April 12, 2001

 

Wednesday evening’s Board of Education Meeting began with Public Participation, where a

number of staff addressed the Board regarding their support for the proposed school budget.

Under Board Committee Reports Amy BennettLepel reported on the last SAVE Meeting and

the last PROUD Meeting. Gretchen Craft reported on her attendance at the BOCES Annual

Meeting and the Middle School Play she attended on Friday. Bucky Jordan reported on the

last Park Committee Meeting and the upcoming p lanned activities. Deb Larson attended the

Middle School Play on Saturday evening and reported on its success. Bill Herbert r

eported

on the last Town Board M

eeting and his recent tour of the Town Park.

 

The Board approved the Consent Agenda which included substitute teachers and classified

staff. The Board also accepted the resignation of Linda Moll, Teacher Assistant in the

Elementary School. The Board approved CSE Case Summaries as presented by Wanda

Miller. The Board heard a report from Carol McMahon

, Enrichment Teacher in the Middle

School, regarding the Skills Competition hosted at the Voc. Ed. Center. Forty

­ four Middle

School students participated in a number of skill challenges involving vocational/technical

education. Nick Foos, an 8

th

grader, was also present to describe the competition he

participated in. The Middle School won the overall competition and showed off their trophy.

 

Under Old Business the Board reviewed Policy 1130, which states the number of Board

Members (5). The Board discu

ssed the advantages and disadvantages of having a larger

number of members. The decision was to put this on hold and address the idea through a

Board Goal for the next year. The Board wants to gather community input on this.

 

The major item of discussion centered around the proposed budget. The Board,

Superintendent and Asst. Superintendent for Business had met for three hours pri

or to the

evening meeting in a Budget Worksession. All areas of the budget were re­examined for

possible areas of reduction

. After much discussion, the Board adopted a budget of

$15,354,600 for the 2001­2002 school year. This represents a 4.8% budget increase and

translates into a 7.09% tax rate increase based upon information available at this point. The

money school distri

cts will receive from State Aid is not determined until legislators pass a

New York State budget, which was due April 1

st

. In addition to salary increases for staff, the

two areas contributing to a larger than desired tax increase are soaring utility costs (natural

gas) and rising health insurance benefits (up nearly 20% for next year). The Board has

agreed to apply any additional revenue in the form of State Aid directly to reduce the

projected rate. This will be done in August, when the new tax rate is set. The Budget

hearing is set for May 2, 2001, at 7:30 p.m. in the Middle School Auditorium. The Budget

Vote is scheduled for May 15, 2001, between the hours of 1:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. in the

Middle School Multi

­Purpose Room (in the back wing).

 

In final action, the Board approved the maternity leave request for Christi Byron effective

May 2

nd

, followed by a child rearing leave from the opening of school in September through

November 2, 2001. The Board reviewed upcoming meetings and held Public Partici

pation.

 

The Board recessed to Executive Session at 8:52 p.m. and adjourned at 9:31 p.m. taking no

further action.