Current Location: PHCS » Offices and Groups » Board of Education » 2006-2007 Minutes Archive
Minutes Archive
March 19, 2007
CALL TO ORDER: The regular meeting of the Board of Education of the Parishville-Hopkinton Central School District was called to order at 7:35 P.M. by President W. Remington in the cafeteria on the above date.
ROLL CALL: Present: W. Remington, H. Simmons, S. Wilson, W. Witherell, J. Young, T. Zellweger, T. Burns. Absent: C. Jacot, F. Wilhelm, and S. Woodward. Others: S. Bush, C. Clark, P. Claus, L. Gush, C. Leahy, H. Mellon, L. Mitras, S. Potter, M. Russell, D. Saiff, R. Snow, R. Taylor, and L. Witherell.
QUORUM: Quorum of five established.
QUESTIONS FROM PUBLIC & PRESS: R. Snow announced that he was leaving the paper to accept another position, but added that he hoped to continue to be involved with the school as a resident of the district. Mr. Burns and the Board thanked Rob for highlighting special events, students, programs, and opportunities through his articles while assigned to our district.
S. Wilson also wished to thank the Board and Administration for recent donations to the Parishville Rescue Squad and Parishville Fire Department in memory of his brother.
STUDENT/TEACHER RECOGNITION: T. Burns spoke briefly about Joanne Jacot who passed away earlier this morning, highlighting her many years of service to the District as a former Board of Education Member (1975-1980), substitute teacher (1980-1987), and special education teacher since September of 1987.
MINUTES: Motion made by J. Young and seconded by T. Zellweger to approve the Minutes of the February 12, 2007, regular meeting and March 12, 2007, special budget meeting as typed and mailed to Board Members. 6 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
TREASURER’S REPORTS: Motion made by T. Zellweger and seconded by J. Young to approve the Treasurer’s Reports showing an available balance on hand as of February 28, 2007, as follows: General Fund, $ 14,132.33; School Lunch Fund, $17,809.52; School Lunch Savings, $26,083.99; Federal Fund, $451.46; Trust & Agency Fund, $-0-; Payroll Fund, $-0-; Capital Fund, $15.18; Risk Retention, $-0-; Extra-Class Activities Fund, $47,381.14. 6 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
CAPITAL FUND PROJECT/EXCEL AID BROCHURE: The Board reviewed a draft mailing for all district residents regarding the scope of the proposed capital project as well as dates for a public meeting and district vote. The Board authorized Mr. Burns to send the brochure to the BOCES Print Shop to copy for mailing during the week of March 26th.
BOCES PRESENTATION: Dr. Linda Gush, District Superintendent, Christine Leahy, Principal at Seaway Tech, and Helene Mellon, Director of Instruction and Staff Development for BOCES, were in attendance at the meeting along with students Stephanie Potter and Corey Clark to give an overview of the various services BOCES offers that our students participate in.
Dr. Gush thanked the Board for allowing them the opportunity to discuss some of the vast array of programs and services BOCES provides, not only enhancing educational opportunities for our students, but also providing districts with technical support, business office services, staff development, employer-employee relations services, and more.
C. Leahy announced that 8% of the students currently attending Seaway Tech are from our district. After viewing a power point presentation highlighting our students and the programs they are currently enrolled in, Ms. Leahy introduced Stephanie Potter who spoke to the Board about the culinary arts program at Seaway Tech. Corey Clark then described the Allied Health Program and the opportunities that he has had to explore different careers within the health field.
Helene Mellon described many of the instructional and staff development opportunities that BOCES offers the eighteen component school districts and expressed her appreciation for the invaluable assistance she has received from Pamela Claus as well as Darin Saiff in researching and developing the types of programs that will have the most impact on improving student success, both academically and behaviorally.
Mr. Burns and the Board thanked everyone for attending to the meeting and for their insightful presentations.
C. Clark, L. Gush, C. Leahy, H. Mellon, and S. Potter left the meeting at 8:16 P.M.
SCHEDULE APPROVAL: Motion made by J. Young and seconded by T. Zellweger to approve the following schedules for audit and payment: General Fund, $274,954.67; School Lunch Fund, $6,760.58; Federal Fund, $34.95; Trust & Agency Fund, $16,583.43. 6 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
BUDGET TRANSFERS: Motion made by S. Wilson and seconded by J. Young to authorize the Business Manager to make the necessary budgetary transfers as attached for the Month of February, 2007. 6 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
BUDGET REPORTS: Motion made by T. Zellweger and seconded by J. Young to accept the Budget Reports for the Month of February, 2007. 6 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
MATERNITY LEAVE/N. CLARK-VALLANCE: Based upon the recommendation of the Superintendent, Motion made by T. Zellweger and seconded by H. Simmons to approve Nicole Clark-Vallance’s request for maternity under the Family/Medical Leave Act commencing May 25, 2007, and continuing through the remainder of this school year. 6 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
GR. 3 REPLACEMENT TEACHER/S. ELLIOTT: Based upon the recommendation of the Superintendent, Motion made by J. Young and seconded by S. Wilson to appoint Sarah Elliott to fill in for N. Clark-Vallance during her maternity leave. 6 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
COACHING APPOINTMENT/E. WHITE: Based upon the recommendation of the Superintendent, Motion made by S. Wilson and seconded by T. Zellweger to approve the appointment of Elizabeth White as the Girls’ Modified Softball Coach for the 2007 season. 6 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
UNUSED WEATHER/EMERGENCY DAYS: Based upon the recommendation of the Superintendent, Motion made by T. Zellweger and seconded by W. Witherell to apply unused weather/emergency days to Wednesday, June 20th, and Thursday, June 21st, at the elementary to give teachers an opportunity to complete end-of-year reports and room housekeeping chores. 6 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
TELLERS/ALTERNATES CAPITAL PROJECT VOTE: Motion made by J. Young and seconded by W. Witherell to appoint Margaret Zahler and Elizabeth Beha as tellers for the proposed Capital/Excel Aid Building Project vote to be held on April 18, 2007, at a stipend of $70. and to appoint Josephine Eakins and John Mittelstaedt as Alternate Tellers in the event M. Zahler and/or E. Beha are unable to serve on the date of the vote. 6 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
ANNUAL MEETING TELLERS/ALTERNATES/MACHINE CUSTODIAN/BUDGET MEETING CHAIR: Motion made by J. Young and seconded by S. Wilson to appoint Margaret Zahler and Elizabeth Beha as tellers for the Annual Budget/Board Candidate vote to be held on May 15, 2007, at a stipend of $70. and to appoint Josephine Eakins and John Mittelstaedt as Alternate Tellers in the event M. Zahler and/or E. Beha are unable to serve on the date of the vote. Further, Motion duly made and seconded to appoint Edward Powell as voting machine custodian at a stipend of $75. and Ward Remington as Chairperson of the Public Meeting to be held on May 8, 2007. 6 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
LEGAL NOTICE: Motion made by J. Young and seconded by T. Zellweger to approve the attached Legal Notice of Annual Meeting and Election and to publish said notice on March 27, April 10, April 24, and May 8, 2007, as required.
OVERNIGHT TRIP: The Board reviewed information regarding a proposed overnight trip for 30 high school gymnastics team members to the Central Square Gymnastic Center in Central Square, New York, for an opportunity to participate in a weekend workshop. The group would leave after school on Friday, March 30th, and would return Saturday evening, March 31st. Motion made by S. Wilson and seconded by H. Simmons to approve this educational overnight field trip as submitted. 6 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
CSE RECOMMENDATIONS: Motion made by J. Young and seconded by S. Wilson to approve the recommendation of the CSE for the attached list of four students. 6 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
LEGISLATIVE BREAKFAST: Mr. Burns gave a brief summary of the recent annual legislative breakfast.
PRINCIPALS’ UPDATES: P. Claus noted that Kindergarten screening began this morning and will continue through Wednesday with thirty-five new students scheduled for assessment. P. Claus stated she, Mary Taylor, and Kristen Wallace would be attending the CSE Chairs Conference in Lake Placid tomorrow where they will have an opportunity to hear speakers review Response to Intervention, transition services, and strategies to address our students’ needs in the area of literacy.
Students in grades 3-6 completed their New York State math assessments last week and teachers would be working with colleagues from Madrid-Waddington to grade their efforts. P. Claus announced that the preview of this year’s musical, “Beauty and the Beast” was scheduled for Thursday at 1:00 P.M., and tickets were still available for the Friday and Saturday performances. CSE annual reviews would begin next Monday and Mrs. Jacot’s contributions to our committee on behalf of her students will be missed.
On Wednesday, March 28th, the Teachers’ Learning Center will be sponsoring an evening of math games at a Family Fun Night for students in grades K-6 from 6:30-7:45 P.M. Cheri Eck, the evening’s presenter, has received rave reviews. P. Claus expressed thanks to Therese Baxter for her efforts in organizing the event and thanked the PTSA for providing babysitting services.
P Claus invited members of the Board to attend a series of one act plays on April 4 at 9:00 A.M. and 1:00 P.M. presented by students in grades 3, 4, and multi-age 3/4. On the March 16th Staff Development Day, elementary teachers were able to select from a wide range of mini-workshops specifically targeted for their grade levels hosted at Potsdam Central School and Norwood-Norfolk Central School.
P. Claus announced that teachers and the PTSA recognized the following Students of the Month for the the character trait, Ambition: Mattie Tremper (Mrs. Loconti’s kindergarten), Nick Burnett (Mrs. Knowles’ kindergarten), Emma Snell (Miss Corcoran’s first grade), Lucas Snell (Mrs. Mason’s second grade), Ardon Clothier (Mrs. Axtell’s grade 1/2), Sydnee Wray (Mrs. White’s grade 1/2), Wyatt Snell (Mrs. Clark-Vallance’s grade 3), Kayla Myers (Mrs. Pcolar’s grade four), Nicole White (Mrs. VanLeuven’s grade 3/4), Chase Simmons (Ms. Rivezzi’s grade 3/4), Shayna Wheeler, Ms. Rose’s grade 5), Carlin McGregor (Mr. Mandigo’s grade 6), Emily Sloan (Mrs. Charlebois’ grade 5/6), and Brianna Hayes, Miss Blevins’ grade 5/6).
S. Bush and M. Russell left the meeting at 8:41 P.M.
D. Saiff informed the Board that Glenn Clark took his Wilderness Studies students to Higley Flow for an ice fishing field trip on February 16th. On February 27 and 28, Mr. Clark took the group on an overnight snowshoe camping trip so they could apply their skills at orienteering.
D. Saiff offered his congratulations to all of the students participating in this year’s annual school musical. They have worked extremely hard and have passed all of their rubrics while preparing for their performance. D. Saiff also expressed his thanks to Mrs. Simon-Shult and Miss Blevins for all of their hard work and dedication.
D. Saiff noted that the New York State Math 7th and 8th grade exams went well and acknowledged the efforts of the Junior High team for their efforts. Grading will be done with colleagues from Colton-Pierrepont. Junior high and high school faculty were also able to participate in many outstanding workshops throughout the county that were designed for their particular subject areas and feedback he had received was extremely positive.
The recent Junior-Senior High School Open House was relatively well-attended and 25-week progress reports were mailed to those who were unable to make it in.
D. Saiff also acknowledged C. Leahy and students involved in the culinary arts program who provide breakfast for the high school principals’ meetings. D. Saiff attended an excellent workshop on athletics and concussions with members of the physical education staff on March 8 and announced that the spring sport practices are underway.
On a final note, D. Saiff congratulated the Hammond Girls’ Varsity Basketball Team on their Class D State Championship victory this past weekend.
BOCES ANNUAL MEETING: Reservations to attend the BOCES Annual Dinner Meeting scheduled for April 5, 2007, at the Seaway Career & Technical Center in Norwood have been made for W. Remington, T. Zellweger, and Mr. Burns.
INFORMATION: The Board received information concerning nominations for a position on the BOCES Board, an invitation to the 4th Annual Human Issues Symposium, Minutes from the quarterly Healthcare and Workmen’s Comp Meetings, as well as draft Minutes from the January and February Meetings of the BOCES Board. In addition, the Board received a list of upcoming events of interest.
EXECUTIVE SESSION: Motion made by J. Young and seconded by T. Zellweger to go into Executive Session at 8:47 P.M. to discuss personnel matters.
B. Taylor left meeting at 8:40 P.M., S. Wilson left at 8:58 P.M., and R. Snow left at 9:00 P.M.
ADJOURNMENT: Motion made by H. Simmons and seconded by T. Zellweger to come out of Executive Session and adjourn at 9:05 P.M. 5 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
School District Clerk
March 26, 2007
CALL TO ORDER: A budget meeting of the Board of Education of the Parishville-Hopkinton Central School District was called to order at 7:35 P.M. by President W. Remington in the Cafeteria on the above date.
ROLL CALL: Present: C. Jacot, W. Remington, H. Simmons, W. Witherell, S. Woodward, J. Young, T. Zellweger, T. Burns. Absent: F. Wilhelm, S. Wilson. Others: R. Snow.
QUORUM: Quorum of five established.
REPLACEMENT TEACHER: Motion made by J. Young to table this item for discussion in Executive Session.
PRELIMINARY BUDGET WORK: The Board continued to work on the preliminary budget for the 2007-2008 school year with discussions focusing on the revenue side of the preliminary budget; review of the BOCES budget as part of the overall budget; discussion concerning projected tax increases; use of fund balance monies; and the state budget figures.
BOCES FINAL COMMITMENT: Motion made by J. Young and seconded by H. Simmons to approve the BOCES Final Commitment Form for the 2007-2008 school year in the amount of $1,412,750. plus “as used” Cosers; said amount to be reflected in the proposed school district budget developed for the 2007-2008 school year. 7 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
2007-2008 BUDGET: Motion made by J. Young and seconded by T. Zellweger to adopt the following Budget Resolution:
BE IT RESOLVED that the Board of Education of the Parishville-Hopkinton Central School District, Towns of Parishville, Hopkinton, Stockholm, and Potsdam, County of St. Lawrence, be and are hereby authorized to expend $8,488,591 appropriations amount ($8,398,591 plus $90,000 for bus purchase) and to accumulate a planned balance for July 1, 2008, amounting to $50,000 and to levy the necessary tax therefor. 7 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
It was also noted that a separate proposition would appear on the ballot concerning the purchase/financing of a 60-passenger bus for the 2007-2008 school year. A resolution is being prepared by the school attorney for review and adoption by the Board at their April meeting.
EXECUTIVE SESSION: Motion made by H. Simmons and seconded by T. Zellweger to go into Executive Session at 8:35 P.M. to discuss personnel matters. 7 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
R. Snow left meeting at 8:37 P.M.
Motion made by J. Young and seconded by T. Zellweger to come out of Executive Session at 8:50 P.M.
REPLACEMENT TEACHER/S. JACKSON: Based upon the recommendation of the Superintendent, Motion made by S. Woodward and seconded by H. Simmons to appoint Susan Jackson as a long-term replacement teacher in the high school resource room retroactive to today’s date and continuing through the remainder of this school year. 7 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
ADJOURNMENT: Motion made by T. Zellweger and seconded by J. Young to adjourn at 8:55 P.M. P.M. 7 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
School District Clerk
April 23, 2007
CALL TO ORDER: The regular meeting of the Board of Education of the Parishville-Hopkinton Central School District was called to order at 7:30 P.M. by Vice President T. Zellweger in the cafeteria on the above date.
ROLL CALL: Present: C. Jacot, W. Remington-7:43 P.M., H. Simmons, F. Wilhelm-7:33 P.M., S. Wilson, W. Witherell-7:31 P.M., S. Woodward, J. Young, T. Zellweger, T. Burns. Absent: None. Others: P. Claus, J. Corcoran, L. Mitras, D. Saiff and L. Witherell.
QUORUM: Quorum of five established.
STUDENT/TEACHER RECOGNITION: P. Claus announced that we had recently received word from the Lake Placid Institute for the Arts and Humanities that three of our 5/6 students have been named “winning poets” in the Great Adirondack Young People’s Poetry Contest for 2007: Jenna Converse, “The Suitcase,” Alyssa Guyette, “Inside the Moon,” and Megan Sullivan, “Inside Chocolate.” Their poems will be published in a book of 50 winners and will also be available on the Institute’s website. The students are invited to an awards ceremony at the Lake Placid Center of the Arts on Sunday, May 6th, where some of the winners will be asked to read their poems.
D. Saiff recognized Chelsea Snyder who was selected as Student of the Month in the Allied Health Program at Seaway Area Tech.
W. Witherell arrived at 7:31 P.M.
MINUTES: Motion made by J. Young and seconded by S. Wilson to approve the Minutes of the March 19, 2007, regular meeting, March 26, 2007, special budget meeting, April 4, 2007, public capital/excel project meeting, and April 18, 2007, capital/excel project vote as typed and mailed to Board Members. 7 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
TREASURER’S REPORTS: Motion made by J. Young and seconded by S. Woodward to approve the Treasurer’s Reports showing an available balance on hand as of March 31, 2007, as follows: General Fund, $861,461.03; School Lunch Fund, $19,954.76; School Lunch Savings, $26,123.81; Federal Fund, $14,256.35; Trust & Agency Fund, $-0-; Payroll Fund, $-0-; Capital Fund, $-0-; Risk Retention, $2.60; Extra-Class Activities Fund, $52,577.62. 7 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
CAPITAL PROJECT UPDATE: Mr. Burns informed the Board that he contacted Jeff Siddell of King & King Architects to discuss the positive vote and review the next step in the process of submitting the plan for SED approval. Jeff will schedule a trip up here in the near future to develop final plans for review and approval by the Board prior to submission to The State Education Department. Plan approval by the Office of Facilities and Planning is currently taking approximately 13 weeks.
F. Wilhelm arrived at 7:33 P.M.
EMERGENCY DAYS: Mr. Burns noted that, since the March Board Meeting, it has been necessary to use our two remaining weather/emergency days which the Board had voted to utilize on June 20 and 21 to allow elementary students to end their school year on June 19th and provide elementary teachers with two days without students in order to complete end-of-year work. Mr. Burns added that these days have proven to be extremely beneficial and asked that the Board consider approving two early release dates that could be utilized in lieu of the emergency give-back days originally approved by the Board.
Motion made by J. Young and seconded by F. Wilhelm to approve an early release for students K-6 at 11:00 A.M. on June 20th and at 9:00 A.M. on June 21st. 8 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
A notice will be sent home to inform parents of these changes.
SCHEDULE APPROVAL: Motion made by J. Young and seconded by H. Simmons to approve the following schedules for audit and payment: General Fund, $321,679.17; School Lunch Fund, $8,112.91; Federal Fund, $2,464.65; Trust & Agency Fund, $17,066.16. 8 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
BUDGET TRANSFERS: Motion made by W. Witherell and seconded by S. Wilson to authorize the Business Manager to make the necessary budgetary transfers as attached for the Month of March, 2007. 8 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
W. Remington arrived at 7:43 P.M.
BUDGET REPORTS: Motion made by J. Young and seconded by H. Simmons to accept the Budget Reports for the Month of March, 2007. 9 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
LETTER OF RESIGNATION/J. SMITH: Based upon the recommendation of the Superintendent, Motion made by J. Young and seconded by S. Wilson to accept Jennifer Smith’s letter of resignation from her position as a part-time health/physical education teacher effective May 4th and extended their best wishes as she begins a new position at the St. Lawrence Psychiatric Center. It was noted that J. Smith will prepare plans through the end of the year and will work with her replacement to help insure a smooth transition for the students. 9 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
HEALTH/PE REPLACEMENT TEACHER/N. GARDNER: Based upon the recommendation of the Superintendent, Motion made by S. Woodward and seconded by S. Wilson to appoint Natalie Gardner as a temporary part-time Health/Physical Education Teacher for the remainder of the school year. 9 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried. Mr. Burns noted that this part-time position would be filled through the St. Lawrence-Lewis Boces as a shared position with Brasher Falls for the 2007-2008 school year.
SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHER/M. MURRAY: Based upon the recommendation of the Superintendent, Motion made by C. Jacot and seconded by S. Woodward to appoint Michelle Murray as a Special Education Teacher for the Middle Level Resource Room effective September 4, 2007. 9 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried. (Certification: Initial Certificate for Students with Disabilities 1-6 and 5-9, Generalist. Beginning salary to be set at Step 2 of the current Teachers’ Contract. This appointment carries a three-year probationary period from September 5, 2007, and continuing through September 1, 2010).
MEDICAL LEAVE/J. REED: Based upon the recommendation of the Superintendent, Motion made by J. Young and seconded by H. Simmons to approve John Reed’s request for medical leave under the Family/Medical Leave Act commencing March 26, 2007, and continuing through May 25, 2007 (tentative return date). 9 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
SUMMER DRIVER EDUDATION/G. BOURDAGE: Based upon the recommendation of the Superintendent, Motion made by J. Young and seconded by S. Wilson to appoint Gerald Bourdage as Summer Driver Education Teacher for 2007. (Salary will be based on the 2006-2007 Non-Unit Salary Schedule of $6,312 based on seventeen years of service and a class of twenty students). 9 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
BOCES BOARD CANDIDATES: Motion made by J. Young and seconded by S. Wilson to cast one vote each for Roger Bennett, Janet Favro, and Andrea Webb in the annual election of members to the St. Lawrence-Lewis Counties Board of Cooperative Educational Services. 9 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
BOCES BUDGET VOTE: Motion made by J. Young and seconded by S. Woodward to approve the adoption of the 2007-2008 Administrative Budget for the St. Lawrence-Lewis Counties Board of Cooperative Educational Services in the amount of $2,972,549. 9 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
NYS REPORT CARD: Mr. Burns informed the Board that we did not receive the NYS Report Card data in today’s mail and it does not appear that it will be available until after the press conference that is scheduled for April 26th. Once the embargo has lifted, this data will be mailed to all school district residents for review prior to the annual school budget/board candidate vote as required. Hopefully we will be able to include the report card data in the budget newsletter which is being finalized at this time.
2008-09 SCHOOL CALENDAR: Motion made by C. Jacot and seconded by T. Zellweger to approve the 2008-09 school calendar as attached. 9 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
BUS BOND RESOLUTION: Motion made by J. Young and seconded by T. Zellweger to adopt the attached bus bond resolution prepared by Roger Linden authorizing the issuance of a Statutory Installment Bond for the purpose of financing the purchase of one (1) Bluebird/Vision 60-passenger school bus at a total cost not to exceed the sum of $90,000.00 pending voter approval on May 15, 2007. 9 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried. The bond must be obtained prior to the end of the fiscal year with the first payment coming due the following June.
CPSE/CSE RECOMMENDATIONS: Motion made by S. Wilson and seconded by T. Zellweger to approve the recommendations of the CPSE for three pre-school children as well as the recommendations of the CSE for the attached list of twenty-eight students. 9 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
Mr. Burns noted that Annual Reviews are well underway and expressed his thanks to P. Claus, D. Saiff, Mrs. Hafer, Ms. Scudder, and all classroom and special area staff who devote countless hours to planning and implementing programs to fit the individual needs of our CSE students.
PRINCIPALS’ UPDATES: P. Claus noted that this year’s musical was a tremendous success with almost sell-out houses on both nights. P. Claus congratulated Sara Simon-Shult, Pam Blevins, and the cast, crew and everyone else who worked so hard to make it a success.
Lots of families came and enjoyed our Math Family Fun Night on March 28th. P. Claus thanked the St. Lawrence Valley Teachers’ Learning Center for providing Cheri Eck, our presenter, and the PTSA for supporting the event by offering babysitting services. P. Claus also thanked Therese Baxter for her efforts to organize and host the event with an eye toward duplicating it with students and parents next year.
Annual reviews continue to keep everyone busy with six more full days of meetings. P. Claus thanked Mary Taylor, Kristen Wallace, Mary Kay Hafer, and Barb Remington, as well as all of our related service providers and teachers for developing and writing their IEPs and programs for next year.
Parent conferences were held this past week and we had an excellent turn-out. P. Claus thanked the Board for their continued support of these early release days which support our efforts with parent involvement.
Teachers and the PTSA recognized the following students of the month for Honesty and Trustworthiness: Brooke Hayes (Mrs. Loconti’s kindergarten), Ashton (Mrs. Knowles’ kindergarten), Ivy Donovan (Miss Corcoran’s first grade), Hannah Hannon (Mrs. Mason’s second grade), Allaina Zellweger (Mrs. White’s grade 1/2), Alyssa Sloan (Mrs. Axtell’s grade 1/2), Mike Cook (Mrs. Clark-Vallance’s grade 3), Calista Sochia (Mrs. Pcolar’s grade four), Anthony Pullano (Mrs. VanLeuven’s grade 3/4), Rebecca Mitchell (Ms. Rivezzi’s grade 3/4), William Schiavone (Ms. Rose’s grade 5), Kelsey Charleson (Mr. Mandigo’s grade 6), Reed Donovan, (Miss Blevins’ grade 5/6), and Nicole Ellis (Mrs. Charlebois’ grade 5/6).
P. Claus announced that this year’s spring book fair was a real success with sales totaling over $2,000. Proceeds from the sale go to books for our libraries and classrooms.
Our multi-age 3/4, grade 3, and grade 4 students did a super job with their plays. The costumes, sets, and dialogue were wonderful.
Bill Smith will be here for a day of story telling on Thursday. If you are interested, please stop by from 9:35-10:50 A.M., 12:15-1:30 P.M., or 1:40-2:10 P.M. to hear him speak.
Our 4th graders will be taking their science tests on May 7 and 8. Program evaluation tests give us a good opportunity to review and evaluate the content of our program.
D. Saiff also added his congratulations to Mrs. Simon-Shult and Miss Blevins and the cast and crew for their excellent production of “Beauty and the Beast” and thanked Miss Claus for handling ticket sales.
D. Saiff informed the Board that he had attended a Utica National Safety Meeting and presentation on Threat Assessment with Trooper Plumb and Lisa Mitras. D. Saiff also attended a break-out session to update him on various legal issues while Trooper Plumb attended a session on weapons abatement.
Mrs. White took her Regents Chemistry class to Clarkson University to visit four different labs relating to Bio sensors, Advanced Batteries, Cancer/Virus research, and Particles research. Art and Spanish students visited the Art Museum in Ottawa on April 20th. Mr. Whalen reported that the students were great and enjoyed the trip.
D. Saiff noted that Trooper Plumb will be attending a threat Assessment seminar regarding bomb threats at the Fire Hall tomorrow evening.
There are several upcoming events on the school calendar including the Wilderness Studies Bike Tour scheduled for April 26 and 27, the Seaway Area Tech Center National Honor Society Induction Ceremony scheduled for 7:00 P.M. on May 2nd at Norwood-Norfolk Central School, and the Elks annual recognition luncheon for our local high school valedictorians and salutatorians on May 3rd at 11:30 A.M. In addition, D. Saiff noted the Grade 8 Science Test will be administered on May 3 and 4. On May 10 and 11 Mr. Clark’s Wilderness Studies classes are scheduled to go on an overnight mountain climb; however, that may become a one day trip due to the Envirothon Competition scheduled for May 10th at Paul Smith’s. The annual Academic Awards Banquet will be held at 6:00 P.M. on May 17th, the Junior-Senior Prom will be held at the Town Hall on May 19th, and the seniors will be taking a day trip to Darien Lake on May 25th.
D. Saiff reported that the sports schedule has tightened up due to unseasonable weather conditions and teams are just beginning to practice outside. The modified baseball numbers are extremely high again this year so, for the second year, we have decided to split into two teams to allow more playing time for each student athlete.
INFORMATION: The Board received a copy of correspondence concerning Mike Walter’s nomination as 2008 New York State Teacher of the Year, as well as information regarding the Jefferson-Lewis BOCES’ Drug and Alcohol Program and a copy of the letter Mr. Burns sent to the Superintendent and Board of Hammond Central School on behalf of our Board and entire school community, congratulating them on their Girls’ Varsity Basketball Team’s Class D State Championship victory. In addition, the Board received a list of upcoming events of interest.
EXECUTIVE SESSION: Motion made by J. Young and seconded by S. Woodward to go into Executive Session at 8:16 P.M. to discuss evaluations of probationary and replacement teachers as well as the annual evaluation of the Superintendent.
J. Corcoran left meeting at 8:16 P.M.
ADJOURNMENT: Motion made by J. Young and seconded by T. Zellweger to come out of Executive Session and adjourn at 9:02 P.M. 7 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
School District Clerk
May 21, 2007
CALL TO ORDER: The regular meeting of the Board of Education of the Parishville-Hopkinton Central School District was called to order at 7:37 P.M. by President W. Remington in the cafeteria on the above date.
ROLL CALL: Present: C. Jacot, W. Remington, H. Simmons, F. Wilhelm, S. Wilson, J. Young, T. Zellweger, T. Burns. Absent: W. Witherell, S. Woodward. Others: M. Bailey, P. Claus, E. Conger, L. Cox, A. Gilbert, L. Mitras, J. Richards, M. Russell, D. Saiff, R. Taylor, J. Witherell, and L. Witherell.
QUORUM: Quorum of five established.
STUDENT RECOGNITION: D. Saiff announced that Leanne Miller was selected as Seaway Area Tech Student of the Month in Metalworking and Randy Bump was selected as Seaway Area Tech’s Career & Technical Rotary Student of the Month for April.
D. Saiff noted that Mrs. Janet Learned had taken a group of five students, Andrew Gilbert, Jon Peryer, Nick Gilbert, Dan MaGuire, and Andreas McIntosh, to St. Lawrence University where they participated in the Pi Mu Epsilon International Mathematics Competition on April 23rd against a dozen area schools. Our team placed second overall, with three of our seniors placing in the top five from around the county in individual competition (Andrew Gilbert 2nd, Jon Peryer 3rd, and Dan MaGuire 5th).
D. Saiff also announced that one of Mr. Clark’s Wilderness Studies I Envirothon Teams received first place in county competition and first place in the Northern Adirondack Region competition held in Paul Smith’s on May 10th and will be going on to participate in the state competition at Cobleskill on May 23rd and 24th.
Lastly, D. Saiff informed the Board that our Senior Band came away with three first place trophies when they performed in the Music in the Parks competition in Boston during their trip on May 4-6, 2007. The trophy catgories included small school concert band, all concert bands, and Esprit De Corps. Mr. Cannamela said that the students were very well-behaved again this year and that the trip went extremely well.
MINUTES: Motion made by J. Young and seconded by H. Simmons to approve the Minutes of the March 26, 2007, special budget meeting (Revised), April 23, 2007, regular meeting, May 8, 2007, public budget meeting, and May 15, 2007, Budget/Bus Financing/Board Candidate Vote as typed and mailed to Board Members. 7 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
TREASURER’S REPORTS: Motion made by J. Young and seconded by F. Wilhelm to approve the Treasurer’s Reports showing an available balance on hand as of April 30, 2007, as follows: General Fund, $9,156.43; School Lunch Fund, $18,500.85; School Lunch Savings, $26,123.81; Federal Fund, $14,258.55; Trust & Agency Fund, -0-; Payroll Fund, $-0-; Capital Fund, $-0-; Risk Retention, $-0-; Extra-Class Activities Fund, $47,577.72. 7 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
CAPITAL PROJECT UPDATE: Mr. Burns informed the Board that he will be meeting with Jeff Siddell of King & King Architects and Glen LeComte of Argus Engineering on Wednesday May 23rd to begin work to finalize plans for review by the Board of Education prior to submission to the State Education Department’s Office of Facilities and Planning.
SCHEDULE APPROVAL: Motion made by J. Young and seconded by T. Zellweger to approve the following schedules for audit and payment: General Fund, $308,461.32; School Lunch Fund, $7,866.20; Federal Fund, $-0-; Trust & Agency Fund, $17,044.61. 7 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
BUDGET TRANSFERS: Motion made by J. Young and seconded by H. Simmons to authorize the Business Manager to make the necessary budgetary transfers as attached for the Month of April, 2007. 7 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
BUDGET REPORTS: Motion made by T. Zellweger and seconded by J. Young to accept the Budget Reports for the Month of April, 2007. 7 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
MATERNITY LEAVE/S. SIMON-SHULT: Based upon the recommendation of the Superintendent, Motion made by J. Young and seconded by C. Jacot to approve Sara Simon-Shult’s request for Maternity Leave under the Family/Medical Leave Act commencing Thursday, September 6, 2007, and continuing through Friday, September 28, 2007. 7 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
VOCAL MUSIC REPLACEMENT/M. CONGER: Based upon the recommendation of the Superintendent, Motion made by J. Young and seconded by F. Wilhelm to appoint Maria Conger to fill in for S. Simon-Shult during her maternity leave. 7 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
ADDITIONAL SUMMER STAFF/R. TAYLOR/C. COOK/B. REMINGTON/R. BINAN/R. BLUM/M. CUTLER/J. FOSTER: Based upon the recommendation of the Superintendent, Motion made by J. Young and seconded by T. Zellweger to hire Robert Taylor as Bus Driver of the Summer Special Education run to Ogdensburg and part-time cleaner for a total of 40 hours per week; Conrad Cook as Bus Driver of the Summer Special Education run to Potsdam; Barb Remington as a 30-hour cleaner; Ramona Binan as a 20-hour cleaner; and Robert Blum and Mark Cutler as 40-hour cleaners. Joseph Foster as Bus Driver of the Summer School run to Canton; (Note: bus driving will be paid at the current rate of $11.67 per hour since we are still operating under the previous Non-Teachers’ Contract. Cleaning will be paid at the rate of $7.33 per hour as was adjusted last summer). 7 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
Mr. Burns noted that we still need to appoint someone as a Bus Monitor on the Summer Special Education bus run to Ogdensburg and someone to work as a part-time cleaner in the Bus Garage cleaning the fleet.
2007-2008 COACHING/ADVISOR RECOMMENDATIONS: Based upon the recommendation of the Superintendent, Motion made by T. Zellweger and seconded by S. Wilson to approve the following for coaching/advisor appointments for the 2006-2007 school year: Tony Engstrom – Boys’ Varsity Soccer Coach, Girls’ Junior Varsity Basketball Coach, and Boys’ Varsity Baseball Coach; Michael Costanzo – Boys’ Junior Varsity Soccer Coach; Evan Harper, Jr. – Girls’ Varsity Soccer Coach and Girls’ Varsity Softball Coach; Elizabeth White – Girls’ Junior Varsity Soccer Coach, Girls’ Varsity Basketball Coach, and Girls’ Modified Softball Coach; Nicole Clark-Vallance – Girls’ Junior High Soccer Coach; Shawn Spriggs – Boys’ Junior High Soccer Coach and Boys’ Junior Varsity Basketball Coach; Bryan Harmer – Boys’ Varsity Basketball Coach; John Waite – Boys’ Modified Basketball Coach; Jennifer Blevins – Girls’ Junior High Basketball Coach; Ann Krueger-Harmon Burrows – Gymnastics Coach; Jason Felix – Boys’ Modified Baseball Coach; Sara Simon-Shult – School Musical Director and School Musical Accompanist; Pamela Blevins – School Musical Stage Director; Laura Pierie and Irene Sinclair – Student Council Co-Advisors; Laura Pierie – David Parish National Honor Society Advisor and Roswell Hopkins Junior National Honor Society Advisor (unpaid); Ray Whalen and Irene Sinclair – Yearbook Co-Advisors; Mary Keenan and Kim Reed – 7th and 8th Grade Class Advisors (unpaid); Jason Felix and Scott Lalonde – 10th Grade Class Advisors; Miranda Brosell and Ray Whalen – 11th Grade Class Advisors; Mary Keenan and Denise Murray – 12th Grade Class Advisors. 7 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
It was noted that we are still in the process of filling the 9th Grade Advisor positions.
LETTER OF RETIREMENT/J. STRADER: Based upon the recommendation of the Superintendent, Motion made by J. Young and seconded by T. Zellweger to accept Joanne Strader’s letter of retirement from her position as bus driver effective June 23, 2007, and extended their thanks for Joanne’s many years of dedicated service to the District. 7 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
BUS DRIVER/D. LARUE: Based upon the recommendation of the Superintendent, Motion made by J. Young and seconded by C. Jacot to appoint David LaRue as a regular bus driver effective September 6, 2007. 7 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
LETTER OF RESIGNATION/B. SNYDER: Based upon the recommendation of the Superintendent, Motion made by J. Young and seconded by F. Wilhelm to accept Brenda Snyder’s letter of resignation from her position as a part-time teacher aide effective May 18th and extended their best wishes as she completes course requirements for her Special Education teaching degree. 7 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
PART-TIME TEACHER AIDE/S. STONE: Based upon the recommendation of the Superintendent, Motion made by J. Young and seconded by T. Zellweger to appoint Stephanie Stone as a part-time teacher aide retroactive to May 21, 2007, and continuing through the remainder of the school year. 7 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
SUBSTITUTE BUS DRIVER/J. GUINEY: Based upon the recommendation of the Superintendent, Motion made by C. Jacot and seconded by H. Simmons to approve John Guiney as a substitute bus driver as soon as we receive confirmation of fingerprint clearance and he has completed other bus driver requirements for our school. Mr. Burns noted that J. Guiney has a current CDL with passenger endorsement. 7 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
TENURE RECOMMENDATION/S. SIMON-SHULT/L. PIERIE/S. AXTELL: Based upon the recommendation of the Superintendent, Motion made by J. Young and seconded by H. Simmons to grant tenure to the following individuals in their respective certification areas effective September 1, 2007: Sara Simon-Shult in the area of K-12 Vocal Music, Laura Pierie in the area of English 7-12, Shannon Axtell in the area of Pre-Kindergarten, Kindergarten, and Grades 1-6. 7 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
MATERNITY LEAVE/A. WILKES: Based upon the recommendation of the Superintendent, Motion made by C. Jacot and seconded by T. Zellweger to approve Amy Wilkes’ request for Maternity Leave under the Family/Medical Leave Act commencing November 19, 2007, and continuing through January 2, 2008. 7 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
SICK DAY DONATIONS/R. BINAN: Mr. Burns informed the Board that he had received a request from the Non-Teachers’ Association to be allowed to form a sick bank for Ramona Binan as she has just be diagnosed with pneumonia and she has already exhausted all of her accumulated sick and personal days. Motion made by J. Young and seconded by T. Zellweger to approve sick leave donations for Ramona Binan to assist her until she recovers from pneumonia and is able to return to work. 7 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
NYS SCHOOL REPORT CARD: P. Claus, D. Saiff, and Mr. Burns discussed the contents of the New York State Report Card for the 2005-2006 school year with the Board, noting that overall our students continue to do well and teachers are working diligently to help students to be successful. P. Claus and D. Saiff reviewed much of the report card information with the Board and noted some of the examinations and entire content areas such as Math A and B that are undergoing significant changes by the New York State Board of Regents. The report included enrollment information, student demographics, attendance, number of graduates, and NYS and Regents exam results for our students and compared those results with other public schools throughout the state. Mr. Burns noted that the New York State Report Card was mailed to all district residents along with the Budget Newsletter so that the information could be reviewed prior to the May Board Candidate/Budget vote.
TOWN OF PARISHVILLE BUS REQUEST: Motion made by F. Wilhelm and seconded by C. Jacot to approve a request from the Town of Parishville for the use of two buses for the Summer Recreation Program based on the understanding that two of our regular, certified bus drivers will be hired by the town to operate the buses. 7 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
CPSE/CSE RECOMMENDATIONS: Motion made by J. Young and seconded by H. Simmons to approve the recommendations of the CPSE for one pre-school child as well as the recommendations of the CSE for the attached list of thirty-one students. 7 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
PRINCIPALS’ UPDATES: P. Claus announced our Spring 2007 Spelling Bee winners: Hannah Gray representing grades 1, 2, and multi-age 1/2; Rebecca Mitchell, representing grades 3,4, and multi-age 3/4; and Lindsey Martin, representing grades 5, 6, and multi-age 5/6. The Student Council awarded each winner a trophy which was in the form of a bee and the Shared Decision-Making Committee gave each of the three finalists from each grade an award in recognition of their effort.
Our 4th graders took their assessments in Science on Monday, May 7, and Tuesday, May 8. Our in-house scoring of the multiple choice, short answer performance segments placed all of our 4th graders at level 4 with the exception of one student who achieved level 3.
Canton Nursing students returned for a second wellness Health Fair covering topics associated with summer. P. Claus thanked them and Mrs. Goliber for organizing the fair.
The AMVETS sponsored “There’s No Magic in Drugs” on May 9 for our 5, 6, and multi-age 5/6 students. Karleen and Karvell presented their thoughtful message amongst a series of magic tricks. The response was very favorable and the AMVETS graciously reed to sponsor the program again next year.
The last Story Time event was well attended on May 15. P. Claus thanked Mrs. Mary Taylor who organized each month’s activities and to all the staff who were guest readers or sponsored refreshments. P. Claus also acknowledged First Book for supplying the wonderful variety of books for our students to select and add to their home libraries.
P. Claus also congratulated all of the students who competed in the Battle of the Books sponsored by the Hopkinton Library. Our winning team included Trey Russell, Nicole White, Michael Kearney, Anthony Pullano, and Ethan Cox. They will be competing in Watertown on June 9th.
Congratulations were also extended to the following Students of the Month for May who demonstrated the character trait Respectfulness: Clara Maine and Alex Hayes (kindergarten), Rebecca Colby (grade 1), Kyle Clark (grade 2), Jayda Sullivan and Garrett Hayes (multi-age 1/2), Katie Colbert (grade 3), Zachary Armstrong (grade 4), Kelsey Zenger and Victoria Collins (multi-age 3/4), Joey Jacot (grade 5), Colin Myers (grade 6), and Dana Harper and David Eames (multi-age 5/6).
P. Claus announced that the very successful Reading Buddies and Math Buddies Programs would conclude tomorrow. The Parishville Rescue Squad will be here on Wednesday to provide a mock demonstration with their ambulances for students in grades k-3.
P. Claus noted that we provided two great displays focusing on the efforts of our Math triads at Clarkson this week and congratulated the staff members who took the time to explain their work at Clarkson.
D. Saiff informed the Board that Monique Jenkinson was the winner of the 7th and 8th grade Spelling Bee.
Preliminary Scores for the 8th grade Science exam look good.
D. Saiff noted that he attended the Elks Student Recognition Luncheon with Ms. Scudder where local area Valedictorians, Salutatorians, and students demonstrating excellence in art, music, and sports were recognized.
D. Saiff announced that the CSE Annual Review Meetings have concluded and he acknowledged the efforts of Ms. Claus, Mrs. Clark, Mrs. Hafer, and Mrs. Remington for all of their efforts on behalf of the students.
The Academic banquet was held on May 17th and approximately 250 people were in attendance. D. Saiff thanked Mrs. Hazelton and her staff for the excellent meal and thanked Mrs. Richardson for coordinating the event and organizing the awards portion of the evening.
The Prom was held on May 19th and the students were well behaved. D. Saiff acknowledged the efforts of senior class advisors Bryan Harmer and Shawn Spriggs and junior class advisors Mary Keenan and Denise Murray. D. Saiff also thanked the parents of juniors and seniors who organized the all night after prom party.
INFORMATION: The Board received the results of the BOCES Administrative Budget and Board Candidate Vote, quarterly Healthcare and Workers’ Compensation Committee Meeting Minutes from May 2, 2007, information concerning orientation for new School Board Members, an article regarding concerns raised over graduation rates in the region and an article in honor of Evan Harper’s 300th win in softball this year, written by former student, Meghan Lalonde. The Board also received a list of upcoming events of interest.
EXECUTIVE SESSION: Motion made by J. Young and seconded by T. Zellweger to go into Executive Session at 8:26 P.M. to discuss evaluations of tenured teachers, on-going health care discussions, and upcoming negotiations sessions.
M. Bailey, E. Conger, L. Cox, A. Gilbert, J. Richards, M. Russell, R. Taylor, and J. Witherell left meeting at 8:28 P.M.
Motion made by T. Zellweger and seconded by S. Wilson to come out of Executive Session at 9:24 P.M. 7 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
FINAL PAY/J. JACOT: Motion made by J. Young and seconded by T. Zellweger to approve a final longevity retirement payout to the estate of Joanne Jacot in the amount of $2,500, making a total payout of $6,000 as specified under the current PHCS Teachers’ Contract. C. Jacot abstained, W. Remington in favor, H. Simmons in favor, F. Wilhelm in favor, S. Wilson in favor, J. Young in favor, T. Zellweger in favor. Carried.
ADJOURNMENT: Motion made by J. Young and seconded by T. Zellweger to adjourn at 9:25 P.M. 7 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
School District Clerk
June 18, 2007
CALL TO ORDER: The regular meeting of the Board of Education of the Parishville-Hopkinton Central School District was called to order at 7:33 P.M. by President W. Remington in the cafeteria on the above date.
ROLL CALL: Present: C. Jacot, W. Remington, H. Simmons, F. Wilhelm, S. Wilson-7:38 P.M., W. Witherell, T. Zellweger, T. Burns. Absent: S. Woodward, J. Young. Others: P. Claus, L. Mitras, D. Saiff, R. Taylor, and L. Witherell.
QUORUM: Quorum of five established.
TEACHER RECOGNITION: T. Burns announced that Bryan Harmer received a graduate assistantship at St. Lawrence University which will allow him to pursue his administrative degree at no cost. Bryan will be working with Dr. Shuman and will need to be released during 5th period on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
T. Burns also announced that he had read an article in St. Lawrence Central School’s newsletter that Jason Felix was recently inducted into their Sports Hall of Fame for Football.
ELEMENTARY SCHOOL RECOGNITION: P. Claus informed the Board that the elementary school was recognized as one of the New York State Title I high performing/gap closing public and charter schools for English Language Arts and Math during the 2005-2006 school year.
MINUTES: Motion made by F. Wilhelm and seconded by H. Simmons to approve the Minutes of the May 21, 2007, regular meeting as typed and mailed to Board Members. 6 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
TREASURER’S REPORTS: Motion made by T. Zellweger and seconded by W. Witherell to approve the Treasurer’s Reports showing an available balance on hand as of May 31, 2007, as follows: General Fund, $160,391.88; School Lunch Fund, $10,850.99; School Lunch Savings, $41,123.81; Federal Fund, $17,803.28; Trust & Agency Fund, $-0-; Payroll Fund, $-0-; Extra-Class Activities Fund, $44,243.24. 6 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
CAPITAL PROJECT UPDATE: The Board reviewed correspondence from Jeff Siddell of King & King Architects which noted that another site visit would be necessary before they could finalize plans for submission to the Office of Facilities and Planning. Hopefully there will be more to report at the next meeting.
SCHEDULE APPROVAL: Motion made by T. Zellweger and seconded by C. Jacot to approve the following schedules for audit and payment: General Fund, $354,197.99; School Lunch Fund, $5,862.47; Federal Fund, $-0-; Trust & Agency Fund, $17,022.34. 6 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
BUDGET TRANSFERS: Motion made by C. Jacot and seconded by F. Wilhelm to authorize the Business Manager to make the necessary budgetary transfers as attached for the Month of May, 2007. 6 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
BUDGET REPORTS: Motion made by T. Zellweger and seconded by H. Simmons to accept the Budget Reports for the Month of May, 2007. 6 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
S. Wilson arrived at 7:38 P.M.
COMPENSATED ABSENCES RESERVE: Motion made by T. Zellweger and seconded by F. Wilhelm to approve a transfer of $170,000 from General Fund CLASS to the Compensated Absences Reserve in CLASS. 7 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
BUS FLEET STATUS REPORT: Mr. Burns reviewed the Bus Fleet Status Report with the Board and discussed the overall condition of the bus fleet. Motion made by F. Wilhelm and seconded by C. Jacot to include the purchase of two new 66-passenger buses for planning in development of the 2008-2009 preliminary budget with final purchase pending voter approval. 7 in favor, 0 opposed, carried
MATERNITY LEAVE/M. MURRAY: Based upon the recommendation of the Superintendent, Motion made by T. Zellweger and seconded by H. Simmons to approve Michelle Murray’s request for Maternity Leave under the Family/Medical Leave Act commencing Thursday, September 4, 2007, and continuing through Friday, September 21, or October 5, 2007, depending upon delivery date and recovery. 7 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
MIDDLE LEVEL RESOURCE ROOM REPLACEMENT/S. STONE: Based upon the recommendation of the Superintendent, Motion made by T. Zellweger and seconded by W. Witherell to appoint Stephanie Stone to replace Michelle Murray during her maternity leave. 7 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
SUMMER STAFFING/B. TAYLOR/B. SOCHIA: Based upon the recommendation of the Superintendent, Motion made by T. Zellweger and seconded by C. Jacot to hire Bernice Taylor as Bus Monitor for the Summer Special Education run to Ogdensburg and to appoint Bonnie Sochia as a part-time cleaner in the Bus Garage cleaning the fleet for approximately 16 hours per week. 7 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
BOOKS AT THE BEACH/J. MASON/L. KNOWLES/I. SINCLAIR/M. TAYLOR/C. WITHERELL: P. Claus explained that the Books at the Beach Program was scheduled to run the same as last year. Based upon the recommendation of the Superintendent, Motion made by T. Zellweger and seconded by H. Simmons to appoint Jennifer Mason and Lori Knowles as Coordinators of the Books at the Beach Program (J. Mason for 13 days and L. Knowles for 13 days, Monday – Friday, 9:00 A.M. until 1:00 P.M. daily) at $25.00 per hour; and Irene Sinclair and Mary Taylor as teachers (each working 13 days) at $20.00 per hour; and Cody Witherell to work full time for the length of the program as the student aide for the Books at the Beach Program at $7.15 per hour. C. Jacot in favor, W. Remington in favor, H. Simmons in favor, F. Wilhelm in favor, S. Wilson in favor, W. Witherell abstained, T. Zellweger in favor, Carried.
SUBSTITUTE BUS DRIVER/M. TREMPER: Based upon the recommendation of the Superintendent, Motion made by S. Wilson and seconded by T. Zellweger to approve Michael Tremper for training as a substitute bus driver. 7 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
ELEMENTARY READING TEACHER REPLACEMENT/J. BERRY: Based upon the recommendation of the Superintendent, Motion made by C. Jacot and seconded by W. Witherell to appoint Julie Berry to replace Amy Wilkes during her maternity leave scheduled for November 29, 2007, through January 2, 2008. 7 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
CUSTODIAL WORKER/B. BAILEY: Based upon the recommendation of the Superintendent, Motion made by F. Wilhelm and seconded by H. Simmons to approve Brian Bailey’s appointment to the new Custodial Worker position at a base salary of $21,015* effective July 1, 2007 (*actual salary to be set at $26,143 based on years of experience). 7 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
HEALTH INSURANCE BUYOUT: Based upon the recommendation of the Superintendent, Motion made by T. Zellweger and seconded by C. Jacot to approve an Addendum of Agreement for Health Insurance Coverage to allow members of the Teachers’ Association and Non-Teaching Association to opt for an external health insurance buyout during the 2007-2008 school year. 7 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
TRANSPORTATION REQUEST/CAMP MANDAVILLE: Motion made by S. Wilson and seconded by C. Jacot to approve a request from Robert Emmett, Director of Camp Mandaville, to transport summer campers and staff to Stillwater Reservoir on Monday, July 30th, and pick them up on Friday, August 3rd. In addition, Mr. Emmett has again requested that we transport his campers to and from the Parishville Beach on July 11th, July 18th, and July 25th. Mr. Emmett has already provided proof of liability insurance and accepts responsibility for the costs associated with paying for one of our drivers as well as the fuel consumed. 7 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
ACADEMIC INTERVENTION SERVICES PLAN: T. Burns reviewed the Academic Intervention Services Plan which outlines how we identify students who require Academic Intervention Services, the level of AIS needed, and the method used to determine when a student no longer needs services. Mr. Burns acknowledged the efforts of P. Claus who works with Rachelle Romoda to coordinate the availability of Title I services for those students identified as needing remedial help and to review and update this plan annually as required. Motion made by T. Zellweger and seconded by S. Wilson to approve the Academic Intervention Services Plan as presented. 7 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
CSE RECOMMENDATIONS: Motion made by S. Wilson and seconded by F. Wilhelm to approve the recommendations of the CSE for the attached list of seventeen students. 7 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
PRINCIPALS’ UPDATES: P. Claus announced that we had a great crowd for Kindergarten graduation this morning. P. Claus invited Members of the Board to attend 6th grade graduation tomorrow morning at 9:00 A.M., and thanked W. Witherell for assisting with the presentation of diplomas at the moving up ceremony and Judy Witherell for being the guest speaker.
P. Claus informed the Board that she had met with all elementary teachers to review grade placements for next year and noted that it was not always possible to honor every request due to class sizes, social behavior concerns, special education needs, and Title I needs; however, each student’s identified strengths and needs were reviewed carefully in order to make the best possible placements.
The efforts of our outgoing Safety Patrol were recognized this past Tuesday with new members being inducted at the same ceremony. Miss Pam Blevins has assumed a leadership role in the Safety Patrol and P. Claus recognized her continuing efforts to oversee this worthwhile program.
Preliminary NYS Math scores for 2006-2007 are in and, as printed by the Watertown Times, our students did a good job of meeting and exceeding state standards.
P. Claus noted that our fourth grade Battle of the Books team traveled with their families and Mrs. VanLeuven to Watertown last weekend to compete in the second round of competition. Unfortunately, they were eliminated; however, Mrs. VanLeuven indicated that they did very well with their responses. P. Claus congratulated Ethan Cox, Nicole White, Trey Russell, and Anthony Pullano for their efforts.
D. Saiff informed the Board that honor society induction ceremonies for the David Parish National Honor Society and John Hopkins Junior National Honor Society and were held on May 24 and 25 and thanked Mrs. Pierie for her work with both groups. The seniors had a very nice class trip to Darien Lake on May 25th and D. Saiff thanked Mr. Harmer and Mr. Spriggs for all of their work as advisors for the Class of 2007.
The annual gymnastics show was held on June 1 and 2 and D. Saiff thanked Mrs. Ann K-H Burrows and Miss Natalie Gardner for their work with all of the student athletes.
On June 3rd D. Saiff attended a St. Lawrence-Lewis Counties School Boards Association Dinner with Andrew Gilbert and his family and Elizabeth Conger and her family. The dinner is held annually to honor local area Valedictorians and Salutatorians for their academic excellence.
D. Saiff also noted that orientation for students entering 7th grade and 9th grade in the fall was held on June 4th. D. Saiff thanked Melissa Scudder, Mrs. Keenan, Mrs. Murray, Mrs. Brosell, Mr. Eldridge, and Mr. Walter for attending and briefly outlining student expectations and responsibilities as they enter Junior High and High School.
The Spring Sports Banquet was held on the evening of June 5th with approximately 150 student athletes and their families in attendance. Mr. Clark’s annual Wilderness Studies Canoe Trip was June 4th through the 8th. The students always look forward to this trip and it is an excellent opportunity for them to apply the skills they have learned throughout the semester.
The High School Concert was held on June 6th and D. Saiff acknowledged both Sara Simon-Shult and Don Cannamela for their efforts. The choral and instrumental groups provided a great evening of entertainment for those in attendance.
Students in grades 6-12 attended assemblies on June 7 and 8 where many received recognition and awards for their academic excellence.
D. Saiff informed the Board that Patti Fisher from BOCES visited the school on June 11th to conduct a Junior High Technology Survey. County and District data will be available in the Fall for the Board’s review.
On June 13th the 8th graders had their end-of-year picnic at the Parishville Park. D. Saiff thanked the Junior High teachers for their efforts on behalf of the students throughout the year and for organizing this eagerly anticipated year-end event.
D. Saiff also acknowledged the efforts of teachers in grades 3-8 for Math scores, reported to be very good overall. Final exam week is moving along smoothly and initial grades look very promising.
High School Graduation is scheduled for 11:30 A.M. on Saturday, June 23rd.
Soccer practice begins on August 17th and game schedules have been completed. Currently 15 games are scheduled for Girls’ JV with 13 games scheduled for Boys’ JV.
INFORMATION: The Board received Minutes from a special meeting of the Healthcare Committee on May 24th as well as a letter from Commissioner Richard Mills congratulating the district for being recognized as one of New York State’s 1,083 Title I “high performing/gap closing” public and charter schools for English Language Arts and Math. The Board also received a letter from the New York State Public High School Athletic Association congratulating the 2007 Varsity Softball Team for earning the Association’s Scholar/Athlete Team Award for the Spring 2007 sports season. In addition, the Board received a list of upcoming events of interest.
EXECUTIVE SESSION: Motion made by H. Simmons and seconded by S. Wilson to go into Executive Session at 8:30 P.M. to discuss personnel matters.
R. Taylor left meeting at 8:30 P.M.
C. Jacot left meeting at 9:07 P.M.
Motion made by T. Zellweger and seconded by H. Simmons to come out of Executive Session at 9:09 P.M. 6 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
NON-UNIT SALARIES: Motion made by T. Zellweger and seconded by H. Simmons to approve adjustments to the Non-Unit Salary sheet as presented. 6 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
ADJOURNMENT: Motion made by T. Zellweger and seconded by H. Simmons to adjourn at 9:11 P.M. 6 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
School District Clerk
March 12, 2007
CALL TO ORDER: A budget meeting of the Board of Education of the Parishville-Hopkinton Central School District was called to order at 7:34 P.M. by President W. Remington in the Cafeteria on the above date.
ROLL CALL: Present: C. Jacot, W. Remington, H. Simmons, S. Wilson, W. Witherell, J. Young, T. Zellweger, T. Burns. Absent: F. Wilhelm, S. Woodward. Others: None.
QUORUM: Quorum of five established.
PRELIMINARY BUDGET WORK: Preliminary work on the budget for the 2007-2008 school year was reviewed with discussions focusing on areas of increased costs. The initial working budget projections for the 2007-08 school year were reviewed as well as some early State Aid projections based on the Governor’s Proposal.
ADJOURNMENT: Motion made by S. Wilson and seconded by H. Simmons to adjourn at 8:26 P.M. 7 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
School District Clerk
February 12, 2007
CALL TO ORDER: The regular meeting of the Board of Education of the Parishville-Hopkinton Central School District was called to order at 7:35 P.M. by President W. Remington in the cafeteria on the above date.
ROLL CALL: Present: C. Jacot, W. Remington, H. Simmons, S. Wilson, W. Witherell, J. Young, T. Zellweger, T. Burns. Absent: F. Wilhelm, S. Woodward. Others: P. Claus, J. Corcoran, A. Gilbert, L. Mitras, D. Saiff, R. Snow, L. Witherell.
QUORUM: Quorum of five established.
STUDENT/TEACHER RECOGNITION: D. Saiff announced that the Valedictorian of this year’s graduating class is Andrew Gilbert and the Salutatorian for the Class of 2007 is Elizabeth Conger. The Board congratulated both students on their outstanding academic achievements. The Board asked Andrew his future education plans and he responded that he was planning to enroll in a 3-2 engineering program whereby he would attend St. Michaels for 3 years and then transfer to Clarkson to complete his degree.
MINUTES: Motion made by J. Young and seconded by H. Simmons to approve the regular Minutes of January 16, 2007, as typed and mailed to Board Members. 7 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
TREASURER’S REPORTS: Motion made by T. Zellweger and seconded by J. Young to approve the Treasurer’s Reports showing an available balance on hand as of January 31, 2007, as follows: General Fund, $ 74,057.09; School Lunch Fund, $18,493.08; School Lunch Savings, $59,916.77; Federal Fund, $486.36; Trust & Agency Fund, $-0-; Payroll Fund, $10.16; Capital Fund, $15.18; Risk Retention, $-0-; Extra-Class Activities Fund, $51,838.75. 7 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
CAPITAL FUND PROJECT/ EXCEL AID UPDATE: Mr. Burns and the Board ad hoc committee discussed their recommendations for cuts to the proposed project to keep it under $2,100,000, the maximum amount eligible to receive additional EXCEL aid. Mr. Burns noted that Jeff Siddell, our architect, has advised that the cuts remain on the scope of work to be completed labeled as alternates.
CAPITAL PROJECT SEQRA: Motion made by J. Young and seconded by T. Zellweger to approve the attached State Environmental Quality Review Negative Declaration and Short Environmental Assessment Forms (Type II Action). 7 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
CAPITAL RENOVATIONS PROJECT: The Board reviewed the Notice of Special Meeting and Resolution that our school attorney, Roger Linden, had prepared. Motion made by J. Young and seconded by W. Witherell to adopt the attached Resolution and approve the attached Notice of Special Meeting specifying April 18, 2007, as the date that the proposed Capital Renovations Project will be voted on by school district residents. 7 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
Motion made by J. Young and seconded by T. Zellweger to approve the attached paper ballot for the purpose of voting on the proposed capital renovations project. 7 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
Mr. Burns informed the Board that he would begin drafting a bulletin regarding the proposed capital renovations project to mail to district residents prior to the public meeting and vote.
SCHEDULE APPROVAL: Motion made by T. Zellweger and seconded by S. Wilson to approve the following schedules for audit and payment: General Fund, $301,553.38; School Lunch Fund, $5,059.59; Federal Fund, $7,604.67; Trust & Agency Fund, $16,882.52. 7 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
BUDGET TRANSFERS: Motion made by J. Young and seconded by H. Simmons to authorize the Business Manager to make the necessary budgetary transfers as attached for the Month of January, 2007. 7 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
BUDGET REPORTS: Motion made by T. Zellweger and seconded by C. Jacot to accept the Budget Reports for the Month of January, 2007. 7 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
UPDATES ON EXAMS: Prior to reviewing the results of the January Regents and School exams, D. Saiff reminded the Board that the phase-in graduation standard of 65 on required Regents examinations began last year, with students entering 9th grade in 2005. Therefore, this year’s 9th grade class must attain a score of 65 or above on three of the five required Regents examinations in order to receive a Regents Diploma; next year’s 9th grade class will be required to attain a score of 65 or above on four of the five required Regents, and so on through 2008 when students will need to receive a 65 or above on all five required Regents, at which time the local diploma will no longer be an available option. (The five required Regents are the ELA 11, Global Studies, U.S. History & Government, Math A, and a Science.)
Nineteen students took the U.S. History & Government exam; seventeen passed and ten had scores at or above the 85% Mastery Level. Of the 31 students who took the Global Studies exam, 29 passed with 11 scoring at or above 85%. Twenty-three students took the English 11 Regents; 100% passed with 6 scoring at or above 85%. Thirty-three students took and passed the Math A exam with 23 receiving a score of 85% or above. In Chemistry, two students re-took the exam and both scored at proficiency. Thirty-one students took and passed the Living Environment exam with 14 achieving 85% or above. One student took the RCT in U.S. History and scored at proficiency. Three students took the RCT in Math and all three passed. Four students took and passed the English RCT with 2 at or above 80%.
D. Saiff also discussed the recent 7th and 8th grade ELA exams, noting that scores appear to have improved significantly this year.
HOCKEY MERGER: Mr. Burns informed the Board that we have five students who are interested in participating in a Hockey Merger with Brasher Falls Central School again next year. Motion made by T. Zellweger and seconded by S. Wilson to approve a hockey merger with Brasher Falls Central School for the 2007-2008 school year at no cost to the district. Mr. Burns will send a letter to the Brasher Falls Central School Board to request their consideration and approval of this merger. 7 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
FOOTBALL MERGER: Mr. Burns informed the Board that we have one student who is interested in participating in a Football Merger with Brasher Falls Central School again next year. Motion made by T. Zellweger and seconded by H. Simmons to approve a football merger with Brasher Falls Central School for the 2007-2008 school year at no cost to the district. Mr. Burns will send a letter to the Brasher Falls Central School Board to request their consideration and approval of this merger as well. 7 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
UNPAID VOLUNTEER COACH/N. GARDNER: Mr. Burns informed the Board that Natalie Gardner has expressed interest in serving as an unpaid volunteer coach to assist Ann Krueger-Harmon Burrows with the Gymnastics Team again this year. Motion made by T. Zellweger and seconded by H. Simmons to approve Natalie Gardner as an unpaid volunteer Assistant Coach for Gymnastics. 7 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
TRANSPORTATION REQUEST/HOPKINTON CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH: Motion made by C. Jacot and seconded by W. Witherell to approve a request from Marjorie Meashaw on behalf of the Hopkinton Congregational Church to transport parishioners to the Olympic Center in Lake Placid to attend the Disney on Ice Show on Saturday, February 17th with the understanding that we have proof of liability insurance and the Hopkinton Congregational Church will accept responsibility for the costs associated with paying for one of our drivers as well as the fuel consumed. 7 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
BUDGET UPDATE/GOVERNOR’S PROPOSAL: Mr. Burns and L. Mitras discussed preliminary budget information with the Board. According to the Governor’s proposal, it appears that we would receive an increase in State Aid next year of approximately 8.5% or $276,000. Last year we received a 2.75% increase in aid; however, if you take into consideration the years of drastic cuts to our state aid together with years of increased costs, we are still falling behind. Major increases in health insurance, BOCES programs, electricity, fuel oil, and diesel fuel alone more than deplete the additional proposed aid. L. Mitras also cautioned that Governor Spitzer’s proposal combines all of the different aids under one category called foundation aid; however, it doesn’t clearly specify the amount of money available within each category. It is, however, a better projection than we have received in several years.
PTSA DONATION: Motion made by T. Zellweger and seconded by S. Wilson to accept a donation in the amount of $50 from the PHCS Parent-Teacher-Student Association for the purpose of purchasing books for the elementary library and expressed their appreciation on behalf of the students. 7 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
CSE RECOMMENDATIONS: Motion made by J. Young and seconded by S. Wilson to approve the recommendation of the CSE for the attached list of five students. 7 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
LEGISLATIVE BREAKFAST: The Board received information regarding the annual Legislative Breakfast scheduled for March 10, 2007, at 8:00 A.M. at SUNY Canton. T. Zellweger, P. Claus, D. Saiff, and Mr. Burns plan to attend. It was noted that reservations for the Breakfast must be made by March 2nd.
PRINCIPALS’ UPDATES: P. Claus announced Students of the Month displaying the character trait of fairness: Aletha Crump (Mrs. Loconti’s kindergarten), Lakota Rosenbarker (Mrs. Knowles’ kindergarten), Hannah Pcolar (Miss Corcoran’s first grade), Zachary Bassett (Mrs. Mason’s second grade), Keeley Smith (Mrs. White’s multi-age 1/2 class), Michael Charleson (Mrs. Axtell’s multi-age 1/2 class), Miranda Collins (Mrs. Clark-Vallance’s third grade), Charlie Anderson (Mrs. Pcolar’s fourth grade), James Martin (Ms. Rivezzi’s multi-age 3/4 class), Trey Russell (Mrs. VanLeuven’s multiage 3/4 class), Brock Waite (Ms. Rose’s fifth grade), Richard Curry (Mr. Mandigo’s sixth grade), Jordyn Clothier (Ms. Blevins’ multi-age 5/6 class), Alec Sloan (Mrs. Charlebois’ multi-age 5/6 class).
Our Beginner Concert on January 17th was very well attended. Students in band and chorus did an exceptional job and parents and community members seemed to really enjoy the musical selections.
Our DARE program came to a close on February 2nd with 64 students graduating. Trooper Sue chose Kodi Perkins to receive the character award, a stuffed lion named Darren. Four student readers, James Wolf, Eric Hannon, Shauna Wheeler, and Jenna Converse, also received awards for their essays. Once again the Potsdam Elks Club provided t-shirts for each student and a shirt for Trooper Sue and the PTSA recognized her efforts with a PHCS shirt.
P. Claus announced that this year’s musical, Beauty and The Beast, will be held on March 23rd and 24th.
Dental sealants and check-ups were completed today and the ladies who have been part of this excellent program for over twenty years spoke about the graciousness of our staff as well as how cooperative they have always found our students to be.
The Shared Decision-Making Committee will be sponsoring a Spelling Bee this spring for students in grades 1-12.
Dr. Howlett’s staff will be here tomorrow to present a dental health program for children in Headstart through second grade.
The New York State Math tests for students in grades 3-5 will be administered during the week of March 5-9. The tests for students in grades 6-8 will be administered the week of March 12th. Our kindergarten screening program will begin on March 7th with our annual information night for parents at 7:00 P.M. in rooms 112/113, followed by an informal visit on the 14th, screening on the 19th through the 21st, and a formal visit on June 1st. Today was our 100th day of school.
D. Saiff informed the Board that with Winter Ball at been held on January 27th at the Town Hall and expressed appreciation to Mrs. Pierie and Miss Sinclair for organizing this annual Student Council event and also to the PTSA for donating door prizes this year.
Regents were administered January 23-26 and everything went well. Second semester is off to a smooth start and report cards were sent home on February 2nd.
D. Saiff noted that Ms. Reed, Mrs. Pierie, Ms. Stone, and Mrs. Wallace participated in regional grading of the English Language Arts 8th grade exam in Potsdam on February 8th.
D. Saiff also announced that Rob Snow had recently interviewed some of our seniors for an upcoming article. In this particular class, 16 out of 36 students have a cumulative average of 90 or above, 22 have a cumulative average of 85 or above. They are a strong group academically, but they are also very involved in sports and other extra-curricular activities.
D. Saiff acknowledged the members of our Safety Committee for their assistance in completing an internal safety audit. The New York State Math exams for students in grades 6-8 will be administered during the week of March 12-15. The Spring Open House for the Junior-Senior High School will be held on March 15th from 2:30 – 3:30 P.M. and from 6:30 – 8:00 P.M. in the cafeteria.
D. Saiff thanked Carter Eldridge for offering to refinish the top of our conference room table. Gymnastics practices are getting underway. The Gymnastics Show is slated for June 1st and 2nd. D. Saiff thanked Sue Hart and the cheerleaders for a job well done this season and announced that the Girls’ Varsity Basketball Team play at Harrisville tomorrow and the Boys’ Varsity Basketball Team play at Lisbon on Wednesday. D. Saiff acknowledged the dedication of all of our basketball coaches throughout the season: Jen Blevins, Girls’ Modified; Tony Engstrom, Girls’ JV; Liz White, Girls’ Varsity; John Waite and Assistant Dave Gallagher (Boys’ Modified); Shawn Spriggs, Boys’ JV; and Bryan Harmer, Boys’ Varsity.
BOCES ANNUAL MEETING: Mr. Burns noted that reservations to attend the BOCES Annual Dinner Meeting scheduled for April 5, 2007, at the Seaway Career & Technical Center in Norwood are due by March 9th. Anyone interested in attending should contact us on or before that date.
INFORMATION: The Board also received a copy of a letter written by a parent of the district thanking our teachers, support staff, and administration for their dedication to the students of this district by providing a safe, nurturing, and stimulating atmosphere for each child to grow and learn in. The Board also received a list of upcoming events of interest.
EXECUTIVE SESSION: Motion made by J. Young and seconded by C. Jacot to go into Executive Session at 8:35 P.M. to discuss personnel matters.
J. Corcoran and R. Snow left meeting at 8:40 P.M.
ADJOURNMENT: Motion made by J. Young and seconded by T. Zellweger to come out of Executive Session and adjourn at 8:51 P.M. 7 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
School District Clerk
January 16, 2007
CALL TO ORDER: The regular meeting of the Board of Education of the Parishville-Hopkinton Central School District was called to order at 7:06 P.M. by President W. Remington in the cafeteria on the above date.
ROLL CALL: Present: C. Jacot, W. Remington, F. Wilhelm, S. Wilson, W. Witherell, S. Woodward-7:25 P.M., J. Young, T. Zellweger-7:08 P.M., T. Burns. Absent: H. Simmons. Others: P. Claus, L. Mitras, D. Saiff, R. Snow-7:15 P.M., L. Witherell.
QUORUM/MINUTES: Quorum of five established. Motion made by F. Wilhelm and seconded by S. Wilson to approve the regular Minutes of December 18, 2006, as typed and mailed to Board Members. 6 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
TREASURER’S REPORTS: Motion made by J. Young and seconded by F. Wilhelm to approve the Treasurer’s Reports showing an available balance on hand as of December 31, 2006, as follows: General Fund, $107,799.14; School Lunch Fund, $12,839.43; School Lunch Savings, $59,916.77; Federal Fund, $90.68; Trust & Agency Fund, $-0-; Payroll Fund, $-0-; Capital Fund, $15.18; Risk Retention, $59,249.73; Extra-Class Activities Fund, $53,204.29. 6 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
T. Zellweger arrived at 7:08 P.M.
CAPITAL FUND PROJECT/EXCEL AID UPDATE: Jeff Siddell, an architect with the firm of King & King, and Glen LeComte, an engineer with Argus Engineering, were in attendance at the meeting to review a proposal for a Capital Fund Project that would maximize the District’s ability to receive Excel Aid in addition to the normal building aid allowed by The State Education Department’s Office of Facilities and Planning.
R. Snow arrived at 7:15 P.M.
In order to receive the additional aid, all items must address a health and safety, energy, technology, physical capacity expansion, or accessibility issue. A minimum of 75% of the scope of the project must relate to these concerns in order to be eligible to receive the maximum benefit of Excel Aid. To that end, J. Siddell explained that the list of possible items was compiled by reviewing the Building Condition Survey that had been completed by King & King in June of 2005. All items noted as needing repair or replacement within the next five years that also fit one of the categories necessary to receive additional Excel aid were selected for the proposal as well as a couple of items that were not able to be included in the last capital project.
The scope of the project included roof replacement, relining of existing boiler stack, above-ground fuel tank replacement, electrical distribution upgrades in the 1969 wing, upgrades to ventilation in several areas of the building, full system upgrade of the public address system which dates back to 1969, and a variety of heating, plumbing, lighting, and electrical work throughout the building.
S. Woodward arrived at 7:25 P.M.
J. Siddell and G. LeComte answered specific questions pertaining to roof work, relining of the boiler stack, electrical work and cost estimates. The Board reviewed the information presented and discussed the timeframe for receiving Excel Aid. In order to move forward with a capital project, the Board will have to formally approve the scope and begin preparations to present information to the public.
The Board thanked J. Siddell and G. LeComte for attending the meeting and for their presentation.
SCHEDULE APPROVAL: Motion made by J. Young and seconded by S. Woodward to approve the following schedules for audit and payment: General Fund, $270,946.57; School Lunch Fund, $8,609.29; Federal Fund, $7,373.33; Trust & Agency Fund, $18,787.48. 8 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
BUDGET TRANSFERS: Motion made by T. Zellweger and seconded by S. Wilson to authorize the Business Manager to make the necessary budgetary transfers as attached for the Month of December, 2006. 8 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
BUDGET REPORTS: Motion made by F. Wilhelm and seconded by T. Zellweger to accept the Budget Reports for the Month of December, 2006. 8 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
CORRECTIVE ACTION PLAN: As a follow-up to our 2005-2006 annual Audit Report, Mr. Burns and L. Mitras reviewed the two-page corrective action plan developed to address minor areas of concern noted by the auditors. Motion made by J. Young and seconded by T. Zellweger to approve the Corrective Action Plan as presented and attached. It was noted that the Corrective Action Plan was also sent to the New York State Education Department’s Office of Audit Services as required under the new Five Point Plan regulations. 8 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
BOCES PRELIMINARY REQUEST: The Board reviewed the Preliminary Request Form for BOCES services during the 2007-2008 school year. Mr. Burns noted that the services requested are the same as we are currently using with a few minor changes. The Preliminary Request Form is used by BOCES to determine the types of services the 18 component school districts will be purchasing so that the costs associated with those services can be determined. The final commitment form, which we will receive from BOCES in March, will be due in April.
VISUAL INSPECTION REPORTS: Based upon the recommendation of the Superintendent, Motion made by J. Young and seconded by F. Wilhelm to approve the Visual Inspection Reports for the Main Building and Bus Garage as presented. These reports were submitted on-line to The State Education Department’s Office of Facilities and Planning as required. 8 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
ANNUAL FIRE INSPECTION: Motion made by J. Young and seconded by C. Jacot to accept the Annual Fire Inspection Reports for the Main Building and Bus Garage as prepared by John Mittelstaedt and submit said reports to the State Education Department for their review and approval. 8 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
SENIOR CITIZEN EXEMPTION: Based upon the recommendation of the Superintendent due to the current STAR Program benefits, Motion made by T. Zellweger and seconded by F. Wilhelm to take no action, keeping the senior citizen income ceiling exemption at the current rate of $10,500. 8 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
CSE RECOMMENDATIONS: Motion made by J. Young and seconded by S. Wilson to approve the recommendation of the CSE for the attached list of eight students. 8 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
LEGISLATIVE BREAKFAST: The Board received information regarding the annual Legislative Breakfast scheduled for March 10, 2007, at 8:00 A.M. at SUNY Canton. T. Zellweger, P. Claus, D. Saiff, and Mr. Burns plan to attend. It was noted that reservations for the Breakfast must be made by March 2nd.
PRINCIPALS’ UPDATES: P. Claus informed the Board that students in grades 3-5 have completed their English Language Arts testing this week. Next week we will be grading the exams with Madrid-Waddington teachers.
This month one student from each classroom was recognized for the character attribute “caring.” Sydney Koen (Kindergarten-Knowles), Erica Sloan (Kindergarten-Loconti), Cameron Reif (First-Corcoran), Taylor Scovil (Second-Mason), Alec Knowles (Multi-age 1/2-White), Brittany Taylor (Multi-age 1/2-Axtell), Justin Frank (Third-Clark-Vallance), Racheal Remington (Fourth-Pcolar), Elizabeth Oney (Multi-age 3/4-Rivezzi), Kyle Leroux (Multi-age 3/4-VanLeuven), Nicole Russell (Fifth-Rose), Lindsey Martio (Sixth-Mandigo), Kristan Daniels (Multi-age 5/6-Blevins), and Cody Wright (Multi-age 5/6-Charlebois) all received a certificate and pencils recognizing their efforts.
P. Claus announced that five of our students were recently recognized for winning the AMVETS Poster and Flag Contest held last spring. Elementary students Keeley Smith (currently in first grade), Chase Simmons (currently in third grade), Nicole White, (currently in fourth grade), and Amanda Mason (currently in second grade), as well as Katelynn Kearney (currently in 11th grade) received trophies, certificates, and $50.00 savings bonds for their winning posters and essays.
This week we received a check for $286. for our Box Tops Program. This money will be put into the Elementary Account for miscellaneous playground items.
P. Claus noted that our 5th and 6th grade students will be finishing their DARE Program soon. Graduation is planned for February 2nd and P. Claus invited members of the Board to attend if their schedules allowed. Thanks to the generosity of the Potsdam Elks Lodge last year, every student will be able to receive a t-shirt to commemorate their participation in this very worthwhile program. P. Claus acknowledged Trooper Sue Hayes’ continued commitment to the DARE Program and the students at PHCS.
On a final note, P. Claus announced that the Elementary Beginners’ Concert would begin at 7:00 P.M. tomorrow evening. The concert will feature our 5th and 6th grade bands, 3/4 chorus and 5/6 chorus.
D. Saiff informed the Board that 15-week progress reports for the Junior-Senior High School were sent home on December 22nd.
On January 5th NCC Systems made some changes to the video camera system set-up to enhance equipment performance. While here, office personnel also received additional training on playback modes, printing, and downloading/saving video.
D. Saiff noted that Anne Marie Snell from the St. Lawrence County Health Initiative was here on January 11th to conduct a health and nutrition survey of students in 8th grade and 11th grade to obtain baseline data.
Students in grades 6-8 are taking their English Language Arts exams this week. January Regents and final exams will be administered on January 23rd through the 26th.
D. Saiff also noted that the VADIR (Violent and Disruptive Incident Report) submission date is January 26th, the annual Winter Ball will be held at the Parishville Town Hall on January 27th, and the second semester will begin on January 29th. Twenty-week report cards will be mailed home on February 2nd.
D. Saiff reported on a survey of NAC schools regarding cheerleading squads, and noted 10 schools have a cheerleading squad for boys’ home games only, 10 schools have a cheerleading squad for boys’ games both home and away, and 3 schools have a cheerleading squad for boys’ and girls’ home games only. D. Saiff also informed the Board that the Boys’ Modified Basketball Team received new uniforms.
INFORMATION: The Board received information concerning the percentage of core classes taught by highly qualified teachers throughout the St. Lawrence-Lewis BOCES, and a copy of a Memorandum of Agreement with the Liberty Partnerships Program. The Board also received a list of upcoming events of interest.
ADJOURNMENT: Motion made by J. Young and seconded by T. Zellweger to adjourn at 8:12 P.M. 8 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
School District Clerk
December 18, 2006
CALL TO ORDER: The regular meeting of the Board of Education of the Parishville-Hopkinton Central School District was called to order at 7:33 P.M. by President W. Remington in the cafeteria on the above date.
ROLL CALL: Present: W. Remington, H. Simmons, F. Wilhelm, S. Wilson, W. Witherell, T. Zellweger, T. Burns. Absent: C. Jacot, S. Woodward, J. Young. Others: P. Claus, L. Mitras, D. Saiff, R. Snow, L. Witherell.
QUORUM: Quorum of five established.
STUDENT/TEACHER RECOGNITION: D. Saiff announced that Tiffany Hammel had been selected as Seaway Tech’s Early Childhood Education Student of the Month for November.
MINUTES: Motion made by F. Wilhelm and seconded by W. Witherell to approve the regular Minutes of November 20, 2006, as typed and mailed to Board Members. 6 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
TREASURER’S REPORTS: Motion made by T. Zellweger and seconded by S. Wilson to approve the Treasurer’s Reports showing an available balance on hand as of November 30, 2006, as follows: General Fund, $ 11,212.16; School Lunch Fund, $12,585.02; School Lunch Savings, $59,795.00; Federal Fund, $263.78; Trust & Agency Fund, $114,477.10; Payroll Fund, $26,302.54; Capital Fund, $15.18; Risk Retention, $59,130.43; Extra-Class Activities Fund, $51,441.53. 6 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
CAPITAL FUND PROJECT/EXCEL AID UPDATE: Mr. Burns updated the Board on Jeff Siddell’s and Glen LeComte’s most recent visit on December 7th to gather information needed to prepare a proposal for a capital fund project and cost analysis. If they have the proposal completed in time, then they will make arrangements to present their findings at the January meeting for the Board to review.
SCHEDULE APPROVAL: Motion made by T. Zellweger and seconded by S. Wilson to approve the following schedules for audit and payment: General Fund, $518,404.66; School Lunch Fund, $7,458.16; Capital Fund, $10,640.55; Federal Fund, $2,152.97; Trust & Agency Fund, $17,141.45. 6 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
BUDGET TRANSFERS: Motion made by H. Simmons and seconded by T. Zellweger to authorize the Business Manager to make the necessary budgetary transfers as attached for the Month of November, 2006. 6 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
BUDGET REPORTS: Motion made by S. Wilson and seconded by T. Zellweger to accept the Budget Reports for the Month of November, 2006. 6 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
TAX ROLL ERROR: Based upon the recommendation of the Real Property Tax Office, Motion made by W. Witherell and seconded by S. Wilson to approve a correction of tax roll for parcel # 91.003-2-18.1 owned by Robert & Mary Guyette. The parcel was incorrectly assessed as having a dwelling when it is actually a vacant lot. No refund is required because the tax bill has not been paid. 6 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
DONATIONS: Motion made by T. Zellweger and seconded by F. Wilhelm to accept a donation in the amount of $250 from the Parishville Amvets and $50 from the Parishville Amvets Ladies Auxiliary for the purpose of purchasing reading books for our elementary classrooms that teachers selected from the Fall Book Fair. 6 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
Motion made by T. Zellweger and seconded by H. Simmons to accept a donation in the amount of $130 from Kathryn Trithart to purchase a set of dictionaries for the Elementary Library in memory of Irma Rivezzi and other book donations as outlined on the attached list. 6 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
VISUAL BUILDING INSPECTIONS: Mr. Burns informed the Board that the annual visual building inspections are due to be submitted on line on or before January 15, 2007. Copies of the reports will be available for Board review at the January meeting.
WS OVERNIGHT TRIPS: Mr. Burns explained that G. Clark took into consideration various testing dates and made an effort to avoid conflicts with sporting events in the process of developing a tentative schedule for Wilderness Studies Overnight trips. Motion made by F. Wilhelm and seconded by S. Wilson to accept the attached tentative list of Wilderness Studies Overnight Trips for the 2006-2007 school year. 6 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
COACHING APPOINTMENT/ J. BLEVINS: Based upon the recommendation of the Superintendent, Motion made by T. Zellweger and seconded by H. Simmons to approve the appointment of Jennifer Blevins as the Girls’ Modified Basketball Coach for the 2006-2007 season retroactive to December 5, 2006. 6 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
PRINCIPALS’ UPDATES: P. Claus informed the Board that we were able to supplement the Christmases of 54 children within the district, thanks to the generosity of the Parishville Amvets and Ladies Auxiliary, General Motors, Neddie Goldsworth, and PHCS employees.
On December 1st our Kindergarten students had the opportunity to visit the Sunfeather Soap Shop for a tour and each received a “squishy sponge” treat thanks to the generosity of the Maine’s.
P. Claus reported a great turn-out for both the ACORN Kids’ Christmas Shop as well as December’s Story Time with Santa. Our cheerleaders did a wonderful job assisting Santa and members of our PTSA did a great job wrapping all of the gifts students selected at the ACORN Kids’ Christmas Shop.
December 4th was the last day for our Kids’ Café hosted by the St. Lawrence County Health Initiative. This program provided a unique opportunity for kids to learn more about selecting healthy snack alternatives.
P. Claus noted that several of our students visited Potsdam Museum’s Christmas display and attended concerts at Crane this month thanks to the Board’s support of such worthwhile field trips.
This month the PTSA and teaching staff recognized the following students for their determination: Anourine Pullano (Knowles), Tanner Armstrong (Loconti), Makenna Taillon (Axtell), Kelsey Griffith (White/Elliott), Richard Moulton (Corcoran), Nathan Hanson (Mason), Katherine Blanchard (Rivezzi), Ethan Cox (VanLeuven), Allexis Armstrong (Clark-Vallance), Harley Cox (Pcolar), Travis Parker (Charlebois), Kensey Paradis (Blevins), Kodi Perkins (Rose), and Michaela Cole (Mandigo).
P. Claus announced that students in Mrs. VanLeuven’s and Ms. Rivezzi’s multi-age 3/4 classroom donated $200. to send to the Ryan’s Well Project as part of their classroom giving this holiday season.
ELA testing for students in grades 3-5 will begin on January 8th, and ELA testing for grades 6-8 will begin on the 16th of January.
D. Saiff informed the Board that students gave excellent performances at the Junior-Senior Winter Concert on December 13th and noted that the event was very well attended. The Jazz Band performance was a hit and D. Saiff acknowledged the efforts of Don Cannamela and Sara Simon-Shult in preparing their students for the concert. Practices for this year’s musical, The Beauty and the Beast, are getting underway.
Fifteen-week progress reports will be mailed out on Friday, December 22nd and, as P. Claus noted, the 7th and 8th grade ELA exams will be given on January 16th through the 19th.
D. Saiff recognized Andrew Gilbert for being selected as 2nd seat trumpet in the New York State School Music Association’s State Conference. Mr. Canamela accompanied Andrew to the conference. D. Saiff also recognized the efforts of Don Cannamela and Scott Lalonde for their work on the “paperless office.” Thanks to their efforts, teachers can now access weekly updates, announcements, attendance, athletic rubrics, student-of-the-month, and some school forms on-line, eliminating the need to copy and distribute these items.
D. Saiff announced that junior and senior high teachers will be voting for a student of the month at each grade level to receive recognition for displaying specific character traits as they have been doing at the elementary as suggested by the Shared Decision-Making Committee. Last Saturday several high school students had the opportunity to go skiing at Titus Mountain thanks to staff members who volunteered to serve as chaperones.
D. Saiff informed the Board that on Thursday, December 14th, all area High School Principals had the opportunity to have breakfast with Regent Dawson. During this breakfast meeting, principals had the opportunity to discuss a variety of concerns, one of which was the nine-month turn-around time on receiving the results from state exams, especially if students’ scores suggest the need for additional help. Regent Dawson indicated that perhaps the Regents may be able to address this issue to some satisfaction.
D. Saiff announced that the Girls’ Varsity Soccer Team was awarded the NYSPHSAA Scholar Athlete Team Award this year with 19 girls having an academic average of 90% and above.
Junior Varsity and Varsity Basketball is underway, Modified practices have begun and the first games are scheduled for January. D. Saiff noted that the Girls’ Modified Basketball Team received new uniforms and the Boys’ Varsity Basketball Team received new shorts for home games.
INFORMATION: The Board received copies of correspondence notifying the Girls’ Junior Varsity Soccer Team that they were chosen to receive the Mike Ostrander Sportsmanship Award for the 2006 soccer season, a congratulatory letter to Colton-Pierrepont Central School on their Boys’ Varsity Soccer Class D State Championship, a congratulatory letter to Tony Engstrom and the PHCS Boys’ Varsity Soccer Team on their outstanding season, information concerning school bus safety, and other items of interest. The Board also received a list of upcoming events of interest.
EXECUTIVE SESSION: Motion made by H. Simmons and seconded by T. Zellweger to go into Executive Session at 8:06 P.M. to discuss negotiations. 6 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
R. Snow left the meeting at 8:18 P.M.
ADJOURNMENT: Motion made by T. Zellweger and seconded by F. Wilhelm to come out of Executive Session and adjourn at 8:30 P.M. 6 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
School District Clerk
November 20, 2006
CALL TO ORDER: The regular meeting of the Board of Education of the Parishville-Hopkinton Central School District was called to order at 7:35 P.M. by President W. Remington in the cafeteria on the above date.
ROLL CALL: Present: C. Jacot, W. Remington, H. Simmons, F. Wilhelm, S. Wilson, W. Witherell, S. Woodward-8:38 P.M., J. Young, T. Zellweger, T. Burns. Others: P. Claus, L. Mitras, D. Saiff, R. Snow, L. Witherell.
QUORUM: Quorum of five established.
STUDENT/TEACHER RECOGNITION: Mr. Burns informed the Board that Bryan Harmer, Bryan’s wife, Margie, and Shawn Spriggs recently competed in the Marine Corps marathon in Washington, D.C. Shawn finished in 3 hours, 32 minutes (top 6%), Margie finished in 3 hours, 52 minutes (top 15%) and Brian finished in 4 hours, 13 minutes (top 29%) out of 24,000 participants.
P. Claus informed the Board that on Saturday, November 4th, seven of our 5th grade students in Ms. Rose’s class were recognized as winners in the World in Potsdam Diversity Festival Writing Contest. Shauna Wheeler received First Place honors and a cash award of $40; Makayla Sharlow, Shawn Clark, and Makenzie Reif were Runners Up and each received a cash award of $20, and Sophie Norman, William Schiavone, and Monica Votra were selected for Honorable Mentions.
MINUTES: Motion made by J. Young and seconded by H. Simmons to approve the regular Minutes of October 16, 2006, as typed and mailed to Board Members. 8 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
TREASURER’S REPORTS: Motion made by T. Zellweger and seconded by C. Jacot to approve the Treasurer’s Reports showing an available balance on hand as of October 31, 2006, as follows: General Fund, $ 2,748.40; School Lunch Fund, $12,204.37; School Lunch Savings, $59,795.00; Federal Fund, $1,381.51; Trust & Agency Fund, $-0-; Payroll Fund, $-0-; Capital Fund, $10,067.85; Risk Retention, $59,130.43; Extra-Class Activities Fund, $42,297.55. 8 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
RETROACTIVE WAGES FOR SUMMER CLEANERS/SUMMER DRIVER EDUCATION: Motion made by J. Young and seconded by T. Zellweger to approve an increase of 25¢ per hour for summer cleaners and an increase of $228. for the summer driver education instructor retroactive to July 1, 2006. 8 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
BOARD RESOLUTION/SOIL CLEAN-UP: Mr. Burns informed the Board that, after meeting with James Chadwick of the BOCES Combined Business Office, and Jeff Siddell of King & King, both recommended that the Board pass a Resolution concerning the soil contamination clean-up costs that were incurred as a result of the most recent Capital Building/Renovations Project. This Resolution was actually prepared a year ago but was not acted upon because our Capital Project Manager, Debbie Johnson, said it was a “waste of time” because we would not receive aid. In light of his most recent discussions on this issue, Mr. Burns feels we should try to receive funding one more time. In addition to the Resolution, Lisa Mitras and Mr. Burns have been working to put together a timeline to present to Carl Thurnau, the Director at the State Education Department’s Office of Facilities and Planning, so that he can fully understand the circumstances regarding the soil clean-up expenses incurred.
Motion made by J. Young and seconded by F. Wilhelm to approve the attached Board Resolution concerning soil contamination clean-up costs. 8 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
CAPITAL FUND PROJECT/EXCEL AID UPDATE: Mr. Burns and Lisa Mitras updated the Board on their investigation of EXCEL monies and the possibility of developing a small (approximately $2.1 million) project that will allow us to take advantage of this additional aid. Mr. Burns noted that we would have to move somewhat quickly if the Board wished to develop a Capital Fund Project that would qualify for EXCEL Aid, thereby maximizing the amount of state aid the District could receive. Mr. Burns, Lisa Mitras, Andy Taylor, and Jim Young recently met with Jeff Siddell of King and King and Glen LeComte of Argus Engineering to review the Building Condition Survey that was completed by King and King in June of 2005. The purpose of their review was to determine which items that were targeted as being in need of repair and/or replacement within five years or less would be eligible for EXCEL Aid. A majority of the items involved our physical plant. Mr. Burns informed the Board that Glen LeComte felt many of the price estimates in the Building Condition Survey are already outdated.
Motion made by F. Wilhelm and seconded by H. Simmons to authorize the Superintendent to make arrangements for Jeff Siddell and Glen LeComte to meet again in December to proceed with a more in-depth study of some of these targeted items. 8 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
BOARD POLICIES/DISTRICT WELLNESS/EDUCATION HOMELESS CHILDREN/SUSPENSION OF STUDENTS: Based upon the recommendation of the Superintendent, Motion made by S. Wilson and seconded by C. Jacot to approve the attached Board Policies concerning District Wellness, Education of Homeless Children, and Suspension of Students as presented. (This is the second and final reading.) 8 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
SCHEDULE APPROVAL: Motion made by J. Young and seconded by S. Wilson to approve the following schedules for audit and payment: General Fund, $437,972.49; School Lunch Fund, $5,995.99; Capital Fund, $-0-; Federal Fund, $22,253.95; Trust & Agency Fund, $17,084.52. 8 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
BUDGET TRANSFERS: Motion made by J. Young and seconded by H. Simmons to authorize the Business Manager to make the necessary budgetary transfers as attached for the Month of October, 2006. 8 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
BUDGET REPORTS: Motion made by J. Young and seconded by T. Zellweger to accept the Budget Reports for the Month of October, 2006. 8 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
TAX ROLL ERRORS: Based upon the recommendations of the Real Property Tax Office, Motion made by J. Young and seconded by C. Jacot to approve three tax roll errors. The first error was due to an omitted Star Exemption on property owned by Dawn Furgison which results in a refund of $472.40. The other two errors were due to an omitted Enhanced Star Exemption on property owned by Janis Reetz Living Trust, one for the 2005-06 school year resulting in a refund in the amount of $326.39, and one for the 2006-07 school year resulting in a refund of $436.81. 8 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
TAX COLLECTOR’S REPORT: Motion made by J. Young and seconded by T. Zellweger to approve the attached Tax Collector’s Report as submitted by Judy Witherell, Tax Collector. 8 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
BOND RESOLUTION: Mr. Burns explained that because the State Education Department will only reimburse transportation aid on school bus purchases over a 5-year period, we can no longer purchase a bus one year and receive full transportation aid the following year. This change in reimbursement became effective with the 2004-05 school year, thus it will be necessary to finance the purchase of Bus #88 which was delivered this past summer. Although we now have the additional expense of interest on a bus bond, our transportation aid will apply to interest as well as principal. The bond must be obtained prior to the end of the fiscal year with the first payment coming due the following June. Motion made by T. Zellweger and seconded by C. Jacot to adopt the attached Board Resolution for $71,527.00 as reviewed by Roger Linden authorizing the issuance of a Statutory Installment Bond for the purpose of financing the purchase of one (1) Freightliner/Thomas 47-passenger school bus at a total cost not to exceed the sum of $74,000.00 as approved by the voters of the District on May 16, 2006. 8 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
INTERNAL AUDITOR: The Board reviewed Internal Auditor Proposals from four accounting firms. Motion made by W. Witherell and seconded by C. Jacot to accept the proposal submitted by D’Arcangelo & Company as attached. 8 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
COACHING APPOINTMENT/J. WAITE: Based upon the recommendation of the Superintendent, Motion made by T. Zellweger and seconded by W. Witherell to approve the appointment of John Waite as the Boys’ Modified Basketball Coach for the 2006-2007 season. 8 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
UNPAID VOLUNTEER COACH/D. GALLAGHER: Mr. Burns informed the Board that David Gallagher has expressed interest in serving as an unpaid volunteer coach to assist John Waite with the Boys’ Modified Basketball Team during the 2006-2007 season. Motion made by F. Wilhelm and seconded by H. Simmons to approve David Gallagher as an unpaid volunteer Boys’ Modified Basketball Assistant Coach. 8 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
NON-TEACHING SUB PAY: Mr. Burns discussed the need to increase hourly non-teaching substitute pay for cafeteria/bus monitor substitutes, cleaner/custodial substitutes, and cook/food service substitutes to $7.15 per hour effective January 1st due to the upcoming increase in minimum wage. These positions are currently paid at the rate of $6.80 per hour. Motion made by J. Young and seconded by C. Jacot to increase the wages for the above-listed positions effective January 1, 2007. 8 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
ANNUAL FIRE INSPECTION: Based upon the recommendation of the Superintendent, Motion made by T. Zellweger and seconded by S. Wilson to approve John Mittelstaedt to complete the annual fire inspection and corresponding reports for the main building and bus garage at a fee of $250. 8 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
CHANGE IN FEDERAL DESIGNATION: Mr. Burns informed the Board that our school district has recently lost its rural school designation by the Federal Government. Since this could mean that we would lose our REAP grant funds (Rural Education Achievement Program) and possibly other aid, Mr. Burns has contacted Senator John McHugh’s office to try to determine why our designation was changed when literally every other surrounding district remained rural. Mr. Burns also noted that Carthage was changed to a rural designation.
ST. LAW-LEWIS COUNTIES SCHOOL BOARDS DINNER MEETING: Mr. Burns announced that the annual St. Lawrence-Lewis Counties School Boards Dinner Meeting with Regent Dawson was scheduled for December 13, 2006. Anyone wishing to attend should let Mr. Burns know so that he can make reservations. Reservations will be made for P. Claus and Mr. Burns to attend.
CSE RECOMMENDATIONS: Motion made by J. Young and seconded by H. Simmons to approve the recommendations of the CSE for the attached list of eighteen students. 8 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
PRINCIPALS’ UPDATES: P. Claus informed the Board that six district parents attended an Effective Parenting presentation by Carrie French from Norwood-Norfolk Central School on October 24th. The program was very well received and everyone signed up for a longer program this spring at her school. This program is sponsored by the Teachers’ Learning Center and babysitting services were provided by our Honor Society students.
P. Claus noted that the November 9th Staff Development Day allowed staff to review our 2005-06 testing results and receive training on disaggregation of the data for the New York State assessments in grades 3-8, view a Videostreaming Presentation by Pam Shyne sponsored by the Library Resources Center and School Library Services, and receive Paperless Office training by Scott Lalonde. Additional staff attended Collins Writing, Camouflaging Fitness, CPR Recertification, and Legacy of Hope workshops throughout the county. This was an excellent opportunity for several in-house staff to turn-key train their peers. Bekki Rose, Amy Wilkes, Mary Taylor, and Kim Reed shared their expertise in error-coding with fellow staff members.
P. Claus recognized the efforts of Amy Wilkes, Irene Sinclair, Mary Taylor, and Dan McCormick for hosting a very successful Book Fair Family Night event on November 14th. P. Claus also announced that the Parishville Amvets had very generously donated $200 and the Parishville Amvets Ladies Auxiliary had very generously donated $50 to be used for the purchase of books for elementary classrooms.
Parent conferences and AIS parent meetings went very well and provided teachers with time to not only review report cards K-6 but also to review the results of last year’s ELA on the newly designed parent reports for students in grades 4-6.
Nearly 50 guests attended the Senior Citizens’ Thanksgiving luncheon while 9 others enjoyed take-out meals. Everyone also received a gift thanks to the generosity of several staff members.
The 5th grade Social Studies tests will be graded with Madrid-Waddington tomorrow. This month the elementary and PTSA focused on the character trait “Responsibility.” The following students were recognized with an award and pencils, noting their outstanding efforts. Daisy Liebford and Hayley Gray (Kindergarten), Tiffany Richards (Grade 1), Macalah Pcolar (Grade 2), Jack Pullano and Abigail White (Multi-Age 1/2), Alyssa Martin (Garde 3), Connor Sullivan (Grade 4), Tanner Wilson and Mary Coventry (Multi-Age 3/4), Makayla Sharlow (Grade 5), James Wolf (Grade 6), Eric Hannon and Kayla Bedore (Multi-age 5/6). Look for their photo in the Courier Observer. Next month will focus on the character trait “Determination.”
D. Saiff informed the Board that special education teachers went to Saranac Lake on October 23rd to attend training on Transition Goals for CSE students (required indicator #13.) A lockdown drill was conducted on October 30th. Teachers and students are becoming more familiar with the procedures to follow and they are improving with each drill.
The senior class vs. faculty donkey basketball game on November 1st was a huge success and raised funds for the senior class as well as the After Prom Party.
D. Saiff noted that the district’s BEDS (Basic Educational Data System) data was filed recently. On November 8th, Irene Sinclair and Laura Pierie organized the annual Variety Show which benefits the Student Council and showcases some of our talented students.
Our annual pizza and awards night for soccer was held on November 13th with over 250 people in attendance. Certificates and awards were announced in the auditorium following pizza in the cafeteria.
D. Saiff acknowledged the efforts of the cafeteria staff in providing Thanksgiving Dinner to a large group of senior citizens and thanked students from the Honor Society and Student Council who helped serve our guests. D. Saiff also thanked Ms. Simon-Shult and the Junior High Chorus and Mr. Cannamela and the Senior Jazz Band for performing a few musical numbers for our guests following the special luncheon.
D. Saiff also informed the Board that, following the staff development day training on the paperless office, and thanks to the efforts of Don Cannamela and Scott Lalonde, daily attendance, announcements, rubrics, the 3:10 bus sign-up, and weekly updates are now accessed in-house through our website, saving a great deal of time and paper.
D. Saiff acknowledged the Colton-Pierrepont Boys’ Varsity Soccer Team’s recent state championship and noted several boys’ and girls’ basketball scrimmages scheduled over the next few weeks. D. Saiff also informed the Board that he is in the process of ordering new uniforms for the Girls’ Modified Basketball Team this year and that we are still looking for a Girls’ Modified Basketball Coach.
INFORMATION: The Board received copies of correspondence concerning step increases, the 2004-09 Special Education Space Requirements Plan Second Annual Progress Report, an article written by former PHCS graduate Chantal Pinard for “Student Traveler,” the K-12 Project-Based Learning Program Partnership Agreement with Clarkson and St. Lawrence Universities, parent correspondence regarding transportation on private roads, and correspondence from the St. Lawrence County Sheriff’s Department concerning the process for gaining information on Level Three sex offenders. The Board also received a list of upcoming events of interest.
EXECUTIVE SESSION: Motion made by J. Young and seconded by T. Zellweger to go into Executive Session at 8:38 P.M. to review probationary staff and discuss non-unit salary proposals. 8 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
S. Woodward arrived at 8:38 P.M.
R. Snow left the meeting at 8:39 P.M.
Motion made by J. Young and seconded by H. Simmons to come out of Executive Session at 9:32 P.M. 9 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
SUPERINTENDENT’S SALARY: Motion made by J. Young and seconded by T. Zellweger to approve a 5% salary increase for the 2006-2007 school year, a 4.5% salary increase for the 2007-2008 school year, and a 4.5% salary increase for the 2008-2009 school year. As part of this salary settlement, the Superintendent will contribute 10% of his health insurance premium costs on an annual basis. 9 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
ADMINISTRATORS’ SALARIES: Motion made by J. Young and seconded by H. Simmons to approve a 5% salary increase for the 2006-2007 school year, a 4.5% salary increase for the 2007-2008 school year, and a 4.5% salary increase for the 2008-2009 school year for both the K-12 Program Coordinator and the High School Principal. As part of this salary settlement, both the K-12 Program Coordinator and the High School Principal will contribute 10% of their health insurance premium costs on an annual basis. 9 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
ADJOURNMENT: Motion made by J. Young and seconded by T. Zellweger to adjourn at 9:37 P.M. 9 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
School District Clerk
October 16, 2006
CALL TO ORDER: The regular meeting of the Board of Education of the Parishville-Hopkinton Central School District was called to order at 7:35 P.M. by President W. Remington in the cafeteria on the above date.
ROLL CALL: Present: C. Jacot, W. Remington, S. Wilson, J. Young, T.
Zellweger, T. Burns. Absent: H. Simmons, F. Wilhelm, W. Witherell, S.
Woodward. Others: C. Clark, P. Claus, N. Gilbert, D. Maguire, K. Mitchell, L.
Mitras, C. Norman, S. Potter, D. Remington, J. Richards, D. Saiff, A. Schmidt,
R. Snow, C. Snyder, R. Taylor, K. Wallace, C. Witherell, L. Witherell.
QUORUM: Quorum of five established.
NEW TEACHER INTRODUCTION: D. Saiff introduced new special education
teacher Kristen Wallace to the Board of Education and briefly noted her
educational and professional background.
The Board thanked K. Wallace for attending the meeting and welcomed her to Parishville-Hopkinton Central School.
K. Wallace left the meeting at 7:45 P.M.
MINUTES: Motion made by J. Young and seconded by C. Jacot to approve
the regular Minutes of September 18, 2006, as typed and mailed to Board
Members. 5 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
TREASURER’S REPORTS: Motion made by J. Young and seconded by S.
Wilson to approve the Treasurer’s Reports showing an available balance on hand
as of September 30, 2006, as follows: General Fund, $14,826.46; School Lunch
Fund, $7,476.65; School Lunch Savings, $59,795.00; Federal Fund, $1,634.82;
Trust & Agency Fund, $-0-; Payroll Fund, $-0-; Capital Fund, $10,066.14;
Risk Retention, $59,130.43; Extra-Class Activities Fund, $42,083.77. 5 in
favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
CAPITAL FUND PROJECT/EXCEL AID UPDATE: Mr. Burns and Lisa Mitras
updated the Board on EXCEL Aid based on information Lisa received at a workshop
on September 29th as well as a workshop Mr. Burns attended on
Building Capital Projects in Syracuse on October 13th. EXCEL Aid can
be used to offset the District’s local share on capital projects for items
regarding health and safety, expansion/new construction, accessibility, energy,
or technology. Therefore, an item such as re-roofing would be covered under the
energy component whereas items such as drainage of our athletic fields and
other site work would not be covered. The maximum amount of EXCEL Aid our
District could receive is $376,000 based on a project of approximately
$2,116,000, assuming all aspects of the project would be eligible for EXCEL
Aid. Mr. Burns noted that there were several items that we weren’t able to
address in the last project due to budget constraints.
In order to be able to receive EXCEL Aid, contracts would have to be signed by June of 2008; therefore, we would need to contact the New York State Education Department’s Office of Facilities and Planning to request a Project Manager; a project proposal would need to be prepared, and it would have to be presented to voters. If approved, we would have to submit plans to the Office of Facilities and Planning for their approval, which has been taking approximately 13 weeks. This approval must be received before we can put the project out for bid and this process generally takes about 45 days as well. Mr. Burns suggested that if the Board were interested in the possibility of taking advantage of the EXCEL Aid, then the District would need to begin putting a project proposal together rather quickly in order to meet the timeframe.
SCHEDULE APPROVAL: Motion made by J. Young and seconded by T.
Zellweger to approve the following schedules for audit and payment: General
Fund, $568,618.57; School Lunch Fund, $3,892.45; Capital Fund, $-0-; Federal
Fund, $-0-; Trust & Agency Fund, $15,646.10. 5 in favor, 0 opposed,
Carried.
BUDGET TRANSFERS: Motion made by T. Zellweger and seconded by S.
Wilson to authorize the Business Manager to make the necessary budgetary
transfers as attached for the Month of September, 2006. 5 in favor, 0 opposed,
Carried.
BUDGET REPORTS: Motion made by J. Young and seconded by C. Jacot to
accept the Budget Reports for the Month of September, 2006. 5 in favor, 0
opposed, Carried.
DONATION TO BOYS’ MODIFIED SOCCER TEAM: Motion made by T. Zellweger
and seconded by C. Jacot to accept a donation in the amount of $30. from
Jeffrey Wellings of Section X Sports and directed the Business Office to
increase the athletic code by that amount. The donation was made because Bobby
White of White Adams Insurance recently purchased an advertisement and
specified our Boys’ Modified Soccer Team as the recipient of a donation based
on 10% of his advertisement. 5 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
ELA & MATH REPORTS GRADES 3-8: P. Claus reviewed ELA and Math
scores with the Board, noting that our students had done very well overall. At
the 3rd grade level, 96.43% achieved a Level 2, 3, or 4 with 82.14%
at Levels 3 and 4. At grade 4, 99.99% achieved a Level 2, 3, or 4, with 86.2%
at Levels 3 and 4. At grade 5, 93.94% of all students tested received a Level
2, 3, or 4, with 66.67% at Level 3 or 4; and at grade 6, 86.95% achieved a
Level 2, 3, or 4, with 63.04% scoring a Level 3 or 4.
In Math at grade 3, 99.99% of all students attained a Level 2, 3, or 4, with 96.29% at Level 3 or 4. In 4th grade, 100% of students achieved a Level 3 or 4. In 5th grade, 96.88% achieved a Level 2, 3, or 4, with 78.13% at Level 3 or 4. In 6th grade, 95.45% of all students tested received a Level 2, 3, or 4, with 84.09% at Levels 3 and 4.
P. Claus noted that information from these reports is also used to help define strategies for improvement.
D. Saiff informed the Board that 95.83% of all 7th grade students scored at level 2, 3, or 4, with 45.83% scoring at level 3 or 4, and 94% of all 8th grade students attained a level 2, 3, or 4, with 36% achieving at level 3 or 4. D. Saiff indicated that there has been a downward trend at the junior high level for some time and they are working to raise scores in this area.
In Math, 95.83% of all 7th grade students achieved a level 2, 3, or 4, with 62.5% at level 3 or 4, and 97.95% of all 8th grade students attained level 2, 3, or 4, with 69.38% at level 3 and 4.
BUDGET CALENDAR: Motion made by C. Jacot and seconded by T. Zellweger
to approve the 2007-2008 Budget Calendar as presented and attached. 5 in favor,
0 opposed, Carried.
TAX ROLL ERRORS: Based upon the recommendations of the Real Property
Tax Office, Motion made by J. Young and seconded by C. Jacot to approve four
tax roll errors, three of which resulted from an omitted assessment for special
franchises due to a clerical error at the county. The omitted assessments
involved property owned by Niagara Mohawk, Time Warner, and Verizon. The
companies have until July 1, 2007, to pay the omitted tax without interest or
penalty. The fourth tax roll error was a clerical error involving property
owned by Roger James. This property should have had an enhanced STAR
exemption. No refund is due since payment was withheld pending correction of
error. 5 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
BOARD POLICIES/DISTRICT WELLNESS/EDUCATION OF HOMELESS CHILDREN/ SUSPENSION OF
STUDENTS: Based upon the recommendation of the Superintendent, Motion
made by T. Zellweger and seconded by J. Young to approve the Board Policies
concerning District Wellness, Education of Homeless Children, and Suspension of
Students as attached. (This is the first of two readings.) Mr. Burns informed
the Board that several people had served on a committee to draft the District
Wellness Policy including Pamela Claus, Darin Saiff, Fran Hazelton, Sandy
Goliber, Tony Engstrom, Jen Smith, Heidi Simmons, and Denice Votra. Information
was also provided by Glenn Clark. 5 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
ST. LAWRENCE-LEWIS COUNTIES SCHOOL BOARDS DINNER MEETING: Mr.
Burns announced that the annual St. Lawrence-Lewis Counties School Boards
Dinner Meeting with Regent Dawson was scheduled for December 13, 2006. Anyone
wishing to attend should let Mr. Burns know so that he can make
reservations.
PROPOSED BAND TRIP: The Board reviewed information regarding a
proposed Senior Band performance trip to Boston to participate in the Music in
the Parks Program from May 4-6, 2007. Motion made by C. Jacot and seconded by
T. Zellweger to approve the preliminary plans for this trip and authorize D.
Cannamela to begin fund-raising activities to help defray student expenses. 5
in favor, 0 opposed, Carried. (The trip would involve approximately 50 students
and 5 adult chaperones.)
CSE RECOMMENDATIONS: Motion made by J. Young and seconded by S. Wilson
to approve the recommendations of the CSE for the attached list of ten
students. 5 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
PRINCIPALS’ UPDATES: P. Claus informed the Board that the teachers and
PTSA recognized Reggie Ellis (K), Hannah Zenger (K), Lillian Crump
(1st), Austin Taylor (2nd), Megan Converse (1/2), Hannah
Gray (1/2), Alison Parker (3rd), Marissa Paradis (4th),
Kyle Crump (3/4), Cassara Cole (3/4), Dona Mae Colbert (5th), Jenna
Converse (5/6), Kim Kearney (6th), and Marlee Wilson (5/6) as
Students of the Month for consistently demonstrating good manners. Next month
students will be recognized for demonstrating responsibility.
On October 6th we had a wonderful turnout for Grandparents’ Day. Students shared a power point presentation, poems, and songs and then welcomed their Grandparents to join them in their classrooms for apple cider and cookies.
School Resource Officer Trooper Plumb and DARE Officer Trooper Hayes worked with our elementary students this past week in a program entitled Operation Safe Child which has been designed in conjunction with the New York State Amber Alert Program. They produced a child ID card for each student containing a photo, information regarding their height, weight, hair/eye color, birth date, gender, and fingerprints.
A team of four teachers attended an error coding workshop through Herkimer BOCES to learn how to disaggregate our scores, identify distracters, areas for needed improvement, and effective strategies to assist them in improving our ELA scores.
P. Claus noted that this past Friday members of the Parishville Fire and Rescue Squads and the Hopkinton-Fort Jackson Fire Department joined us to recognize Fire Safety Week. Mr. Joe Lacks from Governeur presented a very informative program for our K-6 students, helping them with ideas to be prepared for emergencies and effectively using 911 to report them.
Rose Rivezzi and Mary VanLeuven have been working in conjunction with the St. Lawrence Health Initiative to host a Kids Café each Monday to teach students about preparing foods that are good for you while enjoying a healthy snack at the same time.
D. Saiff informed the Board that Victoria Wiley was recognized as Environmental Technology Student of the Month for September at Seaway Area Tech. Andrew Gilbert and Elizabeth Gushlaw were recognized by the National Merit Scholarship Program for scoring in the top 50,000 students (top 3.5%) out of 1.4 million students who took the PSAT exam last year.
We hosted the SUNY Roadshow for students in 11th and 12th grade on September 20th. D. Saiff announced several educational fieldtrips including: Mr. Whalen’s and Mrs. Brosell’s art students to the St. Lawrence University Art Gallery on September 21st, 11th and 12th grade students to a college fair on October 3rd organized by Mrs. Scudder, Mr. Walter’s Backyard Geology students on an overnight fieldtrip to Fonda on October 5th, and Mr. Clark’s Wilderness Studies students climbed Hurricane Mountain on October 5th.
Mr. Saiff noted that the Junior-Senior High School Open House on October 12th was well attended, the regular soccer season concludes on Friday, October 20th, with playoffs beginning on Tuesday, October 24th. The Varsity Club sponsored a very successful fundraiser through their gold card sales. The money raised will be used to offset costs for certificates, awards, trophies and food for their end-of-season events.
Mr. Saiff also announced the upcoming Donkey Basketball game scheduled for November 1st featuring the Teachers vs. the Senior Class. Proceeds from this event will benefit the Class of 2007.
INFORMATION: The Board received a letter from Nicole Clark-Vallance
declining appointment as Girls’ Modified Basketball Coach for the 2006-2007
season and Minutes from the quarterly Healthcare and Workers’ Compensation
Committee Meeting and Healthcare Committee Meeting which were held on July 25,
2006. The Board also received a list of upcoming events of interest.
EXECUTIVE SESSION: Motion made by J. Young seconded by T. Zellweger to
go into Executive Session at 8:22 P.M. to discuss a grievance from the
Teachers’ Association, negotiations and wages for the summer driver education
instructor and summer cleaners. 5 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
R. Taylor left the meeting at 8:22 P.M.
R. Snow left the meeting at 8:24 P.M.
ADJOURNMENT: Motion made by J. Young and seconded by C. Jacot to come
out of Executive Session and adjourn at 9:08 P.M.
School District Clerk
September 18, 2006
CALL TO ORDER: The regular meeting of the Board of Education of the Parishville-Hopkinton Central School District was called to order at 7:33 P.M. by President W. Remington in the cafeteria on the above date.
ROLL CALL: Present: C. Jacot, W. Remington, H. Simmons, F. Wilhelm, S.
Wilson, W. Witherell, S. Woodward, J. Young, T. Zellweger, T.
Burns. Absent: None. Others: P. Claus, D. McCormick, L. Mitras, T. Perkins, R.
Perkins, K. Reed, D. Saiff, R. Snow, S. Stone, C. Snyder, R. Taylor, C.
Tremper, M. Tremper, A. White, E. White, L. Witherell.
QUORUM: Quorum of five established.
QUESTIONS FROM PUBLIC & PRESS: C. Tremper addressed the Board
regarding their resolution at the August Meeting to discontinue the practice of
sending busses down private roads and driveways and expressed her concerns with
their decision. In addition C. Tremper raised questions about the availability
of draft Board Minutes, the safety of her child, and asked if the District
would be constructing a shelter where her daughter would have to wait for the
bus. M. Tremper asked if the District was going to lower their taxes since
their child is not going to be picked up at the end of their driveway. R.
Perkins claimed the buses are overloaded now due to the fact that one run had
been eliminated this year by reconfiguring the routes. R. Perkins also asked
the Board if they were doing everything they could to receive additional
funding. W. Remington and other members of the Board responded that the
decision was not made in haste, nor was the decision an easy one as all aspects
of the decision were taken into consideration. W. Remington said that the Board
was not prepared to discuss C. Tremper’s request for a shelter without
conducting proper research. It was noted that none of the bus routes were over
capacity and, in brief response to Mr. Perkin’s question about available funds,
Mr. Burns assured him that we applied for several grants on a yearly basis, but
that grant funds can only be used for specific purposes.
T. Perkins, R. Perkins, C. Tremper, and M. Tremper left the meeting at 8:07 P.M.
NEW TEACHER INTRODUCTIONS: P. Claus and D. Saiff introduced new staff
members Dan McCormick, Stephanie Stone, Liz White, Kim Reed, and Ann White, to
the Board of Education and briefly noted their teaching assignments as well as
educational and professional backgrounds. Reading Interns Julie Berry and
Jeannette LaClair were unable to attend.
The Board thanked everyone for coming to the meeting and welcomed them to Parishville-Hopkinton Central School.
D. McCormick, K. Reed, C. Snyder, S. Stone, A. White, and E. White left the meeting at 8:11 P.M.
TEACHER RECOGNITION/M. WALTER: D. Saiff also noted that Mr. Mike
Walter, in collaboration with Steven Chamberlain of the Center for Mineralogy,
New York State Museum, is about to have another article published in the
September/October issue of “Rocks and Minerals.” The proof copy, entitled “Part
2: Yellow Lake Road Cut,” was included in the Board packet.
MINUTES: Motion made by T. Zellweger and seconded by C. Jacot to
approve the regular Minutes of August 21, 2006, as typed and mailed to Board
Members. 9 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
TREASURER’S REPORTS: Motion made by J. Young and seconded by H.
Simmons to approve the Treasurer’s Reports showing an available balance on hand
as of August 31, 2006, as follows: General Fund, $7,776.76; School Lunch Fund,
$2,123.20; School Lunch Savings, $61,295.00; Federal Fund, $1,634.54; Trust
& Agency Fund, $-0-; Payroll Fund, $-0-; Capital Fund, $9,741.00; Risk
Retention, $59,130.43; Extra-Class Activities Fund, $43,017.53. 9 in favor, 0
opposed, Carried.
CO-OP FUEL BIDS: Mr. Burns informed the Board that until bidding
information is received concerning ultra-low sulfur diesel, the Board is
supposed to do a temporary bid award for low sulfur diesel. Information
concerning fixed and fluctuating pricing was distributed to the Board. Motion
made by J. Young and seconded by W. Witherell to accept Plan C (fluctuating
price) for the purchase of low sulfur diesel from MX Petroleum during the
2006-2007 school year until such time as ultra-low sulfur diesel purchasing
information becomes available. 9 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
SCHEDULE APPROVAL: Motion made by J. Young and seconded by T.
Zellweger to approve the following schedules for audit and payment: General
Fund, $278,490.45; School Lunch Fund, $280.55; Capital Fund, $-0-; Federal
Fund, $1,250.00; Trust & Agency Fund, $2,010.00. 9 in favor, 0 opposed,
Carried.
BUDGET TRANSFERS: Motion made by T. Zellweger and seconded by J. Young
to authorize the Business Manager to make the necessary budgetary transfers as
attached for the Months of July and August, 2006. 9 in favor, 0 opposed,
Carried.
BUDGET REPORTS: Motion made by F. Wilhelm and seconded by S. Wilson to
accept the Budget Reports for the Months of July and August, 2006. 9 in favor,
0 opposed, Carried.
AUDIT REPORT APPROVAL: Based on the recommendation of the Audit
Committee, Motion made by J. Young and seconded by H. Simmons to accept the
Audit Report as submitted by S. Furgison. 9 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHER/K. WALLACE: Based upon the recommendation of
the Superintendent, Motion made by S. Wilson and seconded by S. Woodward to
appoint Kristen Wallace as a Special Education Teacher retro-active to
September 1, 2006. 9 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried. (Certification: Provisional
Certificate in the area of Special Education K-12. Beginning salary to be set
at Step 3 of the current Teachers’ Contract. This appointment carries a
three-year probationary period from September 1, 2006, and continuing through
September 1, 2009).
COACHING APPOINTMENT/E. WHITE: Based upon the recommendation of the
Superintendent, Motion made by J. Young and seconded by W. Witherell to approve
the appointment of Elizabeth White as the Girls’ Varsity Basketball Coach for
the 2006-2007 season. 9 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
ADVISOR APPOINTMENT/L. PIERIE: Based upon the recommendation of the
Superintendent, Motion made by T. Zellweger and seconded by H. Simmons to
approve Laura Pierie as Student Council Advisor with Irene Sinclair, Roswell
Hopkins Junior National Honor Society Advisor (unpaid), and David Parish Senior
National Honor Society Advisor for the 2006-2007 school year. 9 in favor, 0
opposed, Carried.
ADVISOR APPOINTMENT/K. REED: Based upon the recommendation of the
Superintendent, Motion made by T. Zellweger and seconded by F. Wilhelm to
approve Kimberly Reed as an unpaid 7th and 8th grade
class advisor with Mary Keenan for the 2006-2007 school year. 9 in favor, 0
opposed, Carried.
UNPAID VOLUNTEER CHEERLEADING ADVISOR/S. HART: Based upon the
recommendation of the Superintendent, Motion made by S. Woodward and seconded
by C. Jacot to approve Sue Hart as an unpaid volunteer cheerleading advisor for
the 2006-2007 basketball season, with the squad scheduled to cheer at home
games only. 9 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
SUBSTITUTE LISTS: The proposed substitute lists for classroom
teachers, nurse, bus drivers, secretarial, custodial, and cafeteria work were
reviewed by the Board. Motion made by J. Young and seconded by C. Jacot to
approve the 2006-2007 substitute lists as attached. 9 in favor, 0 opposed,
Carried.
2006-2007 BOARD GOALS: The Board of Education reviewed a list of
proposed goals for the 2006-2007 school year as developed by the Board Goals
Committee. The Board Goals included the following on-going goals: 1) expand
implementation of the Second Step Character Education and Self-Advocacy
Programs and reinforce with the introduction of the FISH for Schools Program at
grades 7 and 8; 2) investigate new fiscal resources such as EXCEL aid, Shared
Incentives grants, and sharing services with other districts to prioritize
building upgrades, as well as implement the necessary elements of the updated
5-10 Year Capital Improvement Plan and district Technology Plan; 3) continue
our alignment of the revised K-8 Math Curriculum in preparation of the phase-in
for the new High School Math sequence and corresponding Regents exams in
Algebra, Geometry, and Integrated Algebra and trigonometry; and 4) continue
District technology upgrades, concentrating on the fiscal resources necessary
to support and maintain the upgrades as well as provisions for on-going staff
development in the use of software programs and expansion of our wireless
learning environment; as well as the following new goals: 1) adopt a local K-12
Wellness Policy incorporating the support of the St. Lawrence County Health
Initiative and Carol E White PEP grant resources for equipment, curriculum, and
staff development opportunities; 2) Refine District efforts to gather, compile,
manage, and disaggregate student data to comply with SED requirements, guide
instruction, and inform stakeholders involved with ongoing efforts to meet or
exceed NYS Learning Standards of meaningful trends in student performance; and
3) develop Response to Intervention procedures to implement pre-referral
strategies for students suspected of having a learning disability including the
personnel and financial support required. Mr. Burns, P. Claus, and D. Saiff
explained each goal briefly on behalf of the Board Goals Committee and provided
additional information pertaining to some of the programs. Motion made by J.
Young and seconded by H. Simmons to approve the attached list of Board of
Education Goals for the 2006-2007 school year. 9 in favor, 0 opposed,
Carried.
2006-2007 PERSONNEL EVALUATIONS: Motion made by S. Woodward and
seconded by J. Young to approve the 2006-2007 Timetable for Personnel
Evaluations as attached. 9 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
NYS SCHOOL BOARD AREA 6 DINNER MEETING: Mr. Burns asked anyone
interested in attending the annual NYS School Boards Area 6 dinner meeting to
be held in Lake Placid on Thursday, September 28, 2006, to please let him know
by Friday, September 22nd, so that reservations could be made on
their behalf.
SNOW PLOWING: Mr. Burns requested the Board’s approval to once again
assign one of our custodian-drivers to take care of the school’s plowing needs,
utilizing the truck and plow that was purchased from the Town of Parishville
last year. John Reed has already bid the earlier shift for the winter months,
if approved. Mr. Burns noted that he had met with Andy Taylor to ask if he felt
this proposal had worked out well last year and he had indicated that it
had. Motion made by S. Wilson and seconded by S. Woodward to allow John Reed to
work an earlier shift in order to take care of the school’s plowing needs this
winter. 9 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
OVERNIGHT TRIP: The Board reviewed information regarding a proposed
Backyard Geology overnight trip to mining areas near Fonda, New York, on
October 5 and 6, 2006. Motion made by T. Zellweger and seconded by S. Wilson to
approve this educational overnight field trip as submitted. 9 in favor, 0
opposed, Carried.
CPSE RECOMMENDATIONS: Motion made by J. Young and seconded by S.
Wilson to approve the recommendations of the CPSE for three pre-school
children. 9 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
PRINCIPALS’ UPDATES: P. Claus informed the Board that the two staff
development days in September provided a great opportunity to complete mandated
awareness workshops, train staff in how to use Interwrite Pads, review IEP’s,
meet with our Wellness Partners, meet with incoming seventh grade students and
prepare classrooms. P. Claus noted that we had completed our first bus and fire
drills and that she had met with all of the elementary students in grades 1-6
to review the Elementary Handbook and Code of Conduct.
Members of the PTSA completed the painting of a 29’ x 16’ map of the United States on the pavement outside Mr. Clark’s classroom. It turned out great and should be an excellent resource.
P. Claus mentioned the excellent attendance at our recent Elementary Open House and noted that David Blade would be at the school on September 19 to explain the process of a Medicaid Audit. The first Story Time for Tots is scheduled for September 19th also.
P. Claus noted that Kim Massaro from Transition Services would be visiting on September 25th to review IEP’s for our students aged 15-21 to assist us with a self-assessment of our efforts with Indicator 13. P. Claus also announced that the Hopkinton-Fort Jackson and Parishville Volunteer Fire Departments would be visiting our elementary students during the week of October 10th in order to discuss and demonstrate safety techniques in recognition of Fire Safety Week.
D. Saiff informed the Board that we had a very smooth opening this year and acknowledged the efforts of the summer staff in preparing the building for opening day. D. Saiff noted that he had attended a VADIR (Violent and Disruptive Incident Reporting) meeting on August 28th with Mr. Burns where they received information on new regulations for reporting.
D. Saiff also attended a Utica National meeting with Trooper Plumb where Mike Dorn from Safe Havens International provided insight into school safety and incident command. They received information packets and a CD to help refine our safety plan as well as a reference book on bullying.
D. Saiff noted that Mr. Walter took his Backyard Geology class to Pitcairn to pick minerals and view rock outcrops on September 18th.
Students have been asked not to leave their gym bags in the hallways this year for safety reasons and they have been very good about adhering to this new request.
The Junior-Senior High School Open House is scheduled for October 12, 2006.
INFORMATION: The Board received copies of a summary of the Books at
the Beach Program; Minutes from the quarterly Workers’ Compensation Committee
Meeting and Healthcare Committee Meeting which were held on July 25, 2006. The
Board also received a list of upcoming events of interest.
EXECUTIVE SESSION: Motion made by J. Young and seconded by C. Jacot to
go into Executive Session at 9:13 P.M. to discuss negotiations and personnel
matters. 9 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
R. Snow and R. Taylor left the meeting at 9:15 P.M.
S. Wilson left at 9:43 P.M.
Motion made by J. Young and seconded by S. Woodward to come out of Executive Session at 9:45 P.M.
JULY BOARD MINUTES: Motion made by T.
Zellweger and seconded
by H. Simmons to approve revision to Board Minutes for July as presented. 9 in
favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
ADJOURNMENT: Motion made by J. Young and seconded by T. Zellweger to
adjourn at 9:46 P.M. 9 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
August 21, 2006
CALL TO ORDER: The regular meeting of the Board of Education of the Parishville-Hopkinton Central School District was called to order at 7:35 P.M. by President W. Remington in the cafeteria on the above date.
ROLL CALL: Present: C. Jacot, W. Remington, H. Simmons, F. Wilhelm, S.
Wilson, W. Witherell, T. Zellweger, T. Burns. Absent: S. Woodward and J.
Young. Others: P. Claus, D. Saiff, R. Taylor, L. Witherell.
QUORUM & MINUTES: Quorum of five established. Motion made by T.
Zellweger and seconded by F. Wilhelm to approve the Re-organizational and
Regular Minutes of the July 10, 2006, as typed and mailed to Board Members. 7
in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
TREASURER’S REPORTS: Motion made by S. Wilson and seconded by H.
Simmons to approve the Treasurer’s Reports showing an available balance on hand
as of July 31, 2006, as follows: General Fund, $941.63; School Lunch Fund,
$2,403.34; School Lunch Savings, $61,295.00; Federal Fund, $2,884.11; Trust
& Agency Fund, $-0-; Payroll Fund, $-0-; Capital Fund, $9,739.35; Risk
Retention, $59,130.43; Extra-Class Activities Fund (As of June 30, 2006),
$43,452.68; Extra-Class Activities Fund, $43,010.18. 7 in favor, 0 opposed,
Carried.
JANUARY BOARD MEETING: Motion made by F. Wilhelm and seconded by C.
Jacot to change the date of the January Board Meeting from Monday, January 8 to
Tuesday, January 16, 2007. 7 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
CAPITAL FUND PROJECT: Mr. Burns informed the Board that Norwood
Plumbing was in to work on tagging necessary to close out our Capital Project
and indicated we should be able to close out the project by next
week. Unfortunately, we have not heard anything from Assemblyman Darrel
Aubertine’s office regarding special funding to help offset unanticipated
contamination clean-up costs which caused the project to go over budget. It is
unlikely that we will receive any financial relief at this point; therefore, it
will be necessary to transfer $55,484.43 from General Funds to cover the cost
of the contamination clean-up costs incurred during the Capital Project. Motion
made by T. Zellweger and seconded by C. Jacot to transfer said funds and close
out the project. 7 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
REVISED CSE/CPSE/COMMITTEES: Motion made by F. Wilhelm and seconded by
H. Simmons to approve the addition of Ann Jerome to the Composition of the
Committee on Pre-School Special Education, Composition of the Committee on
Special Education, and Surrogate Parent List for the 2006-2007 school year as
attached. 7 in favor, 0 opposed, carried.
SCHEDULE APPROVAL: Motion made by C. Jacot and seconded by W.
Witherell to approve the following schedules for audit and payment: General
Fund, $286,410.71; School Lunch Fund, $1,280.81; Capital Fund, $-0-; Federal
Fund, $133.90; Trust & Agency Fund $2,010.00. 7 in favor, 0 opposed,
Carried.
BUDGET TRANSFERS: Motion made by T. Zellweger and seconded by H.
Simmons to authorize the Business Manager to make the necessary budgetary
transfers as attached for the Month of June, 2006. 7 in favor, 0 opposed,
Carried.
BUDGET REPORTS: Motion made by C. Jacot and seconded by T. Zellweger
to accept the Budget Reports for the Month of June, 2006. 7 in favor, 0
opposed, Carried.
2006-07 TAX WARRANT: Mr. Burns discussed the proposed tax warrant for
the 2006-2007 school year. Motion made by C. Jacot and seconded by F. Wilhelm
to approve the 2006-2007 Tax Warrant in the amount of $2,628,302 as approved by
the voters in May. 7 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
BUS ROUTES: Mr. Burns discussed the possibility of consolidating our
bus routes in order to eliminate one route for the 2006-2007 school year. Mr.
Burns explained that the district would realize some savings in salary and
benefits by not hiring an individual to replace Jo Ann Mittelstaedt when she
retires from her custodian/bus driver/aide position next month. The elimination
of a bus run is possible by combining routes and discontinuing the practice of
picking up students who live on private roads or long private drives. These
students would be picked up at the corner of the private road or long driveway
and the town, county, or state highway it intersects. This change would allow
us to eliminate one route while not substantially increasing the amount of time
students must be on the bus in the morning or afternoon. Motion made by S.
Wilson and seconded by H. Simmons to approve the consolidation of bus routes
for the 2006-2007 school year in order to eliminate one run. 7 in favor, 0
opposed, Carried.
KINDERGARTEN AIDE/J. A. MITTELSTAEDT: Based upon the recommendation of
the Superintendent, Motion made by C. Jacot and seconded by F. Wilhelm to
appoint Jo Ann Mittelstaedt as a Kindergarten Aide effective September 11,
2006. 7 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried. (This position will be paid as outlined
under the current PHCS Non-Teachers’ Association Contract.)
READING INTERNS/J. BERRY/J. LaCLAIR/S. STONE: Based upon the
recommendation of the Superintendent, Motion made by C. Jacot and seconded by
H. Simmons to approve the appointment of Julie Berry and Jeannette LaClair as
half-time Reading Interns at the Elementary and Stephanie Stone as a half-time
Reading Intern at the High School for the 2006-2007 school year. 7 in favor, 0
opposed, Carried. (The annual salary for these half-time positions will be
$5,000. Funding for these positions has been made possible by grants received
from the Rural Education Program and 611 Special Education Program thanks to
the yearly efforts of Pamela Claus to secure this financial support).
LETTER OF RESIGNATION/J. BIGWARFE: Based upon the recommendation of
the Superintendent, Motion made by S. Wilson and seconded by T. Zellweger to
accept Joanne Bigwarfe’s letter of resignation from her position as a middle
level resource room teacher effective immediately with regret and extended
their best wishes as she begins her new position at Norwood-Norfolk Central
School. 7 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
RESOURCE ROOM TEACHER: Mr. Burns informed the Board that we have
already advertised for a Special Education Teacher to replace Joanne Bigwarfe
based on her anticipated resignation. The deadline for application was set for
August 18th, and the committee members have completed their initial
review of the application materials. Mr. Burns noted that they hoped to conduct
interviews and perform background checks later in the week in an effort to have
someone onboard for the beginning of the Fall semester. The committee’s
recommendation will then be brought before the Board for their approval and
retroactive appointment to September 1, 2006, at their September
18th meeting, unless the Board would prefer to hold a special
meeting to make this appointment prior to the beginning of school.
LETTER OF RETIREMENT/J. JACOT: Based upon the recommendation of the
Superintendent, Motion made by H. Simmons and seconded by T. Zellweger to
accept the letter of retirement submitted by Joanne Jacot from her position as
high school special education teacher effective at the conclusion of the
2006-2007 school year, and extended their best wishes. 7 in favor, 0 opposed,
Carried.
EARLY RELEASE/CURRICULUM PLANNING: Based upon the recommendation of
the Superintendent, Motion made by C. Jacot and seconded by W. Witherell to
approve five curriculum early release dates (1:00 P.M. dismissal) during the
2006-2007 school year for the purpose of grade level/department curriculum work
as follows: September 22, October 20, December 8, January 12, and May 4. 7 in
favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
BOARD GOALS COMMITTEE: The Board Goals Committee, consisting of W.
Remington, J. Young, F. Wilhelm, W. Witherell, P. Claus, D. Saiff, and T.
Burns, will plan to meet on Monday, September 11, at 7:00 P.M. in the
Elementary Library to compile a list of possible Board Goals to be undertaken
during the 2006-2007 school year which will be reviewed by the full Board at
their September meeting.
SCHOOL BOARD PLANNING MEETING: Mr. Burns announced the St.
Lawrence-Lewis Counties School Boards Planning Meeting on September
7th at 7:00 P.M. at the BOCES Central Office in Canton and offered
to register anyone who wished to attend.
NYS SCHOOL BOARDS AREA 6: The Board received information on the annual
Area 6 New York State School Boards dinner meeting to be held in Lake Placid on
Thursday, September 28, 2006. Mr. Burns asked Board Members to let us know by
the September Board Meeting if they wish to attend so that their reservations
can be made prior to September 22, 2006.
CO-OP FUEL BIDS: Mr. Burns noted that we have not received bid award information for Ultra-Low Sulfur Diesel as of the date of this meeting. According to Don Haller of the Cooperative Purchasing Office, they have not yet secured pricing information; however, it does not appear that fixed pricing will be an option.
INTERNAL AUDITOR: The Board reviewed a Request for Proposals (RFP) for
internal audit services as prepared by the St. Lawrence-Lewis BOCES. Mr. Burns
explained that the district was required to secure the services of an internal
auditor as part of the New York State Comptroller’s Five Point Plan and noted
that the individual should not be an employee of the district or the St.
Lawrence-Lewis BOCES. Motion made by T. Zellweger and seconded by S. Wilson to
approve the inter-municipal RFP and to share the services and related costs of
an internal auditor with other interested districts. 7 in favor, 0 opposed,
Carried.
PRINCIPALS’ UPDATES: P. Claus informed the Board that 14 new students
have been registered at the elementary level this summer and 38 new
kindergarten students are expected to begin in the fall. Elementary Open House
is scheduled for September 13, 2006, from 6:30 until 8:00 P.M. The Summer Books
at the Beach Program went well again this summer and a final report will be
prepared for the Board’s review at their September Meeting. P. Claus expressed
appreciation for being able to attend an ELA error coding workshop to identify
teaching strategies that will make the greatest impact on ELA scores such as
writing on demand following a listening or reading prompt and working on these
activities 2-3 times per week. The presenter, Laurie Hedges, will be returning
in the fall to work with teachers. Our ELA scores are expected by late
September and Math scores will be received the following month. Attendance at
both ELA and Math workshops will be supported through grant funds.
D. Saiff informed the Board that only 2 students out of the 27 enrolled in 38 summer school classes did not meet the 65% passing requirement. Soccer practices are underway. The Junior Varsity and Varsity teams started on August 18th and the Modified teams held their first practice today. Several pre-season tournaments are scheduled including the Jeffers Tournament at Potsdam State, the Community Bank Tournament that we host, and the O’Neil Tournament at Massena Central. The first modified games are scheduled for September 6th. D. Saiff also mentioned that he, Stacie Richardson, and Karen Locey attended an extra-curricular funds workshop in July for additional training in the management of these student activities accounts.
INFORMATION: The Board received copies of the St. Lawrence-Lewis BOCES
Board Minutes from their July 13th meeting, correspondence
concerning a personnel matter, and notification that our bus fleet maintenance
program once again ranked among the top in New York State based on our
semi-annual bus safety inspections during the 2005-2006 school year. The Board
also received a list of upcoming events of interest.
EXECUTIVE SESSION: Motion made by H. Simmons and seconded by C. Jacot
to go into Executive Session at 8:35 P.M. to discuss negotiations and personnel
matters. 7 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
R. Taylor left meeting at 8:35 P.M.
ADJOURNMENT: Motion made by T. Zellweger and seconded by S. Wilson to
come out of Executive Session and adjourn at 8:55 P.M. 7 in favor, 0 opposed,
Carried.
July 10, 2006
CALL TO ORDER: The regular meeting of the Board of Education of the Parishville-Hopkinton Central School District was called to order at 7:25 P.M. by President W. Remington in the cafeteria on the above date.
ROLL CALL: Present: W. Remington, H. Simmons, F. Wilhelm, S. Wilson,
W. Witherell, S. Woodward-7:45 P.M., J. Young, T. Zellweger, T.
Burns. Absent: C. Jacot. Others: D. Cannamela, P. Claus, S. Miller, L. Mitras,
D. Saiff, L. Witherell.
QUORUM: Quorum of five established.
EXECUTIVE SESSION: Motion made by T. Zellweger and seconded by S.
Wilson to go into Executive Session at 7:26 P.M. to hear a Grievance filed by
the Teachers’ Association on behalf of Sandra Miller. 7 in favor, 0 opposed,
Carried.
P. Claus, L. Mitras, and L. Witherell left the meeting at 7:26 P.M.
S. Woodward arrived at 7:45 P.M.
Motion made by T. Zellweger and seconded by S. Wilson to come out of Executive Session at 7:54 P.M. 8 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
D. Cannamela and S. Miller left the meeting at 7:54 P.M. P. Claus, L. Mitras, D. Saiff, and L. Witherell returned to the meeting at 7:54 P.M.
MINUTES: Motion made by F. Wilhelm and seconded by H. Simmons to
approve the Minutes of the June 19, 2006, regular meeting as typed and mailed
to Board Members. 8 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
TREASURER’S REPORTS: Motion made by J. Young and seconded by T.
Zellweger to approve an amended Treasurer’s Report for the General Fund for the
Month of May and the Treasurer’s Reports showing an available balance on hand
as of June 30, 2006, as follows: General Fund, $ 46,901.92; School Lunch Fund,
$3,683.50; School Lunch Savings, $61,295.00; Federal Fund, $1,345.27; Trust
& Agency Fund, $-0-; Payroll Fund, $-0-; Capital Fund, $9,737.70; Risk
Retention, $59,130.43; Extra-Class Activities Fund, $42,546.34.*
* Due to the earlier date of this month’s meeting, the account balance for the Extra-Class Activities Fund will not be available until August Board Meeting. 8 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
CAPITAL FUND PROJECT: Lisa Mitras and Mr. Burns reported to the Board
on EXCEL, a new building aid available to school districts funded through the
Dormitory Authority. Of the funds available, 1.8 billion dollars has been
slated for New York City, with .8 billion to be used for the rest of the
state. Capital Projects that will be approved by The State Education
Department’s Office of Facilities and Planning after April 1st of
this coming year will be eligible to receive EXCEL aid on projects that include
safety issues, expansion, and/or energy conservation. The maximum EXCEL aid
that our district is eligible to receive is $376,658. This aid may be used to
offset the local share of a project and make it possible to improve our
facilities without having to raise taxes. Mr. Burns has requested Eric Witschi
of King & King to research EXCEL aid in more detail with Jim King to
determine whether or not it would be feasible to put together a project that
would qualify for EXCEL aid.
SCHEDULE APPROVAL: Motion made by J. Young and seconded by H. Simmons
to approve the following schedules for audit and payment: General Fund,
$1,096,006.54; School Lunch Fund, $10,856.04; Capital Fund, $-0-; Federal Fund,
$7,430.82. 8 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
FINAL EXAM UPDATE: Mr. Saiff reviewed the final exam results with the
Board, noting that the students did very well again this year. In U. S. History
& Government 93% passed (38 out of 41 students) with 24, or 59%, at or
above Mastery; 90% passed the 11th Grade ELA (35 out of 39 students)
with 41% at or above Mastery; 98% passed the Math A Regents (41 out of 42
students) with 50% at or above Mastery; 100% passed the Math B Regents (22 out
of 22 students) with 50% at or above Mastery; 100% passed the Living
Environment Regents in January (27 out of 27 students) with 41% at or above the
Mastery level; 100% passed the Earth Science Regents (35 out of 35 students)
with 49% at or above Mastery level; 93% passed the Chemistry Regents (13 out of
14) with 14% at or above Mastery; 100% passed Physics (4 out of 4 students)
with 50% at or above Mastery; 88% passed the Spanish Regents (7 out of 8
students) with 63% at or above Mastery; and 94% passed the 8th grade
Spanish Proficiency exam (34 out of 36 students).
JR. HIGH ENGLISH/K. REED: Based upon the recommendation of the
Superintendent, Motion made by J. Young and seconded by H. Simmons to appoint
Kimberly Reed as Jr. High English teacher effective September 5, 2006. 8 in
favor, 0 opposed, Carried. (Certification: Initial Certificate in the area of
English Language Arts 7-12. Beginning salary to be set at Step 2 of the current
Teachers’ Contract. This appointment carries a three-year probationary period
from September 5, 2006, and continuing through September 1, 2009).
PART-TIME CHEMISTRY & GENERAL SCIENCE/A. WHITE: Based upon the
recommendation of the Superintendent, Motion made by J. Young and seconded by
F. Wilhelm to appoint Ann White as Part-Time Chemistry and General Science
teacher effective September 5, 2006. 8 in favor, 0 opposed,
Carried. (Certification: Permanent Certificates in the areas of Biology,
Chemistry, and General Science &-12 as well as Mathematics 7-12). Beginning
salary to be set at Step 10 of the current Teachers’ Contract, pro-rated based
on a.50% work day. This part-time position does not generate tenure).
ELEMENTARY LIBRARY TEACHER ASSISTANT/D. McCORMICK: Based upon the
recommendation of the Superintendent, Motion made by J. Young and seconded by
S. Woodward to appoint Danny McCormick as Title I/Elementary Library Teaching
Assistant effective September 5, 2006. 8 in favor, 0 opposed,
Carried. (Certification: Initial Certificate in the area of Childhood Education
(Grades 1-6). This would be a three-year probationary appointment commencing
September 5, 2006, and ending September 1, 2009. Beginning salary to be set as
specified for Teaching Assistants holding a BA/BS degree as specified in the
current Teachers’ Contract.)
LETTER OF RETIREMENT/J. A. MITTELSTAEDT: Based upon the recommendation
of the Superintendent, Motion made by J. Young and seconded by S. Woodward to
accept the letter of retirement submitted by Jo Ann Mittelsteadt from her
position as Driver/Custodian/Aide effective September 10, 2006. 8 in favor, 0
opposed, Carried.
EARLY RELEASE REQUEST: Motion made by T. Zellweger and seconded by H.
Simmons to approve a request from P. Claus for an early release (11:30 A.M.)
for students in grades K-6 on November 16 and 17, 2006, and April 19 and 20,
2007, for the purpose of conducting parent-teacher conferences. 8 in favor, 0
opposed, Carried.
CO-OP FUEL BIDS: The Co-Op Fuel Bids for the 2006-2007 school year
were reviewed. Motion made by W. Witherell and seconded by F. Wilhelm to accept
Plan C (fluctuating price) as the only option offered for the purchase of
gasoline from MX Fuels, Plan B (fixed price) at $1.6090 per gallon for the
purchase of LP Gas from Griffith Oil, and to accept Plan B (fixed price) at
$2.4475 per gallon ($2.6975 per gallon blended) for the purchase of fuel oil
from MX Fuels during the 2006-2007 school year. 8 in favor, 0 opposed,
Carried.
Mr. Burns noted that we have not received bid award information for Ultra-Low Sulfur Diesel as of the date of this meeting.
BOARD GOALS COMMITTEE: The Board Goals Committee for the 2006-2007
school year was established. The Committee will consist of: F. Wilhelm, J.
Young, W. Remington, W. Witherell, P. Claus, D. Saiff, and Mr. Burns. A meeting
was tentatively scheduled for Monday, September 11th, to draft Board
goals for review by the full Board at their September meeting.
CPSE RECOMMENDATION: Motion made by J. Young and seconded by H.
Simmons to approve the recommendations of the CPSE for one pre-school
student. 8 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
CSE/CPSE ANNUAL REPORT: P. Claus reviewed the Annual Report of
CSE/CPSE Activities which covers CPSE, CSE, and 504 students. This report
highlights programs and related services as well as the frequency of services
provided. P. Claus noted that emphasis on access to regular education programs
and participation in state testing remain an important facet of our CSE/CPSE
programs and only a few students participate in alternative testing. The
committee continues to focus on developing ELA skills including reading,
writing, and speaking in an effort to help students to reach levels 3 and 4 on
their NYS English Language Arts assessments. P. Claus noted that the IEP Direct
computer program has been a very effective tool for managing student
information and parent communication. Two on-going goals of the committees are
to encourage increased parent and student involvement in the annual review
process and to include special education staff in team staff development
opportunities with regular education staff. On a final note, P. Claus notified
the Board that five CSE students transferred or were declassified, two CPSE
students were declassified, one home-school child received speech services, and
all of our CSE students stayed in school this year. P. Claus also stated that
fewer students are receiving services at Potsdam as we are trying to
accommodate their needs here.
Motion made by T. Zellweger and seconded by H. Simmons to approve the Annual Report of CSE/CPSE Activities as presented. 8 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
PRINCIPALS’ UPDATES: D. Saiff informed the Board that finals week went
very smoothly and the graduation ceremony went well. There was one error in
diploma type and the correction has been made. Barstow Motors provided a 2006
Grand Am for the Driver Education Program. The class started on July
5th and 20 students are enrolled. Twenty-eight students are enrolled
in a total of 40 summer school classes this summer.
P. Claus informed the Board that Resource and Support grants were approved for Bekki Rose and Therese Baxter to update the Math Buddies Program to correlate with new math syllabus and for Joanne Bigwarfe and Bekki Rose to develop daily language activities to help with editing skills. Some of our special education students are involved in either the Potsdam Extended Year Program or are receiving related services this summer. P. Claus stated that she had spoken with Irene Sinclair about the first week of the Books at the Beach Program and Irene had indicated that the numbers of children participating are very good thus far.
INFORMATION: Mr. Burns informed the Board that the teachers/teacher
assistant Shannon Axtell, Cheryll Phippen, Bekki Rose, Shawn Spriggs, and Judy
Witherell, as well as non-teachers Tony Eakins, John Reed, and Andy Taylor had
perfect attendance during the 2005-2006 school year. The Board also received
information concerning: the New York State School Boards Convention to be held
October 26-29, 2006, in New York, New York; Minutes from the quarterly
Healthcare and Workers’ Compensation Meetings of April 26, and the Minutes from
a special healthcare committee meeting on May 22nd, Minutes from the
BOCES Board Meeting of May 9th, and other miscellaneous items of
interest as a list of upcoming events.
ADJOURNMENT: Motion made by J. Young and seconded by T. Zellweger to
adjourn at 9:00 P.M. 8 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
July 10, 2006 (Re-Organization Meeting)
The Re-Organization Meeting of the Parishville-Hopkinton Central School District was held in the cafeteria on the above date.
Members Present: W. Remington, H. Simmons, F. Wilhelm, S. Wilson, W. Witherell, J. Young, T. Zellweger, T. Burns.
Members Absent: C. Jacot, S. Woodward.
Others Present: D. Cannamela, P. Claus, S. Miller, L. Mitras, D. Saiff, and L. Witherell.
The meeting was called to order at 7:15 P. M. by President W. Remington.
Newly elected Board Member, T. Zellweger, took his Oath of Office.
Motion made by J. Young and seconded by T. Zellweger to nominate Ward Remington for President of the Board of Education for the 2006-2007 school year. 7 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
Motion made by J. Young and seconded by S. Wilson to nominate Timothy Zellweger for Vice President of the Board of Education for the 2006-2007 school year. W. Remington in favor, H. Simmons in favor, F. Wilhelm in favor, S. Wilson in favor, W. Witherell in favor, J. Young in favor, T. Zellweger abstained, Carried.
Motion made by J. Young and seconded by F. Wilhelm that Steven Wilson be appointed as Clerk of the Board of Education for the 2006-2007 school year. 7 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
Motion made by H. Simmons and seconded by W. Witherell that Christina Jacot be appointed as our New York State School Boards Association Legislative Liaison/Representative to serve on the St. Lawrence-Lewis Counties School Board Committee of Education Legislation. 7 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
Motion made by J. Young and seconded by T. Zellweger that the remaining Re-Organization Meeting Agenda items be approved en masse as presented on the attached Agenda. 7 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried.
Motion made by F. Wilhelm and seconded by T. Zellweger to adjourn at 7:24 P.M. 7 in favor, 0 opposed, Carried