Webutuck Board of
Education held the April 27, 2009 Worksession meeting at 7:30 p.m. in the
Webutuck High School Library.
The following Board members were present:
Dale Culver
Joseph Herald
Andrew Jablonsky
Susan Lounsbury
William McGhee
John Perotti
Absent:
Joseph Matteo
Also Present:
Dr. Richard Johns
Linda Peters
Therese Trotter
CALL TO ORDER
President Culver called the Work Session meeting of April 27,
2009 to order at 7:38 p.m.
PUBLIC COMMENT
The following comments
were made by Board members:
No public comment.
DISCUSSION
1.
Mrs. Harrington explained about the Costa Rica Trip. The travel agent has not released prices for
2010. Mrs. Harrington went over the
itinerary with the Board. There will be
four teacher chaperones and a few parents have shown interest in chaperoning. A Board member asked what risks the trip poses
for students and chaperones. Mrs.
Harrington stated criminal activity happens in every country; everyone should
always be aware in a new situations. She
will check with the Embassy before they go on the trip to make sure there are
no threats.
A Board member stated his concern of criminal activity and also the cost
of the trip. There were other questions
asked by Board members such as when will there be unsupervised time, and do
they send the students out on horseback with a helmet? Mrs. Harrington did not know for sure about
the helmets but the only time students will be un-chaperoned will be when they
are asleep.
A Board member stated that the trip is one year away. The Board should be able to revisit their
decision as the trip gets closer particularly if some concern comes up in that
part of the world. Mrs. Harrington
stated that there is insurance that a traveler can purchase so that the cost of
the trip is not lost and that will be offered to everyone. Fund raiser ideas were talked about.
Discussion ensued.
Mrs. Benken presented a slide show of the 2010 trip to
2.
Seasonal Workers
The Superintendent explained the need for seasonal workers and that we
hire them every year for the summer. Mr.
Lounsbury is asking for fourteen seasonal workers this summer due to the moving
items from AES to WES and EBMS. A Board
member suggested that the District does not necessarily have to strip floors in
the summer it can be put off and done during a different break. A Board member asked how the seasonal workers
will be supervised. The Superintendent
replied that Mr. Lounsbury finds using a staff person, cleaner or maintenance,
to supervise the seasonal workers most beneficial. Another Board member stated he had concerns
about proper advertising and if the students going on the foreign trips would
be interested in these jobs. A Board
member suggested looking at moving companies and seeing what prices they could
give the District to move. Discussion
ensued.
3.
Oil Spill Update
The Board President asked what the dollar figure to date was on the cost
of the clean up? The School Business
Administrator reported a figure of $98,918.15.
If approved by NYSED then State Aid will pay 59.4% of the cost. Other questions by Board members were
posed. Has VAZ CO given us further
costs? No, not until the DEC plan is
approved. What was the cost the insurance
company would not pick up? The District
has to pay a $1,000 deductible and $5,456.40 for removal of the old sludge that
was from a 1988 tank removal. Did they
give a timeline on the remediation completion?
No, I believe it will be decided on the DEC decision. How is the water oil separator installed? It will be installed in pieces. It will sit close to the sump pit and be
separated before it gets to the drain. Do
they have an idea when the District can begin using the field again? Hopefully soon, after it has been re-seeded.
PUBLIC COMMENT
The following comments were made by Board members:
-The FFA was given permission for the tractor pull but the Ag Advisory
Committee was given the ok through a letter from the Superintendent. Is that still the case? Yes, the Superintendent stated he had been in
communication with Cynthia Hawk who is on the Ag Advisory Committee if that has
changed then I need to be back in communication with them. He stated that there are three things they
need to do that he discussed. In their
literature there has to be a statement that there is no smoking; signs will be
posted during the event; and the Ag Advisory Committee will police the event. An audience member stated he thought the
event had now been cancelled. The Board
asked for clarification on this. Discussion
ensued.
-I would hope you would hire the students here for seasonal workers to
keep the money local.
-This Wednesday night there is a presentation on Current Drug Trends in
the HS Library at 6:00 pm
BOARD MEMBER QUESTIONS
-A Board member stated going through the budget packet that was given
there is a summary for the 2007-2008 District Performance for testing. The numbers of our population in Level 1 and
2 are significant but specifically Level 2.
I would like the principals to give us a summary on how they are
addressing this at the next Board meeting.
-A Board member asked what was different about the contingency budget this
year. The Superintendent explained the
problem with the new contingency budget law.
This year the contingency budget must be lower than the district’s
proposed budget. Discussion ensued.
EXECUTIVE SESSION
Mr. Jablonsky made and Mr. McGhee seconded a motion to adjourn to
executive session at 8:54pm for the purpose of discussing particular personnel
matters and legal issues. The six Board members present voted. The motion carried unanimously.
RECONVENE PUBLIC SESSION
Mr. Herald made a motion
to adjourn the executive session and reconvene the public session at 10:54 pm. The six Board members present voted. The motion passed unanimously.
ADJOURNMENT