HFCS Grants Tenure to 5
by Alex Brooks
At its online meeting on June 17, the Hoosick Falls School Board granted tenure to Special Education teacher Kristen Philpotts, Elementary teacher Eliza Bouplon, Art Teacher Desirae Collins, Literacy Teacher Ashley Herrmann, and School Counselor Leann Victor. Normally the June meeting includes ceremonies to honor both retiring teachers and staff and teachers being granted tenure, but since an online school board meeting doesn’t lend itself to a ceremony that is normally all about handshakes, hugs, and pinning on corsages, it had to be postponed. Superintendent Pat Dailey said the Board hopes to be having in-person meetings again by August and some time will be set aside then to honor this year’s retirees and teachers granted tenure.
Superintendent’s Report
Superintendent Pat Dailey offered thanks to everyone at the School for rising to the occasion and making it work under difficult circumstances this spring. He said turning the entire school into an on-line school on short notice was an incredible challenge – “but they did it, and they did it with grace and dignity.” He said, “everyone has stepped up to the plate and got the job done.” He offered many thanks to everyone, from custodians to TAs to bus drivers, and including the students and their parents.
Dailey also offered thanks to the community for the strong support of the budget in last week’s election.
Dailey said there are a lot of discussions going on right now about how the schools will be run in the fall when the students return, but “nothing is settled yet.”
The Board accepted resignations from bus driver Terresa Couch and TA/animal handler Mike Manning. The resignation of Manning means that the therapy dog named Pride will not be returning to the school next fall. Dailey remarked that a lot of the students will greatly miss Mike and Pride.
The Board passed resolutions implementing the plans laid out in the recently-passed budget to abolish four teaching positions: those of art therapist, a social studies teacher, an elementary education teacher and a physical education position.
The Board accepted bids for the upcoming year for dairy products, bread products, paper products and grocery products
The Board accepted a bid from the Commission on Economic Opportunity for $60,120 to run the Universal Pre-K Program for the upcoming school year.
Capital Project progress
Dailey said asbestos abatement in the boiler room is done and the room has been fully cleaned. Plumbing and electrical work preparatory to the new boiler installation will begin this week. He said when all is prepared, the actual removal of the old boilers and setting in place of the new boilers will only take a day or two. He said the project is about one month ahead of schedule.
Dailey also said the administration and the architects are finishing all of the design details of the Phase II project that will be done next summer. The plans and drawings should be finished this summer and submitted to the State Education Department for approval.
HFTA Contract Extension
The Board approved a one year extension of the District’s Contract with the Hoosick Falls Teachers Association, continuing the same terms as the existing contract.
Athletic Merger
The Board unanimously approved a merger with Tamarac High School to form an Indoor Track Team for the 2020-2021 school year to compete in Section 2. The team will play in the winter season and will practice mostly at Tamarac, where there are indoor track facilities.
Lunch Price Increase
School Business Administrator Emily Sanders said cafeteria expenses have risen because the minimum wage has gone up significantly, and health insurance costs have also risen. As a result, the surpluses that the program formerly produced are gone and the price of a school lunch will have to increase, but Sanders did not yet know how much it will increase.