she has ever participated in her tenure as a Board member. She believes some of the technology updates can be used in the classrooms and are very positive and proactive. Dr. Snyder will be providing a presentation within the next couple of months which will provide the plans of the Committee and develop a five-year plan to update technology within the District. Mrs. Grey extended her condolences to the Janis Family.
Mr. Huff commented on a previous study session and live streaming video. He believes this is a worthy option to explore along with technology options through television and the cable channel.
Mr. Huff expressed concerns
regarding possible health risks associated with artificial turf. He feels there are “pros” and “cons.” He reported that the Department of Health in
Mrs. Wiggins responded that her questions at the study session were directly related to safety and what the field would be made of. Mr. Deats did speak of it. This was an issue and major concerns of hers. Mrs. Wiggins stated in particular that they were informed that this should not be the same material as Astroturf.
Mrs. Wiggins asked that everyone please support the concerts at the schools. She also reported that the Snowball on Saturday night was excellent.
Mr. Mincher thanked the Board and all people involved in the District who helped the family of Dylan Mayo who has difficult health issues. On Friday night at the fundraiser, Mr. Michael Smith was there as a support person and he showed support to the family in a very caring way and was much appreciated by the family.
Mr. Casey responded to Mr. Huff’s comments. He felt Mr. Huff’s comments were unfair and leave an impression that the field project was not moved forward with due diligence and study. Mr. Casey noted that this project was first discussed more than a year ago and there was ample time for anyone to come forth with issues. To imply that this was a “cover-up” to get this through is unfair to the people involved in this project. The project was out there and open for people to comment on and delayed by us because we felt the project needed more study. If the voters approve, we will rely on professionals to assess safety issues during design.
Mr. Huff replied that Mr. Casey implied that Mr. Huff said that we are not going to proceed responsibly. Mr. Huff said he did not say that. He feels certainly have to do more research so that we do proceed to minimize any potential risk. Mr. Huff is not saying that we’re moving with recklessness but should move with the information that is out there.
Mr. Casey noted that his perception of Mr. Huff’s initial comments is different from that of Mr. Huff and will leave it at that.
3. PUBLIC COMMENTS
a. Student Senate Report
Shivanthi Narendran and Patrick Maguire reported that nothing major has been happening with the Senate at this time. Right now the Holiday Match program is underway with homeroom visits and candy sales. The proceeds will be donated to CAPTAIN. They have raised close to $4,000 in the first few days. $10,000 is the goal as they have achieved in the past few years.
b. Residents
There were no public comments at this time.
4. SUPERINTENDENT’S REPORT
Dr. Robinson thanked Mrs. Wiggins for her gifts.
Dr. Robinson asked the Board to e-mail any comments to his office for the January 8 meeting. He noted that March 17 is the deadline date to have the financial system begin the new budget cycle with new budget codes.
Dr. Robinson gave a brief description of the following documents:
Preliminary Assumptions for
2008-09 Budget Development
Preliminary Expectations for
2008-09 Budget Development
Preliminary Key Objectives for
2008-09 Budget Development
Mr. Huff noted that these documents were good guides and he was glad to see LOTE and alternative education included. He is hopeful that eventually LOTE can be pushed into the elementary range. He also noted that important points are energy costs in lieu of our added square footage and the pool impact. Dr. Robinson noted that these assumptions were made regarding utilities.
5. INFORMATION ITEMS
a. Five-Year Financial Forecast
Copies of the Five-Year Budget Forecast were provided to the Board of Education. Ms. Wetmore gave a brief description of the forecasting assumptions.
b. Internal Claims Report
The Board of Education reviewed the
October
2007 Internal Claims Audit Report.
6. Consent Items
MOTION BY Mrs. Wiggins, seconded by Mr. DiLallo, to approve the
Treasurer’s Report for the month of October 2007.
Unanimously approved, motion carried.
b. Minutes
1)
November 13, 2007
2)
November 27, 2007
Mr. Casey asked that it be noted that Mr. Mincher was absent from the
November 13, 2007, meeting due to his attendance at the Capital
Region BOCES mandatory Board member training. Also, Mrs. Grey noted that on
Page 3 of the November 13 minutes, the sixth sentence should read, “Replacing the
track alone would be about $1.5 million.”
MOTION BY Mrs. Wiggins, seconded by Mr. DiLallo, to approve the November 13,
2007, and the November 27, 2007, minutes with the corrections/revisions noted
above.
Unanimously approved, motion carried.
7. ACTION ITEMS
a. Students
1)
Special Education Student Placement
MOTION BY Mrs. Grey, seconded by Mrs. Wiggins, that the Board of
Education accept the attached placements and services for the 2007-2008 school
year and the 2008-2009 school year based upon the recommendation of the
District Committee on Special Education, the Committee on Special Education
Subcommittee, and the Committee on Preschool Special Education (a copy of this
document is on file in the official minutes folder).
Unanimously approved, motion carried.
b. Personnel
1)
Staffing
Dr. Dutkowsky provided an addendum to the staffing report. After presenting the staffing report, Dr.
Dutkowsky expressed his gratitude to Kathleen Soloski (34 ½ years) and to
Kathleen Powers (17 years).
MOTION BY Mrs. Grey, seconded by Mrs. Bowles, to accept the staffing
report and addendum as presented by Dr. Dutkowsky.
A. RETIREMENT,
with appreciation and regret
1) Certified
Staff
a) Name: Kathleen Powers
Tenure Area: Elementary Principal
Reason: Retirement after 17 years
Commencing: February 29, 2008 (end of day)
2) Classified Staff
a) Name: Kathleen Soloski
Position: Senior Account Clerk
Reason: Retirement after 34 ½
years
Commencing: December 28, 2007 (end of day)
b) Name: Nancy Zappolo
Position: Teacher Aide
Reason: Retirement after 27 years
Commencing: April 30, 2008 (end of day)
B. RESIGNATIONS
1) Certified Staff
a) Name: Franklin Rosselli
Tenure
Area: Music Education
Commencing: January 4, 2008
2) Classified Staff
a) Name: M. Patricia Beidl
Position: Teacher Aide (Special
Education)
Commencing: November 20, 2007 (end of day)
b) Name: Judith Bouchard
Position: Teacher Aide (Special
Education)
Commencing: November 23, 2007 (end of day)
c) Name: Michael Forgett
Position: Bus Driver
Commencing: November 20, 2007 (end of day)
d) Name: Nancy Mathewson
Position: School Monitor
(Elementary Cafeteria)
Commencing: December 11, 2007 (end of day)
e) Name: Rosemary Ryan
Position: Food Service Helper
Commencing: November 26, 2007 (end of day)
C. EXTEND LEAVE OF ABSENCE
1) Certified Staff
a) Name: Suzanne McQuade
Tenure
Area: Special Education
Reason: Unpaid Child Rearing
Commencing: second semester 2007-08 school year
D. CHANGE OF EMPLOYMENT
1) Certified Staff
a) Name: Jennifer Robertaccio
From Position: 0.5 FTE Elementary
Status: Term
Commencing: 09/01/07 – 06/30/08
To
Position: 1.0 FTE
Elementary
Status: 3 year Probationary
Commencing: December 12, 2007
Salary: $40,935/yr. (Step 1)
pro rated
b) Name: Jaime Semerad
From
Position: 1.0 FTE Elementary
To
Position: 0.5 FTE
Elementary
Status: 3 year Probationary
Commencing: September 1, 2006
To
Position: 0.5 FTE Special
Education
Status: 3 year Probationary
Commencing: December 12, 2007
Salary: $44,862/yr. (Step 4)
2) Classified Staff
a) Name: Louise Brooks
Position: Bus Driver
From: 2 ½ hrs./day, 10
mos./yr.
To: 6 hrs./day, 10
mos./yr.
Commencing: December 12, 2007
Salary: $19.87/hr. (School Bus
Driver Schedule, Step 3)
b) Name: Cynthia Cook
Position: Bus Driver
From: 5 ½ hrs./day, 10
mos./yr.
To: 7 ½ hrs./day, 10
mos./yr.
Commencing: December 12, 2007
Salary: $19.87/hr. (School Bus
Driver Schedule, Step 3)
c) Name: John Duncan
Position: Bus Driver
From: 5 ½ hrs./day, 10
mos./yr.
To: 6 hrs./day, 10
mos./yr.
Commencing: December 12, 2007
Salary: $19.87/hr. (School Bus
Driver Schedule, Step 3)
d) Name: Debbie Lattan
Position: Teacher Aide (Special
Education)
From: 2 ½ hrs./day, 10
mos./yr.
To: 6 ¼ hrs./day, 10
mos./yr.
Commencing: November 14, 2007
Salary: $15.50/hr. (Special
Education Aide Schedule,
Step 2)
e) Name: Zia Markowski
Position: School Monitor (Secondary)
From: 3 ¾ hrs./day, 10 mos./yr.
To: 5
¼ hrs./day, 10 mos./yr.
Commencing: December 12, 2007
Salary: $13.98/hr. (School Monitor Schedule, Step
1)
f) Name: Christopher Selkirk
Position: Bus Driver
From: 2 ½ hrs./day, 10 mos./yr.
To: 4
½ hrs./day, 10 mos./yr.
Commencing: December 12, 2007
Salary: $19.87/hr. (School Bus Driver Schedule,
Step 3)
E. RESCIND APPOINTMENT
1) Certified Staff
a) Name: James Ward
Position: Varsity Indoor Track Assistant Coach
Commencing: November 5, 2007 (end of day)
b) Name: Paul Whitley
Position:
Commencing: October 18, 2007 (end of day)
F. MODIFICATION OF SALARY
1) Coaching Staff
a) Name: Robert Cloutier
Position: Varsity Indoor Track Assistant
Coach
From Salary: $2,492
To Salary: $2,504
b) Name: Brooke Davis
Position: Varsity Indoor Track
Assistant Coach
From
Salary: $2,492
To
Salary: $2,504
G. APPOINTMENTS
- (These appointments are conditioned on the school district’s receipt of a
clearance for the employee from the State Education Department following a
criminal history records check in accordance with the provisions of Education
Law § 3035).
1)
Certified Staff
a) Name: Amy Christopher
Position: 1.0
Status: Term
Commencing: 12/17/07 04/02/08
Salary: $40,935/yr. (Step 1)
pro rated
b) Name: Amanda DeAloe
Position: 1.0
Status: Term
Commencing: second semester 2007-2008 school
year
Salary: $40,935/yr. (Step 1)
pro rated
c) Name: Nicole Mason
Position: 1.0 FTE Secondary English
Status: Term
Commencing: 12/12/07 – 01/31/08
Salary: $40,935 (Step 1) pro
rated
d) Name: Susan Romano
Position: 1.0 FTE Mathematics
Status: Term
Commencing: second semester 2007-2008 school
year
Salary: $40,935/yr. (Step 1)
pro rated
e) Name: JoAnn Smith
Position: 1.0 FTE Spanish
Status: Term
Commencing: second semester 2007-2008 school
year
Salary: $44,862/yr. (Step 4)
pro rated
f) Name: Leah Wallner
Position: 1.0
Status: Term
Commencing: second semester 2007-2008 school
year
Salary: $40,935/yr. (Step 1)
pro rated
2)
Classified Staff
a) Name: Alice Birnbaum
Position: Typist; 8 hrs./day, 10
mos./yr.
Status: Probationary,
Competitive
Commencing: December 12, 2007
Salary: $13.78/hr. (Clerical
Schedule, Group B, Step 1)
b) Name: Joyce Caruso
Position: Bus Driver; 2 hrs./day,
10 mos./yr.
Status: Probationary, Labor
Commencing: