The Webutuck Board
of Education held their October 4, 2010 meeting at 7:30 p.m. in the Webutuck
High School Library.
The following
Board members were present:
Dale Culver,
President
Joanne Boyd
Joseph Matteo
William McGhee
John Perotti
Casey Swift
Also Present:
Steven D.
Schoonmaker, Superintendent
Mary Grden, School
Business Manager
Therese Trotter,
District Clerk
Absent:
Joseph Herald
CALL TO ORDER
President Culver
called the business meeting of October 4, 2010 to order at 7:40 p.m.
PUBLIC COMMENT
The following topics
were discussed by audience members:
-Nurse shortage
RECOGNITION OF NEW EMPLOYEES
There was cake and
coffee served while the Administrators of each building introduced their new
staff to the Board of Education. The
Board President welcomed them to the District.
PRESENTATION:
Victor Churchill External Auditor - 09-10
External Financial Auditor
Mr. Churchill stated
that the District generated a clean opinion this year for financial statements. Extra classroom clubs also were audited and
also had a clean opinion. He spoke about
follow-up items for management that showed improvement but they continue to
exist in the purchasing and payroll areas.
He recommends follow through on those items. He stated that overall the financial information
is in line for general fund budgetary purposes with prior years. The School Business Manager removed the
resolution to approve the audit until we receive the final copy from the auditors. Discussion
ensued.
Katy McEnroe - Elementary Report Cards
Mrs. McEnroe reported for
the past two years the elementary staff has been looking at report cards grade
by grade and building by building. There
has been inconsistency with the different ways of grading found on the report
cards. A task force was formed with staff
from each grade level to look at twenty to thirty different report cards from
different school districts. She
explained that they focused on wanting to align the report cards to what the
State was doing. Mrs. McEnroe noted the
staff present that worked on the task force.
Regina McCoy, first grade teacher, explained that they looked at K-6
report cards from area districts. Many of
them use a 1 2 3 4 scale which the task force liked, however, Webutuck does
not. She went on to explain that the
task force wanted a parent friendly report card that was easier to read and
understand, that was skill specific as well as has an area that talks about
social development and work habits. The
new report cards are closely aligned to New York State and match the benchmark
curriculum work developed over this summer. The grading changed in the specials area as
well (i.e. art, music, P.E. and library media) and will use the 1 2 3 4 scale
and have the same comments as the core classes with space for narratives. The task force is eager to use the new report
cards this year. Discussion ensued.
PRINCIPALS’ REPORTS
Mrs. McEnroe reported on the Parent Forum last Wednesday night held to discuss a possible change in the start of school day for grades 4-6. It was noted that about forty parents came to the discussion. The Superintendent will share with the Board the parents’ concerns. Mrs. McEnroe noted that everything needs to be taken into consideration. The Board discussed a survey on the proposal done possibly through the Webutuck website. It was noted that some thought the tone was negative while others thought it was good lively discussion. Mr. Schoonmaker stated that there were a lot of generic discussions that came out about the school while discussing the proposal (i.e., things parents were concerned about or were happy about). Discussion ensued.
Mr. Oates reported on Community Day and thought it was great. He commented that this was the culmination of spirit week, the pep rally, Red Cross Blood Drive and Saturday night’s homecoming dance. Also on Saturday, the boys’ and girls’ soccer teams won. Mr. Oates acknowledged Susan Harrington as being one of the many heroes of Community Day.
He noted that School Tools, the
District’s new student management system, training has been taking place. Teachers have been training for attendance
and grading. He also discussed
continuing to offer our students college courses that have been offered here in
the past. They are in contact with Columbia
Greene Community College to discuss offering the courses here. Mr. Oates acknowledged that observations are
coming up for new teachers and will be taking place and lastly he noted first
period progress reports are due out next week.
CONSENSUS AGENDA VOTE
Mrs. Swift made and Mrs. Boyd seconded the following motion to approve the consent agenda as amended.
The amendment by Mr. Culver called for removing #11 and #12 under Personnel for further discussion; Mr. Perotti called for removing #8 under Personnel 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 6 Nays 0 The motion carried.
CLERK’S REPORT
*1. Approval of Minutes for September 13 and September 20, 2010 Board meetings.
Mrs. Swift made and Mrs. Boyd seconded a motion to approve the minutes as submitted.
Ayes 6 Nays 0 The motion carried.
2. Delegations
David Shufelt spoke about wanting open negotiations for the teachers’ contract. He would like the public to be aware of what is going on when there are negotiations. He emphasized the state of education in New York and the cost associated with it. He stated that the public needs to be aware of things that are in the contract for example restrictions on a teacher being in the classroom more than five times a day. He noted the number of hours a teacher is required to be in the class room a week and with the financial pressure taxpayers are under schools have to begin making changes. He went on to say the cost of education cannot continue to increase like it has in the past. He asked that the Board discuss in public why they would not consider open negotiations. He also asked the Board to put open negotiations for the teacher contract on the agenda for discussion. The Board President stated he would like to speak to the District’s attorney to find out about the legal ramifications of having open negotiations. Discussion ensued.
3. Non-Staff Communications - None
PERSONNEL
*1. Substitute Support Staff Resignations
Mrs. Swift 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 Support Staff Resignations:
Cynthia Waaler Substitute
Monitor
Effective: October 5, 2010
Edward Waaler Substitute
Monitor
Effective:
October 5, 2010
Ayes 6 Nays 0 The motion carried.
*2. Support Staff
Resignation
Mrs. Swift 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 Support Staff Resignation:
Trisha Lawrence Typist
Effective: August 31, 2010
Ayes 6 Nays 0 The motion carried.
*3. Amendment of Support Staff
Appointment
Mrs. Swift 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 amendment for the 2010-2011 school year:
Trisha Lawrence Teaching
Assistant
Effective:
September 1, 2010
Salary: $19,998 – Step 4 as per CSEA contract
Ayes 6 Nays 0 The motion carried.
*4. Amend 6/21/10 Extra-Curricular Appointment
Mrs. Swift 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
June 21, 2010 amendment of the following extra-curricular appointment for the
2010-2011 school year:
Lynn Buckley Remove
as K-6 ELA Department Head
Ayes 6 Nays 0 The motion carried.
*5. Amendment of 8/2/10
Mrs. Swift 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 amends the
Mentor Directors grade areas as follows:
Rosanna Hamm Mentor
Director Grades 7-12
(was
Grades 6-12)
Denise Conway Mentor
Director Grades Pre-K-6
(was Grades K-5)
Ayes 6 Nays 0 The motion carried.
*6. Amendment of 7/6/10 Appointment of Officers
Mrs. Swift 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 amends the July 6, 2010
Appointment of Officers resolution for the 2010-2011 school year to read as
follows:
Sally Chamberlain Attendance Officer
(remove Trisha Lawrence)
Ayes 6 Nays 0 The motion carried.
*7. Extra-Curricular
Appointments for the 2010-2011 School Year
Mrs. Swift 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 extra-curricular appointments for the 2010-2011 school year:
Kathleen Howard Advisor Class of 2013
Ann Kain Co-Advisor Class of 2014
Jackie Woodruff Co-Advisor Class of 2014
Michelle Nowak Advisor Class of 2015
Christine Gillette Co-Advisor
Class of 2016
Sam Fitzgerald Co-Advisor Class of 2016
Karen Rubin (Gr. 4-6) Co-Department
Head Elementary ELA
Stephanie Hoelderlin
(Gr. K-3) Co-Department Head
Elementary ELA
Eric Harvey National Honor Society Advisor
Cheryl Benken French Club
Sue Harrington German Club
Patrick Ivain Boys’ JV
Basketball Coach
Mentee Mentor
Michelle Nowak Paul
Wladarczyk
Ayes 6 Nays 0 The motion carried.
8. Approval of Representative for
the
This item was removed from consent agenda for further discussion in
executive session.
Upon the recommendation of the Superintendent of Schools, BE IT
RESOLVED, that the Board of Education hereby approves the appointment of John
Roccanova at a rate of $929.00/year as the Webutuck
Central School District Representative for the Community Garden for the
2010-2011 school year.
*9. Substitute Support Staff Appointments
Mrs. Swift 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 appointments:
Patricia Lasorsa Substitute Monitor
Effective: October 5, 2010 $11.29/hour
Karen Slater Substitute
Monitor
Effective: October 5, 2010 $11.29/hour
Melissa Carr Substitute
Monitor
Effective: October 5, 2010 $11.29/hour
Bonnie Mead Substitute
Monitor
Effective: October 5, 2010 $11.29/hour
Kyle Carr Substitute
Bus Driver
Effective: October 5, 2010 $16.80/hour
Trini Stevens Substitute
Maintenance Worker
Effective: October 5, 2010 $
13.50/hour
Trini Stevens Substitute
Cleaner
Effective: October 5, 2010 $10.08/hour
Ayes 6 Nays 0 The
motion carried.
*9. Substitute Instructional Appointments
Mrs. Swift 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 appointments:
Andrew Krakowka Substitute
Teacher
Effective: October 5, 2010 $85.00/day
Kevin Walsh Substitute
Teacher
Effective: October 5, 2010 $85.00/day
Elizabeth Carris Substitute Teacher
Effective: October 5, 2010 $90.00/day
Ayes 6 Nays 0 The
motion carried.
*10. Support Staff Appointments
Mrs. Swift 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:
Lonnie Vater Monitor
(full time)
Effective: October 5, 2010
Salary: $11.35/hour, Step1, as per CSEA Contract
Ayes 6 Nays 0 The
motion carried.
11. Creation of Position
This item was removed from consent agenda for further discussion in
executive session.
Upon the recommendation of the Superintendent
of Schools, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Board of Education hereby approves the
creation of the position .2 FTE Curriculum Coordinator.
12. Appointment of Curriculum
Coordinator
This item was removed from consent agenda for further discussion in
executive session.
Upon the recommendation of the Superintendent
of Schools, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Board of Education hereby approves the
following individual for the 2010-2011 school year:
Rosanna Hamm .2
Curriculum Coordinator
Effective: September 1, 2010 Salary:
$15,000
*13. Approval
of Individual Contracts
Mrs. Swift made and Mrs. Boyd seconded the following motion:
Upon the
Superintendent of Schools, BE IT RESOLVED, the Board of Education of the
Webutuck Central School District approves the contracts for Treasurer,
Secretary to the Superintendent and District Clerk, Deputy Treasurer, Personnel
Clerk/Administrative Clerk and Supervisor of School Facilities and Operations,
Business Office Clerk for the 2010-2011 school year.
Ayes 6 Nays 0 The motion carried.
CURRICULUM AND INSTRUCTION
*1. Committee on Special Education Monthly Reports
Mrs. Swift made and Mrs. Boyd seconded the following motion:
BE IT RESOLVED, that the Webutuck Board of Education hereby accepts the
Committee on Special Education report for September 2010, prepared by the Webutuck Central School District Committee on
Pre-School Education and by the Webutuck Central School District Committee on
Special Education, as recommended by the Superintendent of Schools.
Ayes 6 Nays 0 The motion carried.
BUSINESS AND OPERATIONS
1. Acceptance
of Donation and Authorization to increase the 2010-2011 Budget
Mr. Matteo made and Mrs. Swift seconded the
following motion:
The Board President questioned where these
amounts are going. The School Business
Manager stated they were going into supply codes to aid the instructional
program. Discussion took place about how
this program works at Target and other companies. A Board member explained how the Fresh Town
points worked in the beginning but that program has recently changed its
process. It will give cash back in exchange
for the points an organization has collected.
The PTA was reviewing the idea of giving the cash to the Consumer and
Family Science teacher to purchase the groceries for her classes. Discussion ensued.
Upon the recommendation of the Superintendent
of Schools, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Board of Education hereby accepts the
following donations:
$73.07 from Target Take Charge of Education
for the
$62.01 from Target Take Charge of Education
for the Jr./Sr. High School
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED,
that the Board of Education approves the increases the 2010-2011 Budget
in the amount of $73.07 in Budget Code A2110.450 02 00 32 and $62.01 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 02 00 32 and A2110.450 01 00 30.
Ayes 6 Nays 0 The motion carried.
*2. Approval of Confined Space Program
Mrs. Swift 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 Permit-Required Confined Space Program
effective October 5, 2010.
Ayes 6 Nays 0 The motion carried.
3.
Creation of Reserve for Retirement Contributions
Mrs. Swift made and Mr. Perotti seconded the following motion:
The School Business Manager explained that
she and Mr. Churchill spoke about some of the budgetary items coming down the
road, in particular retirement contributions.
They had concerns about what will happen with future budgets when the
retirement contracted rate doesn’t increase as predicted. It is estimated that there will be a 16%
increase for next year, currently it is around 10% to 11%. This reserve will aid in off-setting future
increases in the employees retirement system.
Upon the recommendation of the Superintendent
of Schools, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Board of Education hereby approves the
creation of the Reserve for Retirement Contributions as permitted by law and to
fund such reserve in the amount of $140,000 from the 2009-2010 fund balance.
Ayes 6 Nays 0 The motion carried.
*4. Approval of Personal
Protection Equipment Program
Mrs. Swift 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 Personal Protection Equipment Program
effective October 5, 2010.
Ayes 6 Nays 0 The motion carried.
5.
Acceptance of External Audit
Removed from agenda until the District receives hard copies of the audit report.
Upon the
recommendation of the Superintendent of Schools, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Board
of Education hereby accepts the External Financial Audit for 2009-2010.
Ayes 6 Nays 0 The motion carried.
SUPERINTENDENT’S
REPORT
The District received notification from New York State that school
districts will be allowed to use lever voting machines until Dec 31, 2012. A Board member questioned if districts would
be allowed to rent or borrow town voting machines. The Superintendent stated that many districts
are doing this.
The District received our targeted allocation monies from Race to the Top
(RTTT) in the amount of $26,876.00 to be used over four years with no more than
10% to be used the first year. Each of
the next three years approximately $8,000 can be used. The Superintendent emphasized the fact that there is a lot of paperwork involved
with getting and using this money.
BOARD OF EDUCATION
*1. Second
Upon the recommendation of the Superintendent, BE IT RESOLVED, that the
Board of Education hereby approves the Policy #5820 Selection and
Classification as presented for its second reading.
Ayes 6 Nays 0 The motion carried.
PUBLIC COMMENT
The following topics
were commented on by audience members:
-Explain #2 & #4
under Business and Operations
-Fingerprinting
-Volunteers needing
fingerprints
EXECUTIVE SESSION
Mrs. Swift made and Mr. Matteo seconded a motion to adjourn to executive session at 9:07 pm for the
purpose of discussing the employment history of a particular person or persons and items pulled
off the consent agenda.
Ayes 6 Nays 0 The motion carried.
RECONVENE PUBLIC SESSION
Mr. Perotti made and Mrs. Swift seconded a motion to adjourn the
executive session and to reconvene the public session at 9:59 pm.
Ayes 6 Nays 0 The motion carried
Approval of Representative for the Community Garden
Mr. Matteo made and Mrs. Swift seconded the following motion:
Upon the recommendation of the Superintendent of Schools, BE IT
RESOLVED, that the Board of Education hereby approves the appointment of John
Roccanova at a rate of $929.00/year as the Webutuck
Central School District Representative for the Community Garden for the
2010-2011 school year.
Ayes 6 Nays 0 The motion carried.
Appointment of Curriculum Coordinator
Mrs. Boyd made and Mrs. Swift seconded the following motion:
Upon the recommendation of the Superintendent
of Schools, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Board of Education hereby approves the
following individual for the 2010-2011 school year:
Rosanna Hamm .2
Curriculum Coordinator
Effective: September 1, 2010 Salary:
$15,000
Ayes 6 Nays 0 The motion carried.
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business, Mr. Perotti made and Mr. McGhee
seconded a motion to adjourn the meeting of October 4, 2010 at 10:01 pm.
Ayes 6 Nays 0 The motion carried.
Respectfully submitted,
Therese M. Trotter
District Clerk