VOORHEESVILLE CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT Voorheesville, New York 12186 BOARD OF EDUCATION MINUTES Regular Board of Education Meeting BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT: Cheryl L. Dozier, Vice President C. James Coffin Gary A. Hubert Cynthia M. Monaghan Doreen Saia Diana M. Straut BOARD MEMBERS ABSENT: ADMINISTRATION PRESENT: Teresa Snyder, Sarita Winchell, Patrick Corrigan, James Franchini, Thomas Reardon OTHERS PRESENT: Chris Allard, Dawn Mancuso, Schuyler King, Sean Clair, Carson Harris, Ben Mackay, Braeden Morrison, Erik Patak, Alexandra Cunningham, Hannah Suib, Ted Simons, Dan Chaize, Mary LeClair, Laura Minnick, Chris Jantson, Nicole Brower, Deb Baron, Yisele Ruoso, Robin Burch, Laura Taggert, Tricia Putman, Kathy Fiero, Michael Goyer, Heidi Arnaud, Jo Prout (Altamont Enterprise), Jessica Tabakian Mr. Blow called the meeting to order at 7:46 p.m. and gave the proper procedure to evacuate the building in the event of a fire emergency. He noted that all Board members were present. Item 2.1: Update on Science ( AP Physics Project Icarus ) T.Simons and AP Students: (Schuyler King, Sean Clair, Carson Harris, Ben Mackay, Braeden Morrison, Erik Patak, Alexandra Cunningham, Hannah Suib) Mr. Simons noted that he presented his AP students with goals for Project Icarus, and then got out of the way allowing the students to direct the project. Mr. Simons explained that the students have taken on an ambitious challenge of sending an experimental payload into space, while filming the curvature of the earth. Students described the three major parts of the project; the balloon, the parachute, and the payload; which is the brains of the operation, holding three cameras. The students explained weather will be a huge factor in timing of launch, it is estimated that the device will travel approximately 90 minutes in an East, North Eastern direction. Students explained that some of them have obtained radio licenses, and researched applicable FAA regulations. The students stated that part of this project is to share their excitement for technology and engineering to others in the community. They are doing a demonstration in the Elementary school, as well as working with Mr. Chaize s class in the middle school. Ms. Saia asked if they have a firm abort plan if something were to go wrong. The students responded that yes they do. Mrs. Minnick whose son Alex is also a part of the class wanted to commend Mr. Simons. Dr. Straut asked how far the students predict the payload will go. Sean Clair responded that they predict Western Massachusetts or Vermont. Mr. Coffin was interested in the rate of rise, and recommended the students seek the support of the Kiwanis club. Mr. Blow asked if the students would come back to present to the board at the June meeting when the project is complete. They stated they will be happy to come back to share their experiences. 1
Item 3: Approval of Minutes On a motion by Ms. Monaghan, seconded by Mr. Coffin, and carried unanimously, the Board approved the minutes of the regular meeting of March 2, 2015. Item 4.1: Opportunity for students to address the Board There were no comments. Item 4.2: Opportunity for the public to be heard Ms. Fiero asked about feedback on a letter written to the Board regarding Governor Cuomo. Mr. Blow stated that unfortunately he has not had time to give it a lot of focus; he will look at it again. On a motion by Mr. Coffin, seconded by Mr. Hubert and carried unanimously, Items 5.1 through 5.7 were approved. Item 5.1.1: Treasurer s Report The Board accepted the Treasurer s Report as presented in the enclosure folder. Item 5.1.2: Warrants The following warrants were accepted: Multi-Fund Warrant #30: January 29, 2015 $ 464,903.44 Payroll Covering Warrant #32: January 28, 2015 $ 473,653.53 Capital Fund Warrant #7: January 29, 2015 $ 166,526.04 Item 5.2: Personnel Item 5.2.1: Approval of Job Posting The Board of Education approved the posting of the position of.5 Custodial Worker/.5 Building and Grounds Maintenance, to be filled by current Operation and Maintenance staff, with anticipated Board Appointment to fill the position April 13, 2015. Item 5.2.2: Appointment The Board of Education appointed Jennifer Crawford as the Treasurer of Extra Curricular Funds effective March 10, 2014. Item 5.3: Substitute Teacher Appointments from BOCES Substitute Registry Approved new Capital Region BOCES Substitute Registry appointments for the 2014-2015 school year as presented in the enclosure folder. Item 5.4: CSE Recommendations Approved the recommendations by the Committee on Special Education as outlined at the meeting held on January 23, 2015, February 4, 2015, February 5, 2015, February 11, 2015. The Board designated the Superintendent as signatory for health service contracts related to special education students IEPs.
Item 5.5: 2015-2016 Kids Club Agreement The Board of Education approved the agreement with Kids' Club for rental of space at the Voorheesville Elementary School for the 2015-16 school year as outlined in the enclosed contract. Item 5.6: Organizational Amendments The Board of Education approved the authorization for a school cell phone for Donald Provost. Item 5.7: Out-of-Town Student Field Trip Request Approved the following out-of-town student field trip requests: Sixth Grade Class Field Trip Destination: New York City (Museum of Mathematics & Museum of Natural History) Date: Friday, May 8, 2015 Student Cost: $75 (includes train fare and museum admission) District Cost: One substitute teacher Requestor: Dan Chaize State Championship Tournament for Science Olympiad Destination: LeMoyne College, Syracuse, New York Date: Friday and Saturday, March 13-14, 2015 Student Cost: $135 (includes tournament fee, transportation, room & board) District Cost: Two substitute teachers Requestor: Ted Simons On a motion by Dr. Straut, seconded by Mrs. Monaghan and carried unanimously, Items 5.8 through 5.9 were approved Item 5.8: Non-Resident Student Admission Requests The Board of Education approved the following requests for admission of non-resident students for the 2015-2016 school year: Student Grade Requestor Ryan Beardsley Grade 7 Christina Menetti Alexander Burch Grade 1 David Burch Madeline Conroy Grade 12 Karen Conroy Julia Conroy Grade 9 Karen Conroy Francesca Coppola Grade 7 Marie Coppola Vincent Coppola Grade 4 Marie Coppola Kathryn Hammes Grade 5 Tamara Hammes Ronald Hoogkamp Grade 11 Lisa Hoogkamp Camryn Kelley Grade 12 Timothy Kelley Jayden Kelley Grade 9 Timothy Kelley Alicia Kelley Grade 9 Timothy Kelley Ella Kelly Grade 6 Lynn Kelly Joseph Kelly Grade 3 Lynn Kelly Steven Lindsay Grade 12 Michelle Lindsay Cecilia Nowik Grade 1 Carrie Nowik Noah Robinson Grade 11 Lorraine Farrell Isabella Tabakian Grade 7 Jessica Tabakian Troy Tracey Grade 12 Lauren Tracey Tyler Tracey Grade 7 Lauren Tracey Nathaniel VanDyke-Restifo Grade 1 Justin VanDyke-Restifo 3
Item 5.9: 2015-2016 School Calendar The Board of Education approved the 2015-2016 school calendar as presented in the enclosure folder. ADMINISTRATIVE REPORTS Item 6:1: Elementary School Report, Thomas Reardon Dr. Reardon wanted to highlight the Spirit Talent Show. He was very proud that they raised $1600 to a local family in need and over $200 to the food pantry. Faculty is readily preparing students for newer testing formats for the upcoming ELA and Mathematics assessments. Greg Tang s Math Workshop has proven to be highly effective in preparation for this. The Blue Ribbon Quilt project is well underway, with the assistance of Dawn Mancuso s mother and K-5 spirit groups. Kindergarten enrollment is looking solid, with 65 students enrolled to date. The Kindergarten screening information evening will be held on March 12, 2015 at 7:00 pm Dr. Reardon was excited to report that he and other colleagues visited at Benet laboratories to examine 3D printing and what role it can play in the Elementary classroom. Item 6.2: Middle School Report, James Franchini Dr. Franchini commended the middle school Odyssey of the Mind team. They placed first in the regionals and will compete in the state tournament at Binghamton University in April. Social Studies and Science department meetings focused on project based learning. While Science and Technology teachers continued a discussion on new Social Studies frameworks by reviewing a sample lesson from EngageNY. The technology skills committee met to review tech skills that middle school students need to learn. Committee will then ensure the skills are integrated though middle school and carry on into high school. Dr. Franchini discussed the math tutoring that was provided this past summer. He compiled a chart with the breakdown of grades the students received last year to current grades. Item 6.3: High School Report, Patrick Corrigan. Winter sports are finally wrapping up; both Boys and Girls Basketball teams did extremely well. The Boys Volleyball team winning their title. The Boys Volleyball team won the Class C Regional title. This is to be commended as this is as far as they can possibly go in their class. Mr. Simons and the Science Olympiad team will be heading to the State Championships at LeMoyne College this weekend. They are actively working on their innovative projects in the hallways. The Art Department has had many student award winners including Stephanie Erickson winning the 3-Dimensional Lory Tansky Award. Six other high school students pieces were also chosen for awards. The ninth grade team has come up with an innovative strategy for students to utilize time after the ninth grade volunteer day. Students will break in to groups where they will choose a book from selections of literature about community service. They then will have discussions about the reading in a book group format. Item 6.4: Interim Assistant Superintendent for Business Report, Sarita Winchell Mrs. Winchell stated they received some workers compensation numbers and they look much better. She will have more information at the upcoming March 23, 2015 meeting. Item 6.5: Superintendent s Report, Teresa T. Snyder Dr. Snyder reported that there is not much to report since the last meeting, things are going well. 4
BOARD OF EDUCATION COMMITTEE REPORTS Item 7.1: Audit Committee The Audit Committee met on March 2, 2015 at 6:30pm. Item 7.2: Curriculum/Evaluation Committee The Curriculum/Evaluation Committee had a meeting in which Karen Conroy presented on Curriculum and Rob Carte gave a Tech review. The next meeting will be held on March 16 th at 7:30 a.m. Item 7.3: Facilities Committee The Facilities Committee had an extensive meeting on March 5 th. Mr. Coffin reported that the replacement of the Elementary School Bridge was discussed at great length. Committee must decide wood or steel, with continuity and longevity of the bridge the focus. Need to take protected waters into account. The athletic fields will be worked on this spring. Mr. Coffin also explained that the Facilities Use Policy will be revamped. Item 7.4: Policy & Governance Committee The Policy & Governance committee met on March 3rd. Three Policies were discussed. Policy 4326, Programs for English Language Learners was updated again due to Commissioner s changes, and will be brought to the Board for second reading. Policy 5150, School Admissions will be brought before the Board for a second Reading. The third policy, 8520 will be reviewed and discussed at the next P&G meeting which will take place on March 31. Item 7.5: Voorheesville Community Alliance for Health Choices Mr. Blow and Mr. Corrigan will decide on a meeting date before the end of March. On a motion by Mr. Coffin, seconded by Mrs. Saia and carried unanimously Items 8.1.1 8.1.2 were approved. Item 8.1.1: Board of Education Policy 5150 Approved the second reading of Policy 5150, School Admissions, as presented. Item 8.1.2: Board of Education Policy 4326 Approved the first reading of Policy 4326, English Language Learners, as presented. Item 8.1.3: Board of Education Policy 8520 Policy 8520, Free Meal Services was tabled for further review. On a motion by Ms. Monaghan, seconded by Dr. Dozier, and carried unanimously, Item 8.2 through 8.7 was approved. Item 8.2: Acceptance of Donations - Extracurricular Gratefully accepted the following extracurricular donations: Parent Teacher Association (ES Grade 4 field trip transportation) $1077.00 Wells Fargo Community Support Campaign (K-6 teaching supplies) $134.63 Schoola (Teaching Supplies K-6) $24.97 Voorheesville Friends of Music (Purchase of piano) $5295.00 Item 8.3: Budget Amendment Gifts and Donations Amended the 2014-2015 budget to allow for the expenditure of the following gift donation to the District in the amount of $2004.00; and to increase the revenue code A2705 to reflect the receipt of these funds. 5
Budget code to be amended is: Elementary School: Transportation Salary $512.64 A551016100000 Fuel Cost $564.36 A5510571 Teaching Supplies K-6 $159.60 A21105010198 Teaching Equipment Music $5295.00 A2110200031 Item 8.4: Board of Excellence Award The Board of Education recognized Gary Hubert for earning the Board Excellence Award. This award is for members who strive to continually expand their governance knowledge and skills. Item 8.5: Acceptance of Donations - Extracurricular The Board of Education gratefully accepted the following extracurricular donations: Voorheesville Community & School Foundation (Blackbird Review) $800 Kiwanis Club of New Scotland (KeyClub) $1400 Item 8.6: Approval of MOA Amendment to Cook Schedule to UEV Contract The Board of Education approved the Memorandum of Agreement between Voorheesville Central School District and the United Employees of Voorheesville in regard to the amendment of the cooks salary schedule to the UEV contract dated July 1, 2013 through June 30, 2016 as outlined in the enclosure folder. Item 8.7: Approval of Disclaimer The Board of Education approved the addition of the following disclaimer to all advertisements by outside groups: This flyer is distributed to Voorheesville CSD students as a community service to students and parents for information purposes only. This program is not affiliated with nor endorsed in any way by the Voorheesville Central School District. Item 9.1: Opportunity for the Public to be Heard There were no comments. Item 9.2: Opportunity for the Board to be Heard Mrs. Monaghan announced that the petitions are available for the two Board seats that will be available. One seat is a three year term, the other is a four year term. Ms. Saia wanted to mention that Trish made a fair comment when she stated that the arrows at the Bridge are pointless because it is unusable. Mr. Goyer replied that they will be removed once the snow is gone. On a motion by Dr. Straut, seconded by Ms. Monaghan and carried unanimously, the meeting was adjourned at 8:20 p.m. President, Board of Education Clerk, Board of Education 6