BOARD OF EDUCATION
Shenendehowa Central School District
Clifton Park, New York
Special Budget Study Session
March 31, 2009
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MEMBERS PRESENT: |
Mrs. Blaauboer, Mrs. Bowles, Mr. Casey, Mr. DiLallo, |
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OTHERS PRESENT: |
Mrs. DeFeciani, Dr. Dutkowsky, Mr. Melia, Dr. Robinson, Dr. Snyder, Ms. Wetmore |
Mrs. Grey called the Special Budget Study Session to order at 7 p.m.
Mrs. Grey led those present in the Pledge of Allegiance.
Mrs. Grey asked for a moment of silence in memory of Mrs. Elizabeth Prendergast’s husband who recently passed away. She is a Spanish teacher at High School East.
1. ADOPT AN AGENDA
MOTION BY Mr. DiLallo, seconded by Mr. Mincher to accept the agenda as presented.
Unanimously approved, motion carried.
2. BOARD COMMENTS/REPORTS
Mrs. Blaauboer commented on the success of the Dodge Ball charity event. She also mentioned the activities at Koda Middle School during Respect Week and how wonderful the Shenendehowa Jazz Band was in its performance. Other successful activities she mentioned were Accent on Acadia, the blood drive on Superintendent’s Conference Day, the Wizard of Oz performance at Orenda, and Annie, Jr. at the Middle School. She was delighted to see that so many teachers attended these performances and programs.
Mr. Mincher noted that Mrs. Frantti was typecast very well in her roll in the Wizard of Oz. He felt everyone did a great job.
Mrs. Wiggins also commented on the Wizard of Oz and the fine job of all involved. She also reported that the Thornhills were on campus visiting HSW. They came to talk about their work with a school in Ghana. They raise money to help with the building of a school. After they shared a presentation of the program, the students participated in a “change for change” drive and students were invited to donate their extra change for the school. Many thanks to Mrs. Donlon and
her team for presenting the opportunity for our students to share. Jess Salmon, PE teacher, was the organizer from the PE department and Pat Kopchik, social studies teacher, helped with getting the Thornhills here. Mrs. Wiggins appreciates the quilt representing Character, Diversity, and Volunteerism created in the FACS class.
Mr. DiLallo reported on the state of finances for the school district. We have to be looking ahead. For the next two years, state aid is level and costs go up automatically. It will be increasingly difficult to handle the ongoing problems.
Mr. Casey appreciates Mr. DiLallo’s leadership and hard work, along with that of the Superintendent, Ms. Wetmore and other staff. We got ahead of the crunch in October and Mr. Casey appreciates the work that has gone into this. Next year will probably be an even worse year, but we pushed ourselves this year and Mr. Casey believes we will have a budget we can be proud of. We’ve worked hard to be transparent and communicate with the staff. It’s not all good news but we hope people will buy into the solutions.
Mrs. Grey congratulated the students who participated in the Capital Region History Day Competition. Three High School winners she mentioned were 1) James Schuessler who received a silver medal for an Individual Documentary, 2) Marcel Garbos who received a gold medal for an Individual Website, and 3) Josh Heidke who received a gold medal for an Individual Performance.
Mrs. Grey congratulated Mr. Ken Strube who received a Certificate of Recognition for 30 years of service as the Girls Varsity Basketball Coach. He coached 500 winning games. Mr. Strube was awarded a plaque which displayed the Certificate of Recognition.
Regarding information about the State budget, Mrs. Grey added that no matter what we do this year, we have to have our eyes on next year.
STUDY SESSION TOPICS
Proposed 2009-10 Budget
Revenue Analysis
Dr. Robinson spoke first about the Safe Routes to School Grant. He met with the Department of Transportation and they are excited about our turnaround. We hope to have work started in mid-May. A DOT representative said Shenendehowa is the model. We are very progressive in our application and our design process. We are also looking at alternative energy sources.
Ms. Wetmore provided details for the revenue analysis. A PowerPoint presentation was available. (A copy of this presentation is on file in the official minutes folder.)
Mr. Casey asked about a change in the tax payment schedule for senior citizens. Dr. Robinson replied that we have to look at this situation from the financial side and we need to obtain some legal standing on it if we’re allowed to do it. We are trying to avoid doing something and then have a legal discrimination case. We want to do this if we can with minimal financial implications. We hope to know before the vote on the 19th.
3. ACTION ITEMS
MOTION BY Mrs. Wiggins, seconded by Mrs. Bowles, that the Board of Education adopt the Notice of Annual Meeting and School Election (a copy of this notice is on file in the official minutes folder).
Unanimously approved, motion carried.
4. ADJOURNMENT
MOTION BY Mrs. Wiggins, seconded by Mrs. Bowles, to adjourn the meeting at 8:09 p.m.
Mrs. Wiggins added the following upcoming dates for the Saratoga County School Boards Association meetings: April meeting – rescheduled for September 14, 2009, at 6 p.m. The topic is National Board Certification. May 4 at 6 p.m. is the BOCES Awards Ceremony, and June 8 at 6 p.m. is the Organizational Meeting.
Unanimously approved, motion carried.
Respectfully submitted,
Linda L. Sparks
Board Stenographer
Approved by: _____________________
Kathleen A. Wetmore
Clerk of the Board