Letter to the Board
Letter to the Board
| 1. Cancelled Board Meeting: We will not be rescheduling the cancelled board meeting. We will be incorporating the agenda items from the January 8 agenda into the January 22 board agenda and holding that meeting at the middle school, with a tour to start. We will be replacing the UPK presentation with the proposed capital portion of next year's budget. We will save the UPK presentation until later in the year. | |
| 2. Mid-Winter Superintendent State Meeting: This weekend I leave for Albany to attend the superintendent's mid-winter meeting. I will be gone until Tuesday night. Kim and Greg will be in charge while I am gone. Kim has my codes for a snow day in case of inclement weather. You can reach me through Lori or my cell phone (315) 576-0228. The major topic of discussion will be the State fiscal situation and aid to education. While I think Governor Paterson has it right, and we need to curb spending and mandates, the unions and my superintendent organization will fight him on it. The teachers' union (NYSUT) is very powerful. We should not be surprised if the legislature puts back some of the aid that the governor has proposed cutting. This would of course help the district financially though I am not sure it is what we need to be doing as a state (my republicanism in conflict with taking care of our district). We meet with Senator Nozzolio and Assemblyman Oaks on Tuesday to hear their views and to lobby for upstate schools. | |
| 3. Finger Lakes League Loss: This week the Monroe County League voted to allow Canandaigua to join their league. It took three votes to get them in. Last year we lost Victor to Monroe County. Both districts provided some great competition in many of our sports. I think our volleyball team was stronger because it competed against Canandaigua and Victor. On the other hand I am very happy we will no longer have to play football against Canandaigua. This leaves Wayne as the largest school in the Finger Lakes league. We have been asked why we haven't joined the Monroe County League. There are a number of positives and negatives associated with such a move. Certainly the travel distance would be substantially less and much of our community works in the Monroe County area. On the other hand we would be one of the smaller schools in the league and would face some stiff competition in certain sports. |
| 4. Wayne Finger Lakes Superintendent Legislative Committee: I chair our Wayne Finger Lakes legislative committee. I have attached the letter we sent to our legislators about this year's budget. Our push with them is on mandate relief. They don't have much more money to give us so let us reduce spending by reducing mandates. A Special Education roll back to federal regulations would be an enormous help as would a retirement system more in line with today's realities. Even the freeze on additional regulations and mandates would be a huge help. The current proposal to have us pay 15% of preschool special education costs is a $104,000 ticket item. Every year there is something new from either SED or the legislature. |
| 5. | |
| CSEA Contract: The CSEA vote on the contract extension is this coming Tuesday. Staff members are excited about it and it is expected to easily pass. The Board is scheduled to vote on it at the January 22nd meeting. I have heard only positive comments from the Board so it looks like the Board vote should go smoothly. If you do have any questions or concerns please let us know. |
| 6. | |
| Snow Closings: As you know, we closed school on Tuesday due to the icy conditions. We also cancelled after school and evening activities on Thursday. We have utilized our automated call system on a few occasions this year and believe it is a very valuable communication tool for our staff and our residents. Many of you have students in school and are receiving the messages, but if you don’t and would like to receive these calls, please let Lori know and we will add you to the call list. On the weather topic…. There does not appear to be a break in sight to what has already been one of the snowiest Decembers on record. |
| 7. | |
| Phone problems: On Thursday our phones went down (for incoming calls) at approximately noon and were down until 8:00 p.m. Fortunately, we were able to make outgoing calls, and were able to communicate regarding the weather conditions. It appears this was a problem between carriers, Verizon and Paetec. |
| 8. | |
| Ginna Drill: Our office was set to run our surprise Ginna Drill this past week, however, the weather conditions and already losing one day of instruction forced me to determine that another time would need to be considered. |
| 9. | |
| Auditors Update: The state auditors are still here. They continue to delve into the district’s financial activities, practices and employees. So far, they have been a pleasure to work with. They are thorough and efficient, but reasonable and practical. Tammy, the lead auditor, has developed a very nice rapport with our staff. She sat with us for our holiday luncheon and gift exchange (as a bystander), and was an even match for the entire group in our usual office banter. We are still anxiously waiting that apple pie if we pass with flying colors. |
| 10. | |
| Facilities Update: The maintenance staff has been working on an energy savings checklist. They are checking the steam heating systems and replacing valves as needed. A concerted effort is being made in every building to make sure night settings are utilized. They have been tightening doorways and replacing or repairing weather stripping as needed. A double doorway has been replaced at Freewill as part of the facilities improvement plan. All these things are very important in these times of expensive energy costs. |
| 11. | |
| Winter Cold Snap – If you have been watching the news, the weathermen are calling for the coldest temperatures in years. As you may recall 2 years ago, very cold weather caused some real issues for some school districts, where buses would not start (not Wayne). Head Mechanic, Doug Adriaansen will be putting fuel additives in all diesel engine district vehicles today, before the cold weather hits, to prevent the fuel from “gumming up.” This has worked for us in the past, and should keep us safeguarded for this cold weather as well. |
| 12. | |
| Upcoming Events: |
| 13. | |
| Attachments: |
Wayne Finger Lakes Superintendent Association
| § Institute a moratorium on all new unfunded legislative and state education department mandates: Let’s begin by agreeing not to add to our costs. The Suozzi report says it well, “No new legislative or regulatory mandates without a complete accounting of the fiscal impact on local governments, which must include full documentation, local government input and proposed revenue sources to fund the new mandates”. This is critical as we receive new mandates every year. Last year it was additional sick days for cancer screening. This year it was providing special education services to home schooled children. The Governor’s proposal for next year is to pay for 15% of preschool costs. That will cost an average $75-$80,000 for each of our districts. We need to take a break to allow the funding streams to catch up with the ideas. |
| § Revise the ERS and TRS retirement system to provide relief for school districts: This year the Wayne Finger Lakes school districts will spend a combined total of $30,100,971 for ERS and TRS. That is more money than the entire budget of most school districts. The current system requires only a 3% employee contribution for their first ten years, after which time the retirement system is completely funded by the school districts and investment returns. That is an unheard of benefit in today’s economy. Employees must be made a greater partner in funding their retirement years. In his December 16th budget speech, Governor Paterson called for the creation of a tier V retirement component for new employees. We ask that you lend your support to that important cost savings initiative. |
| § Provide health insurance reform: Increases to health insurance costs generally continue at a double digit pace. Providing any relief, whether in the form of a public employees’ health insurance program or tort reform would help school districts and all public employers. Spending more for health insurance does not better educate a single New York State student. |
| § Eliminate Academic Intervention Services (AIS) as the required prescription for student improvement: The State Education Department needs to set academic goals for our children and hold districts accountable for achieving those goals. It should not prescribe exactly how each district will meet those goals. The same guidelines should not apply to districts in good standing as well as those whose students are not meeting academic goals. That is what mandating AIS does. If the district is a school in good standing, remove the SED hoops such as AIS. Let the district decide how best to educate their children then hold them accountable for those results. |
| § Reconfigure special education to align with federal mandates: Last year when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the burden of proof in special education hearings rested with the party bringing the challenge, the New York State legislature quickly circumvented the decision by passing legislation placing the burden back on the schools. In doing so they imply the schools’ program decisions are wrong unless the district can prove they are right. This is just one example of the 30 pages of policies and laws not required by the federal government for special education but enacted by New York State. As with AIS, New York State needs to focus its energy on holding school districts accountable for achieving academic success not for an ever enlarging mountain of regulations. |
| § Fully fund IDEA: When IDEA was authorized by Congress in 1975 it required the Federal Government to contribute 40% of the cost of implementation. More than thirty years later Congress has still not lived up to its promise. It is estimated that this past year the federal government contributed only 17.73% of its legal obligation under IDEA. We ask your help in requesting that our Senators and Congressman live up to the law just as they expect us. |
| § Fully fund NCLB: President Bush staked out a goal of raising student achievement nation wide. The goal was appropriate if we are to remain a strong and vibrant country. Accompanying his plan needs to be the funding necessary to pay for those assessments and programs. We ask your help in encouraging our Senators and Congressmen to either unburden New York with NCLB or provide the funding to make it workable. |
| WHEREAS, Proposed Local Law No. 5 of 2008 (the “Proposed Local Law”) which would amend Chapter 13 of the Code of the Town of Ontario, entitled “Code of Ethics”; and | ||||||||||||||
| WHEREAS, the Proposed Local Law has been on the desks of all Town Board members since November 25, 2008; and | ||||||||||||||
| WHEREAS, minor corrections and changes have been made to the Proposed Local Law; and | ||||||||||||||
| WHEREAS, Notice of a Public Hearing on the Proposed Local Law was published in the Wayne County Mail on November 27, 2008, and the Town Clerk also caused a copy of that Notice to be posted on the sign board of the Town maintained pursuant to Town Law §30(6) on November 27, 2008; and | ||||||||||||||
| WHEREAS, a public hearing was duly held on the Proposed Local Law on December 8, 2008 at 7:00 PM before the Town Board at the Ontario Town Hall, and all persons desiring to speak were heard; and | ||||||||||||||
| WHEREAS, due to an error in the date set forth in the initial Notice of Public Hearing, a second Notice of a Public Hearing on the Proposed Local Law was published in the Wayne County Mail on December 11, 2008, and the Town Clerk also caused a copy of that Notice to be posted on the sign board of the Town maintained pursuant to Town Law §30(6) on December 11, 2008; and | ||||||||||||||
| WHEREAS, a second public hearing was duly held on the Proposed Local Law on December 22, 2008 at 7:00 PM before the Town Board at the Ontario Town Hall, and all persons desiring to speak were heard; and | ||||||||||||||
| IT IS RESOLVED that, pursuant to the Municipal Home Rule Law, Proposed Local Law No. 5 of 2008, in the correct form that is annexed, and it shall be filed with the Secretary of State; and | ||||||||||||||
| IT IS FURTHER RESOLVED that, as provided in 13-7(A) of the Proposed Local Law, the Town Supervisor shall cause a copy thereof to be distributed to every Town employee of this Town, and to include a copy in every employee handbook distributed by the Town. 5 Ayes 0 Nays RESOLUTION ADOPTED | ||||||||||||||
| Present: | Frank Maciuska Councilman | |
| Patricia Marini | ||
| Councilwoman | ||
| Suzi Hawkins-Mance | ||
| Councilwoman | ||
| Susie Jacobs | Town Clerk | |
| Absent: | Tom Yale | Councilman |
| Resolution | ||
| Councilwoman Marini offered the following Resolution and moved its adoption. | ||
| Seconded by Councilwoman Hawkins-Mance. | ||
| BE IT RESOLVED THAT the Senior Account Clerk be instructed to amend the 2008 Budget as follows: | ||
| $1,317.94 from A1410.12 Deputy Town Clerk to A1620.12 Extra Help. | ||
| Roll call vote: | |
| Councilman Maciuska Aye | |
| Councilwoman Marini Aye Councilwoman Hawkins-Mance Aye | |
| Supervisor Plant Aye |
| Roll call vote: | |
| Councilman Maciuska Aye | |
| Councilwoman Marini Aye Councilwoman Hawkins-Mance Aye | |
| Supervisor Plant Aye |
| Roll call vote: | |
| Councilman Maciuska Aye | |
| Councilwoman Marini Aye Councilwoman Hawkins-Mance Aye | |
| Supervisor Plant Aye |