BCSD Superintendent Search

by David Flint
The Berlin School Board has selected Orion Educational Consulting LLC of Rochester to conduct a search for a new Superintendent. Robert Heinkel representing this firm in a presentation to the Board at a special October 6 meeting, said it would be a 3 to 4 month process. The firm does only one search at a time and during that time he would be in regular communication with the Board. At their October 19 meeting the Board passed a resolution to appoint Board Member Beverly Stewart as contact person, and they set up a meeting for November 3 to meet again with Heinkel and get the search started. Interim Superintendent Brian Howard suggested that it be specified that the new Superintendent would come on board sometime in June following the budget vote.
Elections
The Board has had a committee looking into two possible changes in how the School District elections are handled. Beth Bourassa, the Board’s attorney from the Whiteman, Osterman & Hanna law firm, advised that it would be a fairly simple process to change to at-large election of School Board members, instead of the current system whereby a candidate runs for a particular seat. The Board would just need to adopt a proposition to be put to the voters next May, and, if approved, they could have an at large election of Board members in May of 2012.
The second idea the committee was exploring was the possibility of having two or more election districts with the aim of making it more convenient for voters. Bourassa said this would be a much more cumbersome process, and she did not recommend it. The only school districts in the State that currently do this are much larger than the Berlin District. A registration system and list would have to be developed and then a decision made as to how to carve out the election districts, each of which would have to have a minimum of 300 voters. Again, if approved by the voters, the first such election could be held in May of 2012.
The Board decided to postpone a vote on these changes until the November 16 meeting.
Five-Year Building Survey
The Board passed unanimously a resolution to contract with the CS Arch company of Albany to perform the mandatory 5-year Building Condition Survey in 2010. This followed a recommendation from a committee comprising Cyril Grant, Superintendent of Buildings & Grounds, and Sandra Owens, School Business Manager. They had selected CS Arch based on the fact this firm received the highest ranking on the RFP Evaluation Form, has extensive first hand knowledge of the District facilities, has a proven track record with the District of completing projects on time, on budget and of good quality, has the personnel who are certified, experienced, well qualified and trained to complete the project and has provided a reputable fee with no per diem or extra charges.
Leadership Advisory Committee
Rebekah Hartman spoke to the Board of her concern that assignment of tasks to the Leadership Advisory Committee had not been put on the agenda for this meeting. She said she appreciated that it was now on the agenda for the November 3 meeting at the insistence of Beverly Stewart. Hartman said she had the feeling that the Board perhaps had hoped that the Committee would go away since it seemed to have been ignored and put aside since last May. Based on comments from the public at this meeting, when the lead paint issue was discussed, she said it was clear the community feels a need to have a voice and the Leadership Advisory could provide a forum for them to speak and to present options to the Board.
Packet For The Public
Jim Willis spoke up, agreeing that the Leadership Advisory Committee makes for a good intermediary with the Board and urging that the packet of informational materials that is provided to the Board prior to meetings should also be made available to the public in advance of meetings. Willis complained that the public out in the audience does not know what Board Members are looking at during their discussions, so it is often hard to figure out what is going on. He also asked that minutes of meetings be placed on the District’s website (berlincentral.org). District Clerk Mary Grant assured him that is being done but she is given two weeks to get them on the web.
The Board set a special meeting for Wednesday, November 3, at 7 pm to discuss the Superintendent search and tasks for the Leadership Advisory Committee and their next regular meeting for Tuesday, November 16, at 7:15 pm, both meetings at the High School in Cherry Plain.