by Alex Brooks
The Hoosick Falls Board of Education meeting began with Junior Class officers presenting information to the Board about their Prom, which is planned for May 16, 2015 at the Franklin Terrace Ballroom in Troy. They said it will cost about $50 per person, and the Board approved it.
School Board Feted
[private]Because it was School Board Appreciation Week, the administration presented the members of the School Board with certificates and boxes of goodies from the Apple Barn in recognition of their service to the community. The HFTA also thanked the School Board members and gave them each a box of chocolates.
Capital Project
Superintendent Ken Facin said the District will be engaging with the community intensively for the next month or so to get information out about the Capital Project in advance of the December 2 vote to approve it.
A press release summarizing the project is on the home page of the District’s web site, as is a link to the detailed Powerpoint presentation given to the Board on the night they approved putting the project up for a vote.
A series of public meetings has been scheduled to present information about the project to the public, and Facin has offered to speak to any group that would like to have him come and tell them about the Capital Project. A newsletter will be sent out to all the residents of the District in mid-November with detailed information about the proposed Capital Project.
Facin made two key points about the project. The first was that the State is now paying 80% of the cost of a Capital Project once it is accepted by the State Education Department, providing great leverage for local dollars. He noted that this level of aid may not continue forever.
The second point was that the District has been preparing for this project for several years and is now in a position to do it without major spikes in the tax levy. The District now has $2.5 million in its Debt Service Reserve, which can be used to offset Capital Project bond payments until the two earlier projects are paid off. In this way the funds needed from annual taxes for debt service will remain stable throughout the upcoming years while the new project is being paid off.
Community meetings to tell the public about the Capital Project are scheduled for these dates:
• October 29 – Public Meeting at the North Hoosick Firehouse at 6 pm.
• November TBD – Meeting the Hoosick Falls Village Board.
• November 6 – Meeting with the Town of Hoosick Lions Club at 6:30 pm at The Falls Diner.
• November 10 – Meeting with the Hoosick Town Board at 7 pm.
• November 13 – Public Meeting at the Hoosick Falls Central School at 6 pm.
• November 18 – Meeting with the Hoosick Falls Kiwanis Club at 6 pm at The Falls Diner.
Other Matters
The Board accepted $400 from the Hoosick Falls PTA for purchase of collapsible music stands and $100 from the PTA for the eighth grade to put on a Halloween party for the second grade class.
The next meeting of the Board of Education will be on Monday, November 24, at 7 pm in the High School library. The Board also scheduled a meeting for December 2 at 8:30 pm in the High School cafeteria.[/private]