New Lebanon School Board Reorganizes
By Emily Gabert
The New Lebanon Central School District prepared for the upcoming school year at its annual organizational meeting that was held on Wednesday, July 10.
John Kalisz and Robert Long were sworn into the Board of Education. Both are new members who were elected to the Board back in May and will serve for three years. Timothy Lambert was re-elected to the Board and was reappointed as the president. He was unable to be sworn in at this meeting, as he was traveling and could not attend. Michael Brutsch was reelected as vice president.
The Board made the usual annual appointments, and authorizations of agents, set budget dates and approved regular polices.
Rates were also approved after some conversation. Most of the rates stayed relatively the same while the substitute and hourly aid rate changed due to the rising rates of certified teachers. Also discussed were the costs of the newly established free breakfast and lunch program at Walter B. Howard Elementary School.
Capital Project Schedules & Bus Sale
Administrators met with architects, construction managers and vendors about the project’s scheduling for the upcoming school year. Since the District agreed to do so much of the work doing the school year, the project is now slated to cost $1 million less than originally planned, according to the District’s Business Administrator Kevin Fottrell.
The administration has decided to have most of the project’s work take place during the evenings so that it won’t disrupt the students too much. The construction will also take place during school holidays, while outside work will be focused on for the fall.
Fottrell said that they will be meeting with the District’s financial advisors to talk about the cash flow of the project. Monies for the project are in both the capital and bond funds and they want to figure out the timing.
It was announced that the excess bus that the District was auctioning off was sold online for $4,500 after additional fees. It was sold to a customer in Washington State. Since the auction went so well, there are talks to eventually sell other excess items in the future. Fottrell described the auction website as an eBay for government surplus items.
Athletics Hiring, Communication,
and Tournaments
Joshua Noble, the district’s athletics director, said that they are finishing up hiring for coach positions. Due to the merger between New Lebanon and Berlin athletics, there are many open spots. He said that there has been a lot of interest, especially from teachers, and many of the coaches are returning.