Webutuck Board of
Education held the November 3, 2008 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
William McGhee
John Perotti
Absent:
Susan Lounsbury
Joseph Matteo
Also Present:
Dr. Richard Johns
Linda Peters
Therese Trotter
CALL TO ORDER
President Culver called the Work Session meeting of November
3, 2008 to order at 7:40 p.m.
PUBLIC COMMENT
The following comments were made by audience members:
-Would like to park a truck in the High School parking lot to collect
coats and blankets for the less fortunate?
They will be redistributed to local families. Yes.
-What is happening with the butterfly garden? The garden will be maintained at its present
location.
-It is dark now when the 5:00 pm sports run bus drops students off.
Getting students across streets is a safety concern. Bus Drivers would like to move the pick up
time back to the original time. The
Superintendent explained why he felt it was not a good idea.
-A women felt when she applied for a job at school she did not get the
job because of the color of her skin.
BET ELEMENTARY GOAL PRESENTATION
Principal Katy McEnroe stated the Elementary Schools were focusing on
writing and math goals. The percentage
increases for their goals have not changed from last year. The Principal discussed the fact the BET
feels the elementary have not reached last year’s percentage – therefore they
do not want to over-reach by increasing the goal margin. She went onto explain the BET feels strongly
that goals can take several years to achieve.
Discussion ensued.
TRANSPORTATION PRESENTATION – Ed
Tannini
Mr. Tannini reported on the transportation department. He summarized the number of vehicles, the
types and mileage of each of those vehicles and which vehicles he would like to
switch out for newer vehicles. He
explained to the Board what and how inspections are graded. He stated that he sees a need for five new
vehicles in the upcoming 2009-2010 budget.
Board members discussed the idea of five vehicles being excessive in
this economic climate. The Board asked
if cameras were included in the new buses because it stated in the
transportation proposition cameras were to be included. There was a new bus that was acquired by the
District that did not have a camera on it.
Discussion ensued.
SUPERINTENDENT’S REPORT
The Superintended explained to the Board
coaching certification. The District
does offer a couple of coaching classes.
The District has to be a certified site to offer coaching certification
classes. The Superintendent spoke with
Athletic Director’s in neighboring school districts and those schools did not
have their certified coaches. A Board
member asked to have the Coaching certification regulation in this week’s Board
packet.
He spoke about several
other items: the Superintendent reported recycling began in the Middle and High
School and it was going well; he stated the EXCEL project’s final submission
was received today and the Project will be approved at the next Board meeting;
the District received a donation of furniture from Salisbury Bank; the Board
added a seventh goal, Client Satisfaction, to their goal list. Discussion ensued.
DISCUSSION
1. Personnel
A Board member asked to have the comparison of individuals interviewed
for the human resource position. The
School Business Administrator will put it in the next Board packet.
2. MOA Special Education Overload
The District has an overload in enrollment in special education in the High School. It has been expanding rapidly. The Superintendent recommended paying two special education teachers in the High School for an overload class. He explained how he would calculate their pay. The Board agreed with the recommendation.
3. Omni Group as 403b Administrator
The School Business Administrator discussed receiving a service agreement from NYBEST for Omni. Joining the NYBEST consortium will allow the District to recognize cost reductions. Omni will provide administration of 403b plans for the District. The Business Administrator will have Girvin and Ferlazzo look it over before the Board approves it.
4. Surplus Van 97
A Board member discussed looking at if we really should surplus a certain vehicle. Getting it fixed is much less expensive than buying a new vehicle. It would stretch the life of the vehicle. Discussion ensued.
5. Donation
of Computers through the CREATE
(Computer Recycling for Education and Technology Enhancement Act) project.
The District has used CREATE once before. It is a program through BOCES that donates used computers to the District that are fully loaded. A Board member said he saw many computers on the shelf at MES-he thought he saw forty computers there. The School Business Administrator will ask the Technology Director about it.
The Superintendent
explained that the Smartboards installation has become a problem. Smartboards have to be installed very low at
the elementary because the students are small and the cameras shoot down to the
smartboards at such an angle that the image is not clear. They are trying to figure out what approach
to take – possibly trade them to the High School.
PUBLIC COMMENT
The following comments were made by audience members:
-Who approved the new maintenance truck?
What was the cost? The
Superintendent stated they would talk about the issue after they came out of
Executive Session.
BOARD MEMBER QUESTIONS
- How did we come about getting a truck? The proposition said it was
contingent on surplusing the old vehicle.
- It is a violation of the use public money when it’s not authorized.
EXECUTIVE SESSION
Mr. McGhee made and Mr. Perotti seconded a motion to adjourn to executive
session at 9:35 pm for the purpose of discussing acquisition
of sale of property. The five Board members present voted to approve the motion. The motion carried unanimously.
RECONVENE PUBLIC SESSION
Mr. Herald made and Mr. Perotti
seconded 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.
It was decided that the
truck will be returned to the dealership and discussion will take place on how
this happened.
ADJOURNMENT
Therese M. Trotter
District Clerk