BOARD OF EDUCATION
Shenendehowa Central School District
Clifton Park, New York
Special Budget Study Session
March 24, 2009
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MEMBERS PRESENT: |
Mrs. Blaauboer (arrived at 7:15 p.m.), Mrs. Bowles, |
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OTHERS PRESENT: |
Mrs. DeFeciani, Dr. Dutkowsky, Mr. Melia, Dr. Robinson, Mr. Smith, Dr. Snyder, Ms. Wetmore |
Mrs. Grey called the Special Budget Study Session to order at 7:05 p.m.
Mrs. Grey led those present in the Pledge of Allegiance.
Mrs. Grey asked for a moment of silence in memory of Mrs. Hilda Casey-Jenkins, the mother of our Board member, Bill Casey.
1. ADOPT AN AGENDA
MOTION BY Mr. DiLallo, seconded by Mrs. Wiggins to accept the agenda as presented.
Mrs. Grey noted that comments will be allowed from the public directly after the budget presentation. However, comments must relate to the budget presentation.
Unanimously approved, motion carried.
2. BOARD COMMENTS/REPORTS
Mr. Mincher commented on the community meetings that have been held in the District and throughout the year. They are critical and the schedule is listed on our website. More meetings will be held prior to the May 19 vote on the budget.
Mr. Mincher worked at Okte on Friday with a group facilitated by Pat Stone to study what is working well at Okte and what we could do better. He also suggested that Acadia parents attend Accent on Acadia from 6:30 to 8 p.m. this Wednesday, March 25, to take a look at the projects the kids have been doing this year and take the opportunity to speak with the teachers and principal.
Mrs. Wiggins was excited about LOTE Fest ’09 which was held on March 20 at High School West and on March 26 in High School East. It’s an opportunity for students to get together and have a good time.
Mr. DiLallo gave an update on the local two announcements from the State level. State aid is projected to be $2 billion less than what was discussed a month ago and 8,900 state jobs are to be cut. We have a troubled economy because people in this area do work at the State. We need a realistic picture of what we will have to work with for the next year. This is a very scary situation.
Mr. Casey praised Mr. DiLallo for the support he has given the Board and the fact that he is watching State financial activities so closely. Mr. DiLallo is dedicated to education and is a good advocate for the District.
Mrs. Bowles reminded everyone to attend the middle school play, Annie, Jr., to be presented March 26, 27, and 28 at the High School West Auditorium.
Mrs. Grey had several topics to discuss. She noted that Mr. DiLallo has been an incredible advocate for Shenendehowa for all of the years he has served on the Board. She announced that the Shenendehowa Music Department will be performing at a Sunday matinee at the Empire State Plaza Convention Center. The Men’s Swimming and Diving Team became NYS champions and were given a plaque. Orenda Elementary will be presenting The Wizard of Oz on Thursday evening. Mrs. Frantti will be playing the Good Witch. Dr. Robinson recently received the YMCA Award for Talent. He has gone “above and beyond” with all of his contributions to the YMCA.
STUDY SESSION TOPICS
Proposed 2009-10 Budget
Bus Resolution Recommendation
Dr. Robinson provided a PowerPoint presentation entitled A Multi-year Budget Perspective 2009-10 and 2010-11. (A copy of the presentation is on file in the official minutes folder.). He explained the difficulties the District is facing with the uncertainty at the State and Federal levels regarding funding. The Shenendehowa budget adoption date has been pushed back to April 7 with the hope that by April 1 (State budget adoption) we will receive some stable information.
Dr. Robinson answered questions from the Board concerning interest revenue, investment timing, tax payments by senior citizens, and the availability of budget information on the website.
Public Comment
Mr. Al North from Clifton Park wanted people to know up front that he will vote positively for the budget and the bus referendum. He is questioning the affordability of school budget taxes. Overall income is significantly down. Taxes are going to go up. The bottom line is that household income available to people to pay for school taxes,
food costs, and other items is limited and the portion for school taxes will be the larger part of this income. Despite how the percentage of tax increase shows in the presentation, we’re really talking about a double digit impact on the household budget. This needs to be 0% for it be a sacrifice. Many people are hurting and they need to afford their homes. This needs to be a shared sacrifice.
3. ACTION ITEMS
MOTION BY Mrs. Wiggins, seconded by Mrs. Bowles, that the Board of Education approve the bids for the 2009 Reconstruction Project at Karigon/Orenda, Middle School, High School West, Okte, Chango, Skano/Tesago per the attached bid results provided by Mosaic Associates in the total amount of $1,493,784. (A copy of the bid results is on file in the official minutes folder.)
Mr. Casey noted that it is great to see that we are getting good prices. We probably have the largest capital investment of all of the towns in this District. We need to protect this investment. These projects have been in the plans for three or four years.
Mrs. Blaauboer added that we have to take care of the infrastructure. We need to be sure that we have the facilities that we need for the students to go forward. Mr. Mincher thanked Augie Freemann for all of his hard work.
Mr. DiLallo noted that the restructuring of our debt and sound fiscal management actually allows us to move forward with these projects even within a reduction.
Unanimously approved, motion carried.
4. ADJOURNMENT
Unanimously approved, motion carried.
Respectfully submitted,
Linda L. Sparks
Board Stenographer
Approved by: _____________________
Kathleen A. Wetmore
Clerk of the Board