Board of Education Meeting Report for January 15, 2008

ADMINISTRATIVE REPORTS:

PK-6 principal Harold Leve and 7-12 acting principal Jill Slavny gave their monthly presentations about recent and upcoming activities.

Mr. Leve

* showed several photos from
-- the 3-6 holiday concert,
-- Santa paying a surprise visit to the pre-kindergartners,
-- Family Skate Night, sponsored by the PTA, and
-- Irene Hammons' high-school French students visiting with the third-graders to read to them and teach them some basic French words and phrases; and
* said the NYS English Language Arts testing for grades 3-6 finished that day, and noted he and the elementary teachers and staff often stress to the students, who may be nervous about the exams, that "luck is when preparation (studying) and opportunity (testing) meet."

Mrs. Slavny

* showed photos from
-- the eighth-graders' Penny Auction, at which they raised $415, which was donated to several local families for the holidays, and
-- the Electric Coffeehouse X concert; and
* congratulated senior french horn player Amanda R., who scored a perfect 100 at the Monroe County Solo Festival, and earned first-chair honors for All-County Band.

Monroe County School Boards Association executive director Jody Siegle and president Margie Vandenberg gave an overview of the organization's functions and goals.

District superintendent Dr. Howard Maffucci

* described the potential impact of Monroe County's tax-intercept plan (also known as "the F.A.I.R. Plan") on the district's 2008-09 budget and a county tax bill;
* briefly discussed three topics being addressed by the MCSBA's legislative committee: the county's tax-intercept plan, New York state funding of educational mandates, and the ongoing reauthorization of the federal No Child Left Behind act;
* said he plans to participate in a Jan. 23 panel discussion on stipends, specifically in relation to curriculum and staff development, sponsored by the MCSBA's labor-relations committee; and
* said districts need to lobby the state and federal governments to fund their various educational mandates.

BOARD MEMBERS' REPORTS and COMMENTS:

Student representative Courtney B.
* congratulated Amanda Roesch, and the JV boys' basketball and JV and varsity cheerleading teams, on recent accomplishments; and
* noted the Project HYPE after-school tutoring program, coordinated by John Reitz, started up again Jan. 2, and involves 43 students in grades 4-6 (with 14 on a waiting list) and a rotation of 46 tutors from grades 9-12.

Board president Kim Jackson reported on two recent programs sponsored by the MCSBA's information-exchange committee: how districts are being more environmentally responsible, and how testing data is collected, sorted, and made available for analysis.

Lafayette Eaton thanked Dr. Maffucci and assistant superintendent for instruction Catherine Terrell for giving him a tour of the campus the previous week.

Tim Henry
* said the board, while developing the 2008-09 budget, will continue to try to reduce non-academic spending wherever possible; and
* said a '79 ERHS graduate, and district resident, is starting an organized effort to get the district more coverage in the Democrat & Chronicle's weekly Our Towns section.

Terry Brown-Steiner
* encouraged public input during the budget-development process; and
* said newspapers are profit-driven, often determining their editorial coverage based on where their readership and advertisers are, and urged local businesses to advertise if they'd like to see coverage increase.

Sally Malone
* agreed with Mr. Brown-Steiner, adding she's been told by a D&C reporter that while he'd like to give the district more coverage, he often meets with "significant resistance" from his superiors; and
* said the board will continue to try to develop a fiscally responsible budget.

COMMENTS from DISTRICT RESIDENTS:
Sam Morabito said taxes played a major role in the November '07 village elections, taxpayers are "at a saturation point," and the board needs to control spending and stabilize the tax rate.

NEW BUSINESS:
The board
* approved the addition of two new art courses (Intro to Photography and Studio in Ceramics);
* adopted the district audit committee's 2008 charter and members, as required by law;
* OK'd the closing of the girls' cross-country club account because of inactivity, and the transfer of the money to Celtic Music Society; and
* authorized an amendment to Mrs. Terrell's employment agreement.

UPCOMING MEETINGS: 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 12 and March 18

Meeting length: one hour, 20 minutes