The Webutuck Board
of Education held their May 23, 2011 meeting
at 7:30 p.m. in the Webutuck High School Library.
The following
Board members were present:
Dale Culver,
President
Joanne Boyd
Joseph Herald
Joseph Matteo
William McGhee
John Perotti
Casey Swift
Also Present:
Steven D.
Schoonmaker, Superintendent
Mary Grden, School Business Administrator
Therese Trotter,
District Clerk
Absent:
CALL TO ORDER
President Culver
called the business meeting of May 23, 2011
to order at 7:36 p.m.
PUBLIC COMMENT
The following are
comments made by audience members:
-Maintenance Work on agenda
-Teacher Aide who is this position
-Proposition 2, 3, and 5
PRINCIPAL’S
REPORT
Mrs. McEnroe announced that June 8 is Kindergarten
orientation and the schedule will be as has been done in the past. The parents will
meet with Mrs. McEnroe while the students take a bus ride. There will also be a Pre-K orientation about
an hour and a half later the same day. She
also noted that Grade 4 and Grade 8 Science Test will be next week. All grade
levels have been scheduled to meet on the Common Core Standards in the coming
weeks. Discussion ensued.
Mr. Sauer announced that Friday night’s Prom went
off great. He also announced that Middle
School math what went well and AP testing finished up today. The High School is now looking towards
Regents. He noted National Honor’s
Society Induction is this week as well as several field trips that are coming
up. The 8th Grade Dinner
Dance and Honor Roll and High Honor Roll recognition will be coming up as well. He spoke about Carla Mazzarelli from Dutchess
Community College (DCC) who recently came to speak to staff about offering DCC
courses for our students. Coming up is
the Scholastic Achievement Dinner sponsored by the Lower Hudson Council of
School. The dinner recognizes the
valedictorians and salutatorians throughout the area schools. Discussion
ensued.
PRESENTATION: French Trip
Madame Benken discussed the French Trip to Guadeloupe
for this coming November. She presented
a PowerPoint that included pictures of the area that students will visit and
gave a description of what the students will be doing. She noted that she took a group of Webutuck
students to Guadeloupe several years ago.
She explained that a November trip will be cheaper than a March/April
trip due to that time span being off-peak.
She noted the number of students, teachers, and parents signed up for
the trip and how much the trip will cost.
Discussion ensued.
SUPERINTENDENT’S
REPORT
The Superintendent went
to the High School concert last week and reported it was outstanding. He also attended the Middle School concert the
week before which was also great. He
congratulated the music department teachers on their successful concerts. It was also mentioned that Mr. Stowe, the
chorus teacher, announced at the concert that our High School Chorus received a
distinction as a gold medal level chorus countywide. He also noted that next Monday is Memorial
Day and there is no school.
The Superintendent announced
that New York State has now eliminated all foreign language Regents for next
year as well as eliminating all January Regents starting next year.
The Common Core Standards
for English Language Arts (ELA) and Math have been approved and will begin in September
and a year from now they will address Social Studies and Science. He mentioned the State is coming out with a
new ELA Regents for tenth grade. He also reported on Response to Intervention
(RTI) and where they are with that. RTI
is an overall intervention process.
DISCUSSION
1. Bus Purchase
Mr. Heiser, Head Bus Driver addressed Board members about the pros and cons of buying propane buses. He noted that the NY Bus Sales Company came earlier in the year to explain the benefits of propane buses. He stated that Red Hook had recently bought propane buses and that he had spoken to their Transportation Supervisor about them. Mr. Heiser spoke about some of the pros and cons of each diesel and propane bus. He noted several points: an exhaust replacement on a diesel would cost $7000 while it would cost $900 on a propane bus, that emissions was going to be the biggest cost coming in, overall maintenance was less with propane and diesel holds 30 quarts of oil and propane holds 10 quart. He mentioned the District would have to sign a contract with the provider of gas and Board members questioned him on that point. There would have to be training of all drivers before the beginning of the new school year. Concerns from board members and audience members were voiced. Discussion ensued.
CONSENSUS AGENDA VOTE
Mr. Herald made and Mrs. Boyd seconded the following motion to approve the consent agenda (as amended). The amendment by Vice President Herald called for removing #6 under Personnel and #3 under Business & Operations for further discussion. A consent agenda is a single vote, which approves all asterisked items. Board policy (#008a) prohibits discussion of consent agenda items. Asterisked items can be pulled from the consent agenda for discussion by any one Board member.
Ayes 7 Nays 0 The motion carried.
CLERK’S REPORT
1. Delegations
Grades 4-6 Teachers spoke regarding the 4-6 schedule for next year.
Denise Conway spoke about coming to the Board meeting so the Board Members could ask the teachers any questions after receiving their letter on the matter. The Board wanted to know how the discussion went between the teachers, superintendent and principal. It was noted that discussion began in January on this topic, however Ms. Conway stated there was not much conversation until recently. Ms. Conway stated teachers did not have concerns with the schedules as much as they had concerns with the model for configuration for teaching. She stated there is no time to prepare for how things will be taught, she noted Mr. Schoonmaker stated there was no money for curriculum development over the summer and there are very few scheduled days to get together before the end of the year. The teachers expressed a need for more time to transition to the model that the Superintendent and principal prepared. Discussion ensued.
EXECUTIVE SESSION
Mr. Herald made and Mr. Matteo seconded a motion to adjourn to executive session at 8:56 pm for the
purpose of discussing a personnel issue.
Ayes 7 Nays 0 The motion carried.
RECONVENE PUBLIC SESSION
Mr. Herald made and Mrs. Boyd seconded a motion to adjourn the executive
session and to reconvene the public session at 9:35 pm.
Ayes 7 Nays 0 The motion carried.
Continued discussion on the 4-6 schedule for next year:
The Board asked that the Grade 4-6 teachers look at what they need to plan for the schedule change and planning time. The President stated the Board believes with change in Standards it is necessary to move ahead; they acknowledge that the circumstances are not great but the timing is necessary. They directed Ms. McEnroe and Mr. Schoonmaker to communicate with the Board by Friday what teachers need to make the change happen for next year. The Board of Education thanked the teachers for coming and for their time.
2. Non-Staff Communications - None
PERSONNEL
*1. Substitute Support Staff
Appointment
Mr. Herald made and Mrs. Boyd seconded the following motion:
Upon the recommendation of the Superintendent of Schools, BE IT RESOLVED
that the Board of Education hereby approves the following Substitute Support
Staff appointment:
Melissa Carr Substitute
Courier
Effective: April 29, 2011 $13.36/hour
Ayes 7 Nays 0 The motion carried.
*2. Support
Staff Resignation
Mr. Herald made and Mrs. Boyd seconded the following motion:
Upon the recommendation of the Superintendent
of Schools, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Board of Education hereby accepts the
support staff resignation from Brendha Rivera, Teacher Aide, effective
immediately upon appointment of new position as Bi-lingual Aide.
Ayes 7 Nays 0 The motion carried.
*3. Support Staff Appointment
Mr. Herald made and Mrs. Boyd seconded the following motion:
Upon the recommendation of the Superintendent of Schools, BE IT RESOLVED
that the Board of Education hereby approves the following support staff
appointments:
Brendha Rivera Bi-Lingual
Aide
Effective: May 24, 2011 Salary: Step 2, $12.38/hour
Ayes 7 Nays 0 The motion carried.
*4. Abolishment
of Position(s)
Mr. Herald made and Mrs. Boyd seconded the following motion:
Upon the recommendation of the Superintendent of Schools, BE IT RESOLVED,
that the Board of Education hereby abolishes the following positions:
(1.0
FTE) Maintenance Worker
(1.0
FTE) Teacher Aide
(1.0
FTE) Senior Account Clerk
(0.5
FTE) Business Office Clerk
Ayes 7 Nays 0 The motion carried.
*5. Approval of Job
Description(s)
Mr. Herald made and Mrs. Boyd seconded the following motion:
Upon the recommendation of the Superintendent
of Schools, BE IT RESOLVED that the Board of Education approves the job
description(s) for:
Diesel Mechanic
Bus Mechanic Helper
Ayes 7 Nays 0 The motion carried.
6. Creation of Position(s)
Mr. Herald made and Mr.
McGhee seconded the following motion as amended (removed Diesel Mechanic from
resolution):
A Board member questioned
the Diesel Mechanic position and whether that person will be an employee of the
District. The School Business Manager
answered no, that individual will not be an employee of the District. It will be an Independent Contractor on an as
needed basis and will provide a certificate of insurance. Mr. Herald also wanted clarification on the
.5 Bus Mechanic Helper. Discussion ensued.
Upon the recommendation
of the Superintendent of Schools, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Board of Education
hereby approves the creation of the following position(s):
(.5FTE) Bus Mechanic Helper, benefits per CSEA contract.
Salary: $15.00/hour
(.5FTE) Maintenance Worker
Salary: $16.90/hour
*7. Leave of Absence
Mr. Herald made and Mrs. Boyd seconded the following motion:
Upon the recommendation of the Superintendent of Schools, BE IT RESOLVED,
that the Board of Education hereby approves the following paid approves the
following paid Leave of Absence as authorized by the Family Medical Leave Act:
Rebecca Garrard Speech
Teacher
Effective:
approximately May 17, 2011-June 24, 2011
Ayes 7 Nays 0 The motion carried.
*8.
Approval of JUUL Agreement
Mr. Herald made and Mrs. Boyd seconded the following motion:
Upon the recommendation
of the Superintendent of Schools, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Board of Education
of the Webutuck Central School District, hereby approves the agreement dated
May 19, 2011, extending the probationary appointment of Special Education
Teacher, Gina Tauro, through August 31, 2012 in accordance with the said
agreement.
Ayes 7 Nays 0 The motion carried.
*9.
Support Staff Resignation
Mr. Herald made and Mrs. Boyd seconded the following motion:
Upon the recommendation of the Superintendent
of Schools, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Board of Education hereby accepts the
support staff resignation from the following individual:
Deanna
Intrieri Food
Service Helper
Effective: May 20, 2011
Ayes 7 Nays 0 The motion carried.
*10. Support Staff Resignation
Mr. Herald made and Mrs. Boyd seconded the following motion:
Upon the recommendation of the Superintendent
of Schools, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Board of Education hereby accepts the support
staff resignation, for the purpose of retirement, from the following
resignation:
Marilyn
Unger School
Nurse
Effective: September 5, 2011
Ayes 7 Nays 0 The motion carried.
CURRICULUM AND INSTRUCTION
*1. Committee on Special Education
Monthly Reports
Mr. Herald made and Mrs. Boyd seconded the following motion:
Upon the recommendation of the Superintendent of Schools, BE IT RESOLVED,
that the Webutuck Board of Education hereby accepts the Committee on Special
Education report for April 2011, prepared
by the Webutuck Central School District Committee on Pre-School Education and
by the Webutuck Central School District Committee Special Education.
Ayes 7 Nays 0 The motion carried.
2. Approval
of Trip to Guadeloupe French West Indies
Mr. Herald made and Mrs. Boyd seconded the following motion:
Upon the recommendation of the Superintendent of Schools, BE IT RESOLVED,
that the Board of Education hereby approves the trip to France scheduled for
November 18 – November 26, 2011 as school field trips.
Ayes 7 Nays 0 The motion carried.
BUSINESS AND OPERATIONS
1.
Approval of Sale of Bus Garage Lifts
Mr. Herald made and Mr. McGhee seconded the following motion:
Upon the
recommendation of the Superintendent of Schools, BE IT RESOLVED that the Board
of Education approves the sale of bus garage lifts in the amount of three
thousand dollars ($3000) to Total Tools, Ltd.
Ayes 7 Nays 0 The motion carried.
2.
Approval of RFP Request for Proposal Internal Auditor and Legal Council
Mr. Herald made and Mrs. Swift seconded the following motion:
Upon the
recommendation of the Superintendent of Schools, BE IT RESOLVED that the Board
of Education approves Raymond G. Preusser, CPA, P.C. as internal auditor for
2010-2011 through 2012-2013 school years as per Request for Proposal dated
April 28, 2011
BE IT FURTHER
RESOLVED, the Webutuck Board of Education approves Girvin and Ferlazzo for
legal services from July 1, 2011 through June 30, 2014 as per Request for
Proposal dated April 28, 2011.
Ayes 7 Nays 0 The motion carried.
3. Approval
of two (2) Budget Transfer Schedules
Mr. Herald made and
Mrs. Swift seconded the following motion as amended (3 Budget
Transfers):
Mr. Herald made and Mrs.
Boyd seconded following motion as amended a second time back to 2 Budget Transfer
Schedules. There were several Budget
Transfers but only 2 Budget Transfer Schedules.
A Board member
questioned what the transfers were for.
Mrs. Grden explained.
Upon the recommendation of the Superintendent of Schools, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Board of Education approves the three budget transfer schedules over five thousand dollars ($5,000) per Board resolution dated 7/6/10.
Ayes 7 Nays 0 The motion carried.
*4.
Acceptance of Grant and
Authorization to increase the 2010-2011 Budget
Mr. Herald made and Mrs. Boyd seconded the following motion:
Upon the recommendation of the Superintendent
of Schools, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Board of Education hereby accepts the
following grant:
$1,899.00 from the Fund for Excellence in
Education at the Community Foundation of Dutchess County for “Carving Out A
Future” Grant issued to John Roccanova;
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Board of
Education approves the increases the 2010-2011 Budget in the amount of $1,899.00
in Budget Code A2110.450 01 00 30 to be recorded in Revenue Account Code A2770,
with such funds to be expended from A2110.450 01 00 30.
Ayes 7 Nays 0 The motion carried.
BOARD OF EDUCATION
1. Acceptance of Vote Results
Mr. Herald made and Mr. Perotti seconded the following motion:
Board members congratulated the new Board members in the audience and wished them the best of luck.
BE IT RESOLVED, the Webutuck Board of Education accepts the following vote results from the May 17, 2011 vote: 2011-2012 School Budget Vote, Transportation Vote and Board Member Vote as follows:
Ayes 7 Nays 0 The motion carried.
PROPOSITION I: 2011-2012 SCHOOL BUDGET
Shall the 2011-12 Budget in the amount of $20,227,770 adopted by the
Board of Education with anticipated revenue exclusive of taxes in the amount of
$8,103,584 and the amount to be raised through taxes of $12,124,186 be
approved?
VOTE RESULTS:
PROPOSITION I
YES 251
NO 95
TOTAL VOTES 346
PROPOSITION II: 2011-2012 TRANSPORTATION VEHICLE PURCHASE
Shall the Board of
Education of the Webutuck Central School District be authorized to: (1) purchase one 65-passenger school bus at a
maximum estimated cost of $110,000 each, for an aggregate maximum estimated
cost of $110,000, (2) equipped with radios and cameras (3) expend such sum for
such purposes, (4) levy the tax necessary therefore, to be levied and collected
in annual installments in such years in such amounts as may be determined by
the Board of Education, taking into account state aid received, and (5) in
anticipation of the collection of such tax, to issue bonds and notes of the
District at one time or from time to time in the principal amount at a maximum
estimated cost of $110,000 and levy a tax to pay the interest on said
obligations when due?
VOTE RESULTS:
PROPOSITION II
YES 210
NO 130
TOTAL VOTES 340
PROPOSITION III: 2011-2012 TRANSPORTATION VEHICLE PURCHASE
Shall the Board of Education of the Webutuck Central School District be authorized to: (1) purchase one 65-passenger school buses at a maximum estimated cost of $110,000 each, for an aggregate maximum estimated cost of $110,000, (2) equipped with radios and cameras (3) expend such sum for such purposes, (4) levy the tax necessary therefore, to be levied and collected in annual installments in such years in such amounts as may be determined by the Board of Education, taking into account state aid received, and (5) in anticipation of the collection of such tax, to issue bonds and notes of the District at one time or from time to time in the principal amount at a maximum estimated cost of $110,000 and levy a tax to pay the interest on said obligations when due?
VOTE RESULTS:
PROPOSITION III
YES 185
NO 154
TOTAL VOTES 339
PROPOSITION IV: DONATION OF MILLERTON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Shall the Board of Education of the Webutuck Central School District be authorized to donate the real property commonly known as the Millerton Elementary School located on 5833 South Elm Street, Millerton, New York to the Village of Millerton or Town of North East or any other public entity for public use?
VOTE RESULTS:
PROPOSITION IV
YES 270
NO 77
TOTAL VOTES 347
PROPOSITION V:
a.)
CREATION OF BUS PURCHASE
RESERVE
Shall the Board of Education of the Webutuck Central School District be authorized to: (1) establish a reserve fund to be known as the Bus Purchase Reserve Fund effective July 1, 2011, the purpose of which is to finance the cost of acquisition of school buses and vehicles, and (2) commencing with the 2011-2012 school year and in each of the next nine fiscal years, deposit into said Bus Purchase Reserve Fund the amount received from the State of New York as transportation aid, such portion of the unallocated fund balance as determined by the Board of Education or any other amount authorized by the District voters. The ultimate amount of such Fund is $2,000,000.00. The probable duration of such Fund is ten (10) years?
VOTE RESULTS:
PROPOSITION
V.a.
YES 220
NO 118
TOTAL VOTES 338
b.) APPROVAL OF CAPITAL RESERVE FUND TRANSFER
Shall the Board of Education of the Webutuck Central School District be authorized to transfer the remaining monies from the Bus Garage Construction Reserve Fund, in the amount of $329,900 to the Bus Purchase Reserve fund?
VOTE RESULTS:
PROPOSITION
V.b.
YES 240
NO 95
TOTAL VOTES 335
c.) AUTHORIZATION TO EXPEND BUS PURCHASE RESERVE
Shall the Board of Education of the Webutuck Central School District be authorized to: (a) acquire school buses at a maximum aggregate cost of $220,000; (b) expend such sums for such purpose; (c) expend from the Bus Purchase Reserve Fund an amount not to exceed $220,000 for such purpose; (d) levy the necessary tax therefor, to be levied and collected in such amounts as may be determined by the Board of Education taking into account state aid received and amounts disbursed from the reserve fund; and (e) in anticipation of the collection of such tax, to issue bonds and notes of the District at one time or from time to time in the principal amount not to exceed $220,000, and to levy a tax to pay the interest on such obligations when due?
VOTE RESULTS:
PROPOSITION
V.c.
YES 195
NO 127
TOTAL VOTES 322
VOTE RESULTS FOR THREE BOARD OF EDUCATION MEMBER SEATS
MAY 17, 2011
VOTE RESULTS:
BOARD MEMBERS
Judy Moran 223
Robert Trotta 219
Kristen Panzer 87
2.
Approval of Purchase of two (2) 65 Passenger Buses
This item was removed from the agenda until
further information is received.
Upon the recommendation of the Superintendent of Schools, BE IT
RESOLVED that the Board of Education approves the purchase of two (2) 65 passenger ______ buses;
FURTHER, BE IT RESOLVED, that the two 65 passenger buses will be
purchased with __________ Funds as
authorized by the voters at the May 17, 2011 Annual Vote.
PUBLIC COMMENT
The following topics
were commented on by audience members:
-more information on the Gold Medal for Chorus
BOARD OF EDUCATION
A Board member thanked Marilyn Unger for her years of service with the
District and wished her the best in retirement.
She also thanked John Roccanova for applying for the grant.
EXECUTIVE SESSION
Mr. Herald made and Mrs. Boyd seconded a motion to adjourn to executive session at 10:00 pm for the
purpose of discussing the employment history of a particular person or persons.
Ayes 7 Nays 0 The motion carried.
RECONVENE PUBLIC SESSION
Mr. Herald made and Mrs. Boyd seconded a motion to adjourn the executive
session and to reconvene the public session at 10:45 pm.
Ayes 7 Nays 0 The motion carried.
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business, Mr. Perotti made and Mrs. Boyd
seconded a motion to adjourn the meeting of May 23, 2011 at 11:15 pm.
Ayes 7 Nays 0 The motion carried.
Respectfully submitted,
Therese M. Trotter
District Clerk