by Deb Alter
Hoosick voters passed the 2016-2917 school budget on Tuesday, May 17 by a three-to-one margin. In addition to the $23.5 million dollar budget, they also approved a proposition to purchase buses at no cost to district taxpayers by an even wider margin. The budget for next year is a 1.76 percent increase over this year’s, and incurred no tax levy increase.[private]
The three open seats on the Board of Education were uncontested. Joseph Patire will take the place of Rick Ferrannini, who declined to run for re-election, and two incumbents, Rachel Boisvert and Andrew Beaty, were re-elected. They will all serve three-year terms.
The Board of Education officially accepted the budget vote, the bus vote, and the election results at the Board meeting after the polls closed at 9 pm.
The Tuesday, May 17 Board meeting opened with two special presentations. The first was from High School Art teachers Megan Conner and Rob Viera, who had put together the Empty Bowls event to support the HACA Food Pantry, in coordination with St. Mary’s Academy and Hoosac School. Conner and her students put in hours and hours to create more than 200 bowls for the April 16 event, and Viera designed the publicity graphics. All three schools contributed soup. The event raised $1,800 for the Pantry and Conner presented a very large (literally) “check” to HACA Director Dianne Hosterman and President Joyce Brewer. (The real check was taped to the back.)
The next presentation honored the staff that will be retiring at the end this school year. The seven members of the faculty, with a total if 159 years of service to the District are Michele Culver, elementary teacher, Anne McEvoy, special education teacher, Lyn Schumacher, librarian, and teaching assistants Norma Cipperly, Eileen Kolar, and Maria Lucey. Superintendent Ken Facin said recognizing retiring staff members publicly is important because, “it is important to acknowledge how much they have given to the community and the children.” He spoke about these educators’ nurturing patience, thorough work ethic, contagious enthusiasm for learning, meeting challenges with grace and dignity, and dedication.
Another early high note was the awarding of tenure to High School math teacher Timothy Ossont. Facin made a point of saying that tenure is earned, not granted, and about Ossont in particular he said, “We know your value already. We want you to stay, and retire from here.”
Following was a reception in honor of the retirees and the newly tenured.
Administrators’ Reports
School administrators have been introducing mindfulness learning to other districts. They have devised a plan in which representatives from other schools can come into Hoosick Falls Schools without disrupting the learning that is going on. Their goal is to educate other districts, but not get caught up in it, to make sure that the focus stays on Hoosick Falls students and their learning. There will be meetings and presentations, but no one will be going into the classrooms.
On June 10, Facin, Dr. Gil Noam, and the research team will meet to look at the effects of social-emotional learning to make sure that it has value for every child and find ways to measure outcomes. This work may lead to publication of a paper on the topic. Facin said the kids have been responding well to the District’s mindfulness initiatives. Next steps include Yoga in the classroom, which Facin and his team say will help focus and ground the students.
Facin said that he wants the school to be more involved when results of PFOA blood tests are released, which is expected to be soon, and is close to when students will be taking Regents and other important exams. He is concerned about the stress this will put on students as they try to understand what the blood test results mean. He has emailed the NYSDOH twice, asking them to sit down with school nurses and staff to educate them in case students ask questions. At the time of the Board meeting, he had had no response from the DOH.
Facin reported that the BOCES School Safety Officer had completed his inspection. The air in the school building is fine, but the asbestos in the building must go. He emphasized the need to do a health and safety project soon, and that a Capital Project is on the horizon as there are infrastructure projects that must be done. He said that it is a good time to do the project because, of the District’s capital reserve fund, which is $3.8 million, approximately $340,000 is already earmarked for the building. He explained that the debt service for the 1997 Capital Project will expire in 2018, around the time when the new work would begin.
Business Administrator Pam Hatfield explained that by spreading out the debt service, big swings in year-to-year budget amounts are avoided, so there are no unmanageable dips and rises in the school budget and taxes from one year to the next. When one debt service expires, it is a good time for a new capital project. The Capital Project will also include upgrading wiring, lighting, and technology. The Board authorized Facin to go forward with a request for proposals (RFP) for architects to get the project going.
Hatfield presented The Instructional Technology Plan (2015-2018), which is available on the HFCS website. After a public hearing, it will be submitted to the State Eduction Department (SED) for approval. She presented the 2015 Five-Year Capital Facilities Plan which is a mandated structural and overall review of school-owned property and buildings. She also presented a long range financial plan for the District that goes through the 2019-2020 school year.
Board Actions
Four positions were abolished: counselor, attendance teacher, and two teaching assistants. Three new positions were created: assistant high school principal and two teacher aide positions.
The Collective Bargaining Agreement by and between the Hoosick Falls Central School District Board of Education and the HFCSD Support Staff Employees Council was ratified and approved. The agreement is for the period from July 1, 2016 to June 30, 2020. Superintendent Facin’s contract was extended for an additional year, from July 2020 to June 2021.
The annual Organizational Meeting will be held on July 7 at 6 pm in the high school cafeteria.The next regular Board of Education meeting is scheduled for Thursday, June 16 at 7 pm in the high school library.[/private]