BOARD OF EDUCATION OWEGO APALACHIN CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT Owego, NY 13827 MINUTES October 25, 2012 The Owego Apalachin Board of Education held a Regular Meeting at the Owego Free Academy, 1 Sheldon Guile Blvd., Owego, NY, on Thursday, October 25, 2012, at 7:00 PM. I. CALL TO ORDER President Barton called the meeting to order at 6:30 PM II. ROLL CALL Members Present: Mr. David Barton Mr. Gene Cvik Mr. John Gatto Mrs. Linda Frisbie Mr. John Crosby Mr. Lee Dunham Mrs. Rebecca Goodrich Others Present: Mr. Randy Pryor Mr. Bob Farrell Mr. Ken Francisco Mrs. Laurie McKeveny Mr. Andy Buchsbaum Mrs. Jill Bennedum Mr. Heath Georgia Mr. Joe DiCosimo Mr. Tony Clark Mr. Stephen Jensen Mr. Bernie Martin Mrs. Marion Chartrand Mr. Joe Chartrand Ms. Candy Sweppenheiser Mr. Kyle Schuey Dr. William Russell, Superintendent, and Mrs. Marcy Hill, Clerk of the Board, were also present. III. ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA A motion was made by Mr. Gene Cvik and seconded by Mrs. Linda Frisbie that the Board of Education adopt the agenda of the meeting. IV. CONSIDERATION FOR THE NEED OF EXECUTIVE SESSION A motion was made by Mrs. Linda Frisbie and seconded by Mrs. Becky Goodrich to convene into an Audit Committee Meeting at 6:30 PM. The Board reconvened into Regular Session at 7:07 PM. Mr. Barton stated that there is not a need for executive session.
V. PUBLIC FORUM Mr. Joe Chartrand - Owego Q. Are the teacher s union negotiations in progress? A. No Q. Is there any contract under negotiation underway now? A. Yes, OAEA. Mr. Haig McNamee Owego Q. Are you making a negotiations plan which is based on contract will the 2013-2014 rate be based on CPI? Are you looking at that at all or prevailing wage? A. We will consider Mr. McNamee again made statements regarding foil requests. VI. CONSENT AGENDA A motion was made by Mrs. Linda Frisbie and seconded by Mr. John Crosby that the Board of Education adopt the following resolution: RESOLVED, that the minutes of the October 11, 2012, Regular Board Meeting be approved as presented; AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Resignation, Appointments, Change in Hours, and Leave of Absence be approved according to Schedule A; that the September Treasurer s Reports be approved according to Schedule B; that the Committee on PreSchool Special Education Placement Recommendations be approved according to Schedule C; that the Transportation Requests to Private Schools be approved according to Schedule D; that the Virkler Family AED Donation be approved according to Schedule E; that the Selling of the School Buses be approved according to Schedule F Mr. Cvik discussed that Treasurer s Report with the move to the new financial system. The current reports exclude the special aid report section and this will be the case for a few more months. A motion was made by Mr. Gene Cvik and seconded by Mrs. Linda Frisbie that the Board of Education adopt the resolutions as amended: None VII. PRESIDENT'S REPORT
VIII. SUPERINTENDENT S REPORT Pleased to remind the Board of Education and audience that this is School Board Recognition Week. Dr. Russell read the proclamation from Tioga County Legislator and echoed the sentiment our staff, students, and parents appreciate your support and efforts as Board Members. Rebuilding OACSD Dr. Russell Dr. Russell stated that environmental studies are on-going. Geomorphologic analysts are going to test the soil. These digs will start next week, and we will be notified every few days regarding the dig. NYSDEC is responsive to our schedule; however, they will review our response. They were very helpful and reassured that this piece will not be an impediment. Our attorney confirmed that we are not required to more forward with a referendum for demolition of our building. Therefore, Highland Associates will go forward with the bidding for the demolition of the elementary school. Demolition most likely will take place in January 2013. As always there is an issue with FEMA. There have been issues with the PW (Project Worksheet) requesting our modular office complex we contracted with Mod Space, money obligated. However, FEMA staffers recently de-obligated the money for this process and didn t tell the district or SEMO. APPR Annual Professional Performance Review Dr. Russell discussed the plan in length. He also stated that our plan was submitted to State Education Department by the October deadline. We are waiting to hear that the State has acknowledged our plan and that we have an approved plan. We are assuming of our plan or a revised version from the state. We have to have an approved plan by January 17, 2013. Professional Development Plan - Mr. Dolan Mr. Dolan discussed the Professional Development Plan which is submitted annually to the State Education Department. This will be brought back to the Board at a later date along with the Teachers Center Grant for approval before submission to the State. School Tax Payments Mr. Pryor Mr. Pryor, Business Official, researched the use of PayPal and credit card usage to pay tax bills. Per the bank, this is not a heavily used option in our area or commonly done. Our tax software company is working on a program to collect taxes via credit card. This step would not cost the district money; however, it would have a percentage charged to the tax payer. Installment payments for school taxes were also investigated. It is possible and common in City School Districts. Central School Districts can do it; however, the primary reason we do not do it is timing. Upon receiving the tax levy, assessments, and the equalization rates, we generally only have two weeks to set up our tax season. We have to report the unpaid taxes to Tioga County by November 15 th. Only a few schools in the area collect in installments. Many errors are noted with this type of collection. Also, to be able to collect in installments, Tioga County would have to adopt a law to change their collection deadline date.
The Board of Education thanked Mr. Pryor for his report. IX. DISTRICT BUSINESS External Audit Report - A motion was made by Mr. Gene Cvik and seconded by Mr. John Gatto that the Board of Education adopt the External Audit Report. Mr. Cvik complimented Randy Pryor and the district staff. There is consistent reporting and no significant deficiencies over the year. Keep up the good work. X. PUBLIC COMMENTS RELATED TO DISTRICT BUSINESS Mr. Haig McNamee Owego Mr. McNamee commented on the APPR plan. Q. Does this APPR provide the students a net benefit? A. Yes, it will strengthen the teaching core. Mr. Jerry Jones - Owego Mr. Jones commented on the report Dr. Russell presented regarding APPR. Mr. Jones feels the plan is convoluted. He also stated that he feels the students should have some sort of input regarding the teachers. Q. How many tenured teachers under your guidance (Dr. Russell) - have been let go due to ineffective ness. A. (Dr. Russell) stated none; we make that judgment prior to that. Ms. Candy Schweppenheisr - Owego Q. Are all high school students taking regents exams? A. Yes. There are only a few severely disabled students taking local exams. XI. BOARD COMMITTEE REPORTS Student Representative Mr. Kyle Shuey NASA presentation very interesting. Very exciting to see the pictures from Mars. Entry way mats have been ordered and should be in soon. Student Council meeting this week. Students are looking forward to participating with the Family Reading Partnership event on November 10 th. XII. COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE OFA Mr. Georgia Fall Jazz Concert will be held on 11/1/12. Ms. Leah French was the selected as the Liberty Partnership Intern and will soon be working with our students. A longterm sub has been hired for English. Athletics Mr. Buchsbaum Volleyball team just won the STAC championship and is advancing to sectional play next week. Also, the Girls Soccer team will be in playoffs next week. Girls Swimming/Diving Sectionals are hosted by OFA next weekend.
OAMS Mrs. Bennedum -SLO testing will be done in a few weeks within the next ten week courses. There will be a Halloween contest and parties next week. OES Mrs. McKeveny - A lot of good PR about the Peaceful Bus Program. In general it was a great thing; it went very well and was well received by all. Student Council elections are coming up. Thanksgiving basket collection has started. Dr. Russell shared the recent academic rankings from Business First. We are gratified by these results; we are among the top three in our area - top 15% across upstate NY. The website which includes these scores is interesting; if you haven t looked at it, you might want to. XIII. CONSIDERATION OF THE NEED FOR EXECUTIVE SESSION There is no need for another executive session. XIV ADJOURNMENT A motion was made by Mr. Lee Dunham and seconded by Mrs. Frisbie that the Board of Education adjourn the meeting. President Barton adjourned the meeting at 9:07 PM Respectfully submitted Marcy Hill, Clerk Board of Education