1. Adjourn - A motion was made by Mr. Brewer, seconded by Mr. Camp, to adjourn at 10:10 PM. 4 Ayes 0 Nays 1 Absent (Molino) MOTION CARRIED


 
 
 
 
June 18, 2004
 
“Do not be afraid of greatness: some are born great, some achieve greatness and some have greatness thrust upon them.”            - - William Shakespeare
 
 
Greetings from Wayne Central School District. Below are some items of interest.
 
Board Meeting:
 

1. Executive Session: I am recommending the following administrators for tenure; Larry Spring, Joe Siracuse, Marc Blankenberg, Chris Shaeffer, Kim Saxby and Holly Armitage. We talked about these individuals at an earlier meeting however Mark and Jo-Onna were absent. You will see the tenure recommendation in the Superintendent’s report.
 
2. Model Schools Presentation: Nikki Miller and the Model Schools Team will give an update on our progress in implementing the high school Model Schools plan approved by the Board in 2003. Three Board members will be attending the Model Schools conference at the end of this month.
 
3. Tenure Recommendations: Several administrators are being presented for tenure. I support granting tenure as recommended
 
4. Title One Amounts for 2004-05: We have received our title one amounts for next year. Because of changes in New York State population and poverty rates n relation to the rest of the country, New York state is getting substantially less in Title One funds. This means that Wayne County and Wayne Central will be getting less money. We will report on those changes.
 
5. Ginna Assessment Update: Ginna officially belongs to Constellation. Negotiations on the assessment are continuing. Representatives Frank Robusto, Greg Atseff and myself will give an update.

 

6. Building Project: The trailers are arriving and much of the fencing is up. Greg will update the Board on our progress.

 
 


Newsletter:
 

1. OP Water Leak:    Don Davis confirmed yesterday afternoon that a pipe is leaking under the slab of one of the '85 classrooms. He has contacted the project plumbing contractor and will meet with him this week to give me an idea and cost estimate for repairs. I am not sure if there are other ways to address this issue, however, it appears that the classroom floor will have to be "jack hammered" out, the pipe exposed (dig down about 5 feet), make repairs, infill the excavation, pour a new section of floor, install new flooring. It is estimated to cost about $10,000.00 (+/-) for repairs. I will keep you posted. We will make sure a claim is submitted through our insurance once we have an idea of the final cost.
 
2. Graduation: The commencement exercises begin at 8:00. Please be ready to go on stage by 7:30 p.m.
  
3. Events:
6/18 & 19 –Ontario Village Days
6/18 – Concert in the Park – Fireworks – Casey Park – 7:30 p.m.
6/25 – Graduation – FLCC – 8:00 p.m.
7/15 – Board of Education Reorganizational Meeting – 7:30 p.m.
4. Attachments:    
a) NYSCOSS School Finance Reform Article
b) Town of Ontario Town Board Meeting Minutes – 6/7

 
 

Att. a

NEW YORK STATE COUNCIL OF SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENTS
 
EVERY SCHOOL DISTRICT HAS STAKE IN CFE SCHOOL FUNDING REFORM
OPERATING AID TO SCHOOLS HAS BEEN “FLAT” FOR 3 YEARS, SUPERINTENDENTS REPORT

 
“Every school district in New York State has a stake in the outcome of school finance reform efforts,” said Thomas Rogers, Executive Director of the New York State Council of School Superintendents, summing up an analysis of state aid to education released by his organization today.
 
State aid to school districts for basic operations has not kept pace with inflation over the past three years, an analysis by the Council finds. Since 2000-01, general operating aids have increased by an average of only 0.6 percent per year while the Consumer Price Index has risen by 2.1 percent a year. Only 57 of the state’s 680 state aid-eligible school districts received increases above the inflation rate over that period.
 
“Our analysis demonstrates clearly that all districts have a stake in the outcome of the state’s efforts to respond to the Campaign for Fiscal Equity decision,” said Rogers. “If the Governor and the Legislature fail to act, decision-making could fall back to the Court, but the Court could only
order reforms to help New York City,” Rogers explained. “New York State needs to once again become a reliable partner in helping to pay for schools, everywhere,” he concluded.
 
“We know that State Legislators go to great lengths to add funds to the state budget for school aid,” Rogers added. “But in recent years, state aid has not been keeping pace with general inflation, let alone the actual costs that schools are facing.”
 
In 2003-04, for example, the Legislature added nearly $1 billion more than Governor Pataki had recommended, the largest addition for school aid ever approved by a Legislature. But since the Governor had recommended a cut of nearly $1.2 billion, that meant schools still had absorb a cut of nearly $200 million in state aid.
 
During the same three year period, overall school aid (including reimbursement and categorical aids) rose by 1.9 percent per year. Reimbursement aids, for BOCES services, transportation, special education, and construction rose by 4.4 percent a year, with more than 90 percent of the increase attributable to special education and transportation. Categorical aids (including Universal Pre-kindergarten, class size reduction, and instructional materials, for example) were essentially flat, declining 0.3 percent per year.
 
“The virtual freeze on operating aids is so damaging because they are the aids that districts use to help pay basic ongoing costs that are not aided in other ways. These include regular teacher costs and much of the extra help schools have put in place to help struggling students. Without increases in state operating aids, more and more of the burden of paying for higher standards falls to the local tax base,” Rogers explained.
 
The impact is especially hard on low wealth school districts that tend to be heavily dependent on state aid and have limited ability to raise more revenue from local sources.
 
“At the same time, we are certainly not minimizing the importance of categorical and reimbursement aids,” Rogers emphasized. “School districts depend upon the state to keep its promises and reimburse their lawfully incurred expenses for special education, transportation, construction, and BOCES services,” Rogers explained. “Also, categorical programs are valuable when they help launch new priorities, such as expanding preschool opportunities.”
 
“But while reimbursement and categorical programs help districts meet costs, they never cover the full cost of an activity. So in order to benefit from them, districts have to match the state dollars with local funds,” Rogers noted.
 
Rogers also noted that if the Governor’s original school aid proposal from this past January were enacted, operating aid would be frozen, and only 14 districts - barely more than 2 percent of districts - would experience 4-year increases in operating aid greater than inflation.
 
“We also want to make the point that the Consumer Price Index is not a fair benchmark for school spending,” Rogers emphasized. “Some of the costs that schools face are soaring and can’t be controlled by districts themselves in the near term,” he added. For example, mandated contributions to pension systems have more than doubled in each of the past two years.
 
“There is a common perception that school aid has been generously funded in recent years,” Rogers noted. “Certainly, the Legislature works hard to put money into school aid. But the fact is that operating aid just hasn’t kept up. So more and more of the basic operating costs of schools have been shifted to local revenue sources. That has contributed to ‘tax fatigue’ that caused more
school budget defeats last month,” Rogers explained.
 
“This is one more reason why we see the CFE decision as an opportunity,” Rogers concluded. “We support efforts to replace the current tangled web of operating aid formulas with a foundation formula that uses a handful of factors whose assumptions can be understood and debated. A more understandable system would make state funding decisions more transparent, and make state decision makers more accountable.”
 
NYSCOSS is the professional organization supporting leaders in New York’s more than 700 school districts, BOCES, and private schools for blind and hearing impaired children.
 
 

Att. b

JUNE 7, 2004
ONTARIO TOWN BOARD MEETING
 

A workshop meeting of the Ontario Town Board was called to order by Deputy Supervisor Robert Pinkney at 7:00 PM in the Ontario Town Hall. Present were Deputy Supervisor Robert Pinkney, Councilmembers: Mark Brewer, Donald Camp, Ronald Fillmore and Donald Shears.
Absent: Supervisor Joseph Molino and Town Clerk Cathy Herzog
 
Approximately fourteen residents and visitors were present at portions of the meeting.
Mr. Shears led the Pledge of Allegiance.
 
The following agenda items were discussed:

· Barb Harper gave a presentation and requested funding for the Greater Rochester Enterprise
· Mrs. Deborah Furguson-Leaty reviewed progress that has been made at forming a merchants association
· Mrs. Burolla provided information about the possibility of a Transportation Improvement District being formed for the Salatino Industrial Park development
· Mr. Riddell and Ms. Hughson reviewed the draft five-year plan for the Parks and Recreation Department

 
Executive Session - A motion was made by Mr. Brewer, seconded by Mr. Camp, to adjourn for an executive session at 8:22 PM for the proposed acquisition of real property and for a personnel matter to discuss the employment and salary of a specific person. 4 Ayes 0 Nays 1 Absent (Molino) MOTION CARRIED
 
Reconvene - 10:05 PM
 
There was a brief discussion on the purchase of property at 2019 Ridge Road in Ontario.
 
A motion was made by Mr. Brewer, seconded by Mr. Shears, to authorize a paid before audit check for a down payment for the proposed purchase of property at 2019 Ridge Road.  
4 Ayes 0 Nays 1 Absent (Molino) MOTION CARRIED.
 
Official action on the purchase of land and a budget transfer will occur at the town board meeting on June 14, 2004.
 



Adjourn - A motion was made by Mr. Brewer, seconded by Mr. Camp, to adjourn at 10:10 PM. 4 Ayes 0 Nays 1 Absent (Molino) MOTION CARRIED
 
Respectfully submitted,
Mark Brewer
Town Councilman
 
The above minutes will become official upon approval of the town board.

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