Taking Care of Data Security
by Alex Brooks
Data Security
At its meeting on November 21, the Hoosick Falls School board appointed its Chief Information Officer David Breese as the District’s Data Protection Officer. This is a new suite of duties for Breese, who runs the District’s computer systems. John Helft asked Business Manager Emily Sanders if the school’s data is well-protected, as he had heard of numerous instances in which hackers had stolen the data of school districts or municipalities and demanded a large ransom to give it back. Sanders described the data protection methods in place, and said David Breese has gone to many conferences to learn the best practices for data protection, and she is confident the District has a solid program in place.
Corrective Action Plan Approved for Comptroller’s Audit
The Board approved a Corrective Action Plan in response to the NYS Comptroller’s audit of HFCS financial practices recently completed, but the contents of it will not be released to the public until the comptroller’s office has approved it.
School Redesign Committee
Superintendent Pat Dailey said a School Redesign Committee has been formed, led by himself and High School Principal Michael Hall. He said the focus of this effort is not so much to change the academic program, which is already in good shape, but to integrate into the program vocational offerings and learning to prepare for the workforce. He said he has asked some local business people who may be in a position to hire HFCS graduates what sort of preparation would help them to succeed in such jobs, and the kinds of things they talked about are things the District does not teach. Dailey described these things as “soft skills,” such things as how to work with others, speaking well, communication skills, habits of promptness, knowledge of simple finance. The committee seeks to add electives, internships, and work experience into the school program to help those students who may not be going on to college to have a fulfilling and useful experience in high school.
Business Manager Update
Business Manager Emily Sanders said budget season is about to start, and offered a “budget calendar” for the Board’s approval. The Board plans a workshop session in January to focus on issues involved in the formulation of next year’s budget.
Sanders said she and others on the Capital Project team had met with the architects and the Construction Manager twice this month to work on details of the Capital Project design. She said the bids for next summer’s work on the school boilers will go out on December 3, and Contractors must submit their bids by January 8.
Retirement Contribution Reserve
The Board approved the establishment of a Retirement Contribution Reserve Fund. The purpose of the fund is to avoid budgetary spikes related to changes in State assessments for retirement funds. Because of sometimes dramatic changes in the fortunes of the investments made by these funds, the assessments made on local school districts can change significantly from year to year. By having a reserve fund in place, such fluctuations can be smoothed out so that it does not result in sudden changes to the tax levy.
The Board appointed Ashley St. Onge to a new position as Teacher of Special Education and Chelsea Stevens as Teacher of Elementary Education, replacing Amy Sutton. Both are graduates of Hoosick Falls Central School. Superintendent Pat Dailey said he is pleased that the District is able to hire graduates of its own high school and he is confident that these two women will be valuable additions to the team at HFCS.
School Board Appreciation Month
Several people thanked the School Board members for their (unpaid) service to the community and to the School District, because this month is School Board Appreciation Month. Kim Brownell gave each Board member a box of cookies on behalf of the HFTA.
The Board approved the “Walk The Halls” program for this school year. The school will be available for recreational walking on Mondays and Thursdays from 6 to 8 pm from December 1 through April 30, 2020.